I'm just picking my reloading supplies up, and didnt know which unit to go with tumbler or sonic cleaner. I was thinking with the sonic cleaner I would be able to size and deprime then toss em in the cleaner and clean primer pockets and all at one time. I'm not concerned with having polished brass, and I could also clean parts, wife's jewelry, etc with the sonic cleaner. What units would you reccomend tumbler or sonic cleaner?
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Tumbler or sonic cleaner
- Thread starter Btillr
- Start date
For me I want a vibratory tumbler first. They are fairly inexpensive depending on the brand you go with. Knocks off a lot of crud cheaply. Use lizard bedding walnut hulls you buy at the pet store cheap. I've had two. I had a Thumlers vibratory cleaner that worked great but was expensive and a Frankford Arsenal that works great but the wiring was cheap and broke. My son, the electrician, rewired it for me and it's still going strong. I sold the Thumlers tumbler to buy a wet tumbler and, like you, I don't really mind my brass not being perfectly shiny however the stainless steel media does a great job and cleans the primer pockets great. Mostly just use it on my .223 bulk stuff that I have to size using a small base die and lots of lube. It cleans the lube off better than anything else that I've used. I've never used the ultra sonic cleaner so can't really comment on it.
If you want to be able to clean jewelry and other parts, an ultrasonic will probably be better.
Personally I have a Thumbler Tumbler that has worked very well with brass cleaning. I use it wet with SS media and lemi-shine like they suggest. Bright shiny brass each and every time! I also do it twice- once prior to sizing/depriming (to keep my dies clean) and then afterwards to clean out the primer pockets. Plus with a Thumbler you can do a ton of brass at once.
I used to use treated corn cob media and never liked the dust residue it left on the cases. Never impeded function, just was messy and got everywhere.
Personally I have a Thumbler Tumbler that has worked very well with brass cleaning. I use it wet with SS media and lemi-shine like they suggest. Bright shiny brass each and every time! I also do it twice- once prior to sizing/depriming (to keep my dies clean) and then afterwards to clean out the primer pockets. Plus with a Thumbler you can do a ton of brass at once.
I used to use treated corn cob media and never liked the dust residue it left on the cases. Never impeded function, just was messy and got everywhere.
started with a vibratory (don't use anymore), was given an ultra sonic (gave it back) and now I just run a Thumbler.
if you dont shoot allot and want to try wet tumbling a ran one of theses for a year (swiped it from my kid). but you are only putting in 20 cases at a time. Rock Tumbler, 3 Lb. - Save on this Rotary Rock Tumbler
if you dont shoot allot and want to try wet tumbling a ran one of theses for a year (swiped it from my kid). but you are only putting in 20 cases at a time. Rock Tumbler, 3 Lb. - Save on this Rotary Rock Tumbler
+1 for tumbler and stainless media. I went a cheaper route to start off to see if I liked it. I got a 2 drum rock tumbler from harbor freight for like $25 or something silly. It doesn't do alot of brass at a time, but I DO like results and will likely step up to a Thumlers for more capacity sometime (or a nice used cement mixer that I can do every piece of brass I own at one time - LOL). IMO wife can buy a little sonic jewelry cleaner herself! 
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I use a vibratory with corncob and I place a tablespoon of liquid car wax in with every batch. My media is old but it keeps on working. I clean before and after sizing.
Started with vibratory...used it for years
Tried tumbler..hated dealing with the wet and the little pieces of ssteel
Now am so happy with US
I have this Elmasonic, E15H E30H E60H E70H E100H E120H E180H E300H Ultrasonic
has drain to empty, my brass is as new in a few minutes. Has timer and heater. Also useful for washing bolt carriers and parts as well as handguns with handles removed.
Tried tumbler..hated dealing with the wet and the little pieces of ssteel
Now am so happy with US
I have this Elmasonic, E15H E30H E60H E70H E100H E120H E180H E300H Ultrasonic
has drain to empty, my brass is as new in a few minutes. Has timer and heater. Also useful for washing bolt carriers and parts as well as handguns with handles removed.
Good gawd....$350 for a little 1/2 gallon cap sonic cleaner? What size do you use? Those are spendy!
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vibratory = clean out side, and shiny, cant clean primer pockets, dusty
ultrasonic = fast, clean but not as clean as tumbled, not very shiny
tumble = clean, shiny, 100+ 300wm cases, only down side I see is peened case mouths
the ultra sonic now spends its life cleaning carbs
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I will still use my vibratory tumbler first to clean cases enough to size them without scratching them but once they're sized and deprimed I run them through a wet tumbler with SS pins. That doesn't seem to peen the case mouth but I always trim them next anyway. The wet tumbler not only cleans them well but gets inside the case mouth so if you lube your case mouth and you have trouble getting all the lube out of there the wet method is best. I know a lot of shooters just run their cases through the vibratory cleaner after sizing to remove the case lube but that never worked as well as the wet method for me and never cleaned the lube in the case mouth.
As a side note I recently bought one of the newe Rebel 17 rock tumblers and am very impressed with it. Works fast and holds lots of brass and seems they have addressed the concerns with durability that people have had with the Thumlers tumbler.
As a side note I recently bought one of the newe Rebel 17 rock tumblers and am very impressed with it. Works fast and holds lots of brass and seems they have addressed the concerns with durability that people have had with the Thumlers tumbler.
I use the Tumbler with SS media. Brass looks brand new. Started with vibratory left dust everywhere will never use one again. Never tried the ultrasonic.
Started out years ago with a vibratory tumbler using corn cob media. It was adequate for my needs (mass reloading for ammo dumps) but never did a good job of cleaning primer pockets or the inside of the case. I experimented with sonic and found it was very inconsistant and overall pretty lousy job. I have since moved on in my shooting interests to LR precision and my reloading habits have changed to match the new interest. About 3 years ago I bought my first Thumlers tumbler with stainless media and have never looked back. My cases are squeaky clean inside and out as well as primer pockets.
I don't know if anyone will fully appreciate the benefits of a wet tumbler and stainless media unless they have tried all the other methods first. But if you want consistently clean cases inside and out, I highly recommend starting there.
I don't know if anyone will fully appreciate the benefits of a wet tumbler and stainless media unless they have tried all the other methods first. But if you want consistently clean cases inside and out, I highly recommend starting there.
Btillr,
Both. I don't use stainless media on anything except pistol cases. Ultrasonic with Lemi-Shine and Dawn or Birchwood-Casey case cleaner work well and don't damage case mouths. A food dehumidifier or one of the home made driers will work well to dry cases. A tumbler with corn cob or walnut and polish will remove drying stains and impart wax/oil to the clean cases to help prevent corrosion. A pass in the tumbler with polish is a good thing with either stainless or US cleaned brass.
HTH,
DocB
Both. I don't use stainless media on anything except pistol cases. Ultrasonic with Lemi-Shine and Dawn or Birchwood-Casey case cleaner work well and don't damage case mouths. A food dehumidifier or one of the home made driers will work well to dry cases. A tumbler with corn cob or walnut and polish will remove drying stains and impart wax/oil to the clean cases to help prevent corrosion. A pass in the tumbler with polish is a good thing with either stainless or US cleaned brass.
HTH,
DocB
I started with vibratory and picked up an ultrasonic cleaner. So what I do now is tumble them in corn cob media with polisher, resize all the brass, then ultrasonic clean them. They look pretty nice after that and my opinion is that one does a better job in the other ones weakness.
For example, corn cob with polish cleans outside very well and get you brass all shinny. Does absolutely nothing when it comes to cleaning the inside or pocket primers. Tumbling also hardens brass faster.
On the other hand, ultrasonic cleaning cleans outside, inside, and primer pocket well, but does not shine the brass.
So, I tumble to get the exterior clean so I don't gum up my dies. I purchased the ultra sonic cleaner to use on my precision rifle reloading and do not use the tumbler on those shells. The rest get the combo treatment.
For example, corn cob with polish cleans outside very well and get you brass all shinny. Does absolutely nothing when it comes to cleaning the inside or pocket primers. Tumbling also hardens brass faster.
On the other hand, ultrasonic cleaning cleans outside, inside, and primer pocket well, but does not shine the brass.
So, I tumble to get the exterior clean so I don't gum up my dies. I purchased the ultra sonic cleaner to use on my precision rifle reloading and do not use the tumbler on those shells. The rest get the combo treatment.
Vibratory cleaner. An ultrasonic will remove the carbon in the neck of the case which I feel is important for bullet seating consistency. Found this out the hard way. LOL
Paul
Paul
Funny I came across this. I'm in the process now of building a rotary tumbler. Still waiting on some pulleys and a belt but this is where I'm at so far
After seeing how quiet they run and how brass comes out looking brand new, I had to have one. It was built mostly with spare parts.
For the tube I will be using 6"pvc.
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After seeing how quiet they run and how brass comes out looking brand new, I had to have one. It was built mostly with spare parts.
For the tube I will be using 6"pvc.
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What kind of media are you using and do you use liquid?
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If I was buying another ultrasonic, I wouldn't buy one advertized for reloading. Ultrasonic cleaners are used in a number of industries such as jewelry as mentioned above, automotive repair, etc.
If you look for an ultrasonic cleaner, one marketed for cleaning jewelry, car parts, or any other product will likely work the exact same as a reloading specific one. They do the same job. Just make sure you get what you think you need for the right size, as they come is all sizes.
If you look for an ultrasonic cleaner, one marketed for cleaning jewelry, car parts, or any other product will likely work the exact same as a reloading specific one. They do the same job. Just make sure you get what you think you need for the right size, as they come is all sizes.
FWIW....here's some brass I just did yesterday in my Harbor Freight double rock tumbler, SS media + water, dawn detergent and and pinch of Lemi Shine. Clean brass next to dirty one. I did 54 pcs of brass split between the two tumblers. Room for more, thats just all the 300BO brass I needed to clean at the time. Its a fantastic, economical set-up for small to moderate amounts of brass if you wanted to try it. I resized/deprimed....then cleaned, dried 'em with a fan overnight, and loaded it up this morning (last pic).
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Go with the vibratory tumbler first. Later on you can add a stainless steel tumbler next if you like really shinny brass like I do. I have gone through the cycle of using all three methods, I have come to the conclusion that I think I prefer vibratory tumblers for pistol cases while I prefer the stainless steel media for my rifle cases. I really like how much cleaner the brass is when doing all of the case prep on rifle brass, but I think it takes too much time for pistol cases. Only think I like the ultrasonic for anymore is for parts cleaning.
Well I just got done tumbling my first load with my homemade tumbler. I didn't have any brass that needed cleaning, I did however have my swr specter that had over 1000 rounds thru it. In retrospect I should have taken before pics, but if you are no stranger to 22lr suppressors, you know how bad they look after 1000 rounds.
Well here's the tumbler completed...
Here is my media. I ordered 5 lbs of stainless pins. When it came it I realized 5lbs just didn't seem like enough. Luckily I had about 5lbs of tiny stainless balls from a project a few years ago. I figured what the hell, if anything it will help fluff it up and maybe even keep the pins seperated.
And here's the baffles
When I pulled these out of the container I literally had a shit eating grin lol. They have never been this clean except when they were new. I've even used the dip on them.
For this I used 1 gallon of water, a cup of white vinegar, and a tiny bit of dish soap.
I just wish there was a way to get my sealed cans in this thing lol.
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Well here's the tumbler completed...
Here is my media. I ordered 5 lbs of stainless pins. When it came it I realized 5lbs just didn't seem like enough. Luckily I had about 5lbs of tiny stainless balls from a project a few years ago. I figured what the hell, if anything it will help fluff it up and maybe even keep the pins seperated.
And here's the baffles
When I pulled these out of the container I literally had a shit eating grin lol. They have never been this clean except when they were new. I've even used the dip on them.
For this I used 1 gallon of water, a cup of white vinegar, and a tiny bit of dish soap.
I just wish there was a way to get my sealed cans in this thing lol.
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I worked for a dive shop rebuilding regulators for several years. I cleaned some very corroded, gunked up brass regulators using an ultrasonic cleaner using palmolive and white vinegar with spectacular results. Harbor Freight has a very good heated ultra sonic cleaner for about $89. With the basket, you don't have to drain the fluid to get your brass out. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, but intend to.
Long grain rice mixed with tablespoon of liquid car polish and tablespoon of mineral spirits. Mix 2 together for 3 hours then add brass.
+1 for tumbler and stainless media. I went a cheaper route to start off to see if I liked it. I got a 2 drum rock tumbler from harbor freight for like $25 or something silly. It doesn't do alot of brass at a time, but I DO like results and will likely step up to a Thumlers for more capacity sometime (or a nice used cement mixer that I can do every piece of brass I own at one time - LOL). IMO wife can buy a little sonic jewelry cleaner herself!
Laugh if you want, but I saw Jerry Miculek on TV doing just that. He dumped his brass into a small cement mixer. Oh that I was sponsored by S&W and could afford to shoot that much!
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