Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

While fiddling with the Dodge's carb, it struck me that an ultrasonic cleaner might be a handy thing to have around.

Has anyone here experience of them? Do you have to use fancy cleaning fluid or can something brewed at home be just as effective?

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[bjacko]

I believe most of them use water. Some have a heater to help dissolve waxes and grease easier. They use bubbles to clean. Best to get a basket to avoid part(s) banging on unit insides.
_________________
1938 Morris 8 Ser II Coupe Utility (Pickup)
1985 Rover SD1 VDP

[MikeEdwards]

I've been thinking about one of these, and I mentioned elsewhere that I'd heard they won't dissolve dried fuel stains which are typically the issue with carbs. Apparently there is a particular cleaning fluid which is good for that specific type of stain.

One thought is to make sure you buy the biggest you can so as to not limit the size of stuff you can clean, but against that is that it can takes ages to heat up the fluid if the tank is too big, so limit it to what you will reasonably need. I did wonder whether sticking a couple of litres of mixed fluid into a kettle to warm it up and mixing it into the rest would speed the job up, but I haven't dug into it any further.
_________________
1976 Vauxhall HP Firenza, 1976 Vauxhall Sportshatch (x2), 1986 Audi coupe quattro, 2000 Audi TT

[petelang]

Rick, I have used one quite a lot of late. The brew I use varies, still experimenting, but I stated off with washing up liquid in water. That in itself was quite effective, but I moved on to a proprietary degreaser, in fact a catering degreaser from a local cash and carry. Mixed about 6 parts water to 1 degreaser and that has been remarkably effective. You can also use paraffin as a solvent.
The problem is what to do with the waste from oil based types and the fluid soon goes a very dark grey. For nuts and bolts and small bits I put them in a glass jar and stand that in water. Have also had success just putting bits in a resealable zip bag with fluid in it, this avoids contaminating a whole tub of fluid.
Average time in the tank is 20 minutes. Agitate stubborn dirt with a small wire brush/ toothbrush (not the one you use before bed: it will be ruined!).
On the whole a very good piece of kit.
Peter
_________________
Daimler Fifteen 1934
Armstrong Siddeley 15 Long 1933
Daimler V8 250 1969

[ukdave2002]

I use one, and use the commercially available carb cleaner liquid. However most times I don’t fill the who tank with it, the tank is filled with water, the component being cleaned is in a jar and only the jar has the cleaner in.

Dave

[Richard H]

I keep meaning to buy one for workshop use.

Used them all the time in my last job and we never bought any fancy stuff.
We used approx 1/10 TFR and 9/10 boiling water, simply to avoid having to wait for the heater to heat the water up to temperature at the start of the day.
This solution is not the best at breaking down heavy oil deposits but for cleaning carb components it's ideal and you'll never look back!
_________________
Richard Hughes

[CWhaley1]

I bought one last year when I was restoring the Zenith 30VN on my Singer.

I used a carburetor cleaning solution within the water. Initially I was disappointed, because the exterior of the carb looked only slightly cleaner, however when I drained the tank there was a large amount of fine sediment at the bottom which must have come from the various jets, orifices, bowls, etc. A further cleaning cycle brightened the exterior. There was no realistic chance that I could have removed that much material by hand, so it was worth it.

In the end I swapped it for a Weber 34ICH (far superior carb).