Ultrasonic cleaners

lostboy75

A follow on from the carb cleaning
Interesting reading about the ultrasonic cleaners in the post on carb cleaning. I had been thinking about getting one of these for quite a while. I currently have two projects on the go that will involve quite a bit of cleaning.
never used one though, and didnt even know how they worked until about half hour ago when i did some reading up on them. on untrasonic cleaners 101, i read about the test of how small a space they work in. they said use two microscope slides with a smear of lipstick on one, press them together and hold with elastic band. the cleaner will remove the lipstick! right i am sold, i need one ( no its not for removing lipstick from microscope slides, or anywhere else!).
so from there to what type, size etc to get. the reality would be for me any sized one would work, so possible the Aldi one, then CJHaugheys post showed the more powerful one on adverts. that got me searching further afield just to know whats out there.
CJ also talked about using a milk bottle to clean larger items, i dont know how this works as i dont know what one looks like apart from the images on the various sites.

Aldi 25 Euro
doesnt mention what its made out off
doesnt mention power
capacity 600ml
size given as 23 x 17 x 14cm

Adverts 36 Euro
Stainless
Power 30W/50W

Size(inner bath):165*85*40mm(L/W/H)

CPC Ireland
http://cpcireland.farnell.com/james-products/ultra-7000/ultrasonic-cleaner-750ml/dp/SA02320
also have this one for 50 euro, no idea on postage costs,
capacity 750ml
Stainless
Internal Tank: (LxWxD) 148x125x46mm

so three options, from 25-over 50

anyone have any comments as to make, use etc.
interesting that the aldi one while volume is smaller has the deeper tank, or is that just the external tank? does it have a basket for random sixed items or just the support for watch ring etc?

CJ, if your still looking at getting one, i think your near Galway? as am i we could buy two, save on postage costs?

galwaytt

the Aldi is ok, but I'm not convinced about it's ability to shift buried, stubborn stuff. It really is made for easy-to-clean jewellery.

The ultimate is made by Branson, and they are truly, the dogs. Have a look here: http://www.caulfieldindustrial.com/Shop_Search_Results_List.aspx?mbkeywords=branson#

Cleaning solution is a factor, and heating capability is another thing that's nice to have as well.

God be with the days when they used to allow you use an ultrasonic cleaner with liquid Freon in them. There was nothing you couldn't shift, but then 'ol hole-in-the-ozone panic set in, and that was the end of them...............

lostboy75

While they probably are great, not sure I could justify over 200 quid. While I would be getting use out of it, that's a lot more than I was thinking off. Would you say it's worth paying four times the cash on it?

CJhaughey

lostboy75 wrote: »

While they probably are great, not sure I could justify over 200 quid. While I would be getting use out of it, that's a lot more than I was thinking off. Would you say it's worth paying four times the cash on it?

Hard to type on stupid phone keypad.
The aldi U/S cleaner is small and shallow. 40mm deep.
Most of my bikes use bigger carbs and they stick out of the bath so don't get cleaned properly. Get a 2 litre milk bottle and cut it off so its deep enough to hold your items immersed in cleaning fluid. Put the whole bottle in the cleaner and fill the gap between the bottle and bath with water. The sonic pulses travel through the water and bottle and clean whatever is inside.

Richard tea

Cheaper option ( if you already have a sander )

lostboy75

Richard tea wrote: »

Cheaper option ( if you already have a sander )
I tried this last weekend, took some pics if anyone is interested.
well i ran it with 3/4 water 1/4 citric degreaser (that i use on my bicycle), and a drop of washing up liquid.
what was my views on it? well gave it an hour, and took it out, iniially I was think thats fairly good. was fairly happy and though i would keep using it.
only after i was think that i probably would have gotten the same effect if i left the items sitting in the solution, then rinsed them off under a strong tap. how much was untra sonic action, and how much was related to the solution, and the agitation.
from reading up on DIY models i found this, quote
"The trouble is not driving the transducers or getting them to resonate, but TUNING the system (tank, horn, or whatever else will be vibrating) to resonate along with them. Just attaching a transducer to a metal pan will not make you an ultrasonic cleaner. It needs to be made to the right dimensions and thickness to resonate at the necessary frequency to get the waves into the water."
which i what i feel my test gave me. great for agitation items in a solution that will loosen up dirt, but its wasnt untrasonic cleaning.

Richard tea

Post a few pics lostboy:)

CJhaughey

Its not an ultrasonic cleaner, just an agitator.
I'd stump up the few euro it costs for a real one.
My cheapie from Aldi worked well, up to the point that it stopped working.
The only thing that was a pain was the 480 second runtime.
Needed several runs to do a job properly and if you have keep running back every 8 minutes to restart it it gets tiresome.

lostboy75

Up in mayo for the weekend, when I get back to Galway will upload the picks.
the short timer is an odd one, seems quite strange. but between that and the size it proves it is designed more for small items.
CMs 'hack' is just that, a great way to get more out of the unit.

Mesrine65

Got one of these last year, 3 litre capacity, perfect for carb cleaning.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc-AC110-220V-ultrasonic-cleaner-3L-PS-20T-120W-40000-Hz-Frequency-PCB-hardware-lad-equipment/32223379127.html

CJhaughey

I just looked on Donedeal, There is a Dental supply place in Kilkenny selling 2.5 litre U/S cleaners for 140.
That one you linked to on Aliexpress looks good as well, what were the import duties like?

The Big Red Fella

I got a 5 litre one a few years ago on ebay think it was £160 delivered, i have used it many many times & cleaned lots of carbs with it but you have to use the proper carb cleaner solution again ebay or link below, those aldi ones are tiny & may just clean the carb screws,
here is one well worth investing in as you can clean other peoples carbs & let it pay for it self!
http://www.allendale-ultrasonics.co.uk/9-litre-heating-ultrasonic-tank-220v.html?ref=1

Mesrine65

CJhaughey wrote: »

I just looked on Donedeal, There is a Dental supply place in Kilkenny selling 2.5 litre U/S cleaners for 140.
That one you linked to on Aliexpress looks good as well, what were the import duties like?

I was lucky & didn't get hit for any duty

lostboy75

before
https://imageshack.com/i/idal4qTwj
during
https://imageshack.com/i/f0bhAXOxj
after
https://imageshack.com/i/exqsn3ypj
https://imageshack.com/i/hjjOWchOj

CJhaughey

It cleaned it OK, but would a good degreaser and a stiff brush be a lot less work?
I think US cleaners are really best for things like carbs that have tiny little passages that can't be cleaned manually.

Things like the part you cleaned are really better off sprayed with degreaser and left for a few minutes and then scrubbed clean.
A really good cheap degreaser for engines is kerosene/cheap clothes washing powder mixed into a porridge and then diluted with water into a viscosity that can be used.
By cheap powder I mean the cheapest stuff you can buy.
This makes an alkaline cleaner that washes off with water and leaves some oil to stop flash rusting.
I use a cut down paintbrush to work it into the item and then leave it for a few minutes and rinse off.

lostboy75

oh i agree CJ, this would have been handy to clean anyway, but just picked this as a test piece as it had fairly hard dirt, some grease and the rust spots. so though it prefect to use to try it out.
as mentioned before, i don't think i will be using this too much now. will wait until i spot a decent one for the cheap.
thanks though on the degreaser, will definitely be trying that one.

CJhaughey

Bumping this as Lidl have Silvercrest brand Ultrasonic cleaners for €25.
This one does 600 second runtime max which is 10 minutes, OK I think for most casual users.