Ultrasonic Cleaners Advice

[The Shop]

Well I've finally decided to buy a ultrasonic cleaner. Because at the saw shop where I work, I rebuild a lot and I do mean A LOT of diaphragm carbs every week. And most of the time the main problem with them is stuck check valve in the high or low speed circuit. 'Gotta love ethanol' And I have read where ultrasonic cleaner are supposed to be the best way to clean carbs. So, has anyone use this one before. http://www.sharpertek.com/shheuljeclst1.html
And what would be the best cleaning solution for it?
And I want a professional unit so Horror Fraught Tools is out.
Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Iron Cat]

Ive used 1 of these and the cheaper plastic cased ones for the past 4 years to clean my stainless steel tattoo equipment.Works great and would be a safe bet to say it would work on carb parts. Aside of the heating element that comes with the more expensive kind they both aggitate and remove junk(the junk I encounter) about the same.Saying this, the plastic ultrasonics(15-25$) last about a year before they break.use whatever solution cleans best for you,the inside is stainless and shouldn't be affected by it.

 

[Fishy66]

I absolutely love mine and use the snot out of it. I wanted one big enough to fit and entire carb and found a barely used Midmark Soniclean m250 on Ebay for $100 because it was missing the knob. These things are top of the line medical grade and run $1200+ so the $5 knob was a no brainer.

Here's a video with an Eddy 1405 in it. And another with a rocker shaft.

No matter what machine you get a really handy tip is to use glass jars filled with water for parts. The frequency goes through the glass and is a heck of a lot easier to dump out and clean a few jars than the entire machine. I bought some cheap tall glass vases for longer parts (see rocker arm vid). Also don't put chrome or plated stuff in them because it will chip them out. And try and use clean water only, especially on aluminum. I used simple green and water and it ate off the surfaces of some parts and left a ring around the cleaner basket.

And some pics:

 

[jteck75]

A guy I work with repairs,rebuilds,and modifies saws ,for professional and competition use. He has an ultrasonic cleaner for his carbs,I'll ask him tomorrow what brand he has.

 

[Skin]

I've used a smaller sharpertek unit (~1.5 gallon) for maybe close to 2 years now.

Pros
Not crazy expensive
Works great still even though its seen quite a bit of consistent use (good build quality)
Heated with a thermostat and a timer for 5-30minutes in increments of 5.

Cons
Takes a good 30-45 minutes to fully heat up so the first run of cleaning isn't to its fullest potential; and the heat makes a big difference. Once heated it stays warm though, especially if you keep using it.
Its noisy/annoying but the industrial grade ones are worse so, really only a con for ultra sonic cleaners in general.


Other notes. I've tried simple green and a generic parts cleaner. I also got some of sharpertek's shellac and varnish buster which works awesome. The latter is an expensive investment but honestly you can make it last a long time by diluting it with 1/3 water and then adding water as the level drops until you're ready to replace the fluid completely. They say you can just filter it out and re-use it but I don't have a means to do that properly and the stuff keeps dirt suspended very well which complicates that. 5 gallons lasts a year easy for how I use it. One warning on the shellac buster though, it will strip cheap coatings, some paint, and anodizing off metal very quickly. On the flip side it does amazing things with soft metals like brass (carburetor jets) and plastics and works quite well on aluminum components and carburetor bodies.

Also they include a basket with many models, or use to. The basket works okay, but for best results try to hang as much stuff as you can off wire so that its suspended in the fluid. I just use dowels cut to the desired length and wire ties.

 

[RBailey]

Is that containers within the bath to increase the size (or isolate the crude) ?

 

[Davefr]

I'd stick with a name brand like L&R or Crest. I like L&R's because they're relatively quiet and the Sweep Zone model cavitates the entire tank vs. just the middle. Here's mine (a rebranded L&R):

Eight transducers are used to sweep the tank!

I use L&R #222 cleaning solution. It's expensive but works great. For the rinse I make my own using a blend of 70% Stoddard Solvent (odorless mineral spirits) and 30% Naptha (ie Coleman Fuel).

 

[Fyrme]

Here is my cheap eBay cleaner. Dual frequency, heated with a programable timer. I think I paid $160 for it and it works great. I use it for everything from diaphram carbs to nuts and bolts, tools (even chrome plated) and.......... A 1930s GE electric motor. I use a Simple Green:water solution

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

I picked up a small L&R unit at a yard sale about 10 years ago, and it's been fantastic for cleaning everything from the wife's jewelry to chainsaw carburetors. The only advice I can give is to buy the biggest one that fits in your space and budget - once you learn how handy it is, you'll be dropping all kinds of things in there.