Daniel Jessup
Jan 3, 20202 min
Updated: Apr 7
The old ultrasonic cleaner, while very useful, needed and upgrade.
After going through the series of cleanings of all those carburetor parts (see the posts for the Holley 4000s) I decided it was time to upgrade to a larger ultrasonic cleaner that had more size and better operational features. Looking at quite a few options, I settled on a "non-descript" unit from eBay for about $100. There are video links in this post so that you can both see and hear the review I give this valuable tool for the shop. I split up the review/results into three edited videos for brevity's sake. The first video includes the basic setup and features, and it also describes a few of the differences between this new model and the one from Harbor Freight that I have used for several years.
In part 2 the first cycle's results were pretty good, with subsequent cycles revealing the full capability of this ultrasonic cleaner. I thought I would have to use a brush to dislodge all of the leftover crud from the parts, but this new cleaner is so powerful all it took was water spray from a residential spigot to rinse off the residue. Awesome!
And below, I have a final results video that also shows a little of the process for draining and cleaning the tank. I was amazed to find that I could go through so many cleaning cycles and still experience the same results as I did in the first cycle when the solution was 100% virgin. My theory is that the sound waves do more to actually remove/loosen the crud than the de-greasing solution performs. If you own a Y block powered vehicle, you know how filthy the crankcase breather can be after years of use. The old paraffin based oils had a tendency to leave a thick crud on the inside of the tube. Check out the results in the video... the breather tube was one of the last items to cycle through the unit.