Stainless tumbling or ultrasonic?

[dcali]

If you do ultrasonic, you’ll want a semi-industrial unit, not the little Chinese ones. I have one of the discontinued hornady magnums, which is about as small as I would consider. I can do about 100 cases at a time, and it takes about 30 minutes with a little diluted simple green. They do not come out shiny and spotless, but they are very much clean enough.

You can dry cases in an oven at 250 for about 20 minutes. Just don’t tell anyone you live with that you did.

Honestly though, for benchrest and f class type stuff where the brass gets babied, just wiping it off does the trick.

 

[rox]

Played with Ultrasonic but never really got the results I wanted, and nowhere near the volume.
Used a Thumler Model B for a while then built a larger stainless tumbler from a $20 eBay treadmill. Handles 500 .308 cases at a time (could probably do 750).
Cleans great; no problems with stuck pins; no problems with case mouth damage; brass wins a lot of matches.

 

[Terry]

Are they better than corncob and walnut?

Is it worth the extra time and effort?

 

[rox]

Are they better than corncob and walnut?

Is it worth the extra time and effort?

Depends on your point of view.

I do some processing using walnut, but I don't find stainless particularly more effort.

Stainless cleaned cases are practically like new. Immaculate inside, outside & primer pocket. With suitable cleaning solutions they keep tarnish at bay for long periods.

Does it matter?

Some say that leaving carbon in the necks (like dry tumbling) improves seating consistency.
Others have shown that stainless-cleaned necks may have lower velocity SDs.
Some believe that leaving Carbon in the necks can help prevent cold-welding when rounds are stored for extended periods.
Some are convinced that primer pocket residue (hardened over time) can be blasted into the throat area, then picked-up by the next bullet and score the bore.
Some even think that a buildup of primer pocket residue could effect primer seating, or that carbon buildup may effect case volume and hence pressure!

I just know that I stainless tumble - it suits my process, I don't have any of the problems that some folks fear, and I no longer bring my trophies home because of the insurance on all the silver.

 

[Down South]

I've been SS tumbling for a long time now, no issues here. Works for me.

 

[strat81]

Are they better than corncob and walnut?

Is it worth the extra time and effort?

Not better, just different.

I switched from corncob to ultrasonic.

Ultrasonic pros:
-No toxic dust cloud
-No media to separate
-No media stuck in flash holes or neck
-No peened case mouths (compared to SS tumbling)

Ultrasonic cons:
-Gets necks "squeaky clean" which may affect bullet seating (compared to corncob)
-Typically does not get brass super-shiny
-Requires drying, either by time or by machine
-Small processing volume, depending on unit size

I have one of the small Hornady units. After using a few different chemicals, I've settled on water with a squirt of dish soap and a dash of Lemishine (less is better). I'll let it run for 60 minutes for most cases. After the cycle, I'll rinse the brass with clean water, then transfer the damp brass to a cookie sheet and stick in the oven at 200* for an hour or two.

While the brass is in the ultrasonic or the oven, I can do other things, whether it's gun stuff, TV, or playing with my kids. So while the process may take a few hours, the time I'm actually hands-on is minimal.

To me, not having to deal with corncob or pins in my flash holes or case bodies is well worth it. No nasty dust either.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Below is the sonic cleaner I ordered at Amazon and it will clean my cases in four eight minute cleaning cycles if just hot tap water is used to start. Meaning it takes 3 cleaning cycles for it to get up to normal cleaning temp and the heat light to go off.

iSonic Professional Grade Ultrasonic Cleaner P4820-WPB with Heater and Digital Timer, Plastic Basket $78.99
And a clone of the LymanTurbo Sonic Case Cleaner at $117.61 and $38.62 cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009BC4S0G/?tag=accuratescom-20

Below are the last .44 Special cases I wet tumbled in my STM Model B Thumler's Tumbler. The cases tumbled for less than one hour and have some peened case mouths. Please note these cases were trimmed and deburred and are now dented and no longer have a flat case mouth after wet tumbling.

Do not get the wrong idea because I like how well that wet tumbling cleans the cases. BUT I have to trim all my rifle cases after wet tumbling to get rid of the case mouth peening. And use type "M" expanders on my pistol cases to open up the case mouth and not trim the cases every time they are fired.

Below on the left is a .243 case that I fell asleep and let wet tumble for over 6 hours. And on the right is a case right out of the Winchester bag of new cases and factory peened from their method of tumbling.

NOTE, the case mouth peening is not noticeable if you are older with chronologically gifted eyesight. And the photo below was taken with my camera taken with a closeup macro setting.

Below I bought a .44 Special/.44 Mag Redding TiN coated expander that is a clone of the Lyman type "M" expander. The problem with the wet tumbling was all the very small brass slivers being picked up by my carbide sizing die and a regular Redding expander and the TiN coated expander. Meaning the rolled over edges of the peened case mouth are flaking off. And you do "NOT" have this problem with sonic cleaned cases.

Below a type "M" expander image that becomes coated with brass particals that also end up inside the cases.

 

[ToddKS]

Played with Ultrasonic but never really got the results I wanted, and nowhere near the volume.
Used a Thumler Model B for a while then built a larger stainless tumbler from a $20 eBay treadmill. Handles 500 .308 cases at a time (could probably do 750).
Cleans great; no problems with stuck pins; no problems with case mouth damage; brass wins a lot of matches.

Where did you get the plastic drum that you are putting on the treadmill? Very interesting set up.

 

[rox]

Where did you get the plastic drum that you are putting on the treadmill? Very interesting set up.

The barrel is a TL4 from C & M Topline.

They aren't cheap; Barrels can be made cheaply from drainage pipe with agitators.

The pins I use for .308 are 0.047" x 0.255". I've had no issues with these sticking in flash holes or case mouths, but I believe this size can stick in .223 case mouths. I ordered 15lb but use slighly less with 500 cases.

For separating the pins I use a cat litter sifter (prefer this to a rotary media separator), and an old commercial food warmer for drying in the winter months. Also in the photo below a ducting reducer serves as a crude funnel for filling the barrel.

 

[ToddKS]

The barrel is a TL4 from C & M Topline.

They aren't cheap; Barrels can be made cheaply from drainage pipe with agitators.

The pins I use for .308 are 0.047" x 0.255". I've had no issues with these sticking in flash holes or case mouths, but I believe this size can stick in .223 case mouths. I ordered 15lb but use slighly less with 500 cases.

For separating the pins I use a cat litter sifter (prefer this to a rotary media separator), and an old commercial food warmer for drying in the winter months. Also in the photo below a ducting reducer serves as a crude funnel for filling the barrel.

Thank you for the information. I would much rather spend the money on a ready to go solution than have to fabricate something. Looking hard at the TL6

 

[Shooter13]

I prefer stainless tumbling - but one issue that i experience sometimes is the fact that the pins remain in the brass and can cause issues (i have bent several de-priming rods on my Dillon when reloading 9mm). I also worry what would happen to my rifle barrels if i leave a couple of pins in a piece of brass and then fire that brass.

Thanks

Adam

I use the Hornady dryer, when brass is dry I then spin it in the manuel separator and the pins fall out because they are dry. A little more work but I think well worth it. I do have the FA tumbler but thought I wanted the "red" tumbler and purchased it but sent it back, didn't do any better than the FA.

 

[Artisan]

Why not. Hears my flavor on it. I have and did or do use wet pins and dry media.
First Wet. I found, presoaking the cases in a big squirt of Dawn with a pinch of Lemi-Shine in boiling hot water soaking for 1 hour, mixing it around with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes or so. This will remove 50% or more of the carbon build up. Then I pour it in the wet tumbler and fill almost to the top with boiling water. Tumble for 15 min- 1 hour. What ever works. Brass cases cleaning is a process, always evolving. You do have to experiment. I have gotten mixed results, from wet tumbling, as far as the finished product is concerned. The primer pockets never do seem to get clean, maybe 50%.
For those using pins, there are other SS media (small chips) which are suppose to clean the pockets better. I have yet to buy any, but will one of these days. If anyone is interested, I can give you the sites that carry them (about $37 for 5lbs). If you want the cases to dry quicker, when separating from the pins (I do it in the tub) rinse with only super hot water. Strain and dump on a towel, rub dry, lay out somewhere and they will be completely dry in a couple of hours. Boiling water does not hurt brass. Water boils at what 200 and to ruin brass it needs to get to 450. Even when the military experimented with Ammonia on brass, it took one hell of a lot to even make a difference, I've educated myself about this scare.
After wet tumbling, tried my wife's food dehydrator, worked great, but using super hot water works much quicker without more mess, another machine and process.
I now use my wet tumbler with dry media. After a cleaning soak in hot water and there completely dry. I have 1 wet tumbler and 4 vibratory tumblers. Later this year I may buy a small concrete mixer and customize it.
Walnut with a good additive to clean and Corn Cob with additive to polish after I size the case with lube. Harbor Freight has the best price on walnut media (25lbs), if their out Home Depot has it (25lbs) for a little bit more. Grainger's has the best price on Corn Cob by the 50lb boxes.
I sell quite a bit of cases, since I have access to it and the spare time to work with it. Difference is mine is mostly step at a time, no progressives or AutoDrives. Way to rich for my blood. I provide brass to shooters and loaders, the same way I do for myself.

A cleaned up pile from 2 months ago.

A pile from last weekend. I do this about every other month.
The red bucket has over 300-.243 cases
The large bucket behind it has over 5,000-.223 cases

Wet pin tumbled, drying after hot water rinse.

These are how all my dry tumbled cases finish. Look at the difference in color from the 2 above pics, upper with wet pins and the lower with dry media.
And yes I clean all my primer pockets by hand, gauge them and remove flash-hole burrs before cleaning.
As much as I handle my brass, unless I want to wear rubber gloves all the time, the dry media leaves a protective polish on the case, no matter how much it's handled, just rub it on a towel and it's like new.
Wet tumbling takes it to bear metal with no protection. I have had cases show tarnishing after just a couple of weeks. I don't know about yours, but my hands produce quite a bit of oils while working and it shows. My cases seem to glide into my sizing dies with very little lube, haven't had a stuck case yet, which has been polished. This is a plus for me, soon I'll be offering sized cases also.
Just my take on cleaning cases. We all have our own flavor, right?

 

[338 dude]

So was SS wet tumbling a fad that died out? I am tired of my vibratory case tumbler, the dust and the mess. I'm ready for something different and better.

I think I'd rather deal with a wet process that leaves my cases clean and dry instead of a dusty dry dirty process that leave my hands stained. I've been doing it that way for 20 years and I'm tired of it. I hate finding crushed walnut shells all over my bench, desk, floor, etc...

SS or ultrasonic? I load mostly 308 and I do maybe 100 cases at a time, but I've got burlap sacks full of brass, plus 5 gallon buckets full of 308, 223 and 9, 40 & 45.

I do like the fact that I can use the ultrasonic to clean gun parts too. Any recommendations on a rotary tumbler or a good quality ultrasonic cleaner. I like quality, not cheap stuff and I don't mind paying for it.

Tony.

Go with stainless steel wet tumbling ultrasonic tumblers are expensive and lower on capacity you will not be able to do as many cases as you want to do I’ve been cleaning mine with stainless steel pins for several years it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be and nothing works better

 

[338 dude]

I have just started stainless tumbling (Frankford Arsenal) 9mm. I found the process to be a little more time consuming require a couple of 5 gal buckets to recover and sort stainless media from brass. Used the Frankford magnet accessory. I used a dillion dry media tumbler to do a sort of the stainless media from brass after initial separation. The key issue in time is sorting the stainless media from the brass and drying both brass and stainless media. I am located in SC so it is pretty humid this time of year. I used an old crock pot to dry the stainless media and the brass. I intend to acquire a brass dryer from Frankford Arsenal for the next batch.

I use to use a dry cob vibratory cleaner which left a lot of dust on the brass and seemed to sometimes retain a piece of media residue in the brass cases. I have thousands of rounds cleaned using this method.

Over all I feel that the end product of shiny clean brass with no dust residue is worth the extra time effort involved in wet tumbling. Bear in mind this is the first batch I have processed, thus I may become more efficient.

In short I find the wet tumbling to be superior to dry media. I have no experience with ultrasonic cleaners.

First off always use as hot water as you can stand it evaporates much faster I know they will cool down after the tumbling period is over then I dump it out and rinse again with clean hot water dump out the water pour media in cases on a dry towel literally shake the media out of each case lay them out on the towel and dry them with a heat gun after that they go through a vibratory Tumblr with walnut hull media and a little white diamond metal polish after coming out of that they are blown out with compressed air it sounds like quite a process but it is not that bad and the final product cannot be beat

 

[orkan]

http://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/clean-brass-with-rice

 

[blastit37]

If you want to leave carbon in the necks with ultrasonic, only fill the cleaning solution up to the base of the case neck. When finished with ultrasonic and drying, wipe the outside of the neck with very fine steel wool. I use citric acid which I get on-line in 25lb bags delivered to my door for about 40 bucks. I clean using 400ml beakers suspended in the cleaners water bath, which holds the cleaning solution, which is 2-3 heaping table spoons of acid and a big squirt of Dawn. The beaker holds 20 30-06 cases. Citric acid is a very mild acid and will not affect the brass even when the brass is exposed to it for hours (a table spoon with a sweetener in a glass of water makes great lemon aid). The cases are not shiny clean but there is no carbon in or on the case but the neck, especially the primer pockets.
When it comes to drying the cases, I blow the them with compressed air and then let them air dry over night suspended upside down in 45 ACP plastic cartridge holders which is get out of the trash at the range. If I want to reload right away, I hold the cases in the plastic holders in front of my 220v space heater for 3-4 minutes until the base is to hot to touch and they are ready.
I have reloaded this way since I started, 20 years, and have never had a problem except for the 1 cleaner I destroyed because I added salt to my cleaning solution. I was not using beakers then and was using vinegar as my cleaning solution. With the addition of salt to the solution, chlorine ions were present from the salt which attacked the stainless steel and produced a hole in the cleaner tank very quickly. Others may get away with salt, it depends on the type of stainless steel that is used for the tank, but without knowing the type, a disaster may await.

 

[BDman]

Rice that Orkan recommends works really well in the SST Rebel 17. No drying time, no case neck peening (although that is mainly an overfull or overtime situation with pins) and a bit better results on paper and chrono. I run it for 2-3 hours and primer pockets are reasonably clean. I'm beginning to lean more towards the 2 hour mark as being enough.

 

[jonbearman]

There is an easy way to separate the shells from the pins. I use a dillion media separator filled with hot water so the basket is partially under water. Then I turn it slowly at first and speed up once you feel it getting lighter. Works the nuts and yes a few pins end up on the floor but that is what the magnet is for. I drain the bin of most of the water and pour the pins back into the tumbler drum. Some stick to the plastic but not enough to worry about. Try it or something similar and it is simply easy. I did better than 32 5 gallon pails over the last year including some for friends. I pour the case's on a towel and out come's the hair dryer. 5 to 10 minute's and they are hot. Then I pour into another bin for sorting and checking flash hole's for an errant pin stuck in or sometimes they get stuck sideways into the neck and small needle nose takes care of that. Any with remnant's of water get blown out or if you have a huge amount let them sit in the sun all day.

 

[Dub]

I am still quite satisfied with vibratory tumblers and dry media. Does the job for me

 

[qldreloader]

Having used all three methods I have settled on wet tumbling with SS pins. I did get some peening initially but have now modified my process as follows:

• Decap and place only 50 pieces of brass into a small tumber (about a gallon size drum) along with hot tap water, 1 t teaspoon of citric acid powder and a squirt of whatever dishwashing liquid we have at the time and about 2lb of SS pins.
  
• Tumble for about 30 seconds to mix everything up and then turn off tumber.
• Leave it to sit for about 20-30 mins (this seems to break up a lot of the carbon).
• Tumble for 20-30 mins.
  
• Separate pins/brass and rinse brass in hot tap water before drying on an old towel and leaving in the sun for a few hours.

The limited amount of brass combined with only 20-30 mins of tumbling does not create any peening - at least none that I can detect. My experience with bigger tumblers and larger amounts of brass always resulted in some peening. It is the cases hitting each other that causes the peening - not the pins - based on my experience.