Ultrasonic cleaners

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Ultrasonic cleaners
Tweet Topic Started: Mar 9 2012, 03:59 PM (922 Views)
Spock	Mar 9 2012, 03:59 PM Post #1
Live Long and Prosper. Posts: 1,229 Group: Valued Members Member #1,583 Joined: Dec 20, 2009	We have an ultrasonic cleaner here at work and it works REMARKABLY well at cleaning carburetors, EGR valves, EFI components and so forth. It works so much better at cleaning carburetors than spraying them or soaking them or any other conventional method. I have been tossing around the idea of buying one for myself, but they are soooo expensive! So I got to thinking that maybe I could hire it out to recoup the money it costs to buy the thing. For instance, I'd just put an ad on craigslist; something like: Ultrasonic cleaner for hire. 15 bucks an hour per carb....or something like that. What do you guys think? Is this a marketable service? Would any of you pay 10-15 bucks an hour to have your carbs/throttle body/egr/whatever cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner? I'm not looking to get rich off of this, just break even on the cost of the cleaner and maybe a few bucks extra. Thoughts? http://www.ultrasonicleaners.com/mechanical_timer.php



Old Man	Mar 9 2012, 04:45 PM Post #2
Posts: 9,836 Group: Valued Members Member #5,381 Joined: May 3, 2011 Location Bay Center, Washington on the Coast Year/Make/Model 1991 Geo Metro Convertible and 1990 XFI	depends on services and costs of them that are already available in the area.---might want to contact as many small time mechanics in your area and ask them if they would use your services.----also---$15 an hour is too cheap for your time + machinery use and you darn sure dont want them to use your machinery



rmcelwee	Mar 9 2012, 09:51 PM Post #3
Posts: 3,812 Group: Tech Certified Member #707 Joined: Apr 28, 2009 Location Charleston, SC Year/Make/Model "Elsie" - 1999 Chevy Metro 3/5	They are $30 to $75 at HF...



Spock	Mar 10 2012, 09:32 AM Post #4
Live Long and Prosper. Posts: 1,229 Group: Valued Members Member #1,583 Joined: Dec 20, 2009	rmcelwee Mar 9 2012, 09:51 PM They are $30 to $75 at HF... Ever use one of those? They're not very big as I recall and my buddy that bought one said that it was almost useless. The expensive ones that I use and am considering buying actually do a very nice job and are big enough to fit 2-3 one barrel carbs in at a time. I was thinking that if my price was low enough, I could undercut anyone else trying the same thing. I'm not talking about a carb rebuilding service, just come an 'dunk' whatever you want. Hand me 15 bucks, I turn on the machine, and you come back in an hour to some clean carbs. I may do it anyway and just see what happens. I was just curious what the overall opinion was of folks on here. I figured if you all were receptive to the idea, then I had a better shot at this going well. On the other hand, if everyone told me I was wasting my time..... Edited by Spock, Mar 10 2012, 09:43 AM.



t3ragtop	Mar 10 2012, 09:40 AM Post #5
Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker Posts: 7,536 Group: Moderator Member #2,300 Joined: May 2, 2010 Location Columbus, OH Year/Make/Model 1991 Blue Metro Vert MegaSquirt Turbo3 - 91 Red Metro Vert G13b DOHC/5	just wait until you get a load of the general public rolling to your house for that. they'll make joe dirt look like a rocket scientist.



Deleted User	Mar 10 2012, 09:54 AM Post #6
Deleted User	Oh, yeah! Ultrasonic cleaners rock. The larger equipment is mucho expensive. The smaller units are great for small parts. I'm checking Craigslist for something that used to cost several hundred dollars that will be available for half or less. t3ragtop mentioned that anhydrous ethanol was a great cleaner, but not so easy to get. I wonder if E85 would be the more readily available and acceptable cleaning liquid. My grandfather used gasoline to clean canister type oil filters prior to reuse. Just trying to keep in line with family tradition . . .
Deleted User


me2	Mar 10 2012, 11:21 AM Post #7
Posts: 1,082 Group: Valued Members Member #4,845 Joined: Mar 21, 2011 Location Shelton, Washington Year/Make/Model 1990 Geo Metro XFI	I often use gasoline as a 'pre' cleaner for parts , even bearings. It works quite well. And then because you are not supposed to clean bearings with gasoline I then use something expensive like acetone or tolulene to get the residue off. And the air tank to blow them off. Ultrasonics are very nice but I don't use one enough to make it worth while. I don't know if I would spring 15 bucks to use one - but 5 would be tempting. Thats just me, and please note I am cheap. May the Metro be with you...



me2	Mar 10 2012, 11:23 AM Post #8
Posts: 1,082 Group: Valued Members Member #4,845 Joined: Mar 21, 2011 Location Shelton, Washington Year/Make/Model 1990 Geo Metro XFI	Oh, and I live in Washington state- nothing is anhydrous here.



Old Man	Mar 10 2012, 12:29 PM Post #9
Posts: 9,836 Group: Valued Members Member #5,381 Joined: May 3, 2011 Location Bay Center, Washington on the Coast Year/Make/Model 1991 Geo Metro Convertible and 1990 XFI	Geo Glenn Mar 10 2012, 09:54 AM My grandfather used gasoline to clean canister type oil filters prior to reuse. many of the 40s era and some 50s era cars did not come from the factory with oil filters. To lprovide oil filtering some people relied on the "Frantz toilet paper filter". http://www.frantzoil.com/OilFilterConstruction.html



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