Well... they aren't cheap but they do clean. I believe they start at ~$1500.
He's some of my pros/cons.
Pros: Environmentally friendlier cleaner, multiple types of cleaners available, never have to "change out" fluid (just top off), has Ozzy bugs that eat the hydrocarbons (kind of self cleaning), non-flamable, the Ozzy mats catch most of the big stuff (just peel off a top layer to clean), not harsh on your skin, can clean plastics/composites, you work area wont have a permanent solvent smell (IIRC they also have a Green Apple Odor Nuetralizer), and it works.
Cons: Heater is supposed to stay plugged in to keep the bugs warm and happy (power bill?), the tanks and tops are plastic so heavy parts may be an issue (cleaned up plenty of diesel engine heads and hydraulic cylinders on one no problem, but could see it deforming the plastic some, ended up cutting a thick piece of plastic to help distribute weight and keep sharp edges from cutting), bugs can die if you use any chems that could kill them (rincing a lawn or garden sprayer would be a bad idea, so is antibacterial soap getting in), can cause corrosion (never had that issue but was warned to immediately dry and lube ferrous parts after cleaning versus air dry).
Our use was in a relativley busy USAF shops working everything from LE patrol sedans to contruction equipment to 66K pound aircraft loaders and everything in between. The pros for us won out over the cons (not all shops use them). For us, it cleaned everything we put in it at least as well as PD-680 (later MIL-PRF-680B, same VOCs but no HAFs...strong solvent but can be hard to properly dispose of). The solvents cut through oils a bit faster, but not by much.
Hope this helps some, if not at least stirs some additional research. Aqueous cleaners still seem to get a bad rep and I guess if you use it and let your parts rust that rep is true, but it was never an issue for shops I used one in.
V/R
Bogie
