Ultrasonic cleaners, Your Thoughts?

[Peter M. Eick]

I am looking for a reward for a long hitch in the middle east but I don't want to pick up another gun (yes, it must be heat still cooking in my head...).

I have often thought about buying one of the L&R ultrasonics to clean my revolvers and semi-auto's (Pre-War N frames and H&K P7's are the ones I am worried about). I clean with Mpro7 so the change will not be a big deal other then just watching it do its thing. I know from the prior posts I will still have to scrub, clean the barrel and relube the gun.

I have used the search and found a bunch of information, but I am looking for that insight you all might have.

Is this a neat tool that I will kick myself for months because I did not buy it earlier or will it be relegated to the top shelf and only used once a year because it does not do a better job then normally?

 

[kirbythegunsmith]

Details

I use ultrasonic cleaners in my shop for reduction in manual efforts, to gently remove stubborn old deposits, and to reach into areas not easily accessed by other methods.

Not having to be continually exposed to excess grit, fouling, and cleaning solutions is a welcome prospect to the skin.

I have used these for over 14 years, and have been selling them to other shops for almost as long. I have the CREST brand on hand, and have used them for a number of years without a problem.

I like the fact that they are all stainless, (no painted metal or plastic housing) are made in the USA, and are very good in the cost to benefit ratio. They are available with or without heat, and I have the accessory baskets, beakers, and more.

One guy recently bought one to clean clockworks from classic Mantel clocks for a refurbishing business he runs. He stated that he was kicking himself for not buying one from me a year before when I gave him a live example demonstration. He had been manually frittering his time away that whole time. When you have 30 or 40 clocks in various stages of rework, hands-on time is costly.

Ultrasonic machines pay you back every time that they run and save you time and grief. There are a few situations where they are not a good choice or can damage components by aggressive cleaning solutions that are incompatible with certain materials or conditions. I have advice available for customers to minimize potential problems.

Regardless of what you do, good luck with your new-found free time. Just don't let your friends con you into doing their stuff with the new toy, at least, not if they won't help with that new deck you want to construct, right?

[email protected]

Ultrasonic Cleaning and Sales (St.Louis area yellow pages) 636-282-1183

 

[1 old 0311]

I made my own, sort of. I use a Tupperwear container with mineral spirits and the top on securely. I put it on top of the washing machine and let it go. Does a great job, and doesn't un-glue night sights.

 

[chris allen]

ultra sonic cleaners

I have cleaned thousands of pistols in the course of my job as an armourer,and they save time and do a better job by getting into places we physicaly cannot get to.The problem with them is price.I also own one of my own and when it dies I will buy another.

Chris

 

[JNewell]

I have been extremely satisfied. You do have to be aware that guns come out totally stripped of lube. You also need to think about what you use for "cleaner." I think the best choice is the (somewhat expensive) dedicated product. I have heard good things about MPro 7 but never tried it. I would recommend against:

(1) anything that's mostly water, for blued surfaces - the water + the little air bubbles can cause rust (usually light)

(2) Simple Green, for anything that's got aluminum parts in it - the aluminum will attack the finish and the underlying metal.

These are huge labor savers. I got mine at a very good discount as an open box return from a dental supply distributor. I have heard of people getting them for free from dentists who replaced their (working) units with a newer/bigger model.

Oh, a buying tip - do the math based on the *basket* size, not the gross cavity size. You will probably need one size larger than you would have first thought! Well worth the investment.

 

[Jim K]

When faced with cleaning guns like the Browning Auto 5 and Winchester 94, not to mention Remington Model 8's and the like, the ultrasonic cleaner is a real blessing for everyone. Detail stripping an Auto 5 can take a couple of hours, and another couple of hours to put it back together, where the ultrasonic cleaner requires only that the wood be removed and some of the bigger pieces (like the trigger group) be removed. The rest is pushing a button. And the customer gets his gun back in a day or so, as opposed to a week or more waiting for the shop "Auto 5 expert" to work on it.

Jim

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Ok, you have convinced me.

I will get on the internet and look at ordering one up this weekend.

A couple of quick questions though:
1) Heated vs. non-heated?
2) I assume bigger is better because you can put more in?
3) I interpret that after Mpro7 I must "dunk and soak" in lubricant after the ultrasonic correct?

I am looking at either the HCS-200 or Q140 by L&R. There is a big difference in price though. The 200 is about 400$ and the Q140 is about 900$.

 

[Rex B]

Along the lines of the Tupperware and washing machine, I have heard of people using an old 15" woofer cone for agitation. Just crank in Blues or Beethoven, depending on the job/mood.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I am curious how a 15" woofer would get to ultrasonic frequencies?

I thought woofers like that would top out around 250 hz unless you are dealing with the harmonics. Now if you wanted to get a piezo tweater that can do about 24,000 hz, that might work but I am just guessing.

 

[chris allen]

ultra sonic

Check on the out put of the transducers --- they are not all the same.
Definitely get the heated,I bought non heated,work has heated, and I regret not buying the heated version.

Chris

 

[JNewell]

Heated, definitely. The heat helps cut the crud, I think, and it definitely helps the parts dry (we'll use quotes around that if you follow me to the third answer below).

Like cars and trucks, you almost always wind up wanting more space than you bought. Bigger is better.

You are going to have to relube afterwards, thoroughly. You could probably do so without dunking...or you could dunk...or L&R makes a lube solution for the U/S cleaner. I haven't tried it personally but I have fired guns that came out of it and they seemed to work fine...either way, you are going to have to get the excess off/out, especially if there's wood anywhere on the gun. I re-lube manually with my chosen lubes in those Brownells needle bottles.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Thanks guys. I will sit down tomorrow and hunt up the best buy for a heated unit.

 

[Pweller]

One other tip

I have used ultrasonic cleaners for years. They can be a bit noisy, and so once I got the idea to make a box to cover the thing to keep it quiet.

I had some of the 1" rigid insulation laying around (foil on the outside, rigid foam on the inside), and so I made a box (with the bottom open, obviously) that would fit overtop of the cleaner. This cuts down the buzz from the machine.

The suprising development was that it was also very effective at warming the solution, without using a heater. I agree that a warm solution works best, but I never use the heater on my machine. It's just easier and faster to turn it on and cover it with the box. The solution will get warm after about 15 minutes or so of the machine running.

You might also look and see what some of the jewelry supply companies have to offer. I think I saw RioGrande had some nice looking units for not a lot of money.

 

[mrmeval]

The washer or speaker would be a vibratory cleaner but of a lower frequency. Since ultrasonics clean better you don't see these other kind mentioned.
http://areindustries.com/stdshakers.html

Of course some people is clazy
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-7721.html