Ultrasonic Cleaner?

Vet261

Vet261

PR Addict
Anyone using one? I've been wanting to try one and finally picked up a small one, I'm shocked at how good of a job it does. I have been cleaning super grungy old bike carbs today and they look like new after a couple of runs through the cleaner.

The carb on the right in this pic looked like it came off the titanic before I cleaned it.

IMG_2208.jpg
 
John - what make is the cleaner you have and from where? I've just picked up a 2nd 80's RM 250 for winter rebuilding and that looks like the way to go for some of the work I've got ahead of me!
 
rsim141 said:
John - what make is the cleaner you have and from where? I've just picked up a 2nd 80's RM 250 for winter rebuilding and that looks like the way to go for some of the work I've got ahead of me!
Click to expand...

Ultrasonic cleaners are the bomb. A quarter cup of simple green and fill my 2 liter one the rest of
the way with water and a carb with decades old grunge in it comes out clean in 5-10 minutes.
How to test for a good one - put water and a couple inch square of Reynold's aluminum foil in it
for a couple minutes. The aluminum foil should have holes in it, see through, when done. Otherwise
it's just a "sonic" cleaner and will never do the job.
 
had a huge one at an old job once, did a few nasty frames and some other stuff with it..that thing was SO awesome!!!!!!!!
 
rsim141 said:
John - what make is the cleaner you have and from where? I've just picked up a 2nd 80's RM 250 for winter rebuilding and that looks like the way to go for some of the work I've got ahead of me!
Click to expand...

Harbor Freight 2.5 L.

I wanted a cheap one to make sure I liked it. I'm sold now and I'd recommend anyone interested go buy a larger one. I doubt anyone will be displeased.
 
Friday night, was a gift.

Grungo_RM125 carb before and after. This carb had some black paint on it too.
carb_before.jpgcarb_after.jpg

carb_before1.jpgcarb_after1.jpg
 
It fit two 125 carbs but the 250 carb was too big for anything else to go with it.

For anyone into vintage bikes I'd suggest getting one big enough that you can put case halves into. That would be perfect.
 
The cleaner I linked to on Amazon is a 7 liter and the basket is 12x6x6 so that's getting close! I'll have to do some measuring on my RM250 engine cases and see if that'll do it...
 
I've been using Purple Power, it's an awesome degreaser and is cheap by the gallon. I've also used household cleaners like Fabuloso. Will try Simple Green today, I just hadn't had any until now.

I'm working on the '89 RM125 now and I love how I can just toss a pile of grungy bolts and misc in there and walk away!

IMG_2283.jpg
 
sturd said:
Ultrasonic cleaners are the bomb. A quarter cup of simple green and fill my 2 liter one the rest of
the way with water and a carb with decades old grunge in it comes out clean in 5-10 minutes.
How to test for a good one - put water and a couple inch square of Reynold's aluminum foil in it
for a couple minutes. The aluminum foil should have holes in it, see through, when done. Otherwise
it's just a "sonic" cleaner and will never do the job.
Click to expand...

With the ultra-sonic cleaning having that effect on aluminum foil, is there ever any kind of concern with aluminum parts where a tight tolerance comes into play?
 
mooch said:
With the ultra-sonic cleaning having that effect on aluminum foil, is there ever any kind of concern with aluminum parts where a tight tolerance comes into play?
Click to expand...

If your parts aren't actually foil, you should be ok. Just make sure the cleaning solution won't harm the parts. Should be more gentle on the parts than attempting manually clean them.
 
k01 said:
If your parts aren't actually foil, you should be ok. Just make sure the cleaning solution won't harm the parts. Should be more gentle on the parts than attempting manually clean them.
Click to expand...

What he said. Unless your parts are as thin as aluminum foil of course.
 
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