Ultrasonic cleaning : the benefits

[SyncroMatt]

Ditto on the cheap eBay jobs. I got one for doing some carbs a couple of years back. Started like this.


And ended up like this....



The car has never run so well.

Matt

[southernscouse]

Like the look of the carb I have a ultrasonic big enough for my bike carbs what cleaner are you using cheers

[SyncroMatt]

I think it was carbusonic cleaner for precisely this job.

Some people have good experience with normal detergents. I guess you'd need a low foaming one though.

Simple green is available in the UK now and I've had good results with their products generally. They have a specific cleaner for aluminium.

Matt

[bigherb]

Like the look of the carb I have a ultrasonic big enough for my bike carbs what cleaner are you using cheers

I use carb cleaning solution, from Allendale ultrasonics.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carburettor- ... SwvaJgJRE0

[sarran1955]

Hello,

This will sound like Heresy I know...

Having used ultrasonic cleaner in the metal surface treatment industrially...
with Cannings, Diversey, BHC and other proprietry cleaners..

On a domestic 600 watt scale

dishwasher tablets, 1 per litre of hot water, work amazingly well..

Then for a sparkle, a sachet of coffee maker descaler (sulphamic acid) into a litre of hot water ..

Set the ultrasonic bath on high, keep a plastic grid on the bottom of the bath

Does all my carbs a treat...

and they smell nice....

Cordialement,


 

[DoubleOSeven]

I keep mine on high temp too, tap water & a dishwasher tablet - works wonders!

[silverbullet]

I suspect that the "mystery" Techtron (?) detergent that I put in the tank is too mild. I have run a few cylinder heads through the machine but if the immersion time exceeds 20 mins there are the signs of slight etching to the alloy surface and not all carbon residues are removed, thats at 60-70% power/duty.
At a guess thats caused by either excessive duration or power, or both.
I have no data sheet for the machine and the instruction book is laughably American, endless pages of "how to grow your business" advice, all of it focussed on blind cleaning which was Morantz's core business.
I was going to get a fresh quantity of Allendales product as they make a hot (50-80°C) solution which I think helps to break down oil resins and carbon a lot faster. The downside being the need to heat up 250 litres of warm solution from circa 40°C...

[silverbullet]

...and then I remember that I am running the machine with only 5 litres of detergent in 250 litres of water.
Not exactly the 10% concentration recommended.

[DoubleOSeven]

It happens, sometimes I can't remember what day of the week it is. Or the best one; I go up the stairs to get something and by the time I've arrived, I've no idea what I'm there for!

[silverbullet]

According to "The Meaning of Liff":

Woking is "walking into the kitchen and wondering why you walked in there in the first place"

[Cobra88]

A Craft moment

Can't Remember A F****** Thing

[silverbullet]

I got a call to say that the cladding panels to protect the tank insulation were ready

[silverbullet]

Machine insulation mods are complete. All held on with a combination of spot-welded tabs and stainless pop rivets. Drilling stainless is hard work even when the rivets are only 4mm diameter!
The lid has an internal 40mm deep tray that holds a slab of Celotex, the same as the sides and base. There was also a bit of unforseen work around the pneumatic valve mounting, extra holes to pierce and standoffs to make with #8-32 UNC threads (American made machine!)
Its turned out well and I think that the insulated lid makes it significantly quieter.

[DoubleOSeven]

Blimey, it's massive!

Don't put Hydrofluoric Acid & humans in it

[silverbullet]

It's big enough for a wbx crankcase to be fully submerged, that was the primary consideration.
I had to do more lid/mast sealing work this morning, we had a bit of a problem with humidity and evaporation loss...
Anyway, the tank was hot so I put a "lazy clean" particularly grotty painted case in (minimal prep, just the external gunge washed off and a very quick solvent wash in the sump) to see how it turned out.
Before:

After about 15 mins and a few turns:

Nearly all the wheel silver paint has fallen off and the remaining oil residue rubs off easily with a dry cloth, a little more solvent work before going in would have seen that all cleaned off: