Ultrasonic Cleaners

[ChasF]

I’ve spent a fair bit of time cleaning the carbs on my R100GS using mainly wire brushes and can’t say I’m very impressed with the results. I’m aware that vapour blasting would be the best solution but I am also considering getting an ultrasonic cleaner - has anyone achieved decent results with these and perhaps have some recommendations for machines and cleaning fluids.

 

[NeilDD]

Go for the largest U/S cleaner you can afford.
I'll find the name of the solution I use and post it up in a few min's.

Mine is a 10l unit with heating element.
Let it get up to temp before inserting carb's into the solution.
Usually I give the carb's a good 45 min's the flush clean with hot water

To add, When finished I drain the solution through a coffee filter to get the crud out

Found it.
It's called UltraCarb. Dilute from concentrate at 10:1

 

[Baked Bean]

I bought one from Walker Electronics and very pleased with it. They do lots of different solutions for different applications. They do seconds at a reduced price which work perfectly just with minor marks (couldn't see any marks on mine)

 

[BillWright]

I cleaned the carb on a tiger cub that had sat since 1976.

 

[BillWright]

And a door knocker that was black with tarnish.

 

[Santa-2512]

Get one with degassing,and adjustable temp and times, nothing like a good hour at 60c to get shit off

 

[MrC99]

Hmm. Looking at the Walker Electronic site and being sorely tempted....

I've got a couple of HIF6 SU carbs that desperately need cleaning & refurbing so now weighing up the cost of getting a U/S cleaner and a refurb kit against paying a refurb company to do it. Also looking around the house for other things that can go in a U/S cleaner to justify it !

 

[abrasion]

You can now get the additive in powder form which works with normal tap water.

 

[Santa-2512]

I got mine off Amazon the name was Swaray

2.5l it was about £60 I think

And the cleaner was from a company called carbusonic

 

[dr nosh]

using mainly wire brushes

Nooooo

 

[karlp]

There are different types of ultra sonic baths depending on application.

For cleaning a low Hz is needed

I use a high Hz (120) and high power (650w) for cell disruption and a low Hz (40) for cleaning

 

[SBD]

I have a 10 litre unit, bought from Amazon. Works fine. I typically stick a thimble-full of Flash in the water, works well and doesn’t leave a coating on the parts.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I got one for cleaning bings. I use a carb cleaning fluid in it and I've been astonished at the results. It's a relatively inexpensive piece of kit too.

 

[Rasher]

I have a 10L ultrasonic which works quite well, would not want to go any smaller, it works pretty well compared to scrubbing brushes and brakes cleaning sprays when cleaning up some 40 year old calipers, took quite a long time (a couple of hours) but you can get on with other things whilst it works.

Out some grubby sockets in it and they cleaned up very well pretty quickly.

For small jobs I put some cleaning fluid in a small platic tub and then float that at top of cleaner with the small parts in, saves getting crap in the fluid and you just need to top it up to replace the <1L you used and not the whole 10L tank.

 

[ChasF]

Thanks for the replies - throws up a few more questions:

Anyone using a Vevor brand ultrasonic tank I’ve got a couple of other tools from them and they seem quite good, if a bit basic.

@Mad Hatter - did you strip the carb down to it’s smallest parts?

Cleaning products can be very costly eg UltraCarb is 350€ for 25 litres (concentrated). I read somewhere that a dishwasher tablet dissolved in warm water works quite well. Anyone got any other recommendations specifically for carbs and other bike parts?

 

[Santa-2512]

The one i recommended is a concentrate, so I've added the required dilution,


only used it on the zorst flap but its been in there many times

 

[NeilDD]

Hi Chas,
The UltraCarb is a concentrate, and will make up nearly 55l from 1 5l bottle, and will last you around 10 years if you filter the solution after each use.
I keep my mix in a 10l plastic can.
Some people in the USA use Dawn dish soap with reasonable results, but it may take multiple goes to get it perfectly clean.

When doing a single carb I strip it down to a bare casting if possible, and use a small mesh basket for the jets etc.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Thanks for the replies - throws up a few more questions:

Anyone using a Vevor brand ultrasonic tank I’ve got a couple of other tools from them and they seem quite good, if a bit basic.

@Mad Hatter - did you strip the carb down to it’s smallest parts?

Cleaning products can be very costly eg UltraCarb is 350€ for 25 litres (concentrated). I read somewhere that a dishwasher tablet dissolved in warm water works quite well. Anyone got any other recommendations specifically for carbs and other bike parts?

Chas, yes, stripped it down fully because I needed to replace all the o rings. Not a difficult job

 

[fayeslane2]

Thanks for the replies - throws up a few more questions:

Anyone using a Vevor brand ultrasonic tank I’ve got a couple of other tools from them and they seem quite good, if a bit basic.

I'm using a 10 litre Vevor, it works fine. It has tidied up several sets of Bings, heads, tools and whatever else looks like it needs a clean.

For versatility I wouldn't go less than 10 litres. I fill it with hot water when starting from scratch, it takes a while to heat up from cold.

I add whatever detergent is on hand eg truck wash, sugar soap. White vinegar depending on what is being cleaned. A dishwasher tablet may be too alkaline and may result in a grey furry carb bodies. I run 10 minute cycles until there is no discernible improvement.

Carbies may not be squeaky clean out of the ultrasonic. Still use visual inspection, carb cleaner and compressed air before reassembly.

For small bits I put them in a resealable sandwich bag with soapy water and drop them in the cleaner. Saves contaminating 10 litres of water for a handful of jets or similar.

 

[Rasher]

Just cleaned my TZR250 crbs in my DK Sonic and its done a good job, the 37 year old manky emulsion tubes covered in green debris came out clean, but discoloured and dull (I had new ones anyway, but wanted to see the results)

I doubt they will clean hard packed crap in the middle of a narrow passageway eaily (matey on superbike surgery labours this point) but it brought everything up nice and clean looking, I took out all the jets etc and used a carb cleaning kit to clean the larger openings, and blasted compressed air through all the passageways afterwards.

Now need to get some more cleaning fluid so will re-read the comments before ordering - thanks for all the info everyone.