Ultrasonic Cleaners - whats your experience?

[Arky-X]

ORLY? Do you refer to your trike engine sizes in cubic inches? Do you have an ATC15.3R or a 21.4X?

Good one.....add those to my list

[sledcrazyinCT]

I have heard of people using mineral spirits. Never have myself.


There is one thing that ruins aluminum - makes it very dark. I think maybe Purple Power or Simple Green. Hopefully someone else chimes in on this one.

Purple power will discolor carbs, if left in a solution a couple weeks it will dissolve a carb.

A fifteen liter unit is a good size, not wasting too much if you have to fil it up to the top to clean something.
The unit I bought looks just like Nico's as far as the controls, but mine also has a dial that change the frequency range it operates in.

One other cleaning solution I heard works well, but I haven't tried is diluted antifreeze. The person who told me this swears by it because it won't destroy aluminum.

[El Camexican]

Ditto on the Purple stuff. It has some sort of mild acid I can't spell or pronounce.

Probably doesn't hurt to wash any delicate parts with a mixture of baking soda and water to neutralize any acids, but I don't know if baking soda will discolor aluminum. probably not, but test a piece to be sure.

I don't know how well anti-freeze cleans, but I've seen first hand why it's critical to look for one that claims to be safe for aluminum, so be sure to use an aluminum approved liquid if that's the way you plan to go.

[Billy Golightly]

Very good. I hope to get this thing setup and running on a few pieces in the next day or two.

I recently reorganized and cleaned up dads 100 year old drill bit collection. At least a hundred were so greasy and rusty you could barely tell what they were. That ought to be small enough and steel to throw a handful in and see how they come out as the first attempt at least.

[kb0nly]

Purple power has a weak solution of muriatic acid in it, it attacks the aluminum, makes it look a dark gray with short exposure, etches it with longer exposure, and ultimately dissolves it over time. I have used it to clean and lightly etch aluminum panels before painting.

What i really like for cleaning carbs and engine parts is a cleaner called Mean Green, its formulated differently then these other cleaners, its more of a degreaser then general purpose cleaner. I know guys that use this stuff in a 50/50 mix with distilled water in their parts washers, and i have soaked carbs in it full strength and it didn't discolor the aluminum and made everything just fall of it. I soaked a jug in it that came off a motor with a bad oil leak at the head, the jug was black with layers of oil and dirt caked on, after a hour soak a brush across it just wiped everything right off.

[Scootertrash]

I use the Simple Green Pro HD cleaner, the purple stuff.

I dumped a gallon into the cleaner tank then added water to finish filling.

I have left parts sitting in the cleaner for hours, up to overnight, and the only drawback I've seen is brass parts like jets and the like get a bronzeish hue to them. I've never noticed any damage to carbs or aluminum parts. YMMV

Here's a pic of the tag on my cleaner:

[ATC King]

I learned not to use Purple Power years ago. Not that I ever used it, but I knew one guy who swore by it and I seen it destroy the finish on a lot of things. Using it on clear coated aluminum wheels because people let the brake dust build up and are too lazy to hand wash, is a sure fire way to ruin the wheel's finish and make them miserable to keep clean.

The weakest chemical used with the most elbow grease is typically what leaves the best finish. The ultrasonic cleaner is providing the elbow grease.

People even destroy their home toilets and showers with that 'no scrub' mess, which just makes the surface coarser and needing cleaning more frequently.

[ditchmud]

I used distilled water and a heavy squirt of dawn dish soap to clean a carb in mine. It worked very well and I’m happy that I purchased the unit.

[Billy Golightly]

So far I like mine other than the longest programmable time is only 8 minutes which does not seem like very long.

[El Camexican]

So far I like mine other than the longest programmable time is only 8 minutes which does not seem like very long.

That doesn’t sound right. Does it state that in the manual?

[Billy Golightly]

From what I've saw so far... Yeah

[keister]

Yep, 480 seconds.
Cycle that through 3-4 times with the heat on and prepare to be amazed.

[Billy Golightly]

I cycled through some old greasy drill bits and it has worked pretty good. Just wished I could turn it to a constant cycle mode and walk off and leave it, but so far it's working pretty well.

Will try it on some old crusty pew parts next.

[Thorpe]

I'll check on the size of mine when I get home tonight.

Who is Q? (In your signature) *wink*

[Thorpe]

I run a Hornaday one on my reloading bench, but its been known to clean a carb or two. I'll use some case cleaner if the carb is a matte finish. If it's a bit more polished, like my old '87 cr125 carb, a couple drops of dish soap, and I'll run it for 90-120 minutes on heat. (Mine will run 30 minutes at a crack) I find it works the best with more time. Definitely not the quickest method, but squeaky clean when I am done