Hot Rods Anyone using an ultrasonic cleaner for carbs? Thinking of buying one - what size and what fluid to u

I have a small bunch of carbs that I need to rebuild, and I'm thinking about buying an ultrasonic cleaner to assist in the process for these carbs and whatever ones come down the road. I tried to learn about using the ultrasound units on the internet and the info is all over the place, to the point that it's useless. I trust you guys and your opinions much more than some of these unknown yahoos on the net.

-First, is ultrasound helpful? I can spray and soak the carbs in Berrymans or whatever all day long, that's not an issue. I was hoping that the ultrasound would help loosen the junk way down deep in the myriad of tiny passageways in these carbs. Is that a valid assumption?

- Second, what size ultrasound do I need? I'm only doing one at a time, so I'm thinking the smallest one that will fit the body of one carb completely submerged. Will a 6 liter unit do the trick? I have both Holley and Edelbrock carbs to do.

-Third - what cleaner to use. This is especially where the self-proclaimed "experts" on YouTube are ALL over the place. It's maddening to try to make heads ot tails out of all the conflicting info out there. My concerns about the fluid are a) cost, b) effective cleaning and c) iI want a fluid the won't etch or dull the finish on the carbs. The Edelbrocks especially, while not the Endurashine finish, do have a nice silver finish on them and I'd rather not have that all dull and chalky looking after going therjgh the ultrasound process.

Any info you guys have would be appreciated.

 

hot water and Dawn degreaser dish soap. You will be surprised. It will dull the finish on the carbs though. If you find something that does not and is effective, let me know, lol.

 

I quite often do carbs. Not so dirty carbs i clean in ultrasonic cleaner, filled with isopropanol alcohol. It works, no miracles, but works . Sometimes before putting them in, i wash them with engine cleaner and hot water, to get rid of most of the crud. Very dirty carbs i usually glass bead blast.

 

I have used one for years to clean carbs, jets and other carb parts. I use a mixture of white spirit and a special cleaner for cast parts. It works fine for me, it takes a while but most carbs look like new afterwards.
6 liter unit should be big enough for carbs.

 

After the dip-kits vanished, we would strip carbs down and have the local speed shop clean them for $2 or $3. When I started in the R&D machine shop. we had some big ultrasonic cleaners. One was reserved for "G" jobs. We used M50 (chlorothane VG) as the cleaning medium. Nasty stuff...

 

I've used a small Harbor Freight unit for years. Now, I'm just cleaning as a hobbyist not a mechanic as there are times a small unit won't allow for full immersion and I need to flip the part over. I only note this to note that yes, they work well.

I did these in a small one.

 

Ta hell with dem carbs, what's up with that Pontiac motor? Looks like a savage

 

Believe it or not Pine Sol works good on lawnmower carbs and golf kart carbs that have varnished and carboned up. Cheap and effective.

 

I have used 50/50 mix of Simple Green and water in an old crock pot set on medium. It cleans really good, but you have to keep an eye on it. It will dull the finish, but I usually hit them with a soda blast after anyway to even out any remaining finish.

 

Messing up the finish is one of my concerns. Is there a known cleaner that will clean the carbs well without messing up the finish?

 

I bought an import. Seems to work ok. The imports are pretty marginal as to quality and I don’t have high expectations as to life.

There are higher grade domestically built cleaners, but a five times the cost…..go figure.

All the imports seem about the same quality, with vo service parts availability, thin but pretty stainless steel, cheap, flimsy basket, etc.

I think mine is something like ten quarts. Big enough for a Holley, but I have only used it for chainsaw and other small engine carbs so far.

 

I do quite a few carbs and other parts. I bought one that looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/CO-Z-Ultrasonic-Cleaning-Cavitation-Professional/dp/B08LG429PC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3QU32KN0UL5NA&keywords=rovsun+15l+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1680533001&sprefix=rovsun+15l+ultrasonic+cleaner,aps,97&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNVRFVk5XMzQxVUlWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzQwNTY1UTJUVjRWVE9DU0E2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4NzY0NDEzRUVLRTMwRUVTVEdIJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

It's "15L/4 gallon" (like many things, I wish it was bigger), 360W Ultrasonic (6 60w, 40,000hz transducers), 500W heat. I got the analog dial controls so I had a chance at repairing it if I had to. A few months in, the heater over-temp thermostat packed it in. The seller sent me a new heating element and over-temp stat in a week. I replaced the stat and kept the heater.

RE: Heater, it is slow starting from tap water. I boil the water and pour it in. The heater can keep it hot. Boiling water increases cavitation (boiling). The closer you are to boiling the more cavitation you get.

RE: What to use for cleaner, it all only works when it is clean. At first, I was buying $30 Extreme and using it strong. I thought I'd be re-using it. As soon as it's dirty, cavitation ends. Might as well use the crock pot. Pine Sol does work. It leaves a film on the parts and stinks like shit. I had to clean them after I cleaned them. I am using Rustoleum's Mean Green. $15 a gallon at HF. Pressure washer concentrate. I mix 4 oz to the gallon and use it for one carb only. I pour the boiling water in (about 2 gallons to cover a carb) and then the cleaner. The cleaner sinks so you can get it in the float bowl and stuff. A cycle is 20 minutes.

RE: Darkening, don't wash your steel parts in with the aluminum. I do two batches for each carb. Aluminum (or Zamac or whatever) first. The iron seems to darken the aluminum in the same bath. Almost all cleaners are alkaline. Krud Kutter is acid based and reacts differently with the solution. I've had some very bright, others not so much. Depends on the nature of the filth in the bath. Red mud stains.

I've done a few over 150 carbs with mine. Plus 7 sets of trans gears and a bunch of vacuum motors. Probably 500+ cycles in less than 2 years. It has been reliable. I think clean water would outperform any cleaner dirty. One tip said to use de-ionized water. If dissolved hardness ions make it work less, a handful of mung really kills the party. The thing does work. I have a dunk tank, soda blaster and a glass beader too. (I also ultrasound in hot tap water after the soda blaster). I use them all. Although helpful, the ultrasonic is not a golden bullet. Get one, you will use it. Mike

 

Might want to buy some junk carbs at the next sway meet and use parts from them to clean with various cleaning products to get the results you desire! I always hated the way some cleaners would dull the finish on a carb that had that gold look. There is a method to restore that gold look , but I thing it is somewhat complicated.




Bones

 

I use an old deep fryer with pinesol. Cheaper than an ultrasonic, and no noxious fumes. The bubbles from boiling, or cavitation breaks down all the sludge and other crap. I have saved some nasty carbs this way. Rinse and blow off while hot really works.

 

I have one and love it. Use cleaner made for diesel injectors.

 

We used to clean up brazed and soldered waveguide assemblies using a crock pot and something called "bright dip". It did the job, not sure how good it would be with carbs, maybe too caustic?

 

I have one I use for spray gun and airbrush parts. They work great! At work they even used one to clean fuel injectors (specifically, urea injectors) that clogged up. They used an industrial cleaner there, I can't remember the name, but I use Simple Green.

 

Curious if those injectors you mentioned are mechanical or electrical? If either, were they powered open when cleaning them?

 

Looks like the majority opinoon is that they work well. As on the Google searches on the topic, what liquid to use inside is all over the place.

 

I got a cheap 30L one off of eBay.

I cut the top off the large laundry detergent containers. I fill up the laundry detergent containers to the required water level ( I can fit two containers). Then I fill up the ultrasonic cleaner to the required water level. I do this so my cleaner stays clean and I have two different buckets I can use to clean when one gets too dirty.

Heat is very important when cleaning a greasy part and you’ll need to move them around each time you run a new cycle. I have used simple green and Dawn dish detergent. Each time the cycle finishes I wash the part in hot water to help the process along. After a few cycles with really greasy parts I replace the water.

The ultrasonic cleaner will remove the finish if you keep any part in long enough. If you are really concerned with the finish stick with the Dawn soap. You don’t need a 30l cleaner but it does make things easier and they are so cheap on eBay it’s worth the extra cost.

*berrymans(spelling?) will remove the coating, I learned that lesson from experience

 

Has anyone had problems cleaning the floats with an ultrasonic cleaner? I’m doing a few Holley 1904s and I’m not sure if the ultrasonic process will damage the floats.

 

Brass floats flip out and boil like crazy (fun to watch). Must be the thin metal, hollow, airtight nature of them. It's a little violent in my machine. I don't do them for fear of popping one open. The plastic ones float around, 1/2 in and 1/2 out. You can trap them below sea level. Either way, I just clean them by hand with a drop of Dawn and a wet, fine ScotchBrite. Mike

 

Yea I was concerned about that. They’re in great shape so I’ll do the same, by hand. Thank you

 

Another vote for just soap and water. I use Sunlight dish detergent because it's what I have, but I'm sure any dish detergent will work. They really are pretty similar despite all the advertising we are bombarded with.

The ultra sonic action breaks loose the dirt, the detergent merely keeps it in suspension until it can be discarded.