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What ultra sonic boiling fluid do y'all like for carbs....

bandit67

bandit67

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Guys, finally got an ultra sonic cleaner on the way here, now , for the fluid choice. I opted for one with a heating element to be used basically for carbs. Been doing a few Edelbrock carbs of late and wondering if there is a cleaner that can restore that shiny , bright look that new Edelbrocks come with. If not, sure don't want anything too strong that dulls that finish even more. What is your choice of what to use and what NOT to use...thanks..
 
I recently got a cleaner and tried pinesol for my first effort; it worked great.
 
Did you get a real one or a harbor freight type? First, optimal temp is around 150 deg F, 130 deg F being low range. They don't work cold. To test a unit, put a piece of aluminum foil in it (at temperature) and see how long it takes to make holes in the foil. Mine is a commercial grade, and it take about 13 seconds to poke a hole in the aluminum foil that I get from my wife. I use the soap that my ultrasonic cleaner vendor sells. Works ok and has corrosion protection additives in it.

Ultrasonic Cleaning Detergents
 
Let’s talk about the cleaning machine you have or like and what good about it. What is bad about the sonic cleaner form Harbor freight?
 
I have the Harbor Freight one. I use simple green and water 50/50. Works surprising well. Warming up the water makes a huge difference.
 
R413 said:
Let’s talk about the cleaning machine you have or like and what good about it. What is bad about the sonic cleaner form Harbor freight?
Click to expand...
So my experience is not with a HF, mine was a Grizzly. Also had a heater. I assume the HF is of the same cloth as the Grizzly. It flat out just did not work. Way too weak and water never got hot enough.

So I bought a real one.

Ultrasonic Mobile Cleaning Machines | UltraSonic LLC

I have the 2400FA.

Pros:
- big enough for cylinder heads
- within limitations of what an ultrasonic cleaner will do, it cleans very well
- adjustable power
- cleans in places/crevices you can't see, never mind get into
- standard cycle is 3 minutes, sometimes several cycles are required
- has a timer so I turn the heater on in the morning and off in the evening

Cons:
- you need to understand limitations of an ultrasonic cleaner - it will not take any grease off other than a light coat, and does not work well on most soft surfaces - sometimes need to preclean
- need to be very careful - will absolutely take paint off, need special precautions with brass/copper, can hurt aluminum (if heavy impurities, can etch the impurities so usually so I turn the power down) and can hurt other finishes
- fairly loud - should be wearing ear protection

If I have concern that it will hurt a finish or a part, I turn the power way down, and even with that sometimes I don't turn it down low enough.

One of the best tools in my inventory.
 
Simple Green removes anodizing and some plating from aluminum parts. A friend thru his new SIG 220 Combat in one...came out mostly bare frame. EEK!
 
mmissile said:
Simple Green removes anodizing and some plating from aluminum parts. A friend thru his new SIG 220 Combat in one...came out mostly bare frame. EEK!
Click to expand...
Why would he put his sig in that for?
 
Gus chiggins said:
Why would he put his sig in that for?
Click to expand...
Just wanted to ultrasonic clean it, and simple-green removes so much stuff. I've used it on my HK rifles for years....works great.[no aluminum parts/anodizing].
 
This is the one I bought. Mainly for my albums, but it did a great job on my Holley 2100. as I remember, I used Pinesol with a splash of injector cleaner. Didn't keep track of time as I would look at it and couldn't decide if it was clean or not. Kept adding 15 minutes. It ran long enough that the heater had the water pretty warm. I ran it more with plain water to rinse. Put it together and it popped right off.
www.vevor.com

VEVOR Ultrasonic Cleaner 6L Ultrasonic Vinyl Cleaner 7-12 Inch 8 Records Ultrasonic Vinyl Cleaning Machine 180W Ultrasonic Records Cleaner with Drying Rack for Home Store | VEVOR US

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mmissile said:
Simple Green removes anodizing and some plating from aluminum parts. A friend thru his new SIG 220 Combat in one...came out mostly bare frame. EEK!
Click to expand...
He used the wrong Simple Green. There is an aircraft version that is aluminum safe.
 
I have heard others say the pines oo can discolor aluminum if left in too long and others agreed. But they didn’t say what too long was.
 
Photon440 said:
He used the wrong Simple Green. There is an aircraft version that is aluminum safe.
Click to expand...
He's been using lots of other products, since. This was 15 years ago. I'm glad he learned, and not me.
 
bandit67 said:
Guys, finally got an ultra sonic cleaner on the way here, now , for the fluid choice. I opted for one with a heating element to be used basically for carbs. Been doing a few Edelbrock carbs of late and wondering if there is a cleaner that can restore that shiny , bright look that new Edelbrocks come with. If not, sure don't want anything too strong that dulls that finish even more. What is your choice of what to use and what NOT to use...thanks..
Click to expand...
When you get your USC how about before/after pictures and what solution you used and time/temp.:thumbsup::thumbsup: Thanks
 
Will do Fran, but at this point I am still unsure what to use as I see there are many products to choose from. Watching the motorcycle guys clean bike carbs are only taking about 30 minutes at about 140 degrees. Not sure of the fluid they using but carbs still look somewhat bright coming out. Not sure how I can get that bright look like a new Edelbrock comes with. So, the particular solution seems to be the key. I have some Holley carbs I wish to take apart but cannot since they seem to welded together using the old , pre blue gaskets. I was told to soak em in diesel fuel first for a bit. But hoping with the new sonic blaster I can get apart easy with marring the soft main blocks.
 
bandit67 said:
Will do Fran, but at this point I am still unsure what to use as I see there are many products to choose from. Watching the motorcycle guys clean bike carbs are only taking about 30 minutes at about 140 degrees. Not sure of the fluid they using but carbs still look somewhat bright coming out. Not sure how I can get that bright look like a new Edelbrock comes with. So, the particular solution seems to be the key. I have some Holley carbs I wish to take apart but cannot since they seem to welded together using the old , pre blue gaskets. I was told to soak em in diesel fuel first for a bit. But hoping with the new sonic blaster I can get apart easy with marring the soft main blocks.
Click to expand...
Well any fluid with an acidic content will dull the shine. Lemon juice in dish washing deterrent is a grease cutter but acidic. Dry Cleaner uses a chemical can't spell it, it's called "Perk" for short. Maybe buy a gallon or two (size of your cleaner) of that and ask detergent (soap) 16oz. should be more than enough. Ask them the ratio of detergent to Perk, your might want a little more detergent because of dirtier parts. Perk name is Perchoroethylene.
 
When I was a co-op at JM Ney in CT back in the 80's, we made small ultrasonic cleaners for the dental industry. We just used ammonia and hot water. It did the trick.

There are many soaps/detergents that work - you just need to identify what is correct for your application.

McMaster Carr even has some to choose from:

McMaster-Carr
 
Ive used pinesol, simple green, and recently Joy dish soap ( since I was out of everything else ). I think Joy worked better. My results from the PS and SG were decent, my only gripe was how stuff glued itself to some of the crevasses on the carburetors that were clean before the soak, some chemical process?
 
I used to use Simple Green but it would discolor aluminum. Went to Simple Green Pro, the purple stuff. Works good at about 7 to 1 and doesn't discolor aluminum.
 
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