ultrasonic cleaner

OK, the destructions say to use water. has anyone tried other working
fluids, or adding soap, or suchlike, and if so with what results?

 

So far:
(Flat!) coca cola for gummed up carb jets/emulsion tubes/needles.
Water/washing up liquid general small parts degreasing.
Flash liquid/water. (this has an awesome cleaning power).

Not tried trike or other solvents yet.

JB

 

I've used white spirit and it works. The destructions say not to use
solvents but I reckon thats 'cos the liquid gets warm while its working.
As long as you use it somewhere thats well ventilated and you don't
light up next to it, there's no promble.

 

cool. Mind, it's amazing what it does with just plain H2O.

 

When I worked at HP in Bristol, we had a big ultrasonic jobby in the
prototype area. First tank was Teepol, second and third were water.
Breathtakingly effective with trainers, as it happens...

--
platypus

"Merely corroborative detail, intended to
give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise
bald and unconvincing narrative."

 

You want to see what it will do with coca cola with the fizz still in it :>)

JB

 

Putting the brown in to Brown Sauce since 1976.

JB

 

What ultrasonic widget are you using?

I've been thinking of buying one. Can anyone recommend a
make/model/price/source?

 

elcheapo one from Aldi or somesuch. a friend picked it up for me. Small,
mind, it holds just over a pint of fluid. handy for small things though. I
did me watch, took about 5 or 6 goes but it successfully degunged the
expanding metal bracelet with almost no effort.

tried the tea strainer, with mixed results. got to find out what fluid
dissolves tannin. coke might...

 

yes, it is. point noted.

hehe.

 

Ammonia is smelly but it works. Dilute it of course

 

Mark wrote

That is useful to know - I got an Aldi one and the first thing I did was
throw away the Manual.

 

Sounds like Mark's got a spare one if you need it...

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

Dr Ivan D. Reid wrote

Probably saturated with Coca-cola and several other noxious liquids, and
unreadable with the pages stuck together, but thanks for the thought.

 

Paraffin works OK on tarry/oily deposits, and is very good at de-gunking
carbs. Doesn't make them shine, but does dissolve gummy deposits.

Flat cola drinks, preferably sugar free have their uses for cleaning metals.

Detergent designed for automatic washing machines has its uses.

Dishwasher tablets work OK too. Not a whole tab though.

Dilute acetic acid works wonders on Mazak. Not bad at shifting corrosion or
at least making it easier to shift. Like cola drinks, the acid seems to
lift the surface up a notch too..

Dilute Gunk and other cleaners of that ilk.

Dilute ammonia.

Things not to use.

Petrol, or indeed anything that produces a flammable vapour or mist. ( H&S )

Washing up liquid or detergents without foam suppressors. Just work out how
I know that one. The soapy bubbles produced are incredibly fine. That may
be down to the bath I was using and the object in it though. ( can be
messy )

Neat vinegar or undiluted stop bath. Causes mild issues with breathing if it
produces a mist. ( can also damage/eat metal )

For complex shapes, don't just run the bath for hours on end, run it for a
while ( within the duty limits ) then rotate the object in the bath.

Try and avoid resting the object to be cleaned on the base of the bath. If
it has a basket, use it, or suspend the object in the bath.

I must get another. Damn useful things they are.

 

hmmm. the book of words for this one says cleaning power is reduced by
about 30% if you use the basket thing, which seems to imply otherwise.

 

Austin Shackles wrote

I thought the basket was more to stop things rattling in an irritating
manner, and to stop delicate things rattling around and getting scuffed.

 

"Decon 90" surface cleaner and "Hibiscrub" have been used to clean
carbs from time to time.

 

*Ding*

Actually, suspending the object in the bath seems to work best ( for me ),
but it is a faff. This way, the basket doesn't get in the way, things
aren't scuffling about in the bath, and it doesn't make irritating noises
just on the threshold of your hearing range. Noises that make you want to
kill. That may again just be me.

 

Flash spray with bleach is almost magical at cleaning teapots &
strainers etc