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Case cleaning

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supertool73 View Drop Down
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    Posted: April/03/2017 at 11:58
Whats the best way to clean cases.

I now have Ultrasonic and vibratory and my dad has a stainless media wet tumbler.  How do they compare to each other.

Vibratory tumbler uses corn cob or walnut hulls etc.  I have been using one of those for 15 years.  They clean ok, at least on the outside.  They don't touch the primer pockets or do much on the inside of the case.  They often times leave dust on the cases which drives me nuts, sometimes I rinse them in water after they are cleaned.  They also take a loooooong time to get the cases really nice.  I often run them from 4 to 8 hours.  Downsides are time, dust, and having to clean out the media that gets stuck in the flash hole.  You need one of these though, if you like to polish your rounds after loading.  I do this often as I load on a progressive and resize at that time, so I have lube on the cases and like to get them clean.  So I vibrate live rounds often. 

Stainless media wet tumbler.  Overall this one cleans the best hands down.  2 hours in the machine and the brass comes out completely clean and shiny.  However is is a pain to dumps all the pin out of the brass.  .223 brass are the worst, then you have to let them dry for 2 days before you can reload.  (unless you have a way to speed it up)

Ultrasonic.  This one cleans I would say 98% as good as the Stainless media.  It doesn't get the burnt black mark off the flash hole.  But the rest of the case inside and out are completely clean.  It takes 20 minutes in the cleaner to get them that clean.  There is no media of any sort to have to clean out.  You just rinse them it water shake them around in the basket to get as much water out as you can and let them dry for two days. 

Overall the Untrasonic is the best IMO.  You get nearly all the cleaning of the wet tumbler with only 1/6 of the time spent cleaning.  Best part is you don't have to deal with the media at all.  Just rinse and dry.

I am going to purchase a Hornady parts dryer next.  It claims 2.5 hours to dry them. 

Here is a pic of the flash hole.  Other than that bit of black the rest of it is very clean in the ultrasonic. 



These are some of my 22-250 brass I have converted to 6.5 creed.  All fire formed.




Edited by supertool73 - April/03/2017 at 12:14
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JLud View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JLud Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 12:03
Good info, appreciate it.  I was actually looking at ultrasonic recently and this may push me off the edge.  

Quit suggesting things darn it you get me spending too much money Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 12:11
Left image is Stainless media at 2 hours.  Right pic is corn cob at 6 hours.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 12:13
Originally posted by JLud JLud wrote:

Good info, appreciate it.  I was actually looking at ultrasonic recently and this may push me off the edge.  

Quit suggesting things darn it you get me spending too much money Wink


Get the Hornady Hot Tub.  You can fit an AR 15 upper in it.  I am loving it, it makes cleaning my guns and brass so easy. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bigdaddy0381 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 12:30
stainless media and be done. I. I have a tumbler and a ultrasonic.  A buddy if mine ha the stainless media and it is the sh*t. he used a towel and his oven to try them. I will have one once I can save up the coin.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 12:39
I think for the really dirty and ugly ones, like range brass the stainless would be the best option.  But brass that is shot and picked up by me without getting in the dirt or mud the ultrasonic is the quicker option and cleans just about as good.  The difference is almost zilch. 

They are both great options IMO.  I will continue to use all 3.  When I get in load mode, I will load 1000s and 1000s of rounds in a short time.  So I have to clean a lot and hopefully in a hurry. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JLud Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 13:05
I was looking at the 2L sized Hornady one for like 85 bucks.  Looked up the dryer and it confirmed what i was thinking in my head...i will use the food dehydrator that my wife uses for a cabinet decoration.

If only i could find a reloading purpose for the expensive ass kitchenaid mixer i bought her that thing might get some use as well!
That thing on the left....my old ride, some days I miss her.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 13:12
Haha,thats funny.  I just ordered a food dehydrator on Amazon instead of the Hornady thing.  I liked that it had a timer and a temp controller vs the hornady.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 13:14
Originally posted by J J wrote:


If only i could find a reloading purpose for the expensive ass kitchenaid mixer i bought her that thing might get some use as well!


When you buy different lots of the same powder you need to mix them so your lot will last longer.  I did it in a 5 gal bucket with five 8 lb jugs of varget.  A mixer might be a good tool for that.  Big Grin
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/03/2017 at 15:22
Originally posted by supertool73 supertool73 wrote:

Haha,thats funny.  I just ordered a food dehydrator on Amazon instead of the Hornady thing.  I liked that it had a timer and a temp controller vs the hornady.   


I chuck my cases in a cheap food dehydrator after tumbling in a stainless tumbler. 40 mins and they are dry enough to reload
Regards Chris
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