Do they work well?  

If you stuck your hand in the liquid bath while it was on, would you feel pain?

I have an ultrasonic humidifier, maybe I could drop my pistol barrels in there.....

Oh, while we are on the subject, how in the hell does an ultrasonic humidifier create than fine mist instead of huge bubbles or something?

Quoted: Do they work well?   If you stuck your hand in the liquid bath while it was on, would you feel pain? I have an ultrasonic humidifier, maybe I could drop my pistol barrels in there..... Oh, while we are on the subject, how in the hell does an ultrasonic humidifier create than fine mist instead of huge bubbles or something?

I did not use it on my weapons, but after a day at the range my friend put his M4, Glock, and a Stainless SW 9mm. The next day he was cleaning all by hand. Apparently you cannot put any parts with rubber in the tub either. This setup had the cleaner and a seperate lubrication tank. I saw no improvement before/after which is why I did not drop my weapons in there. The system was a few thousand $$ too!

I have one and my wife uses it to clean her jewelry and no it doesnt hurt to put your hand in it> Funny enough is Ive never thought to put my small gun parts in it , maybe ill give it a try and keep you reposted!

Ultrasonics only work on hard things, like gallstones and kidneystones, so it won't hurt your hand.

I have a cleaner  (small one) Every now and again I put the pistols in it. I have the ultrasonic lube, and mix up my own detergent/amonia/water mixture.
I then blow out the parts and put them in the oven at about 100 for awhile to ensure ALL the water is dried out. Then lube it.
Its preety neat to take a ~clean~ gun and put it in and watch the water turn dirty.

We have two here at the shop. You need to use the non-ammonia type cleaner. IIRC were using the stuff that brownells sells.
It will take some baked on grunge and strip it off. Takes about 30 mins. Parts are then washed with hot water then blown dry then lubed. I find it to work quite well. The instructions that I have read from L&R's site say do not place your hands in the cleaner while it operates.

any links to the machines?

Quoted: any links to the machines?

Here ya go..

wonder if this walmart unit would do the job.

www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2416364

Quoted: wonder if this walmart unit would do the job. www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2416364 i.walmart.com/i/p/00/68/80/57/39/0068805739080_215X215.jpg

LOL I got one of those... Its good for a stubby barrel/ some internalls and not much more.. The power output is kinda lame..

How stubby is stubby? Would a 5" pistol barrel fit in it?

Quoted: Quoted: wonder if this walmart unit would do the job. www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2416364 i.walmart.com/i/p/00/68/80/57/39/0068805739080_215X215.jpg LOL I got one of those... Its good for a stubby barrel/ some internalls and not much more.. The power output is kinda lame..

could you fit a 1911 frame in it?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: wonder if this walmart unit would do the job. www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2416364 i.walmart.com/i/p/00/68/80/57/39/0068805739080_215X215.jpg LOL I got one of those... Its good for a stubby barrel/ some internalls and not much more.. The power output is kinda lame.. could you fit a 1911 frame in it?

hahahaha maybe just the grip.. the basket is 3X4.5

im thinking this one looks good

www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91957

Quoted: im thinking this one looks good www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91957

Give it a try its only a 100W.. So cleaning time is going to be long.

Ultrasonics work best with thinner solutions that are warm.

A good solvent to use is ordinary, cheap paint thinner. You do have to be careful about fire, but thinner is not as bad as some solutions.

If you want to spend the money, you can buy standard L&R clock or watch cleaning solution and rinse.
The cleaner is an excellent cleaner that does some light rust removal. The rinse is about as flammable as paint thinner.

Here's The good points:

They really clean.

They usually clean FAST. Drop a dirty part in, and the dirt actually BOILS off in a cloud.

They DEEP clean, getting crud you normally don't even see. Ultrasonics get into cracks and holes that normally you can't get to with other methods.

They're especially good on harder fouling. (Ultrasonics work better on hard dirt).

You don't have to disassembly things. Ultrasonics are used by watchmakers to avoid having to disassembly some small components.

They work with a variety of solutions. Water with detergent works on many types of dirt, so you don't HAVE to use a volatile solvent.

The solution is heated up by the ultrasonic action. Warm solution cleans even better. Many tanks have a built-in heater also.

You can put an inch of water in the bottom and use small glass or plastic cups to hold solvent and small parts.
The ultrasonic waves are transmitted by the water in the bottom through the beakers or jars.

You can use the tank for MANY cleaning jobs, Paint brushes, dirty watch bands, electric razor heads, you're wife's jewelery, car parts, ANYTHING that you can fit into the tanks will clean up surgically clean.

The bad:
KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE TANK. Ultrasonics and bone marrow don't mix.
This isn't something that happens instantly, it's over time.

Expense. The larger tanks are COSTLY. However, if you want to clean a stripped pistol or small parts, one of the smaller $150.00 range tanks will work fine.
You CAN put a portion of a frame or slide in the tank at a time.
After cleaning it, turn it over and clean the other half.  This works well for revolvers.

Any solvent that will attack plastic or gun finishes, will attack it FASTER in ultrasonics.
You have to be careful with cleaning solutions.  As example, Simply Green attacks aluminum.  In the cleaner it will attack FASTER.

You've got to be careful to apply a THOROUGH coat of anti-rust lube after cleaning. Ultrasonics remove ALL grease and lube, leaving the part absolutely bare, including in tiny holes and crevices that ordinarily cleaning never touches.

They don't work as well on soft gummy grease as harder dirt. You can speed things up by pulling parts out and scrubbing with a brush.

They're electronic and heat the solvent. You have to be careful with flammables.

Advice:
If possible buy a basket that holds parts off the bottom or make up wire hangers. Ultrasonics work better when the parts are suspended in the solution instead of laying on the bottom of the tank.

A tank cover is nice to hold down fumes.

NEVER run the unit when the tank is dry even for a few seconds, it'll burn out.

Be careful what cleaning solution you use. You can pull the item out and find finish or plastic parts GONE.

Be careful with Tritium sights, and sights with any kind of inserts or dots. Many can be damaged or removed in the tank.
Most white dots and outlines are just paint,  The cleaner WILL remove them.

The small tanks sold in discount stores for cleaning false teeth and jewelery really don't work too well, and most of them aren't even real ultrasonic units.
These often have names like: "Hydrasonic" or "GemSonic" or other words with "sonic" in them.

thanks dfariswheel, good post