# Ultrasonic Cleaner



## Jay81 (Dec 1, 2017)

I recently saw in another thread that another caber had an ultrasonic cleaner, and had excellent results cleaning bike parts with it so I decided to get one myself for cleaning hub parts.  I thought I'd write up a review after giving it a try. 
Previously I was using a plastic tub with paint thinner to soak the parts in, usually for about a week.  Then I would take them out and use my air gun to remove any loose grease/dirt and dry the parts.  I would still have to take a small screwdriver and chip away old hard grease in some places.  

So the ultrasonic cleaner arrived the other day and I decided to give it a try.  They make many different sizes, mine is 3.2 liter and rectangular.  I have also seen square and round.  
Here it is



 

 

 

The good thing is,  it's wide enough to do the axles.  However I could not fit all the parts from both hubs at one time.  The manual says to leave space around the parts. 

Here's the New Departure hub guts before going in.


 

 

I put the parts in the basket and filled with enough Simple Green to cover the parts.  
Manual says water,  soap and water or a cleaning solution may be used.  I may try the next one with Dawn dish soap and water just too see, but I doubt just water will work on a hub. I had the parts in there for one hour at 60 degrees Celsius,  as it does not have a farenheight reading.  I looked it up and if I remember correctly that's about 140 degrees. Dinner was ready at the same time as the parts,  so I shut it off and left it for a couple hours until the kids went to bed,  and went out to check on it. 


 

I was surprised when I took the lid off, it was still pretty warm even though it's cold outside.  Must be decently insulated. Although it did seem to take a while to get up to temp. As for the parts,  I was surprised.  Very clean,  except one hub bearing.  It was clean on the outside but still full of crud inside.  I was amazed with the rest.  I would not recommend putting any copper brake disks in there,  as some of the parts were turned copper color.  But otherwise, I'm impressed. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Took the basket out and one by one used the air gun to dry the parts and did a quick wipe down with a blue "shop towel on a roll"
For the disks, just dried them with one of the blue towels.  Planning on putting the rest of the parts in tomorrow. 

So far I really like it.  It was affordable, plus it cleans quick and easy. 
The bad,  it's generic/no brand name and made in China.  But we'll see how it holds up. 
The Simple Green should be good for several uses, so I'll reuse what's in there for the other parts and report back.


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## fordmike65 (Dec 1, 2017)

I used to use the ultrasonic tank here at the shop, but noticed I would loose some plating. Now I use the heated water-based solvent tank with great results.


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## Talewinds (Dec 2, 2017)

We had the same one at a bike shop I worked at. Very effective. Probably the best thing about it is the "set it and forget it" element, just dump the grimey parts in there and go back to working on the rest of the bike while they cook.


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## Kato (Dec 2, 2017)

Super looking job !!!!        I've gotta get me one of those. I've used them before and they kicked butt.
I had a old snowmobile carb and didn't want to do a full tear down and rebuild so I took just the needed stuff apart and did a 20% Simple Green / 80% hot-hot water cleaning for 20 mins. The carb looked almost new when it came out. It cleaned so good I had to retune the carb a bit because of all the gunk / varnish it got out.


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## ABC Services (Dec 2, 2017)

I dont think I would use a dish soap as it may cause too many bubbles. I bought one that looks very similar to yours and after a couple of uses I noticed it wasn't working as good as it did, took it apart and found one of the motors came loose, reattached it and haven't had a problem since. My solution is water, purple power degreaser, and sometimes a little vinegar. To remove heavy grease I will add in a very little bit of "Super Washing Soda". You need to be careful with the vinegar and the washing soda as it strips plating and will discolor parts very quickly. when using those I will check it every 10 minutes.


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## Talewinds (Dec 2, 2017)

ABC's recipe sounds good. We washed parts on a daily basis and went through a LOT of solution, especially in winter. We found that the powder mix would have very negative effect on a lot of finishes, especially anodizing. For a cost effective, material-sympathetic solution we settled on a mix of 3/4 water 1/4 Simple Green.


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## Jay81 (Dec 2, 2017)

Round two. Cleaned the rest of the parts in the same simple green as yesterday.  These parts came out nice and clean as well.  
There were no copper brake disks today,  but the parts still had a copper color when I took them out.  I dumped out the liquid and the tank was all copper colored.  Some of it wiped off, some didn't.  I'd imagine it'll come off with more use. 


 

Before and after wiping down the tank


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## bobcycles (Dec 2, 2017)

Anyone got any good tips for cleaning/soaking chains?


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## Talewinds (Dec 2, 2017)

As an aside, we cleaned a lot of pistol parts in there too...


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## Dave Stromberger (Dec 3, 2017)

Wow... SOLD I'm getting one.  Thanks for the great review!


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## RustySprockets (Dec 3, 2017)

They're great devices.  I've seen it discussed elsewhere that Simple Green and cuprous metals don't get along.  One must keep the solution weak when dealing with copper, brass, and bronze.  It has nothing to do with the ultrasonic cleaning action itself.


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## Muleman121 (Dec 8, 2017)

RustySprockets said:


> They're great devices.  I've seen it discussed elsewhere that Simple Green and cuprous metals don't get along.  One must keep the solution weak when dealing with copper, brass, and bronze.  It has nothing to do with the ultrason ic cleaning action itself.




Well written article.  I'm sold on the idea. Recently read another article about using a tumbler with different media such as walnut shells or baking soda to do the cleaning.  Anyone else try these?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## detroitbike (Dec 9, 2017)

I used a similar machine at the shop for 5 years now.
  We  Use it every day in the winter to clean carbs.
  We have found that a diluted solution of Oil Eater works the best.
 get it at Costco or Walmart or online.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=172881083344


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## Mr.RED (Dec 24, 2017)

I had a sonic cleaner for a year or so it worked great on cleaning up parts really a must have for full restorations. I am looking to get another one now I use to run mine with grease lighting cut with a cup of water. As f the tumblers with crushed walnut shells I've used them before they work good for cleaning and polishing up bolts .


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (Dec 26, 2017)

Mr.RED said:


> I had a sonic cleaner for a year or so it worked great on cleaning up parts really a must have for full restorations. I am looking to get another one now I use to run mine with grease lighting cut with a cup of water. As f the tumblers with crushed walnut shells I've used them before they work good for cleaning and polishing up bolts .




I use ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning custom made cast jewelry, then use a tumbler


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## PCHiggin (Dec 26, 2017)

I used the one @ work with a roughly 70/30 Simple Green mix,it worked great,just takes s little time. OK with me,beats getting  laquer thinner or mineral spirits soaked into my hands,not mention the crud.I have XX large hands and cant keep a pair of gloves on them while working


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## PCHiggin (Jan 4, 2018)

Made the mistake of using Pine Sol,It took the polished finish off of the bearings and retainers,maybe even etched them.


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## Kato (Feb 3, 2018)

Can you tell me where you bought yours.........make / model etc?
I think I saw one on Amazon that looks like yours but thought I'd check..
Appreciate any info
Kato


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## Barto (Feb 6, 2018)

Hmmm, sounds like a lot easier then leaning over my parts cleaner trying not to splash it on my daughter Bug.  The best part - my brother bought one to help clean parts when his Son was riding Motocross..  I'm sure I could borrow it for the next several years


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## Dave Stromberger (Feb 6, 2018)

I bought one of these --> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072JB147J/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1





I followed the lead of @Jon Marinello who did some homework and decided to get this model.  It was a good investment. Loving mine, it actually makes parts cleaning FUN! To see hub parts, bearing cages, chains, etc come out sparkling clean is really rewarding!  

I've been using Super Clean for my solvent.  Get it on sale at any hardware store or even Walmart.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 1, 2018)

The varsol tank is a great idea on bike parts.

As far as the ultrasonic goes, I learned to do my own organic extraction analysis as a freshman laboratory engineer (taught by the scientist who wrote the ASTM spec on IR analysis), so I have all organic solvents down pat.
Mineral spirits is the best choice for removing old lubricants.
Denatured alcohol is the choice for removing the thin residues after mineral spirits.
Hexane is the safest choice for old rubber and plastic.
You can buy any of these at your local hardware store.


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## Sven (Mar 1, 2018)

If your low on cash and have a sander . You could try this.  "* Ultrasonic-ish vibrating parts cleaner" - Iciban Moto*


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## Mr.RED (Mar 14, 2018)

My buddy was closing his vintage bike shop so he was selling off everything in the shop. I started buying stuff then noticed his ultra sonic cleaner he said $40 and I couldn't jump the piles of bike crap faster. What a great score I'm was looking at these a few weeks ago online glad I waited.


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## nycet3 (Mar 18, 2018)

I used a friend's once. It was unreal. Cleaned all off the smalls on a bike in minutes.


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## bulldog1935 (Mar 19, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> The varsol tank is a great idea on bike parts.
> 
> As far as the ultrasonic goes, I learned to do my own organic extraction analysis as a freshman laboratory engineer (taught by the scientist who wrote the ASTM spec on IR analysis), so I have all organic solvents down pat.
> Mineral spirits is the best choice for removing old lubricants.
> ...



quoting myself here with a caveat.  
If you use solvents in your ultrasonic cleaner, only do this in a space with good ventilation - it helps if you can cover your solvent container in the ultrasonic.  .


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## KingSized HD (Dec 3, 2018)

Jay81 said:


> I recently saw in another thread that another caber had an ultrasonic cleaner, and had excellent results cleaning bike parts with it so I decided to get one myself for cleaning hub parts.  I thought I'd write up a review after giving it a try.
> .




I'm late to the party but thanks for taking the time to write up a review and to everyone else for chiming in. Looks like a great shop tool....it'll be in my letter to Santa.


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## Cranky Chain Cycles (Dec 28, 2019)

Bump. Is 10L a good size or would a smaller one be adequate? I need to be able to fit a Schwinn 1-piece crank set in there. Something tells me a 2.5-3L one wouldn't be big enough.


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## Two Wheeler (Apr 9, 2022)

bobcycles said:


> Anyone got any good tips for cleaning/soaking chains?



I soak mine for a week or two in paint thinner. If they are rusty with frozen links I’ll give them an OA bath. 
  After that process I’ll nail each end to my work bench. Attack it with a wire wheel in a drill rotating it so you do all four sides. If it’s still stiff I’ll soak it in transmission fluid for a week or more.


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