ultrasonic cleaner

[nastyjones]

I am back in College training to be a Lab Tech and today we were talking about cleaning surgical instruments with an ultrasonic cleaner and it got me to thinking (dangerous). If these cleaners work by vibration, why can't I set up a container and put say a carburetor in it and use an electric motor or some other thing that produces vibs to clean it. Is there a certain pulse needed to clean or will this idea work? It's such a simple idea that there must be a reason why others haven't done it.
Am I oversimplifying things or am I on to something?

Paul

[KiwiGS]

Go for it.
I work at a university and have "borrowed" an ultrasonic cleaner.
It works great, the biggest hassle is what solution to use.
I went with a mixture of simple green and lemon juice.
Cheers

[nastyjones]

Well, i have a carburetor that I can't seem to get clean and wondered if this would work.

[KiwiGS]

Give it ago.
It worked on my carbs, which had been sitting with fuel and water in them for over a year.
The vibrations are great for cleaning the little hard to get places.
Cheers

[terrylee2u]

worth a try.. but ultrasonic is pretty high pulses.. used one at a Service Master to remove smoke damage from household items.. when you first put in your hands is felt like a very slight stinging.. but it worked great.. saved one ladies wedding bouquet

[bwringer]

They do work great for carbs.

You can get an ultrasonic cleaner for around $50 at Harbor Freight, which is probably less than it would cost to research the theory and come up with a homemade version.

[nastyjones]

Alas, if I only lived in the United States............but I don't. No Harbour Freight here.
As far as the high pulses. I think a electric motor or something that spins at high speed might work.

Any suggestions on what to use to make the proper high speed pulse? My grinder vibrates like crazy.

Paul

[sachsaca]

Here you go. Bike shops use them all the time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95563

[tkent02]

I was thinking of using a speaker with a big magnet, remove the paper cone and glue a bucket to the magnet. Throw in a carb and some detergent or something. Then play some Rush songs with the volume really turned up.
If Geddy Lee can't go ultrasonic, nobody can.

[Hammered]

You can build them. DIY cleaner plans are on line but cost more to build than the cheapo ones. Deionized water and washing soda work freaking great. You get the ultra mild abrasive with the pulse cleaning from the USC. Dont ask why deionized water works better, it just does. Ive boiled the water and used filtered water. /shrugs And to get the gunk out of the mix, a cheapo coffee filter works great. It blocks all the greasey grimey bits from getting back in the mix.

[bonanzadave]

play some Rush songs

Preferably Red Barchetta.

[Hoges]

Used on my recent top end rebuild and worked a treat to clean up the head around the valves etc. I went to a car engine specialist and used in their tank. 24hrs later, shiny and new. If you can find one to use, it would be perfect for a carby I think....

[Odinist]

I was thinking of using a speaker with a big magnet, remove the paper cone and glue a bucket to the magnet. Throw in a carb and some detergent or something. Then play some Rush songs with the volume really turned up.
If Geddy Lee can't go ultrasonic, nobody can.

Epic win.

[nastyjones]

Ok, check this DIY article on how to build your own ultrasonic cleaner. Sounds easy, the only thing I would worry about was how long to leave the carb in the solution.

paul