Ultrasonic Cleaners
Anybody have one of these cleaners? How does it work on nasty dirty parts? Recommend one in the 4-6 gallon capacity range? TIA for input.
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I have been using one for brass, for years now. Got it off Amazon, same one sold by the various reloading tool makers. Made in China, of course.
Not sure of the capacity? Depending on the brass, I do anywhere between 100 & 150 at a time.Tried the various proprietary cleaners sold by reloading tool companies. Didn't work for me. As I deprime my brass before ultrasonic cleaning. And they weren't getting the primer pockets clean. Went to Citric Acid, which does a much better job. 90% of the primer pockets are clean. After one hour of ultrasonicing.0 -
I've used a ultrasonic heated type around $80 unit (think maybe it's a lyman from Midway) for about 8 years. I mainly bought it too degrease brass hulls after sizing and it's great for such. I then send the hulls to a polisher for a polish. Removing grease before polishing makes the media last longer.
I also work on chainsaw and small engine carbs and the US is great for carb cleaning. I really need a larger unit for carb work. The tank on mine only holds about maybe 1/2 gallon and it has to be reset about every 5 minutes.0 -
Yeah, carburetors is what I'm needing it for right now. For some reason I'm becoming the local carb guru, probably 'cause I'm old and grew up on them. Just got done with two single barrels, and a 4100 Autolite. Very time consuming to try to get that stuff clean. 0 -
Back when I had the camera store and did camera repairs I had a professional Ultrasonic cleaner that worked great. It only took a couple of minutes to clean most anything. This one had a huge transformer in a separate cabinet with a couple of separate tanks. Years later after we moved I got it out to clean brass for reloading. I turned it on and let the smoke out. 
Then I bought a cheap USC off of Amazon and that didn't do much of anything. So I bought a vibratory cleaner from Midway and that didn't get the brass as clean as I would like. Then I quit fooling around and bought a tumbler with stainless steel pins and it transformed my brass into brand new brass.
I guess the moral of this story is that you probably won't be happy with the results using a cheap USC.0 -
back when I worked for Bosch they had an ultrasonic cleaner. they did tool repair and they used it to clean their dirty tools. I didn't run it but they did, obviously it was "the thing to use". the tank was probably 3' long and 2' on a side.
they had 2 or 3 different solvents that did slightly different things. explained it all to me and it was over my head but those guys sure knew what they were doing.
worked wonderfully. I couldn't imagine using anything else on something like a carburetor with all those holes drilled in it.0 -
Lyman turbo 6000. Works good on about everything. Use simple green on most parts. 0 -
I can't say for ultrasonic cleaners, but the regular carb cleaner in buckets sure seems to have nothing on the old stuff. I swear the good old cleaner would start fizzing as soon as you'd drop a carb in it, and it only worked better the older and darker it got. Made you sick as a dog if you got too much on your skin, too. :oops: 0 -
I use the one I bought from Harbor Freight on outboard motor, motorcycle, and lawnmower carburetors and it works better than the stuff they sell in a can to clean carburetors with.
I find it best to wash the parts in some type of cleaner with a brush to get the big stuff off first and then put the parts in the ultrasonic cleaner to get into the hidden passages and hard to get to places.
Big ultrasonic cleaners are expensive but they would be worth it if you used them a lot but otherwise it would be an expensive item to just sit around most of the time.0 -
i too am the local carb old guy. like previously stated the GUNK in a can is just not any good anymore. im looking into getting one from harbor freight, havent researched them very much but unless i find something to change my mind that probably the way im going to go. 0 -
I bought a 2 liter cleaner from ebay and use it for small carbs,old reels,gun parts or anything that will fit in it that needs to be cleaned.Use water and a little simple green,let it heat up good,cleans most projects good as new. 0 -
Horse Plains Drifter wrote:Yeah, carburetors is what I'm needing it for right now. For some reason I'm becoming the local carb guru, probably 'cause I'm old and grew up on them. Just got done with two single barrels, and a 4100 Autolite. Very time consuming to try to get that stuff clean.
My US is too small to do a automotive carb. For the small engine carbs I just use 50/50 white vinegar and water and heat, use low pressure air about 2 times every 30 min. For my cleaned spare carbs I long term store them in 2 z loc bags with little bit of ATF fluid inside the carb. ATF will eventually get (seep) through one bag.
I do not care about what the body of the carb looks like on the outside, just how it works. My US don't get the carb body shiny clean like carb soak cleaner.
If you want to get the carb body really clean (looking new, etc) You may have to use some of the acid type carb cleaner on the body.
If you do a lot of carb kitting get yourself a gunsmith screwdriver set from midway. Wheeler engineering 70 or 80 piece set. The hollow ground screwdrivers can be used too remove stubborn brass jets without ruining the brass jets and the torx can be use to remove stripped allen heads. Also using the proper fit hollow ground drivers won't distort the carb screws. I bought a Wheeler set few years ago for gunsmith piddling, but I reach for the gunsmith set when I'm kitting a carb. (the Wheeler bits are really good and tough)0
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