[Dave.1]

Thanks to all of you for the information. I've been using wet tumbling with pins for a couple of years with great results. Might just be boredom, but I've started looking at ultrasonic cleaning for my brass and this thread makes me think i'll give it a try.

I was looking at the Harbor Freight version that SARDG mentions in post #6 about the Lyman Turbo. The HF looks like the Lyman and it has the plastic basket with metal handles. Don't know if they're stainless. 79.99, Don't know if there would be a quality difference. Probably just have to try it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-63256.html

Dave

 

[Dave.1]

That HF unit is probably made by the same child-labor in the same Chinese factory as the Lyman.

Sad but true.

I saw the Lyman said it "Handles up to 900 9mm cases in less than 15 minutes." and you are doing 300-350 cases at a time. What caliber?

Dave

 

[Dave.1]

Thanks, SARDG. That's a little disappointing but even doing 300 in 15 min. is not bad. I usually run my steel pin tumbler for 2 hours.

Dave

 

[Dave.1]

I use:

1 qt hot water
1 cup vinegar
1 T dawn
1 T salt

I understand the action of the salt and vinegar in shining the brass but that seems like a lot. How long do you leave the brass in the ultrasonic cleaner?

Dave

 

[Dave.1]

Wow pretty fast! Thanks.

Dave

 

[Dave.1]

I used this mix today on about 20 pieces of real dirty .380 brass. It worked pretty good but it took more time than anticipated. The brass came out more shiny than the others I tried. There were several pieces that had some tar like material in the primer pocket and inside the case itself that initially did not want to come off.

So far I haven't found any LymanTurbo Sonic cleaner locally.

Steve

Thanks for posting your results.

I think the vinegar and salt combo would have shined them up even without the ultrasonic action.

I wouldn't expect them to get as clean as wet tumbling with pins might get them. You can get spoiled by that method as far as primer pockets go. I'm not so interested in ultra clean as I am a quiicker way to spiff up my brass without the dust I got from a viabratory cleaner. When it came to vibratory cleaning I didn't like to have to add waxes and solvents to keep things dust free. That's why I ended up with a wet tumbler.

I still may take the plunge with the Harbor Freight version.

Dave