I think I might try this stuff. http://www.sterlingtime.com/12decacl.html
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ultrasonic cleaning
- Thread starter bikersteve
- Start date
Been doing a little more reading. Turn out lots of chemicals can attack and eat aluminum. But I still think soap and water and ultrasonic waves shouldn't have hurt the carb. 
I'm no chemist though!
I'm no chemist though!
Just ordered that stuff from two posts up. I'll let you guys know how well it works!
hardtailed77
Never Finished
That seems like "write-up" material Trav!! lol
ahale2772
XS400 Addict
yup all i can say is that ours dosnt work, we have tried it with many combinations of cleaner, the carb it gummed up was a 750 holley that didnt really need to be cleaned, we just wanted to see if it would, on hour later we pull it out and it had some much gooey corosion that it wasnt worth trying to clean it
How to clean your carbs or how to ultrasonically clean them? I could probably make that happen. I'll put it on my huge to-do list
ahale2772, that's a bummer. I've only had 3 or 4 sets of carbs in it so far, and they've all been fine.
ahale2772
XS400 Addict
well its was dawn dish soap style stuff, if i had cleaned the carbs with a dish sponge and dish soap it would have been fine....im guessing we got a early model of machine that just dosnt work that well....we have tried with their cleaner and it has not netted us results either
Gate
XS400 Member
ahale said:
was the metal itself pitted/dissolved? or was it just the stuff coming out of it that was the problem?
to be quite honest, you might have better luck with kerosene, or paint thinner, lol.
i wouldn't use any phosphor / organic solvents. good ol' fashioned berryman's or an aluminum safe petrochem-solvent would be your best bet. if you're cleaning carbs anyway.
i would NOT use any of these to clean jewelry.
I've used simple green and water.. but not at that concentration... More like 1 part Simple Green to 4-5 parts water. With high heat and longer run times, it does pretty good. I've heard from a few people that the correct cleaner does way better. Looking forward to seeing what the stuff I ordered will do.
ahale2772
XS400 Addict
gate, the metal was dissolved yes, like i said the carb wasnot particularly dirty in the first place. when we pulled it out you could whipe your finger over it and it felt gooey and looked like grey paint, in about 20 min it hardened like a rock...that was a rare 650 DP spreadbore holley too.
not saying that the technology isnt cool, just that we have not had good luck
not saying that the technology isnt cool, just that we have not had good luck
lhaolpa
XS400 Junkie
When I work on a carb,I have an old crock pot that I use with soapy water.After soaking on low all night,the carb is ready to be rinsed and "rodded out"with a torch cleaner,which has 10 or so rods,then blowing out with air and carb cleaner.This way,they always come out clean and ready to rebuild.lhaolpa
OliverB
XS400 Junkie
Good idea on the torch-tip cleaners. Have used them for many years for cleaning small orifii.
totalgearhead
XS400 Enthusiast
Found this and others.......
vonnieglen
XS400 New Member
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I have just got a "cheap" unit from Harbor Freight. It normally costs around $70 but there is often a 20% off coupon that can be used to get the price down around $55.
Mine has a 2.5 L tank, heats the solution, and has a timer. It has only one transducer in the center of the tank. I use the ultrasonic cleaning powder that Harbor Freight sells. I use 1/2 teaspoon for 2.5 L. The powder appears to be similar to solid laundry detergent. The tank is small enough that you have to reposition your carb body several times to clean all of it. The cleaning action is most agressive directly above the transducer.
It doesn't come with a basket just a plastic mat to protect the transducer. I bought a wire basket at the dollar store. The cleaner works better without the plastic mat included, but you should prevent your parts from coming in direct contact with the bottom of the tank.
I haven't noticed any problems with corrosion, but I do rinse all of the cleaned pieces in clean water after taking them out of the tank. If you leave partially deteriorated parts in place, it will break them down which could create a mess inside narrow passages. I think it is a great tool for cleaning small carburetors. I completely disassemble them for inspection and place all the small pieces in the tank seperately from the carb body.
Mine has a 2.5 L tank, heats the solution, and has a timer. It has only one transducer in the center of the tank. I use the ultrasonic cleaning powder that Harbor Freight sells. I use 1/2 teaspoon for 2.5 L. The powder appears to be similar to solid laundry detergent. The tank is small enough that you have to reposition your carb body several times to clean all of it. The cleaning action is most agressive directly above the transducer.
It doesn't come with a basket just a plastic mat to protect the transducer. I bought a wire basket at the dollar store. The cleaner works better without the plastic mat included, but you should prevent your parts from coming in direct contact with the bottom of the tank.
I haven't noticed any problems with corrosion, but I do rinse all of the cleaned pieces in clean water after taking them out of the tank. If you leave partially deteriorated parts in place, it will break them down which could create a mess inside narrow passages. I think it is a great tool for cleaning small carburetors. I completely disassemble them for inspection and place all the small pieces in the tank seperately from the carb body.
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That is not ultrasonic cleaning.. That's just agitating the water. With ultrasonic cleaning, it creates little bubbles that implode and that action is what does the cleaning.
Shaun Chandler
XS400 Addict
I bought an ultrasonic a couple weeks ago to restore my carbs and love the thing.
I first tried all the different home brew recipies but they really don't work anywhere close to what the actual cleaners do. Many chemicals will clean aluminum but I beleive they have to have a very precise ph level not to cause damage to the aluminum.
Also a heated ultra sonic is needed or using hot water would work aswell. I bought one from a gun shop, I guess they use them to clean shells. It cost me around 330.00 canadian and it has a timer built in and a heater that you can adjust up to 140 F.
I've used it for all kinds of stuff aside from carbs. You can clean your wifes rings in it and make the diamond sparkle I did that and now she dosen't seem to mind I spent 300 bucks on another tool
Its good to use a spray can of carb cleaner to help get the big stuff off but atleast you don't have to soak it which leaves the aluminum looking dull after. I have some before after pictures but they area at home and I'm at work.
I first tried all the different home brew recipies but they really don't work anywhere close to what the actual cleaners do. Many chemicals will clean aluminum but I beleive they have to have a very precise ph level not to cause damage to the aluminum.
Also a heated ultra sonic is needed or using hot water would work aswell. I bought one from a gun shop, I guess they use them to clean shells. It cost me around 330.00 canadian and it has a timer built in and a heater that you can adjust up to 140 F.
I've used it for all kinds of stuff aside from carbs. You can clean your wifes rings in it and make the diamond sparkle I did that and now she dosen't seem to mind I spent 300 bucks on another tool
Its good to use a spray can of carb cleaner to help get the big stuff off but atleast you don't have to soak it which leaves the aluminum looking dull after. I have some before after pictures but they area at home and I'm at work.
So that Sharpertek 1220 degreaser/carb cleaner I posted a few posts back works really well. I too tried a few home brew recipes that didn't work as well as the stuff made for the job. The stuff really starts to work well once the heater gets the solution up to temperature. Here's a shot of my ultrasonic cleaner. It's a 5.5 gallon unit that I bought used on ebay. These aren't the best before and after pictures but it shows how clean it gets the carb bodies..
