Ultrasonic Cleaner suggestions

[Jay Broemmel]

Thinking about buying an ultrasonic cleaner. Any thoughts on features to look for, or avoid? What is a good size to get? Has anyone tried the ones from Eastwood? I really don’t know much about them. Is there a special solution to use for different kinds of filth? Thanks in advance. J

[Ken Tuvman]

Hi Jay - I use the Harbor Freight unit - mostly for carburetor & small engine parts / I use hot water mixed with simple green - others use dawn - if a really dirty carb I drop in a gallon can of parts cleaner first usually overnight.
My mechanic has 2 big ones & not sure if make & model.

[Donald Zingg]

Here's a good website - - https://www.omegasonics.com/resources/u ... etergents/

[Joris Koning]

I have a Branson I picked up from local Craig's list. Buying a used one allowed me to get get a large one without breaking the bank. Professional cleaners in larger sizes easily run several thousands. I think I spent something like 250. Has been giving me happy service for over 5 years.

[Douglas Madsen]

Jay,
I got a three liter size. It has been sufficient for all my 356 parts. I use 50% simple green.

[Bruce Hagopian]

I've been thinking about asking the same question.
Not being a professional mechanic and too cheap to spend thousands, I have been looking at the low cost Asian imports. I think they would suit my needs, but, am concerned they may not last long. Does anyone have experience with these and know if they hold up long enough in light home use?
There are dozens of videos on Youtube demonstrating these. One indicated they only last a few months, but, that person had a small engine shop and has his in constant use. Even though they didn't last long, he thought they were justified at the low price.

[Ken Tuvman]

I've been thinking about asking the same question.
Not being a professional mechanic and too cheap to spend thousands, I have been looking at the low cost Asian imports. I think they would suit my needs, but, am concerned they may not last long. Does anyone have experience with these and know if they hold up long enough in light home use?
There are dozens of videos on Youtube demonstrating these. One indicated they only last a few months, but, that person had a small engine shop and has his in constant use. Even though they didn't last long, he thought they were justified at the low price.

Bruce - my Harbor Freight unit lasted over 12 years and cleaned a lot of carbs and small parts - bought a new one last week and they're on sale for @ $50 or so. Not a Heavy Duty unit but works for me.

[Darryl Deppe]

I have a Harbor Freight for carburetors and put my parts and 10% Pine-Sol solution in ziploc bags before putting them in the tank filled with water. It's great to see how much crud comes out of each immersion, especially when refreshing the solution in the ziploc bag between soaks. Soaking too long does turn the brass parts green though so I never let them go for more than a half hour between checks.

[Al Zim]

If you are going to do some heavy duty cleaning of engine parts find someone who has a transmission cleaner and have them do your work. Zim's has one about the size of a small oriental car which runs continuously. And about the cost of a not so small oriental car. For small work brake cleaner works well and it will not damage metal or plastic parts.

[Dave Erickson]

I have one of the cheap imports, a 30L unit. It is large enough that I can clean most engine and transmission parts, even the crankcase if I remove the studs and rotate it. I switch between Pine Sol and Oil Eater. The Pine Sol is slightly acidic so it is good for removing rust and inorganic deposits in carburetors. The oil eater works great for degreasing. It is slightly basic and will remove paint if you leave items in long enough. I have another small ultrasonic that I use for ball bearings, with clean solution. Don't leave ball bearings in for long, the vibration will cause very small particles to lodge between the race and the ball. If you clean them for 5 minutes then keep rotating them you can avoid that problem. Be careful with aluminum parts, some solutions can cause electrolysis.

[Peter Boettcher]

Hi Dave,

I just bought a 30L unit.
What is your percentage of Pine Sol that you mix in with water to get good cleaning? Also thought about trying Simple Green.

Thanks!

[Dan Macdonald]

Peter,
I use Simple Green mixed 50/50 with water. Works fine.

[Dave Erickson]

Peter, I use the pine sol undiluted if I want it to remove rust and inorganic deposits. I don't use it for degreasing.

[Patrick Ertel]

I have one of the 30L cheapies. I think I paid about $300 for it. There are two machines on Amazon - HFS and Vevor that look almost the same. I think it's a generic unit that various marketing companies slap their names on. I used it for about 5 hrs before the circuit breaker in it quit. I've used it another 3 or so hours and it stopped working again. Not sure why this time. Some cheap ones may be OK, but I would stay away from anything called HFS or Vevor.