Are you a recreational shooter who wants to reuse his fired dirty cartridge cases?

Whether you want to save money or just get the satisfaction of repacking your own ammo, you know that you have to make those cartridges perfectly clean for an accurate firing result.

Over the years shooters have used a variety of methods to try to get their cases back to that straight out of the box look.  Enthusiasts have tried tumblers, electric drills and all sorts of caustic concoctions. More recently, the move to ultrasonic cleaners has gained momentum.

Ultrasonic cleaners have a number of advantages over these other brass cleaning methods:

• Low operating costs  – electricity cost for ten hours operation is only about 25 cents
• Kind to the environment – do we really need any more toxic chemicals around us when we’re cleaning, and where do we put them when the cleaning is done?
• Simple to use
• Clean and relatively quiet (just try talking anywhere near a vibratory tumbler)
• Quick, yet thorough, and most importantly
• Safe – certainly perfectly safe, compared to the hazards to your fingers and hands from cleaning with an electric drill and wire brush!

Using ultrasonic cleaners, shooters have cleaned, restored and reused cartridges that have been fired four, five, six, or even more times.  And what´s more, shooters claim these carts are as good as new.  We have seen the results ourselves and have no doubt that the claims are true.  So, what’s the procedure?

Step 1 Gather the Ingredients and Tools

You’ll need the following items:

• an ultrasonic cleaner (preferably 100 Watts power, but machines of 50 Watts will still do an acceptable job, if a bit slower to get there)
• vinegar solution (half water/vinegar)
• dishwashing detergent (any brand, but we use Morning Fresh – only a squirt will do)
• Pyrex or glass beakers x 2
• baking soda – you need to neutralise the acid in the vinegar after cleaning – this is important.  If you skip this step you may start to de zinc the brass.
• distilled water – to rinse the cases off, so they can dry without marks or deterioration from the chemicals in the tap water
• hair dryer/oven (not microwave)
• your already fired cartridge cases, of course.

Step 2 Setting Up

Detailed instructions for setting up your ultrasonic cleaner are available if required.

• Put aside your fired cartridge cases.
• Set up your ultrasonic cleaner in a safe place, well away from traffic areas.  Many shooters already use a shed or workshop away from the living zone of the house (legacy of the noisy tumbler).  This is a good place to stay, especially if you want to keep this gear away from children.
• Fill cleaning tank to about 2/3 level with normal tap water and insert the cleaning basket and just a single drop of dishwashing liquid.  Into the beaker pour the vinegar solution plus a tiny drop of dishwashing detergent, up to about 2/3 level – you will need to leave space for the cases that you will put in later (obviously the cases will displace the vinegar solution).  Don’t worry. The ultrasonic waves will pass unimpeded from the tank water, through the beaker, and to the cartridge cases to perform the cleaning you desire.
• Place beaker inside the tank basket, making sure you top up the water level in the tank to the MIN water level mark.   Damage to the unit’s heater pad can occur if you allow the water level to drop too far. NB Many units will show the recommended MIN liquid level for safe operation.

Step 3 Doing the Cleaning 

• Degas.   You want to make the cleaner run as effectively as it can.  This occurs when the tank is at the correct temperature and when the air has been removed from the liquid medium.  If your ultrasonic is heated, set the temperature at 60C.  If your tank is not heated follow the instructions in our blog.  Then run the cleaner through a normal cycle of between 5 and 10 minutes. The dissolved air should now be purged from the tank, so the ultrasonic effect can clean as well as possible.
• Cleaning Cycle 1.  Add your fired cases to the beaker – carefully, since the tank will be hot.  Run the unit through a full cleaning cycle (10 – 15 mins). NB While the cleaning cycle is on prepare the 2nd beaker. Add 1 tsp baking soda to 2/3 beaker of tap water and mix well.
• Cleaning Cycle 2. Carefully remove the beaker from the tank and rinse the cases under running water (preferably using a metal sieve).  Note improvement in appearance of the cases before adding cases to the 2nd beaker, as ultrasonic cleaners do vary in power. You may sometimes need to return the cases to the beaker, for an additional run through the vinegar/detergent solution.  If you are satisfied with cleaning progress, add the cases to 2nd beaker and place inside basket. Run ultrasonic an additional 10 – 15 mins cycle. Remove the cleaned cases from the beaker and rinse under tap.  At this stage cases will usually be clean enough to repack.  If any residual contamination  is present (unlikely, but remotely possible) then return cases to the beaker, with tap water and run ultrasonic a further 10 mins. Make sure you turn the machine OFF as soon as the cleaning is complete and reset the thermostat on the heater to zero C.  This could save the cost of expensive repairs to your heater, or even the ultrasonic transducers, if the liquid level is allowed to drop too far.
• Distilled Water Soak.  Soak cleaned cases in beaker for 15 mins.

Step 4 The Moment of Truth

Remove cases from beaker and strain with a sieve.  They are now clean and just need to be dried for reuse.  Shooters commonly use a hair dryer, conventional oven or a drying rack to dry the cases completely.  Your environment and circumstances will dictate what is best for you.

• A drying rack is fine if the weather is warm, but even under ideal conditions it may take a couple of days for the cases to be completely dry.
• Oven drying is a great way to dry quantities of cases, and it is quick.  You should be able to completely dry several trays of cases in 45 minutes at 100C.  Just avoid trying this in a microwave oven.
• Hair Dryer works well, especially for small batches, but a bit fiddly for serious quantities.

Liquid Glass Oz designs quality ultrasonic cleaners for commercial operations in Australia and New Zealand (N18973). 

www.liquidglassoz.com.au