Ultrasonice cleaners....what one to get?

[vfost]

So i have read up on all of the posts on here about ultrasonic cleaners and have wanted one for a while now. I think it is time to bite the bullet and just go for it!

What i am wondering though is from those of you that have them or have any experience with them:

What brand do you think is best or should i avoid?
what size to buy? i mainly want to be able to do carbs but im sure other parts later
and what would you do differently if you could buy it over again?

Thanks in advance for all of your help

 

[eric123]

I don't have much experience with these, but get the biggest one you can afford...

 

[drewpy]

make sure they have are big enough to hold the carbs and that they have a thermostat heater in them.

buy 2nd hand if you can you won't be using it all the time

 

[vfost]

Thanks guys the problem with the biggest one i can afford is what i can afford and what i would like to spend are two very different things haha

@ Drewpy- I have heard if you dont get one with a heater you might as well not even bother so im gonna try to go that route.

 

[vfost]

Well i think i may have found one that i am going to buy...I just want some opinions first to see if anyone sees and problems. It almost seems too good to be true i have found many 1 gallon ones that are priced for more than this one and it is a 1.7 gallon? It is a little bit more than i wanted to spend, but i also want something that is going to do the job well. Here is the link to the ebay ad http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-6-5-LITER-ULTRASONIC-CLEANER-COMMERCIAL-SERIES-/120833583993?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c223e2b79

 

[drewpy]

Well i think i may have found one that i am going to buy...I just want some opinions first to see if anyone sees and problems. It almost seems too good to be true i have found many 1 gallon ones that are priced for more than this one and it is a 1.7 gallon? It is a little bit more than i wanted to spend, but i also want something that is going to do the job well. Here is the link to the ebay ad http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-6-5-LITER-ULTRASONIC-CLEANER-COMMERCIAL-SERIES-/120833583993?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c223e2b79

looks fine to me, reminds me of the 1/3 gastronrom sizes used in catering.

 

[vfost]

looks fine to me, reminds me of the 1/3 gastronrom sizes used in catering.

Well im not much of a cook but who knows mabye to recoop some of my losses i will give it a try

 

[vfost]

Well i finally got the ultrasonic cleaner and the 1220 carb degreaser that Travis had mentioned in one of the other posts came in today!

WOW!! I didnt realize how loud these things are!! I'm waiting for my neighbors to knock on the door mad at me lol I live in a house with two other apartments in it.

I will try to post some pics later on tonight or tomorow of the cleaner and the first batch of parts that come out of it.

 

[xschris]

How about a video of how loud it is

 

[vfost]

How about a video of how loud it is

If only i had a video camera!

 

[vfost]

So i just ran a quick trial run with the just the float bowls to see how it was going to work. I only ran it for about 45 minutes because i couldnt stand to listen to it any long but i was still very impressed with how they turned out. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics but i dont have a camera right now.

 

[xschris]

Looks a lot better

 

[Charles]

Looks like mine after boiling them on the stove.

 

[Travis]

Hmm.. mine is not that loud. It's does have an annoying buzz that is high pitched but I wouldn't call it loud.

 

[faber]

I'm running an L&R cleaner, it doesn't have a heater (it doesn't need one) the ultrasonic action is enough to heat the water up just below a boil.

I run DI water a small amount of amonia and simple green. Cleaning takes about 10 minutes and the parts come out looking new.

 

[Shaun Chandler]

mine isn't loud although it drives my wife crazy. Mine does have a heater I do know that the ultrasonic action does create heat. I also use DI water in mine, although I just use an ultrasonic cleaning soultion. I've tried using other things but found it worked best.

I also found that adding some things would create a very strong odour. I usually put mine outside or in the garage so I don't have to listen to it hum.

I think the major difference between boiling and ultrasonic is potential for damage. I don't have any experience boiling but I have been very happy with the ultrasonic. It saves me scrubbing parts. I also have a small vibratory polisher used for polishing shell casings that I use with media like wallnut shell to polish parts works great.

Shaun

 

[faber]

Boiling and ultrasonic cleaning are very differnt. The ultrasonic action actually explodes the non-solid material off of the solid material, this is why it's really hard on plastics, etc. that are soft materials.

 

[vfost]

Just curious as to why you guys use distilled water? will it hurt if im using tap water?

 

[faber]

Because tap water tends to not cavitate as well when additives are present (Which is the whole point in using additives)

-cf

 

[Shaun Chandler]

I was aware of the exploding action thats created by cavitation in the solution but I wasn't aware that it was hard on plastics and rubber. Can you eloborate abit on that faber. Its good to know. I've used mine on plastics and rubbers. I did notice when rubbers were already in really bad shape they would break down rapidly. Is ultrasonic bad for materials that are still in good shape (like newer rubber and plastic that hasn't been damaged by uv over time)

Shaun