Ultrasonic cleaners

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Does anyone know what kind of retail stores sell ultrasonic cleaners? I’d like to buy one large enough to fit a rifle receiver, preferably locally in Nashville. Specific model recommendations would be quite welcome.

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14 Responses to Ultrasonic cleaners

  1. Kevin says:
    July 3, 2011 at 9:30 pm

    For a receiver you would probably need to buy from an industrial supply company or similar. It won’t be cheap, as you’ll likely need a 5 gallon or larger unit. Be sure to have the dimensions of the largest receiver you are thinking of cleaning. No idea about sources or brands. Granger has some and they have offices everywhere, but I assume you’d like to actually buy from a locally owned company.

  2. Len says:
    July 3, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    A good bet is a Beauty Supply that caters to barbers and hair dressers. Also check Harbor Freight if you have one locally.

  3. Mark E. Horning says:
    July 3, 2011 at 10:41 pm

    Harbor Freight ought to have one big enough.

  4. Charlie Foxtrot says:
    July 3, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html

    I’ve looked at this one at HF. Looks good. Now I’m only waiting for the War Department to look away…

  5. Kevin says:
    July 4, 2011 at 1:03 am

    That looks like it might work for an AR, I don’t think could fit a AK receiver in there. I think you’ll need something more like:
    http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/BRANSON-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-3KWC7
    Again, I have never used this, it’s not a recommendation.

    And yeah, the professional quality large capacity cleaners are going to cost a lot more than itsy-bitsy cheap consumer grade ones. So you need to be sure of the dimensions, and what else you might want to put in there. Like optics. You might also look for “parts washers”.

  6. eriko says:
    July 4, 2011 at 1:32 am

    All the consumer ones are basically that same quality. The bigger Hornady
    http://www.hornady.com/store/Sonic-Cleaner-new
    Tank dimensions: 9.4″ x 5.5″ x 3.9″ but that does not include the basket that the parts need to be in. You can not have the parts touching the side of the tank. You will get a lot of noise and probably damage the parts.

    Your local Walmart of hunting (Cabelas in my neck of the woods) probably has one.

  7. Jim says:
    July 4, 2011 at 6:10 am

    Recommend going with one that can heat the cleaning solution. The cheaper ones do not have this feature. I used ultrasonic cleaners in my job in the military and the heated ones removed aircraft engine grime and crud MUCH better.

  8. Awtha says:
    July 4, 2011 at 8:12 am

    well, to throw something else in the thought process, have you considered a “parts washer”? Definitely more choices and works just as good or better, just not as quick.

  9. mikee says:
    July 4, 2011 at 8:20 am

    Fisher Scientific: http://www.fishersci.com/ecomm/servlet/fsproductdetail?aid=167863&storeId=10652

    Prices go up rapidly with increasing capacity.

  10. Will says:
    July 4, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    I think your best bet is using ebay. I see new ones listed there. Don’t overlook Brownell’s, since they do specialize in gun stuff. They do wear out eventually. The unit that generates the vibration gets weaker over time. The cheaper units die much quicker.

    Bear in mind, good ones are expensive. Especially one big enough to hold a long gun receiver/barrel assembly. Commercial grade ones that big tend to have cooling coils circling the top to condense the fumes from the solvent so it doesn’t evaporate. Originally they used freon solvents, until the anti-freon campaign eliminated them. Nothing else works as well, unfortunately.

  11. Daddyo says:
    July 5, 2011 at 10:14 am

    I would think a lab supply such as Cole-Parmer or an industrial supply house like McMaster-Carr. Personally, I’ve never been particularly impressed with the results of ultrasonic cleaning. It’ll take off stuff you could otherwise wipe off, but there doesn’t seem to be much scrubbing action for the stubborn stuff. I agree with Awtha, I’d look into a parts washer. I’ve used them for engine parts and they come out looking just cast.

  12. Neal Wiser says:
    July 5, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    Reach out to Lisa Morantz at Morantz, Inc. (website is http://www.ultrasonicmachines.com or call 1-800-695-4522). Lisa manufacturers ultrasonic cleaning systems (including table top systems) and knows everything there is to know about ultrasonic cleaning. Tell her I sent you.

  13. Bob H says:
    July 5, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    Brownell’s has a couple

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