My experience with my ultrasonic cleaner vs tumbler

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Waterboy3313

Waterboy3313

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Redding CA
I will start this off by saying I haven't been on here lately and I have not been at the range as much as usual. The other day I decided to buy a cheap ebay tumbler and some stainless steel pins. About $80 total investment from ebay to my door step.

I have been reloading for about 2 years with a pretty minimal investment. I have also been using a $50 ebay ultrasonic cleaner since I started reloading. The ultrasonic cleaner with my homebrew concoction had done a fairly decent cleaning my cases.

My range has decomposed granite where you set up and shoot from. My spent cases seem to blend in quite well after they have hit the ground. Making them hard to find after emptying a magazine.
I am not a snob by any means and as long as the cases are clean reload them again and again.

I decided for the sake of easier retrieval to try to make them more shiny so they will hopefully stand out better and be easier to spot. I spend probably about 3 times longer looking for my spent cases than I do pulling the trigger.

Today after work I decided to load up about 100 .223 cases that were already cleaned using the ultrasonic cleaner into the cheapo ebay tumbler. The timer maxes out at 60 min. I used my same ultrasonic cleaner homebrew and let it run.

I can not believe the difference it made on my cases. They look new or actually better than new than some of my factory junk. I feel like for the last two years I have been wasting my time with the ultrasonic cleaner.

I just thought I would pass this along in case some new reloader or even an experienced reloader was on the fence about what setup to go with. I can't see a reason to ever go back to the ultrasonic cleaner. IMG_20210308_173643761.jpg
 
I always thought the ultrasonic cleaner would come in handy for cleaning other gun parts. I have used it for cleaning my 1911 firing pin and extractor once. That was my argument for buying it over a tumbler. I'm sure over the next few days or weeks I will be tumbling all of my ultrasonic cleaned brass again. I always learn the hard way and this is just another lesson learned.
 
I went wet and never looked back.

A few yesrs back i built a large volume tumbler from scratch. I used apiece of diamond plate steel as the base. Mounted a slihhtly used furnace blower motor. Done the math to figure the pulleys in order to get the tumbling speed right. Mounted some bearing blocks and used some water pipe for the rollers. A small amount of wiring. Simple light switch and 3 prong plug. Drilled a hole in each corner and used 3" bolts and some extra nuts for adjusting the legs to fit on uneven surfaces. Wingnuts for adjustments of course. For the drum i used some 6" pvc for the body a neck down fitting to 4"and a removable cleanout plug that tightens wight a allen wrench. Of course i had to add agitation because brase doesn't tumble in a smooth surface so i split a 1" PVC pipe and mounted the 2 halves inside the drum. Also needed some friction so i used an old bicycle intertube and wrapped it onto the drum.

It was a little work i admit. But this thing is built for life. Bearings sre overkill with zerk fittings. The only thing likely to wear out is a belt or motor. Easily and cheaply replaced.

The drum internal volume is 1.7 gal. Ill share some pictures again of anyone is interested in building one and need some ideas. To be honest there is an easier way. But i had very little money involved in the build sonce most of the materials i had on hand.
 
Wet tumbleing is the best tumbleing method out there. I have all three, dry, ultra sonic and Frankford Arsonal Rotory Tumbler.

I liked the wet tumbleing so much I bought another unit. One for just wet tumbleing range brass with out pins just to clean the brass up to decap & resize.

My other wet tumbler is set up for final tumbleing with the pins.

There are guys who dry tumble and claim that is the best way to go.
What ever floats your boat.

You tried wet tumbleing verses ulta sonic and wet tumbleing is far superior.
Same with wet tumbleing verses dry tumbleing with corn cob or walnut hulls.
I have two dry tumblers and an ulta sonic cleaner that are sitting in boxes collecting dust.
 
Congratulations. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet, try it yourself without reading how good or bad it is and then decide. I find myself enjoying the bling when I open the tumbler.
I’m waiting for the “dry tumbling is superior post”.
 
The ultrasonic cleaner does a pretty good job. I clean my primer pockets by hand before they went into the cleaner. If I was doing a large batch my fingers would start to ache and it was quite time consuming. So I would bet from start to finish with the tumbler running longer it still would work out about the same amount of time.

The only complaint I have for the cheap tumbler is that the slowest speed seems a bit faster than I would prefer. Maybe removing some of the pins would allow for more rumbling action. Either way I'm happy with the results. I will probably run a load every day after work until I get all my previously ultrasonic cleaned brass tumbled.
 
I try not to confuse "clean" with "polished". My Ultrasonic cleaner does quite well in "cleaning" my spent cases. For nickel cases that don't discolor as easily as brass it does quite nicely. However, as with many others, there are times that I want that really high shine on my brass. It really comes down to individual preferences. There's no doubt that tumbling with pins does the best cleaning and polishing job. Nonetheless, I use it more for pistol cases than rifle. When I want to clean lube off my .223 or .300 Blk cases, ultrasonic does the trick in the shortest time, with the least effort.
Having said that, I shoot indoors, smooth concrete floor. If I were shooting outdoors, or in any environment where I could introduce abrasive elements to my pickup bag...then the FART to the rescue.
 
I made the switch from ultrasonic to wet tumbling with pins a couple months ago. Man I wish I would have started with wet tumbling. Brass even sizes easier. I have found out that if you have too many cases, or not enough "air gap" as said, it doesn't clean as well. You just have to play with how many cases and how much water etc... I would definitely recommend getting a media separator for the brass and pins. Helps tremendously. If you've already sent some brass through the ultrasonic, and want to tumble them, you don't have to use pins. It still does a very good job!
 
One has to consider the cleaning vrs polishing aspect of something like brass. To the op, try decapping those rounds then you’ll see clean and polished, primer pockets and all.
 
Washing brass in hot soap and water is the easiest, you would be surprised how much dirt that gets. I use it to remove case lube on rifle brass after sizing.
Me personally I don't like to get the brass wet till after the primer is out.
A vibrating tumbler with corn or walnut is kind of the minimum for outside cleanliness. Use it to knock the dirt off and out of cases and get the tarnished shells clean enough to size and deprime.
Main disadvantage is it plugs up the primer pocket with media if you tumble deprimed brass.
An ultrasonic cleaner removes some soot from inside the case and the primer pocket. It's definitely better than a soap and water wash. It doesn't do squat to clean off tarnish.
The ultimate is wet "rock tumbling" with stainless steel pins.

I use soap and water, dry media vibrating tumbler, ultrasonic cleaner and a wet stainless steel pin "rock tumbler". It just depends on how dirty the brass is and if it's for rifle or pistol.

I have black tarnished range pickup brass that looks new now. It took a while to get there, but it's nice now.
 
Just started my second batch of .223. I am reusing my cleaning solution again just for S&Gs. I would run two to 3 loads of brass in the ultrasonic cleaner depending on how many cases and dirty. Only difference here is the loss of liquid that was lost between dumping the cases and what stuck with the previous cases. I did notice the slightly lower water line on the tumbler seems to help with that wave previously mentioned.
I guess in about an hour I will see if I have good results again or hopefully even better.

I don't have any really dirty brass at the time. I am all caught up on my reloading at this point. Hoping for good weather this coming weekend to make more dirty brass.
 
I dry tumble, and they come out pretty good. after all case prep - I wash them again in hot soapy water, and dry before loading.
 
Cheap solution for wet tumbling is auto wash and wax (be generous with the amount) and citric acid.
Too much acid is bad, how much depends on the size of your tumbler and water PH. (there is some wiggle room)
I use between a 9mm and .45ACP case full.

You can get citric acid at the grocery store in the canning section a small jar is about $6.
I got tired of getting it there and just ordered 5lb from amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Milliard-Citric-Acid-Pound-VERIFIED/dp/B00EYFKNL8/ref=sr_1_5?crid=207ISGCT6UCVS&dchild=1&keywords=citric+acid&qid=1615335576&sprefix=citri,aps,230&sr=8-5
$15 (2 lbs was $10 so for $5 more you get another 3 lbs)
5 lbs is enough to last me a long time......

As far as wash and wax I just use what's on sale. (usually Turtle in my stores). I have used 3 or 4 different flavors and all seem about the same. (make sure it does say wash and wax not just wash)
The wax in the wash and wax helps keep the cases from tarnishing and makes sizing a little easier.
I still give pistol cases a little shot of lube as I normally deprime/resize say a 1000 at a time and a little lube makes things go smoother.;)

I remember the first batch I did in my wet tumbler, I ran brass that had already dry tumbled.
When I dumped out the water :eek: :cuss:all that was still on my brass.:what:

As a side note my range has nasty 40-80 grit dirt so I rinse the cases and do a 1/2 hour run with pins, dry then resize/deprime at a later date then run again for 1 hour.
(which gets the primer pockets clean as well)
In the winter I just dry the cases inside on an old towel for a day or two in the summer when it's over 100 here in the sun they dry really quick. (and can get almost to hot to touch)

Wet with pins is maybe a tad more work but well worth it IMO.
I held off spending the money for a wet tumbler (I got a Lyman Cyclone) thinking how much better can it be. Answer is lots. Money well spent IMO.
The nice shiny brass with clean primer pockets may not shoot any better but it makes me :).
 
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I just bought a new camaro ss a few months ago. I spent a lot of money on car cleaning supplies as it is black and the carwash is not an option. I will have to double check my carwash but I'm pretty sure it's not a wash and wax. I actually bought wax to apply in a separate coat. It gets nasty hot here (up over 110*-115* in the summer) so I bought a dedicated wax to apply to a car that I drive 2 days week. It sits in the garage out of the sun. I will have to find some wash and wax for the brass.

My second load tumbled looks pretty good. I didn't bother counting my cases but I did dump the remainder of my .233 cases in. I pulled them out rinsed thoroughly and rolled around on a micro fiber towel. I'm in no hurry to reload as my range cases are fully stocked with enough to probably finish the year out. I still do have a boat load of 9mm, 45acp, 38spl and 357 mag to tumble. If I can run a load through the tumbler every day this week and spend a lot of times next weekend I should be able to finish my brass.

Tomorrow is another day I might change up my cleaning solution a bit and see how it turns out. So far I'm happy and I'm glad I made the change. The last time I bought factory .223 I was rather disappointed with the look of the cases they were very full and just didn't look like what I expected new factory brass to look like. My brass is looking better even though it's been fired at least one time if not several.

My whole concern for tumbling is to make it shiny and easier to see when picking it up off the ground. I'm thinking what I am doing is working much better with less effort and I will say it again I am much happier so far.
 
I too went with a wet tumbler (Lyman Cyclone) about a year ago and I love it. I decap the brass I intend to clean on a cheap Lee press with a universal decapping die and throw it in the wet tumbler, comes out looking like new. A few words of caution, though. Make sure there is no lead in with your brass. It will make a nasty mess. (Watch that "free brass" your friend gives you) Try to tumble one size of brass at a time. Pistol and rifle cartridges love to nest while tumbling and the addition of stainless steel pins makes things...sticky. Not fun. Also, +1 on allowing enough "air gap" Congratulations!
 
Wreck-n-Crew said:
I went wet and never looked back.

A few yesrs back i built a large volume tumbler from scratch. I used apiece of diamond plate steel as the base. Mounted a slihhtly used furnace blower motor. Done the math to figure the pulleys in order to get the tumbling speed right. Mounted some bearing blocks and used some water pipe for the rollers. A small amount of wiring. Simple light switch and 3 prong plug. Drilled a hole in each corner and used 3" bolts and some extra nuts for adjusting the legs to fit on uneven surfaces. Wingnuts for adjustments of course. For the drum i used some 6" pvc for the body a neck down fitting to 4"and a removable cleanout plug that tightens wight a allen wrench. Of course i had to add agitation because brase doesn't tumble in a smooth surface so i split a 1" PVC pipe and mounted the 2 halves inside the drum. Also needed some friction so i used an old bicycle intertube and wrapped it onto the drum.

It was a little work i admit. But this thing is built for life. Bearings sre overkill with zerk fittings. The only thing likely to wear out is a belt or motor. Easily and cheaply replaced.

The drum internal volume is 1.7 gal. Ill share some pictures again of anyone is interested in building one and need some ideas. To be honest there is an easier way. But i had very little money involved in the build sonce most of the materials i had on hand.
Click to expand...

external-content.duckduckgo.com.gif
 
Come on guys.....this is a bling thread.....more pictures! :)

Jesse beat me too it.....so I'll be first....maybe...

9mm-Bling.jpg

Above: 9mm with a Thumblers and S.S. pins, Lemishine, Dawn, and cold water....40 S&W below:

IMG-2747.jpg

Clean/Bling puts me in a good mood.....I shoot better when I'm in a good mood.....
 
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All the above is good looking brass. I got home today with a little extra time before my wife got home from work. This little extension if my free time allowed me to run two loads of 45acp through the tumbler. Again the brass was previously ultrasonic cleaned some time ago within the last two to three months. I changed the cleaning solution and used a little less water.

I noticed with less fluid in the tumbler I got a better tumbling effect. I was almost able to click up the speed another notch. The brass I ran through tonight was once fired and looked pretty good as it was. When it was finished it looked way better than I thought possible. I'm very happy with my results. A little tweak here and there and I'm still learning but my brass is absolutely great looking now.

I really need a media separator of some kind now to speed up the unloading of the drum. I tried a magnet tonight and quickly went back to hand sorting. I don't know what it's called but I was imagining a kitchen utensil that has a handle and a fine wire mesh setup. I know what it looks like but I can't tell it's official name. I know there is one somewhere in my kitchen that my wife has not used in years. Before she was home I literally opened every drawer and almost every cabinet looking for it. If I could find it I know she would never notice it was gone. Maybe a flour sifter would accomplish the same thing.

The wife bought me a salad spinner a while back but I accidentally destroyed it after it fell off the top shelf of my reloading bench. I will have to refine my process. Once I'm finally caught up and will only be tumbling cases right after firing it won't be a big deal.
 
If I could find it I know she would never notice it was gone
Click to expand...

Danger danger danger!
Go to the store and buy your own. Do not take your wife's.
Heck I know this and I have never been married!

Married people please chime in to warn him about the above foolish and dangerous plan before it's to late.:D

If you have a $.99 store check there. I use a Frankford media separator but something like this might
work. The holes need to let the pins thru easy and catch the brass.
upload_2021-3-10_20-50-37.png
 
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