Ultrasonic cleaners

Well I'm finally going to dive into the carbs. Read all the writeups, got the delux rebuild kit from Chacal, even got the JIS screwrivers to improve the odds of getting the things apart without wrecking anything.

How many people have/use ultrasonic cleaners for their carb bodies? If they work, it might be a good investment. I'm thinking of something like this:

Ultrasonic Cleaner - ebay

What do you think? Worth it, or better to stick with old school elbow grease? And if you use one, what do you recommend as the cleaning fluid?

Thanks,

 

i thought about getting one of those, they can be used for just about anything. as for fluid i dont see why you couldn't just use some carb cleaner in the gallon bucket, that's what i was going to do. Those things cant really hurt anything i hear. The one i looked at had a temp setting and a timer though

edit. i was going to test it first on an old carb i have lying around

 

i have one just like that from Harbor Freight. it's good to get your elbow grease off.
it gets off the dirt and oily stuff that you scrub with a brush but if you have any varnished up parts, forget it. it won't get down in holes.
if you put a plugged up jet in it, it will come out clean and plugged up.
what it is good for is brackets and small things that you want to paint and are prepped but you handled them with oily dirty hands, or left lay around for awhile, one cycle with fresh hot water and some simple green, drip dry and paint

 

There's one at the shop I do some work at, he uses purple power, gets the carbs REAL clean.

I'll post up some pics when I do the seca's

 

I heard about that stuff when I was looking at them.

And polock no offense but harbor freight blows. I used to go there for a couple years but when you add up how much you have spent on going back for broken tools or when your tourque wrench over tightens stuff, its not worth it. I got a jigsaw there and its stuck on WOT after 1 use. At least that was my expierience.

I watched a video on an ultrasonic cleaner doing a bad Carb perfectly. Looked good to me, but I learned that heat has alot to do with it. Helps break that shit up That's why I looked at the one wth a temp setting.

 

There's also a lot of difference between the strength of the ultrasonic waves between more expensive/industrial ones and the cheap home ones like shown. When I worked at Senior aerospace they had a huge ultrasonic bath (size of 3 big bathtubs!) and if you went within 10ft of it, it felt like the inside of your ears were hissing!

Probably the best for the money would be to buy a second hand smaller industrial unit for the same sort of money as a new home/hobby item

 

Boiling the parts in water or vinegar is also an option. Just be wary of how different alloys react to different liquids. I think aluminum is safe to boil though it will make the finish kind of dull grey(maybe just the vinigar dip?) Maybe a more senior member could give some specifics.

 

lol jump in and get your organs scrambled

 

Ok...going to tell you all something and I might even get ridiculed for it. I picked up a portable dishwasher at a used appliance store for $20. I have hot and cold running water to my work shed so I hooked it up out there. I use a liquid dishwasher detergent and wash plastic and alum parts in it. After cleaning my carb rack the best I could with carb cleaner, making sure everything was clear and all the holes and jets were cleaned I put the whole rack of carbs and bowls in the dishwasher and ran it for two cycles. They came out very clean and didn't have to worry about the seals in the throttle assembly getting ruined by carb cleaner. I also used it to pre-clean other parts to the bike. I also used it for other items around the shed. Wouldn't use the one in the kitchen though, leaves a greasy smell in the dishwasher that the wife would notice.

 

The unit shown in the ebay link in the first post is the exact same unit from Harbor Freight. I used one to do my carbs back in the fall and was quite pleased with the result. I used a Simple Green dilution and heat to soak for 4 hours and the bodies came out great. Use one of their coupons and then save the shipping means a lot of $$ to spent on something better

 

No s**t, that thing was EVIL! :twisted: wish I could use it for my carbs now...

 

there are much better ones on ebay for under $100, with heater, bigger tank, time settings, and they arnt Storehouse or Pittsburgh junk brands

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I've been looking for a good used industrial one but there seems to be a big jump in price from consumer-grade to professsional-grade. Probably for good reason.
My father-in-law is a retired mechanic and he has a dishwasher in his shop, just like BruceB does and he swears by it. Not an option for me, though since my garage doesn't have water and is unheated.

 

Get an old used portable one put it where ever you have room.