Favorite ultrasonic solution (chemical)?

[hailwood1965]

I've been up and down the usual list in trying to find something to add to distilled water to get the tiny orifices in motorcycle carbs clean. Vinegar, dawn, detergent, lemon juice, ... never really found the magic solution. Anyone here have any suggestions? I have a medium sized cleaner--it will fit a rack of carbs. Of course I put the pilots in a small cage, etc.

Pilot jets on 1980s bikes are sooooo small. Literally as the Australians say "beezdick"

Thanks!

 

[tncatadjuster]

I run the jets several cycles, some are on the bottom making racket if they jump the basket. I use about four ounces of simple green and five drops of dawn to the 10 liters.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Some people use HF degreaser. Probably mixed about 50/50.

 

[Rinspeed]

Dawn soap works just fine at around 10%. You will get better activity using tap water instead of distilled water.

 

[jgeoffr]

I had a small Bransonic cleaner (loss unrelated to the story below). Buddy of mine who was way into vintage carbs used it with unleaded gas, outside of course. I'm 100% saying DO NOT do this, but man, he sure raved about how well it worked!

 

[JWC86]

I've had good results on carbs with the purple HD simple green and tap water. I don't know what concentration, I just pour some in.

 

[hailwood1965]

Dawn soap works just fine at around 10%. You will get better activity using tap water instead of distilled water.

10% Dawn? Is that like the Brady Bunch episide when Peter adds the entire box of detergent to a load of laundry??! Ha.

 

[JradM]

Simple Green. I've used it on lots of carbs.

You can also put your part in a jar or ziploc with harsher chemicals, then fill your basin with water if you're struggling to get something clean. Sometimes gas works, for example, but you wouldn't want to fill your ultrasonic basin with that.

 

[gunner3773]

By far, the best carb solution I have ever used in my ultrasonic cleaner. The beauty of this stuff is that it is reusable. This is one of the six carbs out of a 1999 Honda Valkyrie after cleaning.

Engine Carburetor Shellac and Varnish Buster: Shellac-Buster

Engine Carburetor Shellac and Varnish Buster: Shellac-Buster. When you need to remove hard buildups of varnish, shellac, rust, oil, paint, grease, dirt and grime in half the time of other formulas, SharperTek's Shellac Buster ultrasonic cleaning solution fits the bill.

www.sharpertek.com

 

[Zewnten]

Simple green with the heat ad two cycles even the crudiest carb cleans up like new.

 

[tncatadjuster]

I forgot to say it's full heat, I start with the hot tap water and then add the surfactants, take the intake heater to max, way too hot for my hands.

 

[Rinspeed]

I forgot to say it's full heat, I start with the hot tap water and then add the surfactants, take the intake heater to max, way too hot for my hands.

In my experience you really want the bath to be at least 140 degrees up to around 155. People think the soap does all the work but you really don't need any soap at all. What a surfactant does is lower the surface tension of the water making the sound much easier to penetrate. It also really helps to drive the gas out of the water which is important. If you add the surfactant to the water while the sonics are running you can really tell how much it helps by the sound and seeing the dissolved gasses rising to the surface.

 

[DemoFly]

pine sol, HF degreaser, super clean, honestly it doesn't seem to matter just make sure it won't etch or destroy what you are putting in it.

 

[Buck_nekid]

I had a small Bransonic cleaner (loss unrelated to the story below). Buddy of mine who was way into vintage carbs used it with unleaded gas, outside of course. I'm 100% saying DO NOT do this, but man, he sure raved about how well it worked!

I've done that, works well.

 

[jonesg]

put the parts in a baggie with gas or acetone, submerge the bag in the water.
the bag doesn't stop the ultrasound.

but no solvent will dissolve a piece of grit in a jet, run music wire through them.
sometimes you have to remove a blocking plug to gain access to a jet.

 

[toplessHO]

just did a carb off a pressure washer that came out squeaky clean.
50/50 pine sol/water and an ounce of this stuff

https://marinepartssource.com/64-oz-fuel-tank-cleaner-star-brite-93664?gclid=CjwKCAjwoqGnBhAcEiwAwK-OkQ-e6RvSb3M2hLRtG_Zp6mk0JJf4vAcSF4LIOCRnqZy9gVqRV4YB4BoCB5kQAvD_BwE

 

[crerus75]

I ultrasonically cleaned fuel injectors in a shop for several years so I've dealt with a LOT of fuel varnish. We used a proprietary blend of cleaners, but if I was doing it at home I'd use something like Oil Eater in the hottest water I could get. I'd guess that a 10-20% solution of Oil Eater would be fine, or I'd mix it according to what the directions specify for heavy grease/dirt.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner at home and, while it has a built-in heater, if I'm going to clean something really grungy in it I boil water in a kettle. A long as whatever you're cleaning won't be damaged by the heat, the temperature is as important as the solvent that you mix in with the water.

I've also used a Goodwill crock-pot with a 20:1 solution of water and Pine-Sol to remove grease and varnish deposits. Dump the carb in and let it cook overnight. Your entire garage will STINK with eye-watering Pine-Sol fumes, but the stuff comes out extremely clean.

DON'T use any of the caustic purple cleaners (Purple Stuff, Castrol Purple, etc.). They will etch and dissolve zinc and aluminum, especially at higher temperatures.

 

[Jwallace1]

i use Zep citrus based degreaser and it seems to work really well, i stay away from the purple degreasers for anythign aluminum or pot metal is turns it black, doesn't seen to damage the part just discolors it

 

[Corvette Mark]

I use Simple Green diluted in water. As others mentioned, heat helps. What I found is that if I have a really dirty part, I will spray it down with lacquer thinner or acetone and wipe with a brass brush or something similar to loosen any of the heavy deposits, then ultrasonic

 

[scooby074]

Ive been using alcohol based glass cleaner concentrate. Seems to be working for me but I havent tried it on extra dirty carbs yet.

 

[californiamilleghia]

do you turn the ultrasonic cleaner on High or is it better to put it on a lower range and leave it on longer ?

 

[crerus75]

do you turn the ultrasonic cleaner on High or is it better to put it on a lower range and leave it on longer ?

My ultrasonic cleaner doesn't have power settings, only a timer. Having said that, unless I was using an ultrasonic cleaner with lots of REALLY powerful transducers OR the object I was cleaning was very delicate, I'd probably run it high.

There's no risk in running it at a low setting and ramping up if you don't get the results you need, but the only time I've ever seen anything damaged by an ultrasonic cleaner was when I cleaned two diamond rings together and one hit the other. One diamond was chipped-- not because the ultrasonic waves were too strong, but because diamonds will chip other diamonds and these two happened to collide. I learned a valuable lesson that day and now I either clean rings one at a time, or I bend some wire up to hold rings and other jewelry far apart from one another.

I wouldn't clean something like a watch, though I have cleaned steel link watch bands. I wouldn't clean anything with a delicate finish that you want to preserve. I'd be leery of cleaning anything made of glass, especially thin glass. Anything susceptible to mechanical shock or anything with electronics in it should also be treated with caution, though I have cleaned circuit boards in the past. Most other things are fair game.

For something like a carburetor, I can't imagine an ultrasonic cleaner being too powerful. I'd use the highest setting and the hottest water for as long as it took to clean the carb.

 

[tncatadjuster]

I have posted this copy before, degassing helped when I was doing a number of items and changing liquids.

What is ultrasonic degassing? How to degas ultrasonic cleaning tanks​

What is degassing? For ultrasonic cleaning equipment, degassing is the process of removing gases such as air dissolved in a liquid cleaning solution.
Air and other gases dissolved in a cleaning solution will impact performance of ultrasonic cleaning tanks. Gases in the cleaning solution absorb some of the cavitation energy that would otherwise go toward cleaning, and thus reduce effectiveness. Removal of these gases from the cleaning solution will result in maximum ultrasonic cleaning performance.
Any water that comes from a pressurized water supply will naturally contain dissolved gases, and therefore the water will need to be degassed when first dispensed.

Options to degas ultrasonic cleaning tanks​

• Let it sit – Degassing solution is easily achieved by letting the solution sit out for a number of hours. This is why a glass of water tastes “different” when first out of the faucet vs. drinking it hours later.
• Let it run – Run the ultrasonics just as you would ordinarily, but without the parts to be cleaned. Running the ultrasonics will expedite the degas process significantly, typically down to 5-10 minutes. Keep in mind that the cleaning solution only needs to be degassed when first dispensed from a pressurized supply.

 

[Motown]

Simple Green. I've used it on lots of carbs.

You can also put your part in a jar or ziploc with harsher chemicals, then fill your basin with water if you're struggling to get something clean. Sometimes gas works, for example, but you wouldn't want to fill your ultrasonic basin with that.

I do this. I'll put jets in a small jar, with Motorcraft tune up fluid. And then set it in the ultrasonic that is ull. Cleans jets and small parts great.

 

[Wamsutta]

Trichloroethylene​

 

[jar944]

Original pinesol, not to be confused with the original pinesol sold in stores that is in fact in no way the original (pre 2014) formula. You want the one with pine-oil which is now about 1.5x the cost and not available in stores.

Pine-Sol Original Pine Six-Pack

Frequently Asked Questions Is this the Pine-Sol scent from a few years ago? Yes, this is the “Pine-Sol Original Pine” scent. The product contains 8.75% pine oil and is the scent you know and love. Why is it only available here? Pine oil supplies are limited and have become more expensive and...

1221market.com

 

[thool]

i use Zep citrus based degreaser and it seems to work really well, i stay away from the purple degreasers for anythign aluminum or pot metal is turns it black, doesn't seen to damage the part just discolors it

I tied the gasoline in a mason jar with a loose lid and it scared me too much: the gas was "boiling" and looked too dangerous. I was outdoors and was still scared of some sort of explosion.

After that, I tried the zep citrus cleaner and it worked perfectly. Took a couple sessions but my Tecumseh carb came out looking like new. Blow it with compressed air and let it dry in the sun for a day.