Ultrasonic+Citranox=Fail

[RN]

Don't know why I let myself be talked into buying one of these Harbor Frieight Ultrasonic Cleaners! I steel tumble my brass with fantastic results and a buddy of mine assured me that I could even achieve better results with this combo.Not!

The pic below shows my first attempt next to some "dirty" brass and as you can see the pistol brass came out better but the rifle brass looks very strange. Almost scuffed or like it had baked on wax or something..

I did a lot of research and the Citranox is supposed to be pretty good stuff and is not cheap so maybe I am doing something wrong.Any ideas?

 

[hAkron]

Were the scuff marks already on the brass from hitting the ground at the range, and now they are more visable?

I have an ultrasonic cleaner. I almost never use it, but since I mostly load for hand gun, I don't have the same primer pocket concerns as a rifle shooter. When I did use it though I remember that it took a long time to heat up, and if I didn't wait for it to heat up, the results were not as good. Also I had to degauss it or get the bubbles out or something (there was a button for it) or else the sonic action didn't work. Lastly if there is too much brass in the cleaner it won't work well either.

For me and my purposes, a 1-2 hour spin in a full tumbler of lizard litter and Nu-Finish car wax is about as clean as I need to be, so a sonic cleaner isn't so useful for me.

 

[FROGO207]

I tumble with the SS pins and Lemishine/Dawn with great results. Had no desire to try anything else. I never thought a US cleaner could clean as well as the pins rubbing against the brass in a true tumbler. I bet someone that is using walnut or corn cob will buy the US cleaner from you so you can recoup your cost.
on another note I would research anything suspect your buddy suggests in the future before jumping in. YMMV

 

[ksimons]

A ultrasonic cleaner will never beat a tumbler with SS pins to get your brass shinny. That said I de-prime, ultrasonic clean, size and the they go in a vibratory for a few hours to make them shinny. I know extra steps. I like running clean brass through my dies. I have well water and it leaves water spots on brass so not sure if a tumbler would work for me for that reason. I suppose I could use bottled water

 

[RN]

I hear all of you and live and learn I guess..I run a pretty nice setup so this was really just a new toy because I can't seem to leave well enough alone..:banghead: I will find a use for the ultrasonic in the BCG/Slide dept I'm guessing so it should be a total loss..

I had high hopes for the Citranox as its supposed to be a REALLY GOOD brass cleaner so to be fair I have the same brass tumbling right now with Citranox in place of my usual Lemishine mix.. I will post the results..

 

[rsrocket1]

I hear you. I started experimenting with the big HF US cleaner and found that for true ultrasonic cleaning action, I could not clean more than 18 45ACP cases per session. Brass is a great absorber of ultrasonic energy and loading any more than that turns the cleaning into simple vibratory action. You might as well dump them in a bucket of Simple Green and swirl. The transducers in the HF cleaner is simply not strong enough for proper cleaning of brass in decent quantities. It sure cleans jewelry nice though.

I exchanged the cleaner for their vibratory tumbler and haven't looked back. Several hundred rounds in a couple of hours, dump 'em in, set the lamp timer, turn it on and leave the garage.

A used medical/dental US cleaner might be powerful enough, but unless you can find a free one or get it priced ridiculously cheap, you are better off with a vibratory cleaner or wet SS pin system.

 

[Rule3]

Even though Harbor Freight sells mostly "inferior" products they have a good return policy,

Don't like it, take it back.

 

[RN]

Well as expected, Ultrasonic is no substitute for steel pin tumbling..Although I am disappointed in the Ultrasonic cleaner I am VERY happy with the performance of the Citranox when used in my tumbler..Pic below..

From left to right..(3 Tumbled "Citranox" Brass, 2 Sonic Cleaned Brass, 2 "dirty" Brass)

 

[ETXhiker]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner and was very disappointed with the results at first. I found (as someone else has said) that it cleaned much better if I put only half as many cases at a time as it could hold. My brass looks decent now, but still not as good as it would if a tumbler was used. On the up side, ultrasonic is quicker and easier.

 

[Rule3]

It may just be the brand of cleaner and not the machine. Look up the MSDS it is Citric Acid as is most of the liquid cleaners used with SS pins.

You can make your own solution with pure citric acid and some dish detergent. Many use Lem Shine but it is expensive.

There is no "magic"

Go here and buy pure Citric acid. Free shipping. 1 lb will last a long time.

https://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=citric

 

[joem1945]

I thought a ultra sonic cleaner would be better. It is not faster or does a better job that rotary tumblers. I did refill it with some diesel, red ATF, some KOIL and some Hoppies # 9. I now use it to clean gun parts. I put a pistol in it for 8 mins and all the carbon, old grease and crud was flushed out. Better and faster than cleaning by hand. I wouldn't use the heater cause it gets really hot, fire hazzard I think. It's my go to for cleaning guns. Wish I bought a really big one but they cost a arm, leg and then some more.

 

[RN]

Rule..Yep, I use the same LemiShine Recipe but I figured it was worth giving the Citranox a shot..It works well, Really well in fact..It comes in a liter and only takes about a Tsp to get the brass VERY clean and even though it's critic acid in some form, it cleans much faster. I can run my brass for about 45 min and it's good to go..

Jo...That's the plan buddy..The ultrasonic will be used for cleaning items that I just can't get to with a brush..I think it will fair well in that role..

 

[Elkins45]

My HF ultrasonic cleaner paid for itself by cleaning a couple of small 2-cycle engine carbs. I never even thought about using it for brass.

 

[MEHavey]

Walnuts is good enuf <sic>
and cases don't need to dry out.

 

[TBJK]

It looks like the steel pins basically lined up side by side & stayed that way. IE brass & pins stayed in the same location for a majority of the time.

 

[noylj]

Ultrasonic is 4-12 times faster than SS pins, but can't shine as well--as though shiny means anything.
Whether SS pins or ultrasonic, the use of hot water, some Dawn, and citric acid is about the best cleaner/polish you'll find.
The best ultrasonic cleaners are either small enough that you can easily pick them up and pour out the cleaning solution or have a drain valve. The latter will handle a lot more cases.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Get rid of everything and buy a can of Never-Dull.

Never-Dull NEVER fails to bring out the shine in brass! I learned that way early in my Navy career!

Of course, there's a little bit more manual labor involved and it takes a lot longer to polish 500 casings inside and out...