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Ultrasonic Cleaner Test

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Werloc 
#1 ·
I bought one of those Harbor Freight Ultrasonic Cleaners awhile ago and threw some random part in it to see what it would do. It didn't seem to have much effect, so I wondered if the thing was even working.

I mentioned this to one of the engineers that I work with and he said that there is a quick way to test whether the transducer is doing it's job or not - suspend a piece of aluminum foil into the bath. If the transducer is working, the cavitation should perforate the foil.

The bottom 1" of this strip was in the bath for 2 minutes, so I guess that this is proof that it's working!

 
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#3 · (Edited)
My Dad's chipper / shredder sat for a long time and the carb needed cleaning. I took it apart (super simple carb !) and did the HF Ultrasonic / Simple Green cleaning and now it runs like a champ! The float bowl is made of aluminum and I had seen your picture first I may have used Berryman's B-12 on it, but I didn't see any damage to it as a result of the Ultrasonic cleaner. Of course it was laying on the bottom, if that makes a difference, and maybe it is some kind of alloy more resistant to cavitation.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I guess it depends on what's in it, and what your using for cleaner solution. My wife works in a dental office, so when that dentist ungraded with new equipment, I was able to get their old cleaner. I Googled the brand and model, and even though it was old, I did find one extactly like it on ebay that sold for $600. I used it for gun parts, filled with CLP Break Free, and worked great. But, like all my stuff, lost it 3 years ago during the Hurricane Irene flood. I miss that unit. Maybe try different solvents. It does take time. If I remember correctly, I would set the timer to max each time for 2 to 3 rounds of cleaning. Each round was 1 hour, so that means 2 or 3 hours of ultrasonic cleaning. It had one of those click type turn dials. Harbor Freight has very low quality products, so maybe it's just not that great of a cleaner. I have bought a few power tools from there, that completely wore out and failed very quick. I learned the hard way. Now, when that HF flyer comes in the mail, I don't even look at it. Maybe, I would buy a plastic tarp from them, but thats it. Maybe a parts cleaner is what you need. BTW, thats one of the items that failed on me from HF. Went through 2 pump motors in 3 weeks...POS
 
#8 ·
Oh, I forgot to say, that the ultrasonic unit I had also had temp setting on it, which I always turned up to max high. Maybe that made the difference too. Maybe you could heat or warm up your solvent to help break down the crud. Also, brush the crud off every 15 minutes or so. Just be very careful heating any flammable liquids.
 
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