Re: Ultrasonic Cleaner
I have several ultrasonic cleaners that I use for cleaning everything under the sun. But they are most valuable to me for cleaning.... you guessed it, carburetors. I mostly do dirtbike, quad, and other small-engine carbs and my 40kHz ultrasonic does an excellent job. The other two I own are 67kHz which works also, but not quite as quickly. The general rule for selecting a suitable frequency is lower kHz for large dirt particle size (like on a carburetor), higher kHz for fine particles and precision parts cleaning (like medical instruments or jewelry). Anything from 20-80kHz will work for cleaning carbs and other automotive or marine parts. I disassemble carbs (remove bowl, jets, needle/seat, all cover-plates, etc) and put all the parts in. That way the dirt has a way to escape from all the little orifices. Rinse parts with clean water after removing from ultrasonic solution, then dry with compressed air (if available).
As for the cleaning solution, I use Simple Green and water mixed at about 1:10 respectively. Although typically special detergent (not soap) is used, Simple Green is easy to get and works quite well. HOWEVER, it WILL discolor aluminum parts if left in for too long. Typically 30 minutes or longer and you start to see the aluminum developing a black-ish finish. If the solution is hot, the discoloration occurs quicker. Also, when hot, Simple Green will cause most paints to bubble and peel off. This is from the hot Simple Green, not the ultrasonic action.
If you try other cleaners, you will find that ones that contain soaps, like dish soap, pretty much kill the ultrasonic action. The louder the sound from the ultrasonic is, the better it is cleaning. So if you put some cleaning solution in and notice a major decrease in sound, use something else. I've also found that when the cleaning solution gets too dirty, the ultrasonic action is not as effective. I think this is because the high concentration of particles in the solution absorb some of the energy of the soundwaves, but thats just a theory.
Another thing to note is the effectiveness of ultrasound to clean various materials. The harder the material, the better it can be cleaned. Forget about trying to clean rubber or soft plastics with ultrasound. It doesn't work.
I hope this helps!
