Worth it or not?

Many Thanks

HBH

I have one and have used it only on trigger groups that need a good thorough cleaning. I haven't yet tried it on brass. I can say that it does a bang up job of gun parts though. Sorry i can't be more help

I like US cleaners. I have been using a Harbor Freight one for awhile doing brass and have been very successful.

I have only done small batches in a beaker in the machine and with a 1% citric solution they are clean in one 8 minute cycle. I started because annealing after tumbling gave me a poor discolored finish where with US cleaning they look nice after annealing. And being clean inside is nice even though it probably adds nothing to accuracy but might add something to consistent neck tension, I don't know.

I have seen where some folks have not so good results when filling the machine with a couple hundred bottle necks but I have yet to try it. I am sure there is a big difference in the horse power of the machines.

GD

I like mine for cleaning gun parts as mentioned but I find it takes a long time to really clean brass.

Annealing is supposed to leave a 'fired' finish. This actually slows oxidation of the brass and is required on military brass.
Why would any one do more than tumble for 30 minutes?
I have an old ultrasonic cleaner, and a small squirt of Dawn and some Lemi-Shine (citric acid, I believe) will "clean" the cases. They aren't shiny, but almost all primer residue and internal case residue is gone. However, that residue is of no significance to the loaded rounds and isn't needed. Then, you have wet cases to dry.
I only see a "need" to spend money on things that actually impact the group size or prolong the life of my gun.
Even annealing seems worthless to me, unless you need to prolong the life of nearly one-of-a-kind cases.

For cleaning brass, I have 4 tumblers. I use Ground corn cob and after about 4-5 hours, it removes the resizing lube and makes them look ok. If I want that new brass look, I leave them in the tumbler for 8 hours. shiny and clean.

they are the cat's ass for cleaning BP cases and AR bolts and bolt carriers.

I am primarily interested in how well they do at cleaning brass. I am considering one of the models from Hornady,any help greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

HBH

quote:

Originally posted by HBH:
I am primarily interested in how well they do at cleaning brass. I am considering one of the models from Hornady,any help greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

HBH

The sonic cleaners are great. Lyman or Hornady, they do what they advertise. Air pockets inside the cases while cleaning is their only problem. Air inside the cases, screws up the cleaning process.

My complaint about them is the tank isn’t deep enough. Cartridges like 7mm Mag, 300, and longer, are hard to get all the air out of, in their shallow tanks.

The chemical solution that both Hornady and Lyman offer for brass cleaning is just concentrated Citric Acid. The metal cleaning solution is totally different, It’s a little on the Hazmat side of Stuff.

As for brass cases. After you clean them in the sonic cleaner, if you want them shiny, you need the tumble them in plain walnut shells.

I've been using an ultrasonic cleaner for my brass for several months now and am real happy with the results, I'm not a high volume shooter, so this method won't be for you if you are, but cleaning small batches that will fit in the beaker work excellent, 20 7mm-08 fit with room to spare. I deprime with a Lee universal decapper, then place the cases inside a Kimax beaker as described in the 6mmBr article. Add just enough Birchwood/Casey case cleaner mix to cover the cases, then run them in the machine for 3 minutes, rinse good, then run them in water for 8 minutes. While it's running, preheat your over to 200º, rinse again and make sure all the water is dumped out of each case, lay them on a paper towel on a cookie sheet and place in the oven, turn the heat off, they'll be dry in less the 30 minutes. These are once fired Federal 7mm-08, the results speak for themselves. The cases in the 6mmBr article are 4x fired, so they took a lot longer to clean.

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

Agreed, wrongtarget. They are clean and I do not tumble because they are "shiny" enough for me. I have had some loaded for several weeks sitting in a block on the bench and they still have no visible adverse effects from the US cleaning with citric. No finger prints or discoloring of the brass from any oxidation is visible. Yes I am sure they will dull over time but that is expected like all brass does and I agree shiny does not shoot better.

As for annealing I prefer to collet die neck size and wish to have consistent neck tension when done. The only way I personally achieve this is to anneal and use a consistent size mandrel in the collet die. Under sized mandrels will work but with excessive spring back I never know what ID I will end up with. To each his own. I anneal when spring back gives me inconsistent neck IDs or not the ID I am looking for with out changing mandrel or "guessing" by backing off the die with a small mandrel. Easier to anneal, at least for me. I do not mind the annealed look at all (Lapua brass?), I just do not want the burned carbon mottled gray that is left before I US cleaned. Just my preference and I like the therapy reloading gives me by getting lost in it and not thinking about other things..

Good luck

GD

I use the HF model (same as the Lyman model with out the stainless basket). I clean after sizing and depriming, generally one step. I don't use beakers or anything special. Put 150-200 or so .223 cases in the cleaner with a few drops of Dawn and a little LemiShine (about a .40 cal case or so). As mentioned get the air bubles out of the cases when you put them in. Run them for 3 or 4 runs, stir between cycles, getout any air bubles after stirring.

Hints, less brass cleans faster/better. More water takes longer also. Every batch or two add a little more LemiShine and Dawn. Rinse well after cleaning. I remove the cases from the cleaner with a slotted spoon and put them in a collander. Rinse well with tap water and shake out water then dump them onto a towel and shake them to get out more water. Then dry them over night on a cookie sheet. I clean 3 or 4 batches in a night then prime them a couple days later. Primed brass is stored in a ziptop bag and loaded in batches.

Thanks Guys!!

I kept watching for someone to report n these things, but finally had to ask.

Do you think the bigger Hornady any better than the smaller one?

Many Thanks..

HBH

I have the small Hornady and it works great. Like others on this thread have said it does take quite a few cycles to get them clean. The only other real downside is the time it takes cases to dry after rinsing them off. Getting primer pockets cleaner requires use of a primer pocket tool.

I'm pleased with mine and don't have to mess with tumblers and media. If you want them shinier or to get case necks cleaner then just use 0000 steel wool after cases are dry.

quote:

Originally posted by HBH:
I am primarily interested in how well they do at cleaning brass. I am considering one of the models from Hornady,any help greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

HBH

I just did my first batch of 338-378 Wby cases with it and it did a fantastic job. Clean and shiny inside and out. Not a polished (mirror finish) mind you but looks mostly like new factory brass. The primer pockets are clean, the insides are clean and the outsides are clean, what can I say. I rinsed the cases in a water then let them soak a couple of mins in acetone to remove the water and then let them air dry. With acetone that takes all of 10 seconds .

Ken....

The acetone idea is excellent. Thanks.