I;m near complete on all my reloading supplies  and the last thing on the list is a cleaner for my brass.  I'm not going the walnut or corn cob route due to the mess it produces. So my two choices are either a rock tumbler with stainless steel pins or an ultrasonic cleaner. 

 

I'd like to get some opinions from folks that have used both and the pro's and con's?  Do I go the tumbler or ultrasonic route? I've got enough in the reloading budget to buy one and stick with it so I don't have much room for trial and error.

 

I'll be relaoding the following:

 

45 ACP

38 Special

357 Magnum

.223/556

30-06

I use corn cob media primarily but also use ultrasonic to ensure absolute cleanliness when I'm developing loads.

 

That being said, corn cob doesn't make THAT much of a mess. I keep it all in one area and sweep up the countertop when I'm done.

 

But the problem with ultrasonic is if you don't clean them out well enough, you'll have residue inside. 

 

I've yet to attempt tumbling, but for the most part corn cob is easier and cleaner in my experience.

I wet tumble with car wash and the brass looks like new. I have a thumlers tumbler b. It works fine.

 

I had the hornady ultrasonic cleaner and didn't love it.

I have a thumbler tumbler also. It works perfectly for my needs, 200-300 pieces per load. If you want to clean 1000's of pieces at a time..this is not the right tool.

I have an old tumbler and use a 50/50 Walnut and Cobb mix. Never an issue with mess. Run it in a well ventilated area for obvious reasons. The media I store and dump in a large plastic storage box. It is actually quite clean. and I add a bit of polish in the media and those babies look like brand new brass... 

Heavyopp I think sells a nice setup

Here is the old thread....

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/61639-some-real-grungy-brass-turned-to-bling/?hl=bling