TOPIC: Ultrasonic cleaner

Has anybody tried an ultrasonic cleaner for old hardware or fittings?

TIME SAVER works great cleaning all sorts of parts, the industrial design I copy /cobbled together turns rust to a soft black slime that washes off, I even do carbs in there, after they go thru the soup tank...gets into places I cant even see, I have been using this trick since the 70's on bike parts

works Line of Site, so you need to keep rotating the object for best results or as I do use multiple positive conductors, wired in series to surround the object

I use a home made version with a 12v automotive battery charger , 5 gallon bucket,positive cable of the battery charger connected to the stainless steel butter knives wired in series & submerged in the soda solution surrounding the rusty dirty part as my + Positive conductors (keep the positive lead out of the solution, just allow the stainless knives in the solution they will disintegrated in time)

.....the negative cable connects to part to be cleaned

baking soda/water solution ....1/4lb..1/4 of box to 3 gallons water....this is salty so your parts need to be rinsed completely

this system is actually breaking down the H2O to its basic elements again, as the + electric current travels thru the salty baking soda solution and contacts the grounded part oxygen & hydrogen gas bubbles explode off the dirty metal part blasting away dirt and rust as they separate ....on a microscopic level ofcourse
and for the overly cautious there isnt enough of the gases in water to blow you up, I have been asked about explosions before ........water evaporates but doesnt explode

When water is hydrolyzed (broken down into hydrogen and oxygen), hydrogen gas is given off, which is explosive (see Hindenburg). If you use that in a well ventilated place and don't cover it when in use, you should be fine. Don't allow the hydrogen to collect and allow it to disperse.

However, by ultrasonic cleaning, I mean using high frequency sound waves (42000 hz) to remove junk. what you are doing is essentially reverse electroplating.

BTW, put rusted parts/tools in a 4:1 mixture of water and molasses, leave it for a week, and rust comes off nicely.

I have tried the ultra sonic with NO appreciable differences, so I thought Id post for the others benefit, another way of removing dirt grime and rust..ELECTROSTATIC CLEANING..a process that "actually works" on heavy dirt, grime, rust etc, unlike the ultra sonic cleaners

Hindenburg
how did I know that would come up....
believe what you like there is a big difference between a dirigible pumped full of hydrogen & a bucket of water!!........try to light a bucket of evaporating water on fire........

& finally hydrogen I believe is the lightest element on the planet (see Hindenberg ) and when we separate the hydrogen from the oxygen with this Electrostatic "process" the lighter hydrogen rises OUT OF THE BUCKET into the ambient atmosphere as does occur on this planet 24/7/365

The difference between the Hindenburg and a 5 gallon bucket with hydrogen is only one of scale.

Evaporated water is caused by heat changing the state from liquid to gas, but is still a water molecule (H2O). As long as it isn't in a contained volume and allowed to pressurize, there is no explosion hazard.

If the water disassociates (changes from H2O to Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules), you will create dissolved concentrations of both in the water. Since they are lighter than water they will float up and turn into vapor on top of the water. Once the concentration of hydrogen reaches its Lower Explosive Limit, it will become a very volatile mixture, especially with the higher than normal concentration of oxygen. The explosion may not make the newsreels and the media reaction will not be studied by journalism students for decades, but the result could still be catastrophic.

If your device truly hydrolyzes water (which it probably does), then it should be used only in a well ventilated place and NEVER with a top on it.

Todd G. Williams, PE
Fire Protection Engineer

PS. Thanks for the feedback on ultrasound.

You maybe a fire protection engineer, but not scientist or mathematician this isnt 5 gallon bucket of collected hydrogen as you twist it to support your ends

this is 3 gallons of water of which there is only the possibility of less than 2 gallons of pure hydrogen gas in its entire volume & IT TAKES WEEKS to separate/convert this small amount of gas out of 3 gallons of water.

IF you were collecting the hydrogen, we would call this a extremely inefficient hydrogen generator and some safety caveats would be in order

Hydrogen is the most prolific element on the planet, & there is more hydrogen in the garage or room your working and breathing in,
than the miniscule amount separating off over the course of weeks!!!! I think the solution may infact evaporate off almost as fast as the separation process

wouldnt it have been a little more palatable to make your original post as to...."possibly this should be done in a ventilated area",since you were compelled to correct me or show concerne for others safety instead of trying to make the post sound DELETED BY MODERATOR drawing lines between the Hindenburg and a commercial electrostatic cleaning machine, in order to make this process or post sound DELETED BY MODERATOR



DELTED BY MODERATOR
you have a great day

I make no apologies for trying to promote safety.

by your logic and expertise you should be pointing out, using the same charger charging your cars battery is more dangerous than electrostatic cleaning with salty water, but that may seem like tinfoil hat stuff ya?

I believe the electrochemical approach is usually termed "electrolytic" cleaning, and not electrostatic cleaning.
Electrolytic cleaning is very popular among old machinery restorers.

We use large commercial ultrasonic tanks at work, but they should be thought of as more of a 'degreaser' than a rust or oxidation remover. The tanks we use at work are either slightly acidic or caustic depending on the materials involved.

Alternatively, the electrolytic cleaning methods have been used for a long time very effectively. They are particularily effective with ferrous metals to remove oxidation/rust.

Yes they will produce off-gases and should be used in a well ventilated area. Safety is, and always should be paramount.

Glastron_GT160

I would appreciate it if you could find out what caustic chemical or acid you are using at your work on greasy items

try the baking soda as your bath it turns rust into black sludge

PS guys

the battery in the photo above came in on a work skiff this past week it was reported to have a hairline crack under the positive post that was noted but ignored

when the skiff was brought to me, the positive cable clamp was LOOSE (we've all seen this)...
the day the battery exploded it was extremely foggy and the battery clamp was arcing to the battery post due to the loose connection....this electrical spark arcing apparently ignited the gases leaking from the crack in the battery case just below the positive post......the wiring caught on fire and is toast, but luckily there was an employee close enough to put out the fire and save the boat

inspect your batteries PHYSICAL condition closely a couple times each season