To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

HF 2.5L ultrasonic cleaner modifications

Jvvmusme

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 25, 2011
Messages
566
Location
Bogota, Colombia
I have the Harbor Freight 2.5L ultrasonic cleaner, happy with the product except for the timer that only gives you 8 minutes, before having to restart again. Very annoying.
Is there a way to by pass the timer and just use it with a on/off switch ?
Has anyone done it ?
What could go wrong ?
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Catamount

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
547
Location
New England, USA
I'm usually around when the ultrasonic is running so I'll keep bumping up the time every few minutes. You can keep tacking time on while it's running.
 

weadjust

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Messages
2,953
Location
Tupelo, MS
I've thought about buying one of those. How long do you need it to run to clean a small engine carburetor?
 

Dan in Pasadena

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
13,158
Location
Pasadena, CA
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

atty5420

Active member
Joined
Jun 30, 2014
Messages
43
Location
Kingman, Az
I have a 2 stroke weed whacker that hasn't been used or started in years. I've wondered if it's worth trying to rehab? This post made me think maybe so....then I realized this HF cleaner is $85. May as well spend $40 more and buy a cheap Home Depot replacement.

http://t.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html

New carbs for those things are around $30 to $40. The rebuild kits are about $10. I've learned to have a new or rebuilt one on the shelf. When it starts giving you trouble, toss the old one up on the workbench for future rebuild, grab the new/rebuilt one, slap it on and keep going. Stopping to try to fix one in the middle of a yard cleanup is just too frustrating. A carb change takes about 5 minutes.
 

Jim B

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
196
Location
California, USA
Looks like the timer is electronic and probably part of some chip on on a circuit board. I'd say you are probably out of luck in regard to bypassing it. How about putting it on a table next to the couch and use it while your watching tv. :eyecrazy:
 

laser3kw

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
7,276
Location
northen IL
Looks like the timer is electronic and probably part of some chip on on a circuit board. I'd say you are probably out of luck in regard to bypassing it. How about putting it on a table next to the couch and use it while your watching tv
if your lucky, the timer is governed by a cap / resistor network. find the resistor and increase the value 10x.
 

Mandres

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Messages
1,158
I think there's also a temperature protection circuit that shuts down the heating element above a certain reading. So even if you defeat the timer you still might not be able to run the thing constantly.
 
OP
J

Jvvmusme

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 25, 2011
Messages
566
Location
Bogota, Colombia
Looks like the timer is electronic and probably part of some chip on on a circuit board. I'd say you are probably out of luck in regard to bypassing it. How about putting it on a table next to the couch and use it while your watching tv. :eyecrazy:

It s a great idea !!!!!!

Popcorn and soda

I am thinking on putting the popcorn on the ultrasonic to see what happens
 

justme-

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2014
Messages
787
Location
Boston suburbs
We do about 20 min in our shop for small engine carbs - tho our US unit is a professional one with heated solution. No ill effects leaving one in longer - the solution we use when fresh will alter the color of the aluminum but doesn't damage it.

Carbs are becoming harder to rebuild with more coming without exposed needles. One also needs special tools to properly clean and rebuild 2 stroke carbs - there are welch plugs that need to be removed and replaced in the process to do it 100% right, and often enough skipping them means going back in to a rebuild again.

It should be noted both Walbro and Zama state not to use ultrasonic cleaners for their carbs. We rarely rebuild 2 stroke carbs - faster and more economical (for us and our customers) to replace them.
 

Dan in Pasadena

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
13,158
Location
Pasadena, CA
New carbs for those things are around $30 to $40. The rebuild kits are about $10. I've learned to have a new or rebuilt one on the shelf. When it starts giving you trouble, toss the old one up on the workbench for future rebuild, grab the new/rebuilt one, slap it on and keep going. Stopping to try to fix one in the middle of a yard cleanup is just too frustrating. A carb change takes about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the input. Hmmm....$10 for a kit, huh? Now that's my kinda price. I can't imagine it's that difficult, the thing is tiny. The problem with a tiny 2 stroke is it doesn't likewise going without being started for a couple months and in the winter; albeit SoCal winter, my St. Augustine grass doesn't grow in the winter so I don't use the weed whacker and almost don't have to use the mower.
 

wildbill23c

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
1,360
Location
Idaho
Thanks for the input. Hmmm....$10 for a kit, huh? Now that's my kinda price. I can't imagine it's that difficult, the thing is tiny. The problem with a tiny 2 stroke is it doesn't likewise going without being started for a couple months and in the winter; albeit SoCal winter, my St. Augustine grass doesn't grow in the winter so I don't use the weed whacker and almost don't have to use the mower.

Its really not hard doing the rebuild, its basically just installing new o-rings, gaskets, needle, etc. Depends on the kit what all comes in it though, depending on how deep of a rebuild you need to do there are sometimes different kits for that purpose. Usually a rebuild can be done in less than an hour once you have done a couple it goes pretty quick, to where actually it takes longer taking the carb out, getting it apart, cleaning it, and putting it back together than it does to do the actual rebuild itself.

However, a lot of carbs for the 2 stroke engines are relatively cheap, and like someone else mentioned usually cheaper to just replace the carb than rebuild it in a shop setting, now at home it may be cheaper to just rebuild it yourself.

4 stroke carbs can be a bit more expensive to replace, some of them are $100+. They take a bit more time to rebuild but oftentimes its cheaper to go that route than replace the carb. Sometimes its hard to find a replacement carb for older engines so rebuild may be the only option.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom