I've been thinking about picking up an ultrasonic cleaner for a bit now. Rebuilding this impact gave me an "excuse" to pick up this 6 liter one off the jungle website. (Amazon)
Seems to work pretty well. I think it'll be pretty handy to have. I used a mixture of water, vinegar, dish soap, and some high proof alcohol. Worked pretty well. It did discolor some of the parts a bit but they cleaned back up on the wire wheel.
Anyone else have one? What solutions have you used?
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I wonder how well paint would hold up under one of these? I clean a lot of parts that have original paint on them that I don't want to lose, but if it held up using one of these, I might follow your lead.
Definitely very good technology. and a "must have" if you want to do any long lasting powder coating.
Hope it works out well for you Tim.
I would love to have one of those and have toyed with the idea several times in the last year. For me cost will definitely factor in though. I have not given serious enough consideration though to go as far as price shopping yet.
Quote from: bmwrd0 on May 14, 2025, 07:35 AMI wonder how well paint would hold up under one of these? I clean a lot of parts that have original paint on them that I don't want to lose, but if it held up using one of these, I might follow your lead.
I would think it would depend on the solution you use.
I have a model tractor that I'm going to put paint stripper in then into the sonic cleaner to see how well it works.
While I am not a big fan of the brand (seen a bit on the lawsuits on them), I am leery of leaving one of these unattended. Mom was a surgical nurse at an eye doctors, and they sold glasses there as well. They had one in the shop and most got rid of them after a couple of places they were left on, unattended and blew up. One even made the news, locally as it blew out a chunk of the shopping center that they assumed had been bombed.
I have a HF one I bought years ago, and always stayed around it when using it, did a few carburetors, as well as some tools (degrease old ratchet, etc). They do a job, I am just not a fan of leaving certain items running without supervision.
I, too, am very cautious about leaving devices running unattended. Unless it's something that needs to stay plugged in like a clock or refrigerator I tend to unplug things especially if they do not have a hard open/close switch like a lamp. Most of this paranoia stems from the fires the old Mr Coffee machines experienced back in, well, if you don't remember I won't doxx myself agewise you'll have to look it up.
I have a Harbor Freight cleaner I was gifted some time back it works OK. I'd like to get a better one with more capacity but no immediate need so it can wait.
LOL, this makes me think of my grandparents (at least on my mom's side).
Even the TV was unplugged when not going to be used later that day, a good part of it was from when those electronics were so expensive. Refrigerators were left plugged in, freezers would either be full, or if stuff would fit in the kitchen one on the fridge, unplugged.
Also saves against things like lightening strikes, etc.
Funny you mention lightening. One of the areas I worked in was hardening equipment against power line interference and surges. And I still act like my grandfather.
I hate to brake it to ya Jaf but you are a grandfather now anyways... cue the shrug icon.
I've been called a lot worse.
I still need to get a proper ultrasonic cleaner.
I had a cheap little one intended for jewelry , but it didn't last very long and could only run for 4 minutes at a time.
I used it for my vintage spin fishing reel hobby.
I just used dawn ultra or simple green concentrate in mine, but it depends on what you're using it for.
Just don't use regular Simple Green on anything aluminum or diecast (potmetal). Extreme Simple Green doesn't corrode or discolor aluminum. A little pricey on amazon, but it works. I put the "solvent" & parts in a glass or plastic jar and then put it in the ultrasonic filled with water. Economizes the chemical cost & minimalizes cleaning the tank. You can also do different batches at the same time.
Boy thats a smart idea.
Quote from: Muddy on May 15, 2025, 07:09 AMQuote from: bmwrd0 on May 14, 2025, 07:35 AMI wonder how well paint would hold up under one of these? I clean a lot of parts that have original paint on them that I don't want to lose, but if it held up using one of these, I might follow your lead.
I would think it would depend on the solution you use.
I have a model tractor that I'm going to put paint stripper in then into the sonic cleaner to see how well it works.
I agree that a solution like water and dish soap will not hurt paint.
@ Muddy
That is one very nice cleaner :-) money well spent!
Pep
Quote from: GENEG on May 16, 2025, 04:45 PMJust don't use regular Simple Green on anything aluminum or diecast (potmetal). Extreme Simple Green doesn't corrode or discolor aluminum. A little pricey on amazon, but it works. I put the "solvent" & parts in a glass or plastic jar and then put it in the ultrasonic filled with water. Economizes the chemical cost & minimalizes cleaning the tank. You can also do different batches at the same time.
I never had any issues with this on my vintage fishing reels , but that little one I had only ran for 4 minute cycles which isn't long enough to have any issues.
Due to cost I mostly just end up using Dawn platinum and it has always been sufficient.
Good information, everyone!