Ultrasonic cleaners. Any advice or experience?

[TonyP]

Does anyone have, or have any experience of, an Ultrasonic cleaner?

Is it worth one’s while buying a cheap-ish one for occasional use? Is the underlying technology basically the same across the board? Does a more expensive unit yield better performance/features/reliability/less noise?
What features, if there are any non-standard ones, are worthwhile? Prices seem to vary widely.

I don’t need, or have space for, a really large unit - but at the very least it must accommodate the body of a Weber DCOE; for the uninitiated that’s a metal casting very roughly, say 20 x 10 x 10 cm. I don’t know how much space it is advisable to have around the object to be cleaned.

Any thoughts or advice much appreciated. Thanks!

[emuboy (Andrea Campanella)]

Hey, I do have a small one, and I find it very useful, big cleaners not only need more space, but need more power too, to vibrate the liquid in a bigger vat will need bigger transducers.

The Heater has not much use, if you are using a viscose liquid that might help, but generally if is only water, you are better off just usign hot water.

Plastic don’t like cavitation, it will eventually wear it off and this is mostly something you need to know about soft surfaces.

And that’s about it, the only thing is, they are a bit noisy, depending on the frequency they run at.

[asander1 (Andy Sanderson)]

Check out this discussion also:

Ultrasonic cleaner, which dimension would be useful for everyone?

Inexpensive ultrasonic cleaners often have power issues, as in they’re not actually powerful enough to do meaningful work. I’d fully support a cleaner purchase; my own is currently stored away under too many bike things to access easily. Top tip: don’t put the item you want to clean directly in the cleaner, it’s a waste of fluid and makes maintenance harder. Put the item you want cleaned in a sturdy zip lock or uc specific bag, and fill the bag with cleaning liquid, using only water in the UC t…

There is a good tip on putting things in a bag…

There also was some appetite to get one for the Space, maybe this could be revisited as others may be interested in pledging towards a nicer or larger unit rather than everyone buying a cheap one for their own use?

[TonyP]

Thanks for this Andy - I clearly didn’t search the forum as carefully as I should have done…!

[TonyP]

Andrea - was your warning about plastics in regard to the objects being cleaned (rather than components of the machine)?
I’ve read of machines being recommended for cleaning spectacles, which seems extreme (and largely unecessary?).
My needs would be mostly for car and bike parts (and perhaps tools too) at the moment.

[emuboy (Andrea Campanella)]

was your warning about plastics in regard to the objects being cleaned

Yes, sorry.

I’ve read of machines being recommended for cleaning spectacles, which seems extreme (and largely unecessary?).

Also, on the long run will damage the coating and the plastic.

[nhjansen (Neil Jansen)]

I’ve had good luck with small ones for jewellery and small brass instrument parts. Don’t recall the brand. I’ve also seen one that fits a tuba but that might be overkill.