Ultra Sonic Cleaners

My hubby is considering buying a small benchtop ultra sonic cleaner for cleaning the carbies on our older machines. Any experiences and recommendations would be appreciated.

I know theres a lad on another forum ASF(aussie street fighter motorcycle) that has set up his own unit,with before and after photos and a bit of a run down on what he did. I can`t remember the exact page it was on,so you will have to search the site to find it.

You will have to go to the intro section first if you want any info from this site,as they don`t like people quizzing un-announced,and they will tell you in no uncertain terms too. This is a non censored site,and if you don`t like extreme colourful language,don`t go there, so beware!!!! its not all bad though,and a VERY informative site,with some extremley tallented people on there

ok..just had a quick look at the site,and found this quote;

"If you want the best and cost isnt an issue, Brulin 815GD is the go. But if your on a budget just use warm water with some automotive degreaser designed to be diluted with water at a rate of about 1 tablespoon to a cup of water. Several home made recipeys also add half a tea spoon of ammonia , don't use this if your doing carbs with brass (like jets or emulshion tubes) in them still !

When looking for degreaser , look for an acid based one for ali parts . Run through bath , then clean bath and run through with warm water and a little bicarbsoda to sort any acid left on/in the carbs etc".


http://www.proscitech.com.au/catalog...e.asp?page=e14


http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/30...cal_Parts.html


these were recommended sites to visit

this isn`t the exact artical I was after,but some info anyway. but if you go to the site and start searching,you will find more on it

Unless your doing it as a job IMHO its a bit over the top $ wise .
Ive rebuilt a few bike with reasonable success with a wire brush ,wet and dry, a toothbrush and patience .

apparently,according to an ASF member,they said ALDI were selling ultrasonic cleaners for $25 at the end of last year.How good they were was yet to be quoted,but as one member said,if it only works a couple of times for $25 bucks,who cares.

ALDI sell some weird arse shit.

gus wrote:Unless your doing it as a job IMHO its a bit over the top $ wise .
Ive rebuilt a few bike with reasonable success with a wire brush ,wet and dry, a toothbrush and patience .

We have no trouble cleaning up the external surfaces: its the internal passages where even carb cleaner won't lift the really stubborn deposits. Most of the carbs we need to clean are over 30 years old and some are closer to 100 years old so the deposits have had plenty of time to clog up the passages.

joanne2167 wrote:Most of the carbs we need to clean are over 30 years old and some are closer to 100 years old so the deposits have had plenty of time to clog up the passages.

I'm hoping that this will lead to much posting of build up and restore stories with lots of pics to boot

I see your point .

I worked with an ultrasonic cleaner for about 5 years and they are very efficient cleaners. I never had any problems with any types of plastics or vynils but I guess that would depend on the type of detergent/solvent you were using. I am not sure of what size machine you are after but be aware that to work correctly whatever you place in them needs to be completly submerged usually at least to a depth of 1inch below the liquid surface. If you need a machine larger then those already mentioned you will be up for huge bucks. Also I am not sure how you would go with some of the deposits you are wanting to clean with a smaller machine. I do remember something about the liquid capacity of the machine being relevant to the cleaning affect and strength when we were getting our machine made.
Hope this helps.

I saw this one on eBay for around $300

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-1-7-GALLON-INDUSTRIAL-ULTRASONIC-CLEANER-STAINLESS-6-5-LITERS-/150802147692?pt=AU_Jewellery_Boxes_Supplies&hash=item231c82296c

The 1.7 gallon (6 litre) capacity would easily hold carbies etc.

I've used the smaller ones for cleaning jewellery etc. and I am very impressed with the results I have achieved.

ausrock50 wrote:I worked with an ultrasonic cleaner for about 5 years and they are very efficient cleaners. I never had any problems with any types of plastics or vynils but I guess that would depend on the type of detergent/solvent you were using. I am not sure of what size machine you are after but be aware that to work correctly whatever you place in them needs to be completly submerged usually at least to a depth of 1inch below the liquid surface. If you need a machine larger then those already mentioned you will be up for huge bucks. Also I am not sure how you would go with some of the deposits you are wanting to clean with a smaller machine. I do remember something about the liquid capacity of the machine being relevant to the cleaning affect and strength when we were getting our machine made.
Hope this helps.

Thank you for the helpful first hand information. We are looking at a desk top model with a tank at least 150mm X 100mm X 100mm so that we can fully submerge a bare carb body.

Jaycar also sell one CAT. NO. YH5410 for $399