Ultrasonic cleaners

[Bigdog357]

How long does it take to get your primer holes clean using your ultrasonic cleaners, I have RCBS cleaner and it has a 30 min timer that I have to reset 4 or 5 times to get them reasonably clean. Just wondering if other brand cleaners work better or if I need to use a different cleaning solution. I have been using the RCBS solution mixed with distilled water at 140 degrees. So far not overly impressed with the performance.

 

[mac45]

Have a Hornady cleaner, and use their solution. I run it for 40min (max), and most of the pockets look pretty clean.
But....there's always a few cases with a bit of carbon in the primer pockets.
Personally, I've never worried about it.
If it's a concern, you might try upping the concentration of the solution a bit. My cases always look nicest after I change out the solution.

 

[WhitleyStu]

My Crest 150 will remove all carbon on brass in 10 minutes when using Ottosonic solution while the heater is set to 160°F - 170°F. 10 -15 minutes in the vibratory tumbler and brass looks new.

 

[Modhydro]

Try citric acid. You can get it on Amazon for cheap and it works amazingly well.

Steve

 

[ckcollins2003]

If you're that obsessed about overly clean cases, I would suggest switching to a wet tumbler with stainless media. An ultra sonic most likely won't get the primer pockets completely clean without you scraping them. It's really not a big deal and they are fine to reload as long as the primer sits flush, but if you are just anal about having immaculate looking cases, then you'll save a lot of headache switching over.

 

[noylj]

My ultrasonic cleaners, using hot water, Dawn and citric acid, completely cleans all cases in 15 to 30 minutes.
My SS tumbler, using hot water, Dawn, and citric acid, completely cleans all cases in 2-6 hours.
Just remember, all you need to do is wipe off the case exterior.

 

[Bigdog357]

If you're that obsessed about overly clean cases, I would suggest switching to a wet tumbler with stainless media. An ultra sonic most likely won't get the primer pockets completely clean without you scraping them. It's really not a big deal and they are fine to reload as long as the primer sits flush, but if you are just anal about having immaculate looking cases, then you'll save a lot of headache switching over.

fortunately for me I'm not obsessed or anal, but I do like a clean case to reload.

Thanks for the other comments and recommendations of the Citric acid and Dawn solution, I will give it a try. I hate manually cleaning primer pockets.

 

[OutdoorDad]

For pistol brass...

While inspecting my brass after decapping, I give the primer pockets a quick twist with my primer pocket cleaner tool if needed. I run them long enough to get the range grit off them before decapping and sizing.

Then I drop them all back in the walnut media and let it run for a while. How long? Don't know. Until I think about it again and go turn it off.

Somewhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours. But the 12 hour bit is rare. Because if the mrs is home, she'll ask me what that racket is down in the basement.

Once clean and free of tumbling media, I put them in a ziplock. That way, if I feel the urge to rip off a couple of hundred rounds of ammo on my single stage, I've always got 15-30 lbs of brass ready to go.


Rifle brass is a little more in depth process.

But it if you are worrying about the time it takes getting a particular batch of brass through a tumbling/ vibratory process, I'll suggest you need more brass.




In my experience, tumbling brass is the only step that can safely be accompanied by beer drinking.
So really, is it "time wasted"?

 

[WhitleyStu]

... An ultra sonic most likely won't get the primer pockets completely clean without you scraping them....

I have had three ultrasonic cleaning units and all have left primer pockets perfectly clean, using Ottosonic solution, without any scraping.

 

[AA&E]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner too. I run a batch once (about 30 minutes) with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. Then a second time (about 30 minutes) distilled water and just fraction of a teaspoon of baking soda per liter of water. First wash is highly acidic (vinegar is acetic acid) then second wash is to neutralize the acidity to prevent the cases from continuing to corrode after removing them from the cleaner. The baking soda neutralizes the acidity. My primer pockets get exceptionally clean.

 

[Broom_jm]

Anal bleaching - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As long as the "vent" is clean and will pass hot gas, there is no need for it to be pretty.

All joking aside, I have not cleaned a primer pocket, other than when it was convenient to me, in more than half of the 25+ years I've been reloading. The most I have ever done is 1-2 seconds with the spinning brush on an RCBS case prep station, and even then I have only done so when I trimmed a bottle-neck case and had to chamfer/debur. I can't recall the last time I've cleaned a primer pocket on a pistol case...and for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone ever would. It makes absolutely no difference in the safety or performance of reloaded ammunition.