Lyman Turbo Sonic cleaner.

[jnovotny]

Has anyone out there bought one of these? How do you like it? I want to try one for cleaning pistol brass, can someone give me some input based on thier use of one?

[Old Caster]

I don't have a Lyman but a Fischer Scientific and it does work well to clean brass, especially if used with Acetic Acid but I hardly ever use it because tumbling with corn cob works well and is easier. I never worry about depriming before tumbling unless shooting bench rest competition and then I do a whole lot of things to the brass. I do however like to use it to clean pistols. One thing to remember is that the cleaner won't work unless you have a chemical in it that will dissolve the material that you want to get rid of. People are now touting stainless rods but I worry that too much use of this will remove strength from the brass. Time will tell. -- Bill --

[TheDoctor]

I have one. I like it, BUT, keep in mind this one only has one transducer in the middle, so that's where most of your energy will be delivered. It has a timer that will go for a maximum of 8 minutes. To normally clean brass, it takes 3 cycles. Using the Hornady solution, it does work very well. Better than doing the homemade solution using vinegar. If left in too long, it will discolor your brass a bit. Ultrasonics do not polish, they just clean. You also have the added inconvenience of waiting for the brass to dry once you are done. I use a glass cooking pan, and put it inside my ultrasonic. That way, my solutions do not come in contact with the device itself. With the container I use, I can do about 50 .45 Colt at once, stirring them inbetween cycles to make sure the outer ones get some cleaning too. Some would consider spending half an hour for 50 brass excessive time. Don't forget to rinse your brass thoroughly. Ultrasonics are very useful for cleaning things besides brass. They will never replace a tumbler, but they are a useful tool. You can get the exact same ultrasonic at Harbor Freight for less, it just doesn't have the Lyman decal on it.

[John Boy]

Lyman Turbo Sonic Cleaner - $140 ... http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/case-prep/turbosonic-casecleaner.php

Lyman Turbo Sonic Cleaner - $110 on Amazon ... http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Turbo-Sonic-Cleaner-115-Volt/dp/B004QUKJQ0

Harbor Freight 2.5 Liter Ultrasonic - $75 ... http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html

It's your money and high probability they are all made in China - call Lyman & ask them because the Lyman and Harbor Freight look exactly the same

I have the Harbor Freight - works great with the right cleaning solution for parts but ... no ultra sonic cleaner is going to clean smokeless or black powder spent cases to any degree as good as a rotary tumbler - media and burnishing solution. I tested twenty 30-30 cases in the ultra sonic for 20 minutes - Failure to clean comparable to a rotary. Why? The sonics don't do a deep cleaning of the brass and there is no media to polish the brass

[jnovotny]

Thanks for the heads up fellas, I think I may look at one of the harbor frieght ones.

[MattOrgan]

I hate giving advice, but don't want you to step off a cliff either. The Lyman and Hornady machines are both great. Harbor frieght sucks. I have two Lyman machines the big one and the medium one. My son has the smaller Hornady. All are great machines. I like the Hornady brass cleaner solution a little better than the Lyman. Probably come from the same place. I use the large one to clean stuff becuase it has a drain.
Makes it easier to recover the cleaning solution. I let it sit for a couple of days and poor off the clean solution. the last inch goes down the drain with all the sediment. Seems to make the solution last longer. I use the small cleaner as my rinsing machine. Just hot water gets the last of the **** off of the cases and the primer pockets. If I were to buy one, spend the money on the large Lyman. When you are done cleaning, empty and rinse it and then use plain hot water for your last bath. If you have really dirty brass I rinse it in water before putting it in the cleaner tank. Saves a lot of exspensive cleaning solution.

[birddog]

I've got the harbor freight unit and use citric degreaser from home depot or the like. It takes 2 cycles at 8 minutes ea to thoroughly clean the brass. But I still tumble in corn cobb for the high luster shine. The cases have to be dry before tumbling. It was worth the investment for me.
Charlie[smilie=l:

[Ironnewt]

My Dillon tumbler does a good job with pistol brass and corn cob media, however I am looking for something that will do a better job with bottle necked rifle brass. From what I have read the steel pin cleaners are the new "thing" as are the Sonic cleaners (which can be used on other parts as well) As I understand it, the cases should be deprimed prior to using either the pins or the sonic cleaners. I would also need a special tumbler for the pins, Right?????

[engineer401]

I recently purchased the Hornady magnum turbo sonic cleaner. I decap the cases first to obtain better cleaning. The cases come out cleaner than with walnut media with polish. There is no media to sort or clean from the inside of the case. The cases set on a towel over night for drying. You can spend a little extra time in the beginning decapping the brass or spend time in the end sifting the dusty media at the end. I am much more satisfied with the sonic cleaner than with the media tumbler.

[Gillie Dog]

I use the HF one with a citric acid solution, same as using Lemi-Shine, and it cleans just fine in 8 minutes or so in "hot" water. I do small batches, I use a separate container in the water bath with the citric solution in it for the small batch and then the machine does not get dirty because all of the grunge is in the separate small container, glass or plastic work fine, and just clean water in in the machine tub.

Yes, it is under horse powered for mass work but the 20 or 30 cases I do at a time work just fine. There is no burnt powder or other grunge on/in the cases when done.

GD