Ultrasonic cleaners.

[philTBA]

No, it's not ANOTHER ultrasonic cleaner thread. Well, it is, but not the 'usual' type. I've put it here so newer users can pick it up, and if it's of any help, maybe a mod could 'sticky' it.

Here's some FAQs and answers, and pictures.

Do I need an ultrasonic cleaner?
Don't be ridiculous, of course you don't need one!

Are they any good ?
Yes, they're very good.

Are they expensive?
No, you can pick a decent one up for £20 - £25

What can I you use them for?
Pretty much anything that won't get fucked by putting it in water, & fits. (Inc your OHs jewellery ! Brownie points for getting their stuff all sparkly clean! )

Should I buy one?
Don't be ridiculous, of course you should buy one!

Do you need special cleaning fluid for an ultrasonic?
No. You can use just plain water, either cold or warm, you can use washing up liquid, Miltons tabs, or various cleaners designed for ultrasonic cleaners.

Ok, a picture paints a thousand words. Allegedly. So here's some pictures. A couple of nice mucky rda decks, and a Zeph drip tip that's been sitting in the vape stand for a couple of months.



I have an 800ml cleaner, and use 700ml of slightly warm water with 2 caps of Sea Clean fluid. (All non toxic & environmental friendly) You get a plastic basket to put your items in, you don't need to use them. I don't dry burn coils before going into the cleaner, as there's no point baking juice into the coil, and the cleaner will get into all the nooks and crannies on fancy coils.



You can see a slight distortion where the light hits the water while its running.



12 minutes, or 3 cycles later, this is what you have.



Both together.

 

[nwhornet]

Could have pulled the stray pube out the middle deck before photographing

 

[Moley]

Looks more like Baldric hair!!
Nice guide bud, lovely and clean

 

[junglist]

Thanks @philTBA - that's superb! Excellent guide and pics - brilliantly shows how valuable these bits of kit are in the vaper's arsenal. Definitely worth having one. Have stickied it now and sorted some of the spacing out - hope that was OK!

 

[tasteslikefire]

Is there anything to watch out for on these (I'm thinking rubber seals on tanks etc) or can it all just go in? Looks like a good buy. A lot less messing about.

 

[bergkamp]

I've had no problems on any vape gear , but I did put a pair of glasses in mine (which they do clean excellenty) with black plastic arms after a few cycles the black colour was stripped in patches to bare white plastic , so I would be careful with certain painted or coated objects.

I use warm tap water with a squirt of washing up liquid and it brings tanks etc up like new

 

[scrumpox]

You have to be very cautious with any item that has a painted on finish ... for example the green glass in the above shots. A lot of glass has not in fact been tinted but has a film of colour on the outside. The ultrasonic vibrations will strip it off very efficiently. Same goes for paint on cheap clone atties, also for the expensive, non-reflective finish applied to spectacle lenses.

O-rings are not a problem at all, though it can't clean under the o-ring where it's in contact with the atty. For the best results it makes sense to tear down completely and rebuild/reassemble afterwards ... but for normal cleaning purposes you can leave o-rings and grub screws in place. Loose grub screws can become unscrewed by the vibrations and fall out, so always check the water for tiny items before you throw it down the sink.

What it's really good at is cleaning complex coils, like fused claptons for example.

Actually, the most pleasing result I got was from a manky can opener ... you know how grubby they get and how hard it is to clean them up? It came up like new!

 

[bergkamp]

can opener , why have I never thought of throwing that in before ? They do get gunked up don't they

 

[keithw]

Any recommendations on a specific product?

Cheers

 

[davroz]

Excellent sticky thread