Is it worth buying a crockpot for cleaning brass in citric acid solution?

[1hole]

Acids do little for "cleaning" cases but acids do react with oxidation (tarnish) on brass surfaces and then the tarnish can be wiped off easily. Most any acid will do the job. I prefer the mild acidic acid (3-5%) in common white vinegar because it's cheep and very easy to find.

All chemical reactions work faster when heated but heat doesn't make it work any better. I soak my (occasional) tarnished cases in vinegar over night at room temperature, flush, dry and tumble normally.

[AZ Pete]

no a crock pot is not needed.

[Shawlerbrook]

Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner and like said before, use the crockpot for chili.

[RogerDat]

5 Gallon Homer bucket from Home Depot. Water is warm if the hose was laying in the sun or I decide to wait for the water in the house to run hot. I think the citric acid does a good job of tarnish removal, I think the few drops of dawn dish soap help with the fouling in the case. What I think having the water warm does is help it dry a little bit faster.

Having hot rinse water bucket does more good I think than a hot wash bucket. To that end I typically will run some hot water through the brass to rinse and that hot water provides a pre-heating for drying.

Have done a lot of brass that came out fine with that wash and some lizard litter (ground walnut shells) or corn cob media. Dash of Nu-Finish, splash of mineral spirits to keep the dust down. Run media for a few to mix then toss in the washed but dry brass.

Went to wet tumbling with SS pins but results were acceptable before that. Just better inside and in primer pocket with SS pins than dry tumbling media after a soak.

[EDG]

Cases cleaned with vinegar turn brown given enough time even after repeated rinsing.
Acids do react with the oxide layer on the surface of the part loosening/removing the crud that is on top of the oxide.
Citric acid is more effective and longer lasting when used on brass than vinegar.
Chemical reactions do work faster when heated and are more thorough and complete too. So they do work much better than cold solutions.
It is standard practice to heat all cleaning baths for metal finishing in industry.
That also goes for steel prior to painting, stainless steel prior to passivation and aluminum before chem film (chromate chemical conversion) or anodizing.

Acids do little for "cleaning" cases but acids do react with oxidation (tarnish) on brass surfaces and then the tarnish can be wiped off easily. Most any acid will do the job. I prefer the mild acidic acid (3-5%) in common white vinegar because it's cheep and very easy to find.

All chemical reactions work faster when heated but heat doesn't make it work any better. I soak my (occasional) tarnished cases in vinegar over night at room temperature, flush, dry and tumble normally.

[kevin c]

I've only use citric acid to wet tumble on a timer and so far haven't left the brass in the cleaning solution for more than a couple hours (2 tsp in a full sized FART, along with car wash and wax). When I used diluted white vinegar (on the order of a cup in a gallon of water with dishwashing liquid) as a soak overnight for really tarnished brass, sometimes I'd end up with reddened brass from zinc leaching.

I'd be tempted to use a crock pot for a long time, say, over night. As higher temps make chemical reactions faster, I'm wondering if overnight use of a hot citric acid solution could cause the same leaching. Any first hand experience out there?

ETA: Ah, I found a post by a wiser head than mine noting the citric acid can give you pink brass and advising against overnight use.

[William Yanda]

Is it necessary? I really don't know. But you can pick up a crock pot at a yard sale or thrift store for next to nothing.

My experience is that warm/hot citric acid is more effective. A thrift shop often has crock pots for less than $10. What's not to like?

[6bg6ga]

When in doubt always borrow the wife's stuff before you break down and purchase one for yourself. You can always tell your wife you were planning on buying her a new one if caught. The only thing I wouldn't do is try to use the wife's oven. That one you might not return from.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use a crock pot for cleaning heavy tarnish off of old brass.

I don't like to setup for a Hot citric acid bath unless I have enough brass to fill the crock pot about 4 or 5 times. That is about how much the solution will clean before it starts turning blue/green and quit working effectively.

While it's not often, sometimes I buy a large amount of brass that is quite old and very tarnished.
Or when I have saved up range brass so I have a large batch to process.

Here is how I go about it:

I will put the first batch of brass in a bucket of hot tap water with dish soap, and agitate with my bare hands for a minute. This will clean any loose dirt or cobwebs and even remove a lube residue.
Then rinse.

I put the rinsed brass into a mesh nylon bag and then immerse in the Hot (near boil) citric acid bath for 5 or 10 minutes. That is long enough to remove the tarnish and passivate the brass.

I rinse the bagged brass a couple times, then dry it.
If it's summer time, I just dry them on a picnic table in the sun. There are other ways to dry them too.

The passivated finish on the brass isn't shiney. I don't typically tumble them after, as the passivated finish is said to deter future tarnish.

[44magLeo]

Do you cast your own? Do you use a hot plate to warm molds while casting?
If so use your hot plate and an old pot.
I live alone so using the stove top works for me. I use vinegar, Dawn dish soap and water. I mix up gallon batches. I store it in gallon jugs.
To use I pour the solution into a pot on the stove, Crank up the heat. Get the solution steaming good, pour in the brass. Agitate with a plastic slotted spoon. Let heat for a few more minutes, agitate.
I then pour the brass and solution through a colander into another pot. This separates the brass from the solution.
I then rinse the brass under hot tap water till no soap suds remain. Pour out on a bath towel. flod towel into a tube the long way. Hold ends off tube and roll brass end to end in the tube to get the water out of and off the brass. Pour out the brass on a dry towel to dry.
I do this on any range brass I find. I do this after sizing brass to clean off any lube.
Leo

[mdi]

Since my first post in this thread 6 years ago, I've tried citric acid, soap and water a few times. Not impressed. But if you want to heat the solution perhaps just a hot plate and a $.50 pan to see if there is a difference. (Many more reloaders/casters have a hot plate rather than a crock pot in their shop). If it works then find a bulky crock pot, personally I don't have room for any more seldom used appliances in my shop...