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Posted: 12/31/2005 10:13:15 PM EDT
| 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). |
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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.  |
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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 |
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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. |
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