Anyone do this and if so, what model ultrasonic cleaner do you use?  I'm looking for one that'll do handguns as well as a short AR15 carbine (10.5" barrel size).

I've used them before they work well.  You do need to be careful of ventalation depending on you're cleaner.  Also, the ultra sound will heat the solvent or cleaner up in temp. so use something non explosive.

I use a Bransonic, with optional heat.  They ain't cheap, even on Ebay, but save a huge amount of cleaning time, if you have a lot of cleaning to do.

Mine has a 2 gallon tank, which is big enough for about 95% of all assembled handguns, and I can break down an AR and completely submerse both upper and lower and about 4" of barrel.   I wouldn't get anything smaller than a 1 gallon tank for cleaning an AR.

I mainly use Stoddard solvent and about a 10 minute bath with heat.   If I dont want to wait for the solvent to slowly dry off the gun, I use compressed air or spray down with Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK is nasty stuff) to evaporate the solvent and give me a grime-free part.

I use MEK in the tank only for all-steel items, because it will eat many plastics, paints and finishes.   The nice feature of MEK is that it will dissolve almost any kind of oil/grease/sludge/residue and leave your part squeaky-clean in a few minutes.   I never use the heat with MEK, because it is extremely flammable.   The ultrasonic action will create heat by itself.   I can leave a hunk of steel in the tank for an hour and it will be too hot to hold in my hand, hence only a short bath time with MEK.

Look closely at any unit before purchase, many will say they are not to be used with flammable liquids.


With firearms, I only use the ultrasonic a few times a year,  regular after-shoot cleaning is done with a high-pressure can of brake cleaner, used liberally.


I do use it for cleaning hundreds of tools and  parts from cars, aircraft, etc.

GAU5-A-A - we use to use solvents all the time in Ultrasonice cleaners - now days is a NO NO as someone can leave on too long etc. (or at least that what's the saftey dept says if we ask ;-).

What temperature are you using and what's the flash point of the sovlent?

Regards
John

We us the L&R at work.  

The good points:  It cleans great.  No grime left after cleaning.  We use the L&Rcleaner and lube with no problems.  I also lube slide rails with some Eezox afterwards just for extra piece of mind.

The bad points:  The unit has been temperamental.  It has shut down and startd smoking for no reason at all.  Twice it was covered under warranty, but the third time was not.  At $900.00 it is not cheap to replace.

Remember that a U/S cleaner removes all oil from the metal.  If you leave metal out without putting oil on it it will rust very quickly

I use a small one for handgun parts and cleaning brass

Chris