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Posted: 9/1/2026 12:55:52 PM EDT
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I got a large ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning my suppressors. I've NEVER cleaned any of them. Some are 20+ years old. Put my filthiest 22lr can in a zip lock bag of aluminum safe simplegreen concentrate and did not dilute. I did (4) 15min cleaning runs and NOTHING happened. Cleaning agent is still clear. The suppressors actually weights MORE after the 60min of cleaning. What am I doing wrong? I put the whole can in the cleaner as I can't get it apart. |
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Not sure what device you have but it is usually instant gratification if the ultrasonic is on to see material leaving the object being cleaned. And why are using a zip lock bag? Put the simple green in the cleaner and dilute as suggested. Turn on cleaner. How are you suspending the can in the cleaner. All of mine have baskets. |
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A 10 liter tank is big. I'm guessing you fill it with water and you use a 1 gallon zip lock with the cleaner and suppressor parts. Commenters here will an ultrasonic cleaner can be used this way and they've done it for years with great results but it's my experience this is will not work This is why I disagree; On a project I worked on several years ago, I had to find the resonate frequency of ultrasonic transducers. Everything makes a huge difference such as water temp and water depth of the tank for the transducer to work right. Never tried putting parts in a zip lock bag but this seems like a really bad idea A possible fix you may want to consider; Use an ultrasonic cleaner(UC for short) that takes about 1 gallon of water and has a heater. Most UCs are this size and they all have a heater. If you want to save a lot of time, you can heat the water on the stove and pour it into the UC. Simple Green is a great cleaner but I use Dawn dish soap as it's cheap and it works |
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Just to add If I were to use your UC, I would use water heated to 130F with Dawn dish soap and fill the tank 2/3. The suppressor parts need to be in a basket, parts can't be laying on the bottom of the tank Something I assumed is your UC having a basket. Believe it or not, the depth of you parts make a big difference. Everything affects resonate frequency much more than you would think. If you ever use an oscilloscope to find the resonate frequency, you'll see how small differences affect resonance |
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Try warm water if you haven’t. I use the bag method, I’ve used glass jars too. Both are effective. If they’re in rough shape, try using some of the Breakthrough cleaner in the bag and soak it a day first. Then ultrasonic, use warm/hot water in the tank. |
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On mine you have to turn on the machine, hit amount of time, and another button for heat. I used one part vinegar, small dash of dawn, and rest hot water. 15-20 minutes, clean. |
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For tough to clean 22lr baffles, I just use 50/50 boiling water/Breakthrough suppressor cleaner. For bolt carrier groups, I just generally boil some water and dawn dish soap and dump it in the unit. Simple green really doesn't do well with the metal in bolt carrier groups for some reason. It changed the color of the metal and now it's all blotchy and it's not aluminum, so I don't know what happened... |
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Breakthrough suppressor cleaner like others have said. I put all of my parts in glass mason jars with the solvent/cleaner as the waves penetrate glass much better than plastic. My tub is filled with water and a few drops of dish soap to break up the surface tension of the water. Try running the ultrasonic cleaner for a bit to break up any air/gas that may be in the water, then put the filled jars in the basket/tub. |
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Glocked I never like to question someone who has experience in a method but ultrasonic cleaners are not magic and it doesn't take much to make the transducers ineffective. My work with ultrasonic transducers inclines me to believe a glass jar would mitigate the UC's usefulness and the OP stated he used the bag method and it didn't work. In my studies, commercial UCs use variable frequency drivers as it's best to have resonance some of the time as opposed to none of time. Water temperature, water depth, the material being cleaned and its depth in solution all affect resonance |
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TheSadPatriot I wasn't paying good enough attention when you said "Put my filthiest 22lr can in a zip lock bag of aluminum safe simplegreen concentrate and did not dilute". I've done a lot of work with ultrasonic cleaners and it's always been said to never put aluminum in a ultrasonic cleaner as it will destroy aluminum. |
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Originally Posted By EliCustom: Glocked I never like to question someone who has experience in a method but ultrasonic cleaners are not magic and it doesn't take much to make the transducers ineffective. My work with ultrasonic transducers inclines me to believe a glass jar would mitigate the UC's usefulness and the OP stated he used the bag method and it didn't work. In my studies, commercial UCs use variable frequency drivers as it's best to have resonance some of the time as opposed to none of time. Water temperature, water depth, the material being cleaned and its depth in solution all affect resonance It may lessen its effectiveness, but it’s never been enough for me to notice a difference. The baffles are rather audible, especially titanium, when they’re running in a glass jar, so they do still receive some vibrations. It is however much easier to dispose of the contaminated cleaner afterwards if you use a bag or jar. Whether you’re a proper disposal kind of guy, or a dump it down the sink/drain kind of guy. Dealing with a 1L of contaminated solution is easier than dealing with 10L of contaminated solution. |
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I made a polycarbonate lid (cover) for my USC and cut a hole in it to hold a 250ml Pyrex beaker. The beaker is suspended in the water and doesn't use much cleaning solution. This works great for cleaning brass and other small parts. You'd need a larger beaker to submerge an entire suppressor which shouldn't be a problem given the OP's 10L USC. |
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- Only fill it with as much liquid as you need to submerge what you’re cleaning. If you only put 1L in it’s going to have a lot more cleaning power than if it’s trying to move the full 10L - the cleaning solution you use matters a lot. - 1 hour usually isn’t enough time. I’ve ran things for 6-8 hours before |
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Originally Posted By AndrewKing: - Only fill it with as much liquid as you need to submerge what you’re cleaning. If you only put 1L in it’s going to have a lot more cleaning power than if it’s trying to move the full 10L - the cleaning solution you use matters a lot. - 1 hour usually isn’t enough time. I’ve ran things for 6-8 hours before I'll test out using less H20 as the filler material. I did have it full. |
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Originally Posted By TheSadPatriot: I'll test out using less H20 as the filler material. I did have it full. Originally Posted By TheSadPatriot: Originally Posted By AndrewKing: - Only fill it with as much liquid as you need to submerge what you’re cleaning. If you only put 1L in it’s going to have a lot more cleaning power than if it’s trying to move the full 10L - the cleaning solution you use matters a lot. - 1 hour usually isn’t enough time. I’ve ran things for 6-8 hours before I'll test out using less H20 as the filler material. I did have it full. Make sure the US transducers are only in the bottom of the cleaner if you are going to run it half full. Mine has transducers in the sides as well, and if the transducers are not covered with liquid they can be damaged. |
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Originally Posted By TheSadPatriot: It's a 10L unit. Filled with water. Suppressor in gallon ziplock with 1/4 full of simplegreen Extreme. Put sealed ziplock in water/basket. Simplegreen about the same clear color afterwards. Nothing really came out of can. Try diluting it with some water…..Ive heard that it might work better diluted. |
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| An hour in an ultrasonic isn’t going to touch it. 12 hours should give you some initial results. Aluminum and long term ultrasonic doesn’t play well though. |
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Have an old sealed rimfire can. Tried cleaning it in the US with minimal results. Purple power and water seemed to work a little, but not great. I've always shied away from the dip, but gave in and soaked it over night. Rinsed it out, some stuff came out. A few hours in the US got a lot of sludge out. The can still has build up in it. |
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