Wanted..recommendation on ultra sonic cleaner

54.00 dollars for the real big one

Yea I buy a LOT from harbor freight but probably not this item. Been a while since I looked, but the reviews on the HF cleaner were not very good a while back

I do have a great history with HF warranty/return on the few items that came damaged or missing parts

but out here in the sticks returning stuff cost much more than postage

Edited in...thanks for the response

I did not want to  to hijack Bobs thread, so I return to ultra sonic cleaners thread from 2013. I’m curious, just what type of cleaner you ended up being happy with?

fredvon4 wrote:Stop dinking with the aggravating micro engineering and get back to the annual gun clean task Bob

grin

my spring cleaning included a Ruger that was DIRTY!!!

BTW Bob did you ever invest in a ultra sonic cleaner.... I love my 1 liter with heater version

I have a “Gem-pro” that has a small tub that’ll fit 2 B.B. in pieces. I’m not to impressed with the cleaning so far. I’ve used just plain water, and then Dawn dish soap and water. Don’t know if I should try more aggressive solvents, or soaking in crockpot of antifreeze then use Ultra#sonic to clean and rinse?  What have you learned since 2013?

Way back when...after the sticker shock of Name brand so called professional Ultra sonic cleaners wore off I started looking into the specs of the many $300~$700 1 liter and half gallon devices

Most had a 40Khz transducer, stainless basket and stainless tub...some with and some without heat

E-bay had a (I think Ali-Babba) outlet in china and I took a dare on a 1 Liter with heat version for $ 129 or there about

I did not like how it tarnish an Enya 35 using alcohol.......grrrr....cleaned it good though

Once I got all my old used engines cleaned up I very rarely use it any more

Best solution for me was simple green and water ....I probably used too much Dawn once as it foamed like a bad washing machine commercial....grin------------------or a jug of concentrate I got from a local Jeweler to do wife's fine finger art is good stuff.... sorry he just gave me a couple of shots and no label so I do not know any brand name

It is a noisy bugger, and has a timer on it

At work the nice heated ver. w/heat control we us 1 part simple green full strength to 3 parts water heat at 125F for 12-15 mins. for 2 cyl. carbs. walbro, Zama china knoc-off

Marleysky, this one was purchased here in Finland from a store for maybe 150€ but since most tools are cheaper in the USA I suppose you will find one for less. It is the ”generic” Chinese unit, it comes in several sizes, brands and prices, but most of them look the same.



This is a three-litre one  with 100W ultrasonic power and a 100W heat element. It heats up to 80deg C. it is a lot noisier than my old one (a 35€ small unit with no heat) but also a lot more effective. I asked this one from Santa because I needed one for motorcycle parts, carburetors and such, but it works very well with model engines too. There is plenty of room in the tank as you can see:



I use denaturated ethanol for cleaning my engines. It is sold around here as camping stove fuel for about 5€ for a one litre bottle (little over 2qt). To save the fluid and to keep the cleaner cleaner (heh) I fill a glass jar (baby food or peanut butter jar or such) with the ethanol, put the engine in the jar, fill the cleaner tank with hot water and fire it up.

Delrin parts, propellers and rubber spinners generally don’t like the hot ethanol so I just add some hand dishwashing detergent to the water and dump all the plastic parts there.

Ethanol is a good and safe fluid as it will absolutely not discolour any metals. The denatured stuff does sometimes leave some white residue to some parts but if you wipe them dry after you take them out of the bath they are fine. There is also an urban legend of the ethanol giving a protective surface on aluminum after polish, helping the surface to stay shiny longer. I think the ethanol just removes grease and polishing compound residues making the shine more uniform. But after I have washed and polished the parts, they all will take another bath in clean hot ethanol.

Edit: Hey Fred, how did alcohol tarnish your Enya? What kind of problem did you have?

Here are a couple of old Enyas and a Cub, all cleaned using the process described above (not polished though). I could not see any tarnishing, maybe yours was cast using a different material?

I was looking for some denatured alcohol/ethanol this morning but the store was sold out, but they had acetone at about half the price. I didn't buy it because of some related safety issues. But I was wondering how it would work cleaning engines in an ultrasonic cleaner?

Bob

I keep mineral spirits, Acetone, Lacquer thinner, and MEK on hand...they all can be pretty volatile ----and I think ...since the ultra sonic is in the shop, I vetoed them just for fumes reasons

The Enya case aluminum turned a dark colour from (I think) too long in 91% Isopropyl Alcohol

Hot simple green smells good and does a good job.....harsher Burnt Castor parts get crock pot anti freeze boil first

fredvon4 wrote:I am looking to buy a small ultrasonic cleaner and would like your opinions and recommendations.... the biggest thing in my model shop that might see time in one, is a .90 sized SuperTiger glow engine 5" long X 5.5" tall x 2.9" fat

Would like a decent unit under $100.00

fredvon4, Do you really NEED an ultrasonic cleaner? Or do you simply need an effective and simple yet fast way to get your engines/parts clean? Because I can let you in on a secret and it won't cost you anywhere near a hundred bucks. No I am not messing with you.
I mean like this clean

deleted because of duplicate

Scotty68 wrote:

fredvon4 wrote:I am looking to buy a small ultrasonic cleaner and would like your opinions and recommendations.... the biggest thing in my model shop that might see time in one, is a .90 sized SuperTiger glow engine 5" long X 5.5" tall x 2.9" fat

Would like a decent unit under $100.00

fredvon4,  Do you really NEED an ultrasonic cleaner? Or do you simply need an effective and simple yet fast way to get your engines/parts clean? Because I can let you in on a secret and it won't cost you anywhere near a hundred bucks. No I am not messing with you.  
I mean like this clean

Ok, give us a clue!!

Fred if your still looking this one works really well and is not that expensive ( i own one ) https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-3L-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-Stainless-Steel-Industry-Heated-Heater-w-Timer/113694408370?epid=6019848669&hash=item1a78b6feb2:g:l2oAAOSwxQpbcTn-  

Please
When you necro thread
Read from OP to the bottom



this way your post may be relevant

And BTW.....too many necro threads make me think a long lost member is resurrected

Oldenginerod wrote:

Scotty68 wrote:

fredvon4 wrote:I am looking to buy a small ultrasonic cleaner and would like your opinions and recommendations.... the biggest thing in my model shop that might see time in one, is a .90 sized SuperTiger glow engine 5" long X 5.5" tall x 2.9" fat

Would like a decent unit under $100.00

fredvon4,  Do you really NEED an ultrasonic cleaner? Or do you simply need an effective and simple yet fast way to get your engines/parts clean? Because I can let you in on a secret and it won't cost you anywhere near a hundred bucks. No I am not messing with you.  
I mean like this clean

Ok, give us a clue!!

OK! Scotty68 I’m with Rod....what’s the secret method??

This one?

Levent Suberk wrote:This one?

Ha-ha! That “Red-neck” sonic cleaner is not quite the answer. I’m sure it would work with blasting beads or kitty liter as a abrasive cleaner without spilling water all over the bench and floor.  The video that followed had a nice build ityourself Sonic cleaner. I still have not had a sonic cleaner soften or remove hardened castor off a engine with out using a chemical bath of some sort or additional heat.
I would like to try the secret method Scotty68 has recommended, but the user response to the product was not very complimentary. This was the first customer review, surprisingly:  

“ I could have gotten the same results using simple green. I soaked my lawn mower carburetor and valve parts for 24 hrs. and it didn't even get the loose dirt off! This isn't even close to the old stuff I used to use 15 years ago. I even taped a vibrating sander to the can to agitate things, and the carbon wasn't even soft enough to brush away with a tooth brush. The brass parts are still dull looking, not bright gold as tho old fashioned cleaner used leave them. It doesn't strip the paint either as the old stuff used to. I wish I could leave negative 5 stars this stuff is so bad.”

So, somebody didn’t like it, others said positive things , but not glowing reviews.
I’d like to see a few more before and after pictures of our type of engines before dropping $30 on heretofor untried method. And I don’t think Rod could find this in his country...under this brand name anyway!  

https://www.amazon.com/Berryman-Products-0996-Arm-Chemical-Fluid-Ounces/dp/B077Y1YSZ5/ref=dp_ob_title_auto

OOPS! Cat’s out of the bag....and we ALL know how we feel about cats! Soft kitty warm kitty.....

Levent Suberk, Fair enough, luckily I am a photo nut. You want more before and after pics? You gottem. When I'm done with supper I'll go downstairs I know I have tons on my computer I'll post them yet tonight. If I don't get sidetracked. LOL but when all said and done if you don't want to take my word for it don't take my word for it. No skin off my nose. I would just as soon my engines look better than everybody else's anyway (not saying that's the case) I was hesitant to give up my secret.
Scotty68

Marleysky wrote:

Levent Suberk wrote:This one?

Ha-ha! That “Red-neck” sonic cleaner is not quite the answer. I’m sure it would work with blasting beads or kitty liter as a abrasive cleaner without spilling water all over the bench and floor.  The video that followed had a nice build ityourself Sonic cleaner. I still have not had a sonic cleaner soften or remove hardened castor off a engine with out using a chemical bath of some sort or additional heat.
I would like to try the secret method Scotty68 has recommended, but the user response to the product was not very complimentary. This was the first customer review, surprisingly:  

“ I could have gotten the same results using simple green. I soaked my lawn mower carburetor and valve parts for 24 hrs. and it didn't even get the loose dirt off! This isn't even close to the old stuff I used to use 15 years ago. I even taped a vibrating sander to the can to agitate things, and the carbon wasn't even soft enough to brush away with a tooth brush. The brass parts are still dull looking, not bright gold as tho old fashioned cleaner used leave them. It doesn't strip the paint either as the old stuff used to. I wish I could leave negative 5 stars this stuff is so bad.”

So, somebody didn’t like it, others said positive things , but not glowing reviews.
I’d like to see a few more before and after pictures of our type of engines before dropping $30 on heretofor untried method. And I don’t think Rod could find this in his country...under this brand name anyway!  

https://www.amazon.com/Berryman-Products-0996-Arm-Chemical-Fluid-Ounces/dp/B077Y1YSZ5/ref=dp_ob_title_auto

OOPS! Cat’s out of the bag....and we ALL know how we feel about cats! Soft kitty warm kitty.....

Here are a few examples of various severity. Keep in mind, this method uses NO added heat, oscillation or elbow grease whatsoever. Just dip, wait, rinse, lube and done! Whole process from start to finish...1 - 1 1/2 hours, and 45 minutes worth of that is just waiting during soaking period.
Scotty68
There will be more pictures to come, I am just having trouble finding them on my computer.
This first one is obviously the before picture.

And this is the after picture of the exact same engine less than an hour later.

This is another before picture.

This is the same engine after a short soak in the Berrymans.

This is a listing of engines that I did last fall on RCGroups. They have ALL been cleaned using only Berrymans and Formula 409. They had varying degrees of gunk on them. Sorry I don't have a before picture of the engines but common sense should tell you that putting together a group of engines of various ages and degrees of usage without a cleaning of some sort could not possible result in a group that looks as good as these engines do.

I really thought that I would have better luck locating photographic evidence of my claims but I simply couldn't locate any before pictures. I am not quite sure why I care, I only chimed in originally as a joke but oh well. Take it or leave it, makes me no difference really. Good luck with what ever you end up using.
Scotty68

Scotty, looks like the chemical dip really does the job! I have a question or a couple (I often do ), how do you make sure you get all the solvent out of the engine and make sure there is oil everywhere? Just rotate the engine and squirt oil everywhere or something else?

Are these chemicals safe for anodizing and blued steel? How about painted surfaces?

Honest questions, not critisizing or anything.

I usually just take my Cox engines apart for cleaning and polishing, as that is what I am used to do with them, but I have some other old engines that I want to get clean without the risk of stripping the heads of screws that are hard to replace.

KariFS, As for getting all of the solvent out of the engines, just do the best you can. Then spray off the loosened gunk using 409 then rinse. Honestly, I just continually rotate the engine physically while turning over the crank and running under warm water. I know it sounds nuts but as long as you get it thoroughly dried and then lubed you won't have any problems.
As for lube, I use an old school mixture that is half and half klotz lubricating oil and automatic transmission fluid. I squirt a healthy bit straight into the carburetor and more straight into the exhaust port and give the engine multiple multiple flips both directions on the crank and you're good to go. Again I've never had a single issue and I've done this with hundreds of engines.
If you do happen to have an engine that seems to be particularly difficult to get dried out you can always use a moisture displacer like WD-40 before you re-Lube the engine.
As for anodizing I do not have an answer for you. But when it comes to paint I cannot recommend this procedure. I made the mistake a couple of times placing a Saito golden Knight 4-stroke engine into the berryman's and it bubbled and loosened the black coating so badly that I ended up brushing off what I could and redipping until I got all of the black coating off. It eventually became a regular aluminum colored Saito engine there was simply no way to save the coloring. But the gold valve covers weren't damaged in anyway. And that actually might answer your anodizing question.
As long as I've been using this process, and considering that I've only ever had the one issue, I can't imagine it's not at least worth a shot for anyone on this forum. It's certainly has to be better than an old crock pot and some antifreeze. Not to mention this entire process takes less than an hour and RARELY involves any scrubbing whatsoever. It is simply amazing, and I don't care what some bitter old fart has to say about it in a product review somewhere. I have been using this method for years and that is a mere fraction of the time that the individual who recommended this method to me has been using it. And I am pretty sure that he used to have coffee with Moses or Noah or ... hell who cares about the specifics the point is he's OLD! Lol!
So, give it a try, or don't, whatever. Just don't make the mistake of passing it up because you don't think it SOUNDS legit. That would be a huge mistake.
Good luck!
Scotty68
ps. I almost forgot, this is a small engine forum. So don't hesitate to drop half a dozen or even more of these little Cox engines into that basket and submerge them all at the same time. It won't hurt them a bit to sit in the solution while you're rinsing and lubing one at a time.
Now, let the criticism commence!

well i personally don't have nothing Harsh to say , its whatever works for the individual as far as i am concerned .

getback wrote:well i personally don't have nothing Harsh to say , its whatever works for the individual as far as i am concerned .

Agreed!