Rock10 Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Has anyone used an ultrasonic cleaner on a carb? What size would it be? What cleaning solution? Thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I, um, I mean 'Santa' is curious to see what others have to say about this... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtech Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I just ordered one, a 10 liter size cuz one of the feedback people said it holds a Holley 4 barrel just nice. Will report back after Christmas when I try it out. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I have found them useless. A vapor hone cabinet is a much better choice.......especially for pre war cars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted November 29, 2022 Author Share Posted November 29, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, edinmass said: I have found them useless. A vapor hone cabinet is a much better choice.......especially for pre war cars. Kinda out of my price range. My piece is clean, just has crap stuck in a small tube. I thought the ultrasonic might shake it loose. Edited November 29, 2022 by Rock10 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 4 hours ago, Oldtech said: I just ordered one, a 10 liter size... What brand did you buy and from where? 10L is a hefty size - from the little I've read so far, it sounds like it will take awhile for the solvent to get up to temperature. I am tentatively considering something closer to 1 gallon (~4L) size... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtech Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 It is a Vevor. Amazon has them. was going for the 6 liter but black Friday came. Only had the reviews to go by so.... We will see. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted November 30, 2022 Author Share Posted November 30, 2022 4 hours ago, EmTee said: What brand did you buy and from where? 10L is a hefty size - from the little I've read so far, it sounds like it will take awhile for the solvent to get up to temperature. I am tentatively considering something closer to 1 gallon (~4L) size... I saw online that they filled them with hot water from a kettle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 I've got many hours on my Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner. I use pine Sol for carbs. It works great. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted November 30, 2022 Author Share Posted November 30, 2022 This one? https://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-63256.html I wondered if that would be big enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 18 minutes ago, Rock10 said: This one? https://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-63256.html I wondered if that would be big enough. That's the one. Sometimes you have to process the part and then flip it for the other side. That's how I did a Quadrajet 4 barrel. It worked great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daves1940Buick56S Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 I have a big L&R ultrasonic cleaner. Probably well over 10L. 2 gallons fills it about halfway. It cost about $500 15 yrs ago and now I think they are a kilobuck. It has a built in heater if you want to preheat but after 10 mins of vibration the liquid will be plenty hot. I use L&R #677 Waterless Cleaner. If you are ok with water based cleaner it is cheaper but it contains strong ammonia. If you use 677 also get the rinse since you have to wash it off. You can use a water rinse but you have to dry it immediately. I originally got it for large clock movements. When I got back into cars I also started using it on carbs if they are very bad. My procedure is to use ChemDip first and just soak for a few hours. If there is still crud and signs of passage crud or blockage then I go to the ultrasonic. Usually 15 mins does it but another 15 mins may be required for stubborn cases. So far that has always been successful. I also use the ultrasonic on smaller car parts. Auto parts crud up the cleaner solution pretty quick compared to clock movements so every so often I filter it thru paper towels or filter paper to remove the crud. Cheers, Dave 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 11/29/2022 at 2:59 PM, edinmass said: I have found them useless I have not!😄 They work well. Takes a while, but so did the old chem dip 5 gallon bucket as the solution aged. I also use soda blasting, vapor blasting without the wetness. 🤔 Average hobbiest can afford a new or used ultrasonic, only professionals like you can afford fancy deluxe vapor blasting cabinets. 😄 Now when vapor blasting cabinets sell used for $200 people will ask about them on this forum. 👍 I use a variety of soaps/detergent in mine. For carburetors I use a liquid such as Simple Green. For small amounts of parts I put them in mason jars instead of dirtying the whole tank as mine is 9.5L. You do need a full tank of water or damage to the unit can happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Frank…….a local shop has a vapor unit, so I just borrow it when needed. If one had all the shop equipment one needs, the shop would need to be 10k square feet. 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Str8-8-Dave Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 Before the EPA made them go away Gunk made a dip kit called Hydro-Seal that ate varnish for breakfast. I could put a set of carburetor castings in the basket and submerge for about a half hour and they came out spotless. I had the big 5-gallon kit and used it to clean lots of stuff other than carburetors. That was then and this is now. The EPA got after the active ingredient and first you couldn't dispose of it and soon after you couldn't buy it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted December 6, 2022 Author Share Posted December 6, 2022 I had some of that back in the day. Great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 28 minutes ago, Str8-8-Dave said: got after the active ingredient That begs the question.... What was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Str8-8-Dave Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 (edited) It was a methyl/ethyl/ketone cocktail of some sort with a layer of water over the top to keep it from evaporating. Very sweet smelling, don't dip you hands in it... They still sell a watered-down version of the kit but last I knew it was not nearly as effective as the original formulation sold in 1.75 and 5 gallon kits in a blue and orange can. Haz-mat sheets may be available for this new version if anyone cares to research. Edited December 6, 2022 by Str8-8-Dave (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted December 6, 2022 Author Share Posted December 6, 2022 5 hours ago, Bloo said: That begs the question.... What was it? Unobtainium 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted December 6, 2022 Author Share Posted December 6, 2022 5 hours ago, Str8-8-Dave said: It was a methyl/ethyl/ketone cocktail of some sort with a layer of water over the top to keep it from evaporating. Very sweet smelling, don't dip you hands in it... They still sell a watered-down version of the kit but last I knew it was not nearly as effective as the original formulation sold in 1.75 and 5 gallon kits in a blue and orange can. Haz-mat sheets may be available for this new version if anyone cares to research. That looks like what I had. Used it for years. The bucket eventualy corroded and I but it in a plastic bucket until the bottom of it cracked and it leaked all over the floor. I bought some of the new stuff. Can't tell you how good it worked because the carb was clean before going in. It didn't clear the clogs in my accelerator pump tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kikta Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 My Harbor Freight cleaner works great and I used carb cleaner first then purple cleaner or the harbor freight cleaner with great results. I prefer the purple cleaner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likeold Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 I repair outboard boat motors and probably have rebuilt 1000 carburetors, I use to use the Gunk stuff mentioned above, it was the best, then I couldn't find it anymore. I tried a lot of other things and really did not have much luck. So I purchased an ultra sonic cleaner on Amazon and found it to be useless as someone else mentioned, I returned it. Maybe if you spend a bunch of money for a good one they might work but mine ($100) pretty much did nothing. jmo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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