Strange results from cleaning pellets

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manabeknives

manabeknives

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Apr 1, 2015
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San Diego, California, United States
This was a new one for me
Dropped in some AEA 50.5g pellets into an ultrasound cleaner for my normal process of cleaning/weighing/rolling and lubing the pellets
I examined the pellets before they went into the cleaner to see if there are any obvious defects
Used the same cleaning solution i have used in the past. I also tried a little Palmolive and water and got similar results
When i took out the pellets from the ultrasound, it looks like something corroded the surface ...the surface is very rough to the touch.
Not all the pellets reacted this way
Has anyone experienced this from cleaning a pellet?
Thanks
Mike
IMG_0553.jpeg
 
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manabeknives said:
This was a new one for me
Dropped in some AEA 50.5g pellets into an ultrasound cleaner for my normal process of cleaning/weighing/rolling and lubing the pellets
I examined the pellets before they went into the cleaner to see if there are any obvious defects
Used the same cleaning solution i have used in the past. I also tried a little Palmolive and water and got similar results
When i took out the pellets from the ultrasound, it looks like something corroded the surface ...the surface is very rough to the touch.
Not all the pellets reacted this way
Has anyone experienced this from cleaning a pellet?
Thanks
Mike
View attachment 543929
Click to expand...
Cavitation pitting. Looks like you have a healthy transducer on your ultrasonic. Mine does that to the Pyrex cup I put acetone in and then put the cup into the water, to degrease small parts in the ultrasonic.

Your issue is 100% ultrasonic related. I gently mix my pellets and slugs in warm soapy water for cleaning. I learned your lesson on a lot of home cast 38 projectiles and had to melt them all back down.
 
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Check out YouTube on how the ultrasonic works, and also compare to prop damage on boat screws that have cavitation damage and tell me if they seem to line up with your issue. No intention of being condescending, I'm just rather thrilled somebody here is doing higher level things and learning about things I also had to. This is great info for the lurkers now that ultrasonic cleaners are highly accessible.

That little collapsing water jet can really do something.
 
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6gun said:
Cavitation pitting. Looks like you have a healthy transducer on your ultrasonic. Mine does that to the Pyrex cup I put acetone in and then put the cup into the water, to degrease small parts in the ultrasonic.

Your issue is 100% ultrasonic related. I gently mix my pellets and slugs in warm soapy water for cleaning. I learned your lesson on a lot of home cast 38 projectiles and had to melt them all back down.
Click to expand...
thomasair said:
Yes...it's the ultrasonic.
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Thank you both for the reply
learn a little every day
 
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Frank in Fairfield said:
I use an ultrasonic cleaner from Hornady that is for cleaning fired brass shells before loading again.
No problems at all.
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I had a Lyman, aka same as harbor freight with a better basket. It had a weak sauce transducer compared to the huge vevor I replaced it with. Ultrasonics are not the same.
 
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Harry22G said:
So, on ultrasonic cleaners, is there some sort of rating that quantifies the strength of the unit? I am new to PCP and didn't even know cleaning was a thing. Now I need to shop for a cleaner. LOL, as he falls into the never-ending deep well.
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Don't buy one for pellets, buy one for paint sprayers or carburetor parts 😁. I use a Tupperware and a plastic spoon and gently stir instead of my ultrasonic. Then rinse and silicone lube and it's working just fine and removes plenty of swaging lube and glitter with minimal effort
 
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Harry22G said:
So, on ultrasonic cleaners, is there some sort of rating that quantifies the strength of the unit? I am new to PCP and didn't even know cleaning was a thing. Now I need to shop for a cleaner. LOL, as he falls into the never-ending deep well.
Click to expand...
Wattage and frequency. It's way more complicated than that, but essentially think of it like a piezo speaker that stretches water so it collapses on itself and makes little tiny pressure washer jets with some miniscule amount of steam in the bubble.
 
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manabeknives said:
This was a new one for me
Dropped in some AEA 50.5g pellets into an ultrasound cleaner for my normal process of cleaning/weighing/rolling and lubing the pellets
I examined the pellets before they went into the cleaner to see if there are any obvious defects
Used the same cleaning solution i have used in the past. I also tried a little Palmolive and water and got similar results
When i took out the pellets from the ultrasound, it looks like something corroded the surface ...the surface is very rough to the touch.
Not all the pellets reacted this way
Has anyone experienced this from cleaning a pellet?
Thanks
Mike
View attachment 543929
Click to expand...
You cleaned the Pretty off of them....lol
 
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Oooops, posted this in the wrong thread. Chalk it up to another one of those stupid senior moments...


Heading to our club’s outdoor range tomorrow for the first time since November and to say I an excited is an understatement. I plan to shoot my Thomas and get it dialed in after a recent O-ring rebuild. Also planning to shoot a HMX1000 Chassis 22 that I picked up used over the winter. Here is a quick target to get a rough sight in at 10M but it will get shot at 50Y tomorrow.

IMG_0936.jpeg
 
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igolfat8 said:
Heading to our club’s outdoor range tomorrow for the first time since November and to say I an excited is an understatement. I plan to shoot my Thomas and get it dialed in after a recent O-ring rebuild. Also planning to shoot a HMX1000 Chassis 22 that I picked up used over the winter. Here is a quick target to get a rough sight in at 10M but it will get shot at 50Y tomorrow.

View attachment 545605
Click to expand...
Who makes the chassis you got for the HM1000x?
 
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