ultrasonic cleaning station help needed
So I'm at work and the Chief wants to buy two Ultrasonic gun cleaners one for pistols and one for rifles. That say you...I'm looking for prices and site that I can find a good deal on these items. Anyone have any experience good or bad on these. Any help would be great.
We have one. It worked great hen we used all steel guns like the smith 4046.
Now that we have MP's and Glocks we no longer use it.
Honestly, I don't think it does anything we can't do by hand.
I've never been a big fan of dipping my entire gun in any kind of solution, no matter how safe they say it is.
I've heard they're not soo good at cleaning polymer guns though. Should do fine on the slides barrels and springs though.
Originally Posted By tossinsparks:
I've never been a big fan of dipping my entire gun in any kind of solution, no matter how safe they say it is.
I've heard they're not soo good at cleaning polymer guns though. Should do fine on the slides barrels and springs though.
We have been told ultrasonics are an absolute no go on polymer anything. Something about degrading the strength of the material.
We mainly Sig 226's, Sig556's and Remington 870 shotguns. This will be for annual inspections and such.
We bought one years ago when we were useing s&w model 65s it cleaned them so well that the metal was so dry it had to be soaked in oil over night its like it pulled all of the lubricant out of the metal like wringing out a sponge. I never used it again.
There are two main manufacturers - Crest and L&R ultrasonics. I have been using the units for 3 years now while doing qualifications/inspections. While you may be able to get guns "as clean" without them, they do offer several advantages over conventional hand cleaning.
For example:
1. Yesterday I ran four guys through qualifications and then cleaned/inspected 8 Glocks, the bolt and piston from 3 HK G-36's, the bolt and carrier from an M-16, and a Kimber .45. This all took about 45 minutes (mainly because the crappy air compressor I have to blow out the excess liquid doesn't keep up).
2. The cleaning solution I use is water-based and biodegradeable, when I need to change it out - everything except the sediment in the bottom goes down the drain - no special hazmat disposal required. This is also much better on my hands and sinuses versus conventional solvents.
They are not completely "hands off" cleaners. I do still occasionally have to run a bore brush through 2-3 passes to remove heavy fouling after a 5-10 minute cleaning cycle, or use a brush to get loosened carbon off a AR bolt tail. I would not want to go back to having to do inspections without the ultrasonic - now I have guys work on paperwork and reloading their magazines with fresh duty ammunition while I am cleaning/inspecting guns.
They are safe on polymer guns and on nightsights. There are some guns with painted on finishes (CZ, MP-5, some cheaper guns) that the finish may be adversely affected if it is chipped/scratched. Wood grips are also a no go to put in the tank.
It is water that is heated with a cleaning/degreasing solution and tiny scrubbing bubbles that when they contact the weapon, the bubbles implode on themselves helping to break the dirt apart. You place the weapon in there for a 5-10 minute cycle, take it out, rinse it off with hot water (so you don't contaminate the lubricant tank) then place it in a lube tank for a few minutes, air compressor to blow off the excess lube and you're good to go.
There are many different sizes and options available with a wide price range. Feel free to message me if you would like any more specific information. I inspect/clean/service 400+ different weapons annually.
We punted ours, cleaning solutions are expensive and all that sludge kept creeping into whatever crevice it could get to and clog it up. Big waste of money!
We used to have an ultrasonic cleaner and they dried the piss out of our pistols! You would really have to lubricate your weapon after the ultrasonic bath!
Be warned.
In reference to all the "it dried the guns out" comments, yes it does that and very well. That is what they system is designed to do - clean/degrease with a heated chemical solution. The same problem arises with many of the spray solvents out there (Gunk-out or carb cleaner). Can be a great system depending on your needs, but like with anything else, the people using them need to understand them for them to be used properly, there was a slight learning curve when I got ours.
