TOPIC:

Hi

does anyone have any experience with ultrasonic cleaners are they effective? I noticed this cheap one in Maplin and was wondering if it was worth the cash. Apparently it uses warm water and detergent?

Thanks see the link for the Maplin item below:

www.maplin.co.u...ner-223108

i use one all the time, mainly for motorcycle parts but you can use them for anything.
i have never used it for rc cars yet but you can buy all sorts of different solutions on ebay to add to the water for various applications.
it does remove paint to a certain degree but not perfect,although it does soften it enough to make it easy enough to remove.
get one with a built in heater and a timer, do NOT use boiling water and if cleaning metal parts always wash and dry thoroughly after dipping

hi tamiya nut

you can get the same model off the bay alot cheaper, i will be ordering one soon to clean my metal bearings and gear cases.

ive read alot about them there meant to be the dangleys

jtf

Does anyone have any (Bad) experience with these affecting the constitution of the materials being cleaned? ie I'm wondering how much ultrasonic vibration could affect metal & plastic parts - Agemax says it softens paint, which is a type of plastic, & planes crash due to metal fatigue caused by vibration...

Eddrick, i have cleaned all sorts of parts in my U/S cleaner. from motorcycle carbs to jewellery to cutlery and even shoes!
it wont harm them as long as you use the correct additive.
when i say it softens paint, its because it runs at a fairly high temperature and the bubbles gets into any scratch or chip in the paint and "lifts" it up in certain areas.
its not a paint stripper its only water.
i have dunked 30 year old bike parts and they come out just like they left the factory. including plastic, rubber ,fibreglass and polycarbonate

Yeah, countless people have said what a fantastic job they do of cleaning stuff.
My question was more like "If they're so good at making stubborn dirt 'let go', what is it doing to the integrity of the material?" ie could they be doing unseen damage? For instance, we all know that some high-pitched sounds (High frequency) can break glass, & we know fibreglass has glass strands in it, so could the high frequency be damaging the glass strands in the fibreglass? - you'd never know by looking at it, unless you strength tested 2x identical components, one U/S cleaned, the other not.
Everything has a resonant (Ringing) frequency, & if you apply load to it AT that frequency (Can be any kind of vibration &/or sound) it will effectively shake itself to bits - applies to everything from fragile crystal wine glasses to monstrous bridges, buildings & planes

i dont think a domestic U/S cleaner is strong enough or powerful enough to change any particles enough to destroy their molecular structure

I think someone should do an experiment! - put a strip of something in the U/S cleaner & leave it buzzing for a few days or weeks, then see if the strip goes brittle

eddrick wrote:

I think someone should do an experiment! - put a strip of something in the U/S cleaner & leave it buzzing for a few days or weeks, then see if the strip goes brittle

a few days or weeks??????????, the water would evaporate before the test is over
usually 30 minutes to an hour is more than enough.
but if anyone comes up with a relative experiment i would be happy to try it out

anyway mine only has a 1 hour timer, im not getting up every hour to reset it....might as well have a baby haha

Hi guys,

i use a UC all the time for cleaning parts, but have to admit i never tried plastics before...
As additive i use a solution of Hakupur and demi water, settings go between sonic lvl 1-9, temperature between 0 dgr C and 90 dgr C and timer goes from between 0 and 90 minutes.
especially metal parts are as "new" when they get out after that i ussually put the parts in the dishwasher and that's that...

Cheers, Bram

Ps the water doesn't evaporate that quick, just use a good solid cover