Ultrasonic cleaner

[Cliff Topp]

Just ordered an ultrasonic cleaner and, as I expected, you don't get any cleaning fluid with it.

The cleaner will be used initially to clean jewellery such as gold earrings, gold chains and necklaces, and watch bracelets, but I also intend to use it for cleaning car parts and other mechanical stuff.

Is there a recommended 'one size fits all' cleaning fluid as it seems to be bloody expensive stuff?

I've already seen bottles labelled up as "Carburettor Cleaner", "Jewellery Cleaner" and "Printed Circuit Cleaner" at about twenty five quid each for 500ml bottles!

[newshound]

I mostly used washing up liquid in water in my "home" one before it dried. At work we would use water in the main container, then immerse a beaker containing organic solvents with the samples to be cleaned in the water. We'd typically use trichlorethylene, then trichloroethane once the former was banned. You could use white spirit or IPA or even meths for oily/greasy materials. Or biological detergent in water. I wouldn't be paying £50/litre without very good reason. Looking up the "materials safety data sheet" (MSDS) for such products will give you a pretty good indication of what they contain. Post some names and I will give you an opinion.

[Dave Liquorice]

Water, may be a spot of washing up liquid. Remember the cleaning action is mechanical.

TBH for oily/greasy car parts I don't think you can beat petrol and an old tooth brush.

[Cliff Topp]

Cliff Topp pretended :

Thanks chaps. Newshound, I'll do that tomorrow, cheers.

[tabbypurr]

For domestic goods, water & a little detergent. For car parts, paraffin

NT

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

You need to be careful if cleaning pcbs as a friend did this and all the pcb screen printing and component markings came off.

I thought IPA was one of the substances used . Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Yes Trike and Acetone also used to be used, but they were pretty brutal things if you got the thing wrong material wise. Not to mention the user getting double vision. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Yes that can be almost addictive. After a while you don't notice the smell but everyone else gives you a wide birth.

Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Hmm, they are quite good for cleaning spectacles, all that dirt that gets around the edges of lenses and the nose pieces etc. I don't have access to one now but they are very handy. Brian

[nightjar]

This is what the maker of the one I had at work recommended:

[jon]

Carbon Tetrachloride was best for degreasing, then there was a couple of cases of women being attacked using it. I used to wash my hands in it, but I applied lanolin soon after they dried.

[alan_m]

If just being left out to dry possibly a rinse in deionised water (£2 for 5L).

[Theo]

I got some ultrasonic cleaning solution from Rapid, which turned out to be essentially just washing up liquid (possibly with less salt to thicken it). It didn't work for cleaning rosin flux from PCBs. Real PCB cleaner is acetone, but the fire risks of using that in an ultrasonic cleaner indoors didn't sound like a great plan. (There are water-clean fluxes, but often you're cleaning a board that might have been touched up with rosin-core solder)

I used foil takeaway containers containing solution, with just water in the cleaner. I don't know if there are better or worse intermediate vessels?

Theo

[Andy Burns]

Try brake cleaner

[Theo]

Interesting. It appears brake cleaner comes in acetone variety, but this one (Normfest MC-1) is:

30-50% C7 n-Alkane, isoalkane, cyclene 30-50% C6-7 n-Alkane, isoalkane, cyclene,

[RJH]

I think there's a risk that they lift the anti-scratch coating?

[newshound]

That one must be an aerosol spray. It would be pretty inflammable!

Andy is right, there is always a potential fire risk using flammable solvents in an ultrasonic cleaner, particularly as they get warm on long runs. OTOH if they are not left unattended, with a loose cover on the solvent container the risk is small.

[newshound]

Almost all industrial degreasers are (like this) based on limonene rather than straight organic solvents these days. They are pretty effective (and, of course, are usually used in aqueous solutions or suspensions).

[nightjar]

I used to buy trichloroethane in 210 litre drums, so never actually tried it, but it is a lot cheaper than the stuff the OP mentions.

[Nick Cat]

Carbon tet is a dangerous chemical, not recommended.

NT