Crest Ultrasonic Cleaner - Brass Casings 

Fantastic video. You answered several questions I had around ultrasonic cleaners, and even more that I didn't know I had yet. Quality video, I appreciate the effort you put into this!

You know, I remember your video on how to make a Glock factory clean. I've done it once to both of my Glocks and didn't think about the sleeve at all. It was brought to my attention not long ago and it made me question it. Thanks for all the informative videos.

I've had a Crest 175HT (half-gallon) model since 2006 before I took up reloading, and it is quite small but the industrial-strength ultrasonic cleaners are DEFINITELY worth the price premium. I've also been pondering the thought of purchasing a larger model for firearms cleaning too, and I really appreciate you showing the handguns in the basket toward the end since that is a very important factor. Thank you for posting this excellent video!

I picked up some clear hose and brass hardware for fluid handling straight from the tank to my floor drain but now I'll have to use your excellent idea and rig something up with a filter option. Very nice, thank you!

That was very cool, what pretty brass you have. You put a lot of work into this video, and as always, it shows.

People might have trouble believing this but I work in a power plant laboratory and we have industrial ultrasonic cleaners that cost several thousand dollars each. My Harbor Freight cheap-o model has much stronger cleaning action than the expensive models at my job. I forget what brand they are, but they are absolute junk compared to the price. I can see your Crest has really great cleaning action too. In all, I have been really impressed with my HF model. It's lasted me a long time, too. I siphon the water out of it. I think a lot of people kill theirs by pouring the water out when they are done, and it gets down between the tank and the body and ruins the internals. If you siphon the solution out, which is very easy to do, you prevent any exposure through the gap around the tank if you were to pour it out. I found a basket on Amazon that fits these models perfectly, I think it was 13 dollars. If you don't use a basket, the items sit on the bottom of the tank and it causes the transducers to work extra hard and it WILL kill your cleaning action and ultimately ruin the transducers. To siphon your ultrasonic cleaner just get several feet of rubber tubing. Fill the tubing with water from the sink and put your fingers over both ends of the tube keeping it completely full of water. Quickly put one end in the ultrasonic cleaner while you stick the other end down the sink drain or into a tub that is lower than the ultrasonic cleaner. It will suck out every last drop if you tilt the cleaner as the water level drops. If all you are doing is cleaning brass, I would buy a stainless wet tumbler. Much cheaper and cleans just as good. I never use my ultrasonic for brass, I use it on gun parts. The wet tumbler works great and I can fit 1500 .223 cases in a single batch easily.

Informative and entertaining! Thank you for taking time to produce this.

Thanks for the compliment. Wouldn't want to have to rely on this carpal-tunnel-syndrome producing hobby to pay the bills, though! Took me 2-1/2 days to edit this thing and my eyeballs were vibrating like like they'd been run through a Thumler's Tumbler! Glad to hear you're moving on to the next level in reloading. If you can make yourself safe from the contaminated dust, a vibratory case cleaner does have the benefit of being the most hassle-free method of getting your brass back in action.

It was a fun project because I had a full head of info that I couldn't wait to get on video after researching this thing for the big buy!

I have the typical small ultra-sonic cleaner I use with simple green to clean gun parts and reloading dies. It works very good for that but wouldn't be suitable for cleaning large amounts of brass as you found. For cleaning brass I use a Thumbler tumbler with stainless steel media, hot water, and dish washing detergent. After 3 hours my brass is beautiful. After a quick rinse I spread it out on my bench and use a blow dryer for a few minutes to dry the brass off.

What an excellent video. I've been trying to self educate on reloading and I've been watching a lot of RU-vid. This one didn't even start with my pet peave: "I just wanted to make a video about..." and everything was in focus. I'm really impressed. You should be teaching guys how to make videos.

Great video! And I loved the intro! Very creative.

Wow...information overload! More please. Great information, that a lot of people can use. If more people would do reloading just think how much that would drive prices down and make more ammunition available. Thanks KGB.

Re-sizing dirty brass often leads to scratches in the polished surface of your sizing die. Critical defects such as cracks, splits, and case head separation often occur while the casing is being drawn during the sizing step and don't show up very well on dirty brass. Full-length sizing always lengthens the brass, so trimming is done after that. Thank you!

Glad to see I’m not the only one who decided to go the commercial ultrasonic cleaner route. I had a hard time deciding between this and the wet tumbler with pins. I just don’t think a rock tumbler is the best thing for precision brass.

I like the idea of that. Came close to going that route myself but thought it would be a fun future project to build my own tumbler. Imagine how cool it would be to drive the drum with a stationary bicycle, or pull a drum behind a mobile bicycle like a two wheeled trailer! Human powered bulk brass-cleaning!

Highly informative video, and loved the multi-personality shot too.

Thanks for the video. Put my mind at ease since I'm on a budget and already have the harbor freight model.

you... rock. You just rock. Always very informative and entertaining!

Excellent review. Nice job, as always.

Excellent - thanks for posting. I use the stainless pins in a tumbler method and like it.

Just what I was looking for! Thank you.

Glad you liked that! Thanks!

Squeaky clean! And amazingly, it still works! When the temperature rose above 70 degrees Celsius and it suddenly dawned on me that it was almost 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I doubt if lithium ion batteries are designed to operate at temperatures that high.

I thought the double or triple of you was funny as hell. The underwater video was cool too. Great video. That ultasonic unit does a nice job.

Great video and editing!

That trio action made my day:)

I put a blued badger FTE brake in mine - started to remove the blueing and allowed it to rust. I was using Cream of Tartare, though.

Well done, especially with the GoPro !

Yea, but come wintertime when you just want to put a fire in the wood stove and crank the stereo you'll need some kind of project to get lost in. Might as well spend your days making some pretty looking ammunition. The family part is where things do get tricky though. Glad to hear the barter system is still alive and well!

Thanks for your kindness. Hope you enjoy all of your marijuana-enhanced viewing experiences!

you make some of the coolest videos!.....Great Job! PS: tell those other guys to get back to work! ;)

Creative video. Job well done for all 3 of you. How did your GoPro come thru the ultrasonic cleaning?

Great video and an awesome ultrasonic. Thanks.

Thats what I do too. :) I just never thought about removing and replacing the sleeve or when and why.

wow awesome vid KGB,good help is hard to find,the rifle brass did you trim it before you cleaned or will you trim if needed after its all cleaned,it sure does a good job,concept most dont understand you get what you pay for..nice

Awesome video, really great info!

I'm still interested in experimenting with building my own stainless pin tumbling tank. I think that would make a fun project, and it seems like everyone who does it that way is happy with the process.

No damage yet but I've not been shooting 5.7 lately because I'm concentrating on action pistol. All of my 5.7 brass has been cleaned in the ultrasonic now and none of it has shown any damage from that process. Once I get back into this caliber I'll be posting videos on how things are going.

Thanks. The sparkling clean primer pockets and case interior are nice if that's important but the extra time and effort sort of makes you want to just stick to the simple vibratory method.

Your the boss! Very informative and great video!

Really cool video... how'd you get the underwater shots?

Not too bad. I tuck clothes dryer anti-static sheets in my empty powder hoppers and a half-sheet in my vibratory tumbler with the corn cob media. They also work well for removing static charge on the reloading scale pans.

Thanks kgb, very informative.

Funny you posted this now, just bought a Hornady Magnum ultrasonic. Although that looks very sweet, but dang, almost $1K?!

Had to rewatch this one. How have you faired doing guns and gun parts in that thing?

for guys with the smaller units, use a siphon pipe to drain the dirty water rather than unplugging and tipping. Great video!

In the past I've always left the channel-sleeve alone when hand washing my Glocks in Simple Green. It is something to consider, though.

That was awesome. Thanks.

Thanks for the Video Very Informative and to the point - Charles

Yes, you could clean a shotshell in one of these, but the only type that might require cleaning would be the all-brass traditional ones that cowboy action shooters use. -- A perfectly valid question.

No, I don't do that often, but when I do they're always detail stripped first.

Any of the "O" - framed reloading presses that have full support and a solid handle are good if you want to reload rifle casings. The "C" - framed versions are probably more convenient for handgun cartridges. If your primary goal is economy then the brand that I recommend is Lee Precision. They have the market cornered on affordable reloading systems that will get the work done for the lowest initial investment cost.

Thanks-- I appreciate that!

Mostly an RCBS universal de-primer, but more recently, I've been using a Lee depriming punch.

I hope you do a follow up video, does the Crest Powersonic still work?? How about the Harbor Freight chinesium cleaner?

Yea, it was $938.00 plus accessories. I like to think of it as the subscription cost of one year's worth of cable TV. Check out Wholesale Point, Inc. They have the lowest prices on Crest Ultrasonics, and free shipping.

Good point cant wait thanks

very good vid...thanks for the info ...

If you use a hot, distilled water rinse and spread them out on a tray or towel and leave them in the hot sun they should dry quickly enough to avoid tarnishing.

Can you recomend a good affordable single stage press for a avid shooter wanting to get into reloading.

Has your experience with the ultrasonic cleaner been positive with the 5.7 brass? No damage to the poly coating?

Great vid -- thanks!

Looks like it works good on that GoPro lens to.

A big thumbs up on the video...thank you.

I know right. While I was watching it I was thinking. Man KGB is the friggin Carl Sagan of ultra-sound cleaners. "billions and billions of stars"

thought maybe the trimming,resizing and all would already been done before the cleaning,that way your not handling your shiny brass so much,great vid..nice editing

Would this work on the rusty sockets? I recently received a handful amount of rusty sockets from my friend and now trying to find the way to clean them and put them to use but it seems that the rust gas been stuck to them pretty firm. Any ideas?

Oh, man... that's funny! Yes, I replicated one 32 year old DNA recipient for each of us. You are the first person to mention the ending. Eugene said it sounded "ra-tard"but I just needed something that would bring the three characters back together for the finale, so I sang it three times into the camera, cut, and stacked them on the audio time-line. It sounded so un-KGB like, that it practically killed me! Infomercial: "Hey kids, don't forget to shop at TN Outdoor's Ammo Emporium!"

what do you use to de-prime before the cleaning process?

I'm thinking about firing the mouthy guy with the broom! They don't get trimmed until after they're re-sized, measured, and inspected for for flaws.

i doubt the info in this video is available in suck a comprehensive format as here.........AWESOME.

Still waiting for the future video covering gun cleaning.

From what I hear, they work wonders with gummed up carburetors.

When you’re reloading do you have any issues with static electric?

Ok, thanks.

Bravo!

This probably sound like a stupid question, but do you think shotgun shell would work to? (new to cleaning brass)

This was the second-toughest edit I've ever done; second only to the "Should I Reload 5.7x28".

LOL "buzz bucket". No better description. I think your Go-Pro deserves hazard pay. That's a shot that I never would have thought of. Thanks for the great information and, as usual, a well made and unique video. BTW, I think you pay the janitor too much. He needs to do more sweeping and less talking LOL.

Did your 12 guage slug factory video get removed? I was trying to share it with a friend and can't find it.

Or... maybe a stainless steel pin tumbler. Those work pretty well too, from what I've read.

Hello, What are the specifications for your machine? I also heard you mention watts per gallon, what is the watt per gallon rating for the unit you have? I was looking at Crest units but they don't advertise their prices online so I figured it would be too pricey for my budget and I went with a DK SONIC 10 liter. It works out to 90 watts per gallon. If it works half as good as the Crest, I will be happy. Thank you for any information regarding Crest ultrasonic cleaners.

Awesome!!!

A used a HDGoPro as you can see on the left of the basket at 4:59

Great video, except for that i now have to invest in a sonic cleaner... Damn you! :-)

Use a freezer baggie for the shell hulls and the cleaning solution. Then just fill the remainder of the cleaner vessel with regular tap water, which will not be contaminated with the removed carbon and combustion by products.

I've heard of people using things like cement mixers to clean rusty chains and tools by tumbling them in abrasive media. Sandblasting would be another option. Ultrasonic cleaning probably wouldn't remove the rusted metal.

What a gamgster ultrasonic!!

Sure miss these video's! Come back TheKGB65!!! ;-)

If I hadn't scripted it you'd be listening to an hour's worth of "ahhs, umms", and "you knows".

It took a while for me to get interested in reloading. So, there may be hope for him yet. ALL WILL BE ASSIMILATED.

Do you ultrasonic clean fully assembled Glocks?

Hey great video how about some gun cleaning next

So what did the wife say when she saw you cooking brass in the oven?

Even the GoPro comes out squeaky clean.

I started reading your comment but never got through it. My eyes keep going back to the avatar image!

What wife? Only I, the Master, decide what goes in that oven!

Fish and Chips --- Oh, man! I was already hungry after reading the friendly comment below from the guy named - Burger! I love mayo or Miracle Whip on my fries... I mean, "chips".

Wasn't sure it would survive, but they claim that the sweep-frequency ultrasonics are safe for electronics.