Ultrasonic cleaning tips please

[bradaz11]

Yeah i did. Around £100 posted
Mines lasted at least 2 years so far
I did have to spend a few hours comparing though. There were two different motor sizes for one weight of drum. The unit auto reverses after about 30 secs too which is handy.

[phaedra1106]

If you want a wet tumbler either A: make your own (plenty of "how to's" online) or shell out (pun!) and get a decent one that will last, Thumblers B, Rebel 17, Lyman Cyclone, Frankford Arsenal Platignum or the new RCBS which should be out later in the year.

I've had a Thumblers, switched to the Rebel 17 (better drum and bearings) and now use a 7L Frankford Arsenal I brought back from the USA, it's a little bit slower than the Rebel 17 but was less than half the price :)

[Oddbod]

I have a Frankford wet tumbler over in the US that's had a fair workout since I bought it 18 months ago.
It's done at least 5,000 .38/.357 cases, 4,000+ .45 ACP & more than 8,000 7.62x51
I use 50ml of Dawn dish washing liquid & half a teaspoon of Lemi Shine dishwasher booster, which is pretty much citric acid powder with added lemon oil for the smell.
The biggest pain was separating the pins from the brass but a home made separator built from a couple of chip pan baskets does the job.

Before & after:

The 7.62 brass was mostly Indian surplus & really tarnished. Came out like new except for the primer pockets holding a little residue.
Oh & there's some .44 brass in with the 7.62 as it's NOT a good mix with .38/.357 brass...

[bradaz11]

and get a decent one that will last, Thumblers B, Rebel 17, Lyman Cyclone, Frankford Arsenal Platignum or the new RCBS

the plastic drum is pretty robust, plus it is a bit of a bonus you can see what is going on.
as for the rest, it's a motor driving a shaft. not exactly a lot to go wrong there.
why pay all the extra money for a name? or fancy bearings?

[rox]

How many .308 cases can you get in a FART?

..

[Oddbod]

How many .308 cases can you get in a FART?

..

I'm guessing you mean the Frankford rotary tumbler.

If that's it, I run 400 at a time.

Or 800 .45APC, 1,000 .38spl, 900 .357...

The tumbler takes 10lb of brass & there are lists of cases per lb to make things easy.

[dirtbag]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-too ... 36083.html

I have one like this, there's some different sizes, but this is about the size I have. other bits are;

fairy liquid
citric acid crystals off ebay £5
pins - https://www.1967spud.com/shop/stm-tumblers/pins/
and a media separator
magnet pickup tool probably

pins in tumbler, brass in, fill 3/4 with water, squirt of fairy liquid, 1/4 tsp of citric acid. run for 20 mins. drain, separate, rinse, dry
done

Hi - I normally clean 50 cases at a time. Will a 3KG machine be enough ?

[ovenpaa]

I used to use James Sea Clean in my ultrasonic cleaner. These days we use a LEM cleaner which uses stainless micro pins. It was expensive however it does a good job and is quick to use which was the number one priority for us.

[kennyc]

I used to use James Sea Clean in my ultrasonic cleaner. These days we use a LEM cleaner which uses stainless micro pins. It was expensive however it does a good job and is quick to use which was the number one priority for us.

+1 for seaclean which is available from maplin, I also used hot water in the cleaner. To get the cases shiny I use a standard vibratory tumbler

[TattooedGun]

I wrote this a while ago when I'd not long had my ultrasonic cleaners.

It may be useful.

http://blog.stegough.com/ultrasonic-cle ... ass-cases/