Sonic Cleaner

[aporter]

I am thinking of purchasing the large Hornady Sonic Cleaner for pistols and my ARs. Does anybody have experience with these? I read that basically the weapon needs completely stripped, rinsed, dried and then re lubed.

 

[55fairlane]

No experience with that sonic cleaner, but I do have a Branson cleaner, and with the proper cleaner solution they do work well.....i don't generally clean gun parts with mine, I clean parts I have machined, but they do work.....good luck

 

[ljk]

I bought an used Patterson Dental Supply ultrasonic cleaner off ebay for $70. It was made in USA, has heating element and drain valve.

 

[IndyIN]

I have the big Hornady hot tub cleaner, if that is the one you are talking about.

https://www.hornady.com/reloading/c...s-and-solutions/hornady-hot-tub-sonic-cleaner

I've not used it to put a complete upper in it yet, but you can drop smaller containers into the main compartment so you do not use up your cleaning solution when it is not needed. You can use a product like Lyman's ultrasonic lube to displace any water in an assembly. My thought is running the lube cycle is more hassle than it is worth for large parts, unless you are doing multiples at a time. I take small parts out, blow them out, and oil/lube like normal.

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Products-Ultrasonic-Lubricant-1-Gallon/dp/B00AU6CBH4

 

[aporter]

I have the big Hornady hot tub cleaner, if that is the one you are talking about.

https://www.hornady.com/reloading/c...s-and-solutions/hornady-hot-tub-sonic-cleaner

I've not used it to put a complete upper in it yet, but you can drop smaller containers into the main compartment so you do not use up your cleaning solution when it is not needed. You can use a product like Lyman's ultrasonic lube to displace any water in an assembly. My thought is running the lube cycle is more hassle than it is worth for large parts, unless you are doing multiples at a time. I take small parts out, blow them out, and oil/lube like normal.

https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Products-Ultrasonic-Lubricant-1-Gallon/dp/B00AU6CBH4

Yes, that is the Hornady I was looking at. $400 on Amazon with Prime shipping. Does it do a decent job of cleaning?

 

[IndyIN]

I think it does a nice job. I do not think they are a magic solution for neglected firearms, but works great when used consistently. I would make sure that you have it in a place that is convenient to use. If you have to dig it out, I suspect it won’t get used much.

 

[turbodan]

I bought the hornady sonic cleaner last year. I mixed my own solution with vinegar, salt, dishsoap, and water. After the solution sat for 4 days the cleaner started leaking. Turns out the solution ate through the tank in several spots. I returned it to Amazon and have yet to replace it.

 

[tooleman]

Harbor freight has one that I have. Nice size, has timer and heater. If you keep an eye you can use one of the 20% off coupon and get it alot cheaper then the hornady one.

https://m.harborfreight.com/25-lite...not provided&utm_referrer=direct/not provided

 

[STFU]

I do not have that model.
I bought the X-Tronic 2 Liter "Platinum Edition" Stainless Commercial Ultrasonic Cleaner on Amazon. ~$189 IIRC.
It has a sweep function, heater, degassing cycle, timers, etc.

What I can tell you is that ultrasonic cleaners do a great job of removing carbon build-up from parts. I use diluted Simple Green in mine and my silencer parts come out looking like new.
Make sure to read up on sonic cleaning. Some metals (EG: Aluminum for one) can be damaged by ultrasonic cleaning.

There all kinds of sites with good FAQs and tips for use, like this one: https://iultrasonic.com/blog/ultrasonic-cleaning-tips-for-avoiding-parts-damage/
Most metals are fine, but pay attention, you can over do it with others.

Overall, I would buy it again, it has saved me countless hours for picking and scraping carbon/gunpowder deposits off of parts.

 

[thephasdin4]

I actually do NOT prefer sonic cleaners. They are exceptionally good at cleaning but they do leave a lot of parts exposed. I usually prefer cleaning by hand with good brushes and qtips. Also sonic cleaning solutions can leave marks and in worst case react chemically with the metal parts you're cleaning

 

[Hop]

I've heard good things about the kendal branded cleaners & have been watching them on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J4468J0/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3PTM1TCCABX4L&colid=19T4Y5I331O9Z&psc=0

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018IIPFK/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1YEJRES15T83N&colid=19T4Y5I331O9Z&psc=0