Page 1 of 4

Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:14 pm
by superfly
Hi lads,

I was looking at this ultrasonic cleaning stuff on youtube and I am going to get one of them definit very impressive. ;)

Does anyone as one to recommend on ebay or some other place?

Find stuff like that in Ireland that forever, so I usually buy online it is simpler and often way cheaper.

So if you have any machin to recommend or to avoid let me know.

For how long do we need to leave it to get the carbs clean?

Cheers

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:03 pm
by callyboy
Superfly - I wouldnt bother buying one unless you got too much money. Have a look around where you are and see who does carb cleaning and rebuilds. there are some companies that advertise on ebay as well. Not sure how easy it is to get gaskets etc for yours though :(

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ULTRASONIC-CARBUR ... 3291wt_752" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers

Pete

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:27 pm
by johnr
dave with the fe kat has one. well worth it, when you look how much firms want to charge you for cleaning a set of carbs, its a good investment in the long run.

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:43 pm
by superfly
Hi Pete,

That is a sounds advice, but I am a crazy dude I have the carbs open on my workbench already.
For the gasket, I have to say I hope suzuki Ireland can provide me this at the worst.

I suppose I could always put them back together and ask around to get them clean.

I was looking on ebay and I found few small one for £30, I just look it in Maplin
and found this http://www.maplin.co.uk/professional-ul ... 0-h-261248" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
a bit more money but could be worth the long run.

I do my own mechanic for a long time, but sometime I think I should let somebody dirty is hand for me.

I don't know to be honest if this is not a bit of over killed.


On this otherhand I am generally up to buy tool and use them, it is cheaper as the year go by.

And maybe with a bit of luck I could reuse it on my other restoration project. For caliber and so on.

But to be honest the idea stuff will be that I can use the home dishwaher but it is not allowed. :roll:

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:50 pm
by johnr
occasionally aldi/lidl have small jewelery ultrasonic baths in for sale, they will only do one carb at a time, but they do work , albeit slowly, the one dave has cost him about 100 quid, but will hold a bank of 4 carbs and has a more powerful cleaning action.

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:58 pm
by superfly
yeah it is probably something similair to the one I saw on Maplin. It can hold 2.5L so it should be enough for the bank of 4 carbs.


When you use those them, do you take apart the full carb and remove the gasket and every little parts?

Thanks for the help lads, I am discovering this over the last 2 days :-) I was stuck on the elbow grease.

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:52 pm
by Topdeck
superfly - I've got one and they are fantastic for cleaning carbs. I've found the best way is not to put too much in at once. I always strip everything down and either suspended it so it doesn't touch the sides/bottom or for jets etc I float a small glass petris dish that I "found" at work on the water (you are not supposed to put harsh cleaners or flamable liquids in the ultrasonic) and fill the dish with acetone (you could use carb cleaner ). That really shifts the varnishing. You still have to blow everything through with an airline though just to make sure that all the crud is gone.

This is the before and after of 10 minutes in the ultrasonic on my Blade carbs

Image

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:14 pm
by superfly
Hi Topdeck,

It looks pretty good, how big is the tank of yours. I have seen the 2.5L but I am thinking it might a bit overkill regarding my needs. It is about €80, but there is small one going for €30.
So I would gladly go for a small one at least.

Does yours have a heater ?
I have seen some as a heater and other don't. I am wondering how it is affecting the cleaning.

Cheers

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:23 pm
by JACKJABBA
Hi, I use them all the time for cleaning parts at work, Ones with heaters do work better than non heated ones, but to be honest you could just warm up your cleaning liquid before putting in the ultrasonic bath. Be careful what solvents you use for cleaning, especially if you are leaving any o-rings or seals in the carb. i think CCM did an article on using them and tried different cleaning liquids. Just measure up your carb and make sure that it will fit fully in the bath before ordering. There are some large ones on ebay made in China, my wifes boss (dentist) got some to save some money, but guess what, he had to buy new ones within a year.

I spray the carbs with Autoglym alloy wheel cleaner first then ultrasonic in hot water followed by a rinse in methanol, has always worked for me. The methanol ensures that they are fully dry.

Back when you could still get it we just use to dip the carb in Trichlorethylene, job done. :D

Re: Ultrasonic cleaning

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:26 pm
by JACKJABBA
Forgot to add, put a bit of dishwaher tablet in the water, not the whole tablet .