Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

[Gabriel]

So, I bought this on ebay - seems to be working properly, had to see what was inside as I was curious. Going to use it to clean engine parts ,carbs and electronics. Just ordered Elma Tec Clean A2,A4 and will have to buy the A2 too for electronics.

[Jack Crow]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

G,
Had to fix my share of ultrasound gizmos over the years.
With a little bit of care they last a good long time.

Try not to abuse the XTALS, the items under the bolts on the bottom of the cleaning tank.
Spares may not always be available.
Depends on the OEM.

Some of the attach points are 'drive' and some set the feed back.

With xtals, expect very high levels of voltage.

Torque is critical on them, so don't adjust or remove those bolts unless you truly have to.

Lastly do not stick your fingers in the fluid when the unit is on.
You won't like it. Humans are mostly liquid and will vibrate at the same rate as the fluid in the tank. Want to run 1000 watts of ultrasound through your digits, expect a lot of pain.

As for fluids, water works good. Lemon juice. I have used gun solvent in the past to clean firearms parts. Watch out for things that burn, because under agitation there is a lot of vapor that comes off the fluid, and sparks will trigger it. Acetone great on solder flux but it will eat some plastics. Once saw all the polystyrene caps eroded a way on a circuit board sent for cleaning.

Try stuff on things that you don't mind dissolving.
Junk electronics is great for this.


Much luck
Jack Crow

[budm]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

http://www.coleparmer.com/TechLibrar...le/792#anchor1

http://www.ctgclean.com/faq.php#twentysix

Q - Are there rules for racking parts- material, coating, or part orientation?
Yes. Never put the parts on the bottom of an ultrasonic tank. You will prevent the correct movement of the diaphragm and interfere with the creation of ultrasonic energy. You can also subject the parts to damage. Parts should be racked in a basket or work holder designed to handle your specific part. This is very important in high end cleaning systems where you want the cleanest part possible. You should always use a stainless steel basket, as softer materials will absorb the ultrasonic energy. Never use plastic or other soft materials. If your part is easily damaged or scratched, stainless steel racks with Nylobond or Teflon coatings are available. Parts should be arranged in a single layer, this gives the cleaning fluid an opportunity to circulate and remove particulate from the immediate area of the part. When removing the parts from the cleaning solution a single layer prevents the upper parts from shedding particles on the lower parts. Never put the parts on the bottom of an ultrasonic tank. This is like putting your thumb on a speaker diaphragm in a radio. You will prevent the correct movement of the diaphragm [bottom or side of the tank] and interfere with the creation of ultrasonic energy.

[Gabriel]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

Thanks for the tips guys - won't mess with the xtals torque unless I have to due to defective parts. I did see on youtube a guy cleaning parts without a basket - reading what you posted 'budm' I won't do that, some of my carb jets are however so small they fall thorugh the basket on the bottom of the tank - maybe I should avoid cleaning parts so small.

I did try cleaning with plain water and with powder for a kitchen wash machine - seem to do the trick but can't wait to see the effect of Elma tec's solution.

[budm]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

I fixed a lot of Branson due to damaged xtal, the workers were putting a lot of parts right into the tank without using the basket, we had so many failures, the Branson field engnineer told us never let the parts sitting at the bottom of the tank without using the basket.

[Amraks]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

lol this thread.
we was in a electronic store the other day and step son asked me what these do.
I failed to explain so I will read this thread tomorrow and explain.

[JayArr_BC]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

These are great! I use 60% iso-alcohol and 40% Trichloroethylene and it cleans PCBs, carbs, fuel injectors switches etc.

Note: When I first got it I put it in the shop, within a week we were all grumpy with headaches! I moved it to the garage after that and our mood returned to normal.


Jeff

[Gabriel]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

Hehe I know, I tested mine for about 10minutes and I was dizzy.

[Gabriel]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

Got my cleaning fluids today, will update you when these are tested.

[xboxhaxorz]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

i have a 15l UC, i tried IPA but its expensive so i switched to denatured alcohol to clean electronics ie; PS3, 360, laptops etc;

Using it for water damaged electronics helps

I replaced using IPA altogether for cleaning of chip die and heatsinks with denatured alcohol as its cheaper and stronger

I was not using a bucket for a while till i found this thread and now i do, i cannot confirm nor deny that having a bucket even matters but $40 to be safe was an investment i made

I get varied results sometimes, usually put a board in the UC if it has thermal grease under the bga but it doesnt remove it for the most part, i also put BGA chips in the UC and they dont come out super clean as they would from the factory

Also sometimes after drying the board there is a creamy dry residue that must be scraped off, and i have no idea why it is there after using the UC i rinse it off with distilled water and either dry it with heat or fans

[box0219]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

Got my cleaning fluids today, will update you when these are tested.

how did this work for you?

[Gabriel]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

Well, the cleaner itself is a cheap China item with a rated ultrasonic power of 100W - I did hook up a meter and if I remember correctly it drew about 75-80W without the water heater on.
It is working but I would think it is a weak item.

I did try the A2 fluid on alu just too see what would happen - the alu got a dark colour.On brass it did not help alot, maybe I need to let it work for several hours. You can see the jets has a stange surface colour after using A2 fluid and they do not get brightener. Tried ammo shells too, they did not get brightened either.

The A4 fluid works better I think, does not darken alu and items gets cleaner but not as clean as I hoped for. But then again it might be the underpowered
ultrasonic cleaner itself.

[redwire]

Re: Bought an ultrasonic cleaner, had to see what was inside.

For cleaning fluid, I use IPA 50-70% and sometimes dishsoap and water.
I see you have carburetor parts - which have oil-based and mineral (calcium) deposits. I don't think either will get the calcium off before the metal gets etched.
I found ultrasonics are hard on PC boards, it etches the solder joints and IC pins, apparently is hard on IC bonding wires, so I use it for short times only.