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Ultrasonic cleaners ?
- Thread starter mmcmdl
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2014
- Messages
- 7,137
I recently got the Harbor Freight, 6 Liter, Stainless Steel UC. It has heat, shut off timer, basket and drain feature. So far I've used it with Lye solution to strip paint and Evaporust. It worked Great both times, definitely faster and more thorough than using the solutions alone.
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2014
- Messages
- 3,202
I bought a HF 6 liter almost a year ago for, IIRC, $140. Since then I've run it for probably a couple hundred 30 minute cycles. I seldom have used the heat. It works satisfactorily for my needs. I've also been using HF Degreaser in it, at full strength, and it seems to do well and last quite a long time.
www.harborfreight.com
1 Gallon Degreaser
Amazing deals on this 1Gal Degreaser at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2019
- Messages
- 6,587
I had a big commercial unit, 2 ~15 gallon US tanks with a central rinse tank, probably about 1500lbs of stainless steel with Branson US generators. Got it free from a place I used to work, eventually I started building engines and it was awesome for my kart business, could clean whole engine blocks with that sucker. When I moved it to Michigan I rented a place with 3 phase and finally hooked it up so the heaters worked (didn't really need them in Arizona).I bought a HF 6 liter almost a year ago for, IIRC, $140. Since then I've run it for probably a couple hundred 30 minute cycles. I seldom have used the heat. It works satisfactorily for my needs. I've also been using HF Degreaser in it, at full strength, and it seems to do well and last quite a long time.
1 Gallon Degreaser
Amazing deals on this 1Gal Degreaser at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
Anyway, that HF degreaser is what I used in it. Stuff does a great job. Eventually I'll need to get a small cleaner for the shop, nothing like them for cleaning out carbs.
John
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2019
- Messages
- 505
A sample size of one. I bought this last year from a quality jewelry supply company and I've been happy with it.
SHARPERTEK, ULTRASONIC CLEANER, 2.5L
I could have gone cheaper, but it looked to be higher quality. Has heat and a sweep function that varies the ultrasonic. Timer, temp control, degass mode. I assume those are mostly standard. To me, it wasn't worth trying to get the best deal, better to have a company that would support me if there were any issues and also a company that wouldn't be selling crap.
The little research I did, suggested to pay close attention to the driver rating as cheaper units will skimp on that. Other than that - like other mentioned get the biggest constrained by your budget, available space and expected use. Going large for that one big project you can think of may just mean you have a lot more unused volume of water to heat up for small stuff.
It seems most of them are slow to heat, but the expectation is that you are going to have a "cleaning day" or just use it every day and remember to turn it on while you have your coffee.
SHARPERTEK, ULTRASONIC CLEANER, 2.5L
I could have gone cheaper, but it looked to be higher quality. Has heat and a sweep function that varies the ultrasonic. Timer, temp control, degass mode. I assume those are mostly standard. To me, it wasn't worth trying to get the best deal, better to have a company that would support me if there were any issues and also a company that wouldn't be selling crap.
The little research I did, suggested to pay close attention to the driver rating as cheaper units will skimp on that. Other than that - like other mentioned get the biggest constrained by your budget, available space and expected use. Going large for that one big project you can think of may just mean you have a lot more unused volume of water to heat up for small stuff.
It seems most of them are slow to heat, but the expectation is that you are going to have a "cleaning day" or just use it every day and remember to turn it on while you have your coffee.
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2014
- Messages
- 3,202
A little levity folks. As others have mentioned, I also miss some of the resources I had access too before I retired. The picture of that Branson unit reminded me of a significant, work related, experience. I always showed up at work mid morning (and put in my 8+). The manufacturing activity was in a separate building from my office and was pretty much unoccupied after 6:00 PM. The chem/plating lab was in the mfg. building. On the night in question I ran some parts (work related, IIRC) through the UC in the chem lab. I was always very careful to do no harm and leave things as I found them because a screw-up could have curtailed my access. The next morning, I see on the local TV news the building is on fire.
!!!! Oh S**T !!!!
I immediately visualized my career going down the drain. I telephoned my department manager and left a message that I had been in the chem lab and left about 9:00 PM. I would be there in about an hour and would find her ASAP.
It turned out that the lab tech had drained a PVC tank but left the heaters on by mistake.
Whew !!! Stuff happens.
One of the features I really wanted when I bought an ultrasonic cleaner was a drain valve. One of the consistent complaints about the no-name low priced ones in general was that the electronic thermostats and timers were more prone to failure than the mechanical thermostats and timers. I bought a 6 liter model off of eBay with the drain valve, mechanical timer and thermostat and have been very happy with it. It heats the solution very quickly. The heater is completely separate from the timer so it has to be turned off manually.
Most of the time I fill it with water and put the parts to be cleaned in a ziplock bag. It reduces the amount of cleaner needed and eliminates parts loss. My go-to cleaning solution is Simple Green or Awesome diluted 1 part to 10 parts water. That will remove all but the heaviest oil/grease in 30 minutes or less at 140-160 degrees F. Recently I cleaned lathe parts in it using Zep Industrial Purple Degreaser diluted 1:5 to prep for painting. The parts were large compared to the US cleaner so I put the sol directly into the US cleaner tub. It’s messier but I got lots of pieces cleaned at once and the machine wasn’t too hard to clean after with its drain. I put a hose barb on the valve and slip some 1/2” vinyl tubing on it for draining and cleaning.
Most of the time I fill it with water and put the parts to be cleaned in a ziplock bag. It reduces the amount of cleaner needed and eliminates parts loss. My go-to cleaning solution is Simple Green or Awesome diluted 1 part to 10 parts water. That will remove all but the heaviest oil/grease in 30 minutes or less at 140-160 degrees F. Recently I cleaned lathe parts in it using Zep Industrial Purple Degreaser diluted 1:5 to prep for painting. The parts were large compared to the US cleaner so I put the sol directly into the US cleaner tub. It’s messier but I got lots of pieces cleaned at once and the machine wasn’t too hard to clean after with its drain. I put a hose barb on the valve and slip some 1/2” vinyl tubing on it for draining and cleaning.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2022
- Messages
- 1,851
I have the small Harbor Freight unit and the large unit. The small unit works good but I like the large unit better as it is all stainless larger capacity with a basket. I keep water in the small one in my loading/gun room and I place the small parts in which ever cleaner is required in a ziplock bag and it works very well without the unit actually being full of any particular chemical. The large one is in the garage and I use it the same way mostly but I have from time to time put chemicals in it since it is all metal with a drain valve. I melted a small one down once with chemicals.