Ultrasonic cleaners

[Sticky]

School me on ultrasonic cleaners.. how do you use them, for what purpose, hot or cold, etc.... Just picked up a small one to play with, mostly for cleaning gun parts, but what else can I do with it? I know brass can be done, though I have both wet and dry tumble for that, so I really don't need to do brass in it, but I assume with the same mix (water, Dawn and lemishine) and cold, I can get similar results to wet tumble (tho this won't hold too many cases..

Mine has a heater, so I can run it hot and I played with it a bit and ran some aluminum rimfire baffles in a ziploc of 50/50 Simple Green advanced (the safe for aluminum kind) and water, did pretty well once the solution got warmed up. I also want to use it to clean the TiN bbl on one of my carry pistols that gets carbon fouled bad on the muzzle (it's in a spectre comp 365) and is a pain in the butt to get clean. This seems easier if it works, but I need to foul it again to test it out.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Sticky, I also was self schooling on these.

Some good vids show putting the dirty stuff in small containers to keep the dirt out of the liquid.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

 

[Sticky]

That's why I'm tapping the brain trust here, I know many use them, but I never have. I used the ziploc bag trick for the baffles and barrel cleaning, like that a lot. No, I ain't using gasoline either... lol

 

[Harrys]

Cleaning Jewlery

Ultrasonic cleaners have several benefits. They can clean almost any contaminant with the right cleaning solution. They can remove oil, dirt, fingerprint smudges, old paint, burned carbon and so on1. The ultrasound waves in the cleaning solution reach places that you otherwise would not be able to reach by hand1. Little time and effort is required for cleaning1. Ultrasonic cleaning is safe for you and for the environment1. Ultrasonic cleaning provides a safe, effective way to clean multiple surgical instruments at once, from delicate ophthalmic and laparoscopic devices to heavy orthopedic instruments2.

Ultrasonic cleaning is unique in effectively cleaning components and effectively reaching all surfaces and blind holes. Cost and Time Savings Since this method uses agitation and removes dirt and oil, some parts, such as O-rings, can be left in place, increasing savings. Ultrasonic cleaning also increases technical productivity.

 

[RoKKboXXer]

I prefer regular old pinesol for my cleaning agent. I boil my water before putting in tank, the heaters take forever. If I have small parts I use a glass jar with lid. I think it transfers the sonic waves better than the bag method. It also uses less cleaner by just filling jar.

 

[hobiecat590]

CO-Z, Crewworks, Vevor etc. all look to be identical rebranded units. Can anyone reccomend a particular size and brand? 15L/4 gal seems large but I don't know.

 

[Conundrum]

For the heck of it, I just searched for cleaners near me. Harbor Freight has a 6 Liter capacity one for $180. But the Vevor is 15L for $167.

 

[6-Pack]

I have two ultrasonic cleaners:

1. Humminguru Ultrasonic Record Cleaner: This is used solely to clean vinyl records (7", 10" and 12"). I have been listening to records my whole life and this is absolutely the best cleaning method I've ever used. This machine gets in the grooves and I've even managed to revive some pretty beaten up records. I use Groovewasher cleaning fluid. The Humminguru was cheaper the Degritter (which costs $2,750+).

2. Hornady Lock-N-Load Ultrasonic Cleaner: I use this for everything that will fit in there, not just gun stuff. This is the only way I'll clean my brass for reloading (I deprime then clean, then load). My brass looks great and the primer pockets are always very clean. I've also cleaned revolvers, barrels, Mosin Nagant bolts, etc... in this thing. I use the Hornady One Shot cleaning fluids (separate "cartridges" and "gun parts" fluids). Again, I've thrown some things in there over the years and the amount of cleaning power is just amazing. Take a Mosin Nagant bolt that has been dunked in cosmoline, stored in an Albanian cave for 50 years, then stripped apart for cleaning. It's easier to clean with an ultrasonic than it is to use the old method of soaking the parts in diesel for a few days.

The only thing I don't like about ultrasonic cleaning is drying. If I'm doing metal parts (like barrels or Mosin bolts) I immediately dry and oil once I've pulled them from the ultrasonic machine because I'm worried about rust.

Also, with ultrasonic cleaning you need to keep heat in mind. If you want the most powerful clean, you need to heat the water/fluid. However, in the case of vinyl records I want the opposite (so I don't warp the records).

 

[alucard0822]

Most of the time, I use my ultrasonic for suppressor baffles. uncoated steel is easy, in a bag with CLR, in the tank of clean water, an hour at 150 degrees, and they come out spotless. The ultrasonic will damage coatings and aluminum, so for small parts or things like slides, have to keep an eye on the part, use a gentle degreaser, and take it out frequently. It can do a decent job on brass, but you have to make sure the cleaner isn't caustic and will not weaken the brass, simple green works good for that. Clean the brass in hot simple green/water then fush with water in the basket. To dry it, I use an old retired air fryer toaster oven set to low temp with frying baskets, dries cleaned brass really fast.

 

[Harrys]

I prefer regular old pinesol for my cleaning agent. I boil my water before putting in tank, the heaters take forever. If I have small parts I use a glass jar with lid. I think it transfers the sonic waves better than the bag method. It also uses less cleaner by just filling jar.

I get all the distilled water I need for my humidifier. I use Lemishine dishwasher additive and a squirt of dawn dish soap. Everything comes out shiny and clean.

 

[hobiecat590]

After some research a dual freq model seems to be the most versatile. The lower freqs are better for cleaning larger parts etc. and it has a degas feature. VEVOR 22L Ultrasonic Cleaner 28/40khz Dual Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaner 304 Stainless Steel with Heater Timer for Jewelry Watch Glasses Parts Cleaning

 

[John from MD]

After some research a dual freq model seems to be the most versatile. The lower freqs are better for cleaning larger parts etc. and it has a degas feature. VEVOR 22L Ultrasonic Cleaner 28/40khz Dual Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaner 304 Stainless Steel with Heater Timer for Jewelry Watch Glasses Parts Cleaning

They are also twice as expensive.

 

[Sticky]

I got the small HF unit 2.5l. It has a heater, though preheating is probably smarter and I did get a basket to fit it instead of the cheesy tray they give you. I'll play with it a bit and see what it can do.

 

[hobiecat590]

I got the small HF unit 2.5l. It has a heater, though preheating is probably smarter and I did get a basket to fit it instead of the cheesy tray they give you. I'll play with it a bit and see what it can do.

Be careful putting really hot water in a cold tray. There are reports of the transducers falling off due to the thermal shock.

And yes the dual freq versions are more expensive but may be worth it time wise.

 

[Sticky]

Be careful putting really hot water in a cold tray. There are reports of the transducers falling off due to the thermal shock.

And yes the dual freq versions are more expensive but may be worth it time wise.

Thanks for the tip.. so far I have just used warm/hot tap water and then let the heater run for 15-20 mins to get the solution up to temp, seems to work fine so far.

 

[hobiecat590]

Thanks for the tip.. so far I have just used warm/hot tap water and then let the heater run for 15-20 mins to get the solution up to temp, seems to work fine so far.

Mine takes 22l so, I'll start w/ tap temp, then start adding water heater tap water to help the heater. These folks may have added boiling water to a unit that was stored in a garage at freezing temps. The tank is SS and the transducers are epoxied on so it would not take much to pop them. It they do pop, it should be pretty simple to re epoxy them.

 

[fabsroman]

After some research a dual freq model seems to be the most versatile. The lower freqs are better for cleaning larger parts etc. and it has a degas feature. VEVOR 22L Ultrasonic Cleaner 28/40khz Dual Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaner 304 Stainless Steel with Heater Timer for Jewelry Watch Glasses Parts Cleaning

Thanks. I can feel the money burning away in my pocket. I've only ever had a small ultrasonic cleaner and it decided to give up the ghost a couple years ago. Believe it was somewhere in the $180 range when I bought it about a decade ago and it was around 10 liters. I used it to clean gun parts, bicycle chains, and bicycle freewheels/cassette cogs. Could not fit the chainrings in it, but I think you just linked a game changer for me.

The Vevor stuff looks really nice. Found this one on Amazon and now it is in my cart:

Amazon product ASIN B07DJ23WKV
Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[John from MD]

Tax business must have been good this year.

 

[The Saint]

I have a Hornady 2 Liter that I use for black powder pistols religiously...makes my job of cleaning them take 1/2 the time or less with basically no margin of error to worry about. Best $1XX I ever spent on the hobby.