ULTRASONIC CLEANING

georgPru2 said:

Dawn is also good for killing insects, scorpions, wasps, moths and cleaning my glasses and my hands. Get a spray bottle, fill mostly full of water, then add Dawn until it starts turning blue. Add more/less to suit your needs. Discovered this by accident.

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Yeah but You have to be really carefull with that Dawn stuff, one time I ran out of dishwasher detergent so I filled up the Dishwasher cup with Dawn Liquid and when I came back I had 3FT wall of foam bubbles spreading out in every direction. Then I got the great Idea to use the wet vac to suck it up, seemed to be working great untill I turned around to find the wet vac was blowing foam bubbles all over the ceiling and beyond. Then the wife walks in, around throws her hands up and left without saying a word, that was the worse part, I'm just saying be carefull with Dawn untill you know what you are doing

Hmmm It appears someone didn't read the instructions. It is no more one teaspoon per gallon of water for Dawn Platinum. For a 2.5 L USC that means a little over a half a teaspoon. For a 10 L (2.6 G) USC that is under 1 tablespoon; closer to 2.5 teaspoons.

Dawn works well in an ultrasonic cleaner for regular dirt and grease. Just mix a small amount with warm water. For really tough stuff, you could try a stronger cleaning solution, but dish soap is safe and effective for most jobs.

Harbor Freight ultrasonics work fine. I usually just use a little Dawn in warm water and run a second cycle if needed for tough grime.

I have an old (1980's still going strong) 250 watt ultrasonic cleaner. Made by American Beauty.
The principle of ultrasonic cleaning is the cavitation bubbles it creates and then collapsing The collapse is a tiny explosion and can damage anything if left too long, ship propellers, pump impellers, diesel engines,. I have removed the chrome from some of my items by leaving them in the tank overnight. My manual says that any solvent that creates bubbles that will not collapse (foam) will weaken the action. Must use a non foaming cleaner. Sparkleen was recommended. Preferably, NO SOLVENT at all.. simply distilled water for best results. When using anything, the fresh liquid must be purged of air, so the first few minutes will not give much action. Most dish detergents will actually weaken the action by not collapsing the bubbles enough.
A non foaming detergent, like for a dishwasher works very well, but only a very small amount is required. The bubbles do the work, the detergent helps a little but not necessary.

Check the fuel filter in the tank. It is frequently overlooked. The engine sounds like it is starving for gas. Any restriction will cause this, even a clogged vent hole in the fuel tank cap.

An object to be cleaned can be placed in a separate container and it will still work the same as directly in the liquid in the tank. A metal or glass container, or any container with a solid material will work. The object must be covered in liquid and the container must not touch the bottom of the tank. Hanging off the side is ok. This will keep the main tank cleaner by not exposing it to the dirt that comes off of the object. A stainless pot or cup will work very well but must be suspended off of the bottom. I have been using this for years on small parts. Works great.

I recommend plain Dawn and distilled water, keeping the mix weak to avoid reducing ultrasonic action. Heat helps cleaning, but be careful with carburetor parts. For heavy shop grime, I use purple power concentrate. And when I need a deeper clean on workspace equipment, I rely on commercial cleaning services phoenix az to handle the big jobs professionally. Change your solution often and pre-clean parts first.

Just cruised through this thread. I use Purple Power to de grease stuff. Wonder how that would work in a US machine?