sonic cleaner not impressed

[fisherman983]

purchased a hornady sonic cleaner and i was under the impressin that it would clean the primer pockets much better than it does. was this assumption wrong or am i doing something wrong...my first batch of shells was resized and put into cleaner with water and solution and cleaned for 30 mins, not as clean as expected i returned them and did the same 30 min cycle but added heat this time and let them dry out on a towel all night, inspected primer pockets and still dirty so i returned them again for another 30 min cycle and still dirty...any tips or tricks?...also, what is the best way to dry cases after being rinsed and cleaned

 

[barnesuser28]

I have the lyman sonic cleaner and half a cap of this Amazon.com: Alconox Detergent Acidic Cleaner Citranox 1 Gallon: Home Improvement and 2 8 min heated sessions and the pockets are clean, then i throw them in the tumbler for an hour or two to dry them. article here http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2012/07/ultrasonic-case-cleaning-how-to-get-better-results/

 

[boomtube]

I have had both an ultrasonic cleaner and a vib tumbler for several years. My mechanical parts go into the US for cleaning, my cases go into the tumbler. I have no need or patience for the mess, time and mediocre results of the US nor for waiting for wet cases to dry.

Surgecally clean and glittery cases might be helpful in surgery or jewelery but for shootin' I find a common tumbler with either cob or nut media without polish works plenty good enough for me.

 

[farout]

I use a Hornady Magnum sonic cleaner and their One Shot cleaning solution. Seems primer pockets are always the last part to become clean.

* Try adding fewer cartridges to the sonic cleaner. This helps me the most.

* Also after fired cartridges have set for a month or so, it seems much harder to get the pockets clean. Try cleaning then right after you return from the range and see if that helps.

* Lots of times my cartridge pockets get only 95% or so clean and just don't seem to get much cleaner on repeated cycles through the cleaner. At that point I just finish the pockets manually with a couple quick swipes with a pocket cleaning brush.

For drying, on sunny days, I just lay them out in the sun on a cookie sheet. In the winter, I put them on the cookie sheet in a 175 degree oven, with the over door about a third open for about 20 minutes.

I plan on trying some of the cleaners mentioned above once my One Shot cleaner runs out.

 

[Broz]

I like clean cases and my Lapua brass last so long I get a pretty large build up of burnt powder inside. So I prefer them cleaned to keep them consistent. I also feel there is a value in clean primer pockets. The old way I cleaned them was a PITA. I used a vibratory tumbler with corn cob, walnut shells and such, then I bought a ultrasonic heated cleaner. Then had to brush inside and pockets by hand. Finally , I went with the STM stainless media tumbler. It is the way to go if you want clean brass in and out even in the primer pockets.!!!! Hands down!!! Love it and now the vibratory media and ultrasonic cleaners are dust catchers. My brass looks new for every loading. Drying is no big deal to me. They only now need to tumble 4 hours instead of overnight. Then I sit them upside down in a loading block. I anneal too so there is no worries of dampness. In 40 years of hand loading I finally have a system that pleases me and is just as fast as any I used before.

Jeff

 

[Boss Hoss]

Broz----EVERY SINGLE person who has one of these says the same thing. One is on my short list!

 

[Broz]

Broz----EVERY SINGLE person who has one of these says the same thing. One is on my short list!

Here are before and after pics of my first batch. 338 LM brass with probably a dozen firings and very dirty inside.

Before:

After 4 hrs in the STM tumbler. Just as clean inside as out.

Close up of how the pockets look every time.

 

[rick523]

Broz,
Any idea how well that system would work on .223 cases I always seem to have 2-3000 of those to clean after a trip to the PD fields? Think I will put this on my list to Santa. Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you an your family.

 

[Broz]

Broz,
Any idea how well that system would work on .223 cases I always seem to have 2-3000 of those to clean after a trip to the PD fields? Think I will put this on my list to Santa. Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you an your family.

I haven't doe any .223 but I have done 6mm br and they were equally clean. The stainless pins are very small and get in everywhere. So I feel it would work well on all cases. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.

Jeff

 

[Boss Hoss]

Ok--now it is on my very Short List!!!! WOW those are clean!!

 

[dbhostler]

All brass I have cleaned in my SS tumbler come perfectly clean including .223 Rem cases. But the real reason I went with SS was to remove the residue inside the cases as well as the primer pockets, which it does.
db

 

[BountyHunter]

I went to the STM stainless pins and they come out like new.

Matter of fact, I sent 3 cases to neal jones to test as he was tweaking a die he called me all huffy that I had sent him virgin unfired cases. He could not believe these were fired cases. Said he is going to have to get one!

BH