RCBS Ultrasonic Case Cleaner ordered

[unfy]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/649164/rcbs-ultrasonic-case-cleaner-110-volt


Finally ordered one of these. Might be here by end of the week.

Pros:
* 3 liters
* drain plug
* heater

Possible con:
* single transducer
* transducer is lower frequencly (36khz vs 42 or 47khz)

Workable:
* 1-30min timer


http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/MSDS/RCBSUltrasonicCaseCleaningSolution.pdf

Something interesting to note concerning the MSDS for the RCBS solution, it's citric acid and ammonia .


Not time to start a second thread, but also ordered all consumables for 10ga shotshell reloading... but no press just yet.

[unfy]

Wow.  Midway order already arrived.

RCBS Ultrasonic Cleaner, some pvc coated gloves for acid, and all of the 10ga reloading consumables (except lead, see other post about sharpshooter buckshot mold hehehe).  Looks like I get to dig in the box like a giddy kid when I get home ... and start review process heh.

[bkoenig]

Midway is incredibly fast, especially considering the current demand.

[Hank]

Midway is incredibly fast, especially considering the current demand.

I imagine it`s easier to get the `few` items left in stock, out the door anyway.

[unfy]

Specs seem impossible to find online, so here's what the book has to say (abridged):

If device has been in operation for 45min, give it a 10min cool off period.

Tank size: 9.8"x6.9"x3.1" / 25.0x17.4x7.8 cm

Tank Capacity: 3.2 qt / 3.0 l

Longest item that can fit inside the tank is 10.47" / 26.6 cm

1-30min full range timer

5 temp settings (104f to 140f)

Solution usage timer (if using paid for solution, can be handy), remembers time remaining even when unplugged

'industrial grade ultrasonic transducer & ic'

Moisture-proofed PCB with cooling fan.

Drain spout.

Comes with a thick drain hose, about 3 or 4 feet in length (counter top to 1 gallon jug on floor with a bit of room to spare).

Basket it comes with has lil handles for easy handling.

The lid on it isn't flip top, it comes off.  I personally find this handy.

Has a degas feature (turns transducer on off in pulses for 90 sec in an attempt to get rid of air bubbles).

generic (transducer?) overheat detection and auto shut off with it insisting on a 20min cool down.

if water heater auto shut off after 90min.

power switch rocker, separate from on/off button.

150 watt ac power draw

36khz transducer

stainless steel tank

abs housing plastics

awwww no led light for watching it work (like it matters heh)

3 prong electrical plug


Ran through a bunch of brass tonight.  Probably had the machine a bit overloaded, went through a few water changes and it was pretty dirty each time heh.  They came out about as expected.  Not advertisement level shiny, not absolutely perfectly clean... but... as expected.  on par / better than the lil lyman.

Was working with 1/3rd of a gallon of 40s&w brass that was old and caked and stuff.  A lot came out factory clean, a lot came out a little cakey, and a few weren't that great.

No pics, no point really.  Device worked as expected with poor-man's-homemade cleaner.

the lower operating frequency does make it a bit noisier than the lyman or higher frequency devices.

drain plug is oh so handy.

drain valve aint leaking, and has proper resistance to turning.

i like the removable lid ... a hinged lid would mostly just be in the way when working with the device.  particularly when tilting the unit a bit to get last bit of liquid out of drain hole in corner of tank.

i did, naturally, do what any idiot does when there's a tank with a drain valve.  started pouring water in after one of my change outs and forgot to close the valve.  hardy har har.

even without using the heater, when in degas mode and it kicks on/off the transducer... the lcd / led panel actually fades a bit heh.

so far, first experience leaves me happy with the unit.

[abbafandr]

so far, first experience leaves me happy with the unit.

Kinda thought of getting something like this, ultrasonic anyhoo.
About how many brass could be cleaned at a time, 9mm or 357?

[unfy]

The Hornady Magnum is similar, orientated differently, two transducers, blah blah blah...

Tank Capacity: 3 liter (3.2 quart)

Tank Dimensions: 9.4" x 5.5" x 3.9" Bowl Capacity: Up to 400 - 223 Remington Cases or 200 - 308 Cases

So they're similarly sized.

I had 373 40s&w cases in the basket, comes out to either 1/4 or 1/3rd of a gallon of cases. It's possible that was a bit much, it's possible they were really caked... blah blah blah.  There was a great ratio of really clean cases to just-clean-but-a-bit-cakey to still-fairly-cakey for case webbing and primer pocket cake.

edit:

I dunno if I'm gonna keep tumble cleaning and sonic clean sporadically on plinky pistol cases or just switch to full ultrasonic.

The extra time spent depriming cases kinda defeats purpose of plinky quick and cheap stuff.

You can sonic with the spent primers still in the cases, but need to thoroughly rinse cases and ultrasonic device afterwards to get rid of corrosive stuff.  Haven't tried that yet to see how it does.

[00BUCK]

What I have found with my Hornady Magnum is - less is more. I can fit ~400 9mm cases but I have found that about 200 is about right. If you have them packed tight they aren't going to get as clean - there needs to be some wiggle room.

In the Magnum it's not a big deal - mix the solution, set it to 135 degrees for 40 minutes and walk away. When they are done I rinse them well and dry them in the oven on a cookie sheet @ ~200 degrees.

After two batches are cleaned if I still have more to do I pour the used solution through a coffee filter (with a coffee filter basket from a dead Mr. Coffee) into an old pitcher I've marked for just this purpose. The solution doesn't weaken chemically but with a lot of crud in the bottom of the cleaner and crud suspended in the solution it loses some cleaning ability. After I wipe out the sonic cleaner I pour the filtered solution back into the cleaner with the next batch of brass and top off with water.

That said, I still start the process with tumbling the brass for a couple hours then deprime/resize. I like my brass really shiny  but that's more personal preference than anything else. The benefit to doing this first is the primer pockets get cleaned well during ultrasonic cleaning.

[unfy]

Yeah, I'm aware 'less is more' for the ultrasonic stuff.  I just wanted to try a huge batch to see what it was like at first -- since I know smaller batches work great when I was fiddling with the little Lyman.

They came out clean, although not all were 'ultrasonic clean' hehehe.

I dunno if I'll be bothering with a coffee filter or not... since my 'solution' is just vinegar and distilled water .  Dirt cheap.  I can prolly try it to see what I think....

I'll have to try primers-left-in as well.  This way it's just a quick clean for pistol brass.

Lastly, for the pistol brass, doing tumble clean for 5 reloads then a sonic clean for one to get crud out... then back to tumbles... don't seem like a bad idea.  This way ya don't blow the time depriming hundreds of pistol brass before each reload (more so of an annoyance when working with a full progressive press).

I'll re-load up some of my sonic-only brass and see what I think of it.  I know I like shiny purty cases too... so... the slightly foggy sonic only might just rub me the wrong way although it don't matter from a practicality stand point heh.

For rifle rounds, I'll be depriming & sonicing every time.  Just cause.

I'll continue to post opinions and 'success/fail' of the RCBS machine as I progress.