Run time for an ultrasonic clean

[richiec]

Being a newbie to ultrasonic cleaning about how long doe you leave parts in the cleaner? I am using L&R ultrasonic cleaner. Then how do you remove the cleaner from the parts and dry them?

 

[gmorse]

Hi Richie,

I am using L&R ultrasonic cleaner. Then how do you remove the cleaner from the parts and dry them?

For watch cleaning, I use several small glass laboratory beakers for the cleaner and rinses and stand them in plain water in the ultrasonic tank. This makes it more economical on the expensive solutions and saves you having to clean out the tank so often.The ultrasonic waves pass through the glass into the cleaning solutions quite well, but not so well through plastic containers.

L&R also make rinses to be used with their cleaners, which are effectively the same solvent mixtures but without the cleaning components. It's good practice to put the parts through two separate rinses, discarding the first when it gets too contaminated, moving the second up to the first and using fresh solution for the second. Which L&R cleaning solution are you using?

Once the parts come out of the second rinse I use a hot air soldering station on a low setting, (around 100º Celsius or 212º Fahrenheit), to dry them, being careful not to blow away the smaller parts and not to get any shellac too warm. The rinses are light solvents and should evaporate rapidly without leaving a residue. If they do, it's time to replace them.

The running time depends on the nature of the parts and how dirty they are. If they're very filthy it's worth doing a pre-clean in Coleman's fuel, to avoid contaminating your cleaning solution too much. I use L&R 566 non-ammoniated cleaner and I typically run parts for around 3 minutes at the most. My tank doesn't have a heater but the action of the ultrasound has a heating effect.

Regards,

Graham

 

[richiec]

Thanks Graham, I don't have any beakers but do have small jelly jars which I hope aren't too thick for this purpose and I can use the dryer in my L&R mechanical cleaner to spin them in the baskets and then spin with a little heat.

 

[gmorse]

Hi Richie,

I don't have any beakers but do have small jelly jars which I hope aren't too thick for this purpose

They should work well enough, I used something similar until I found some lab beakers at a reasonable price.

Regards,

Graham

 

[JLAIP]

Being a newbie to ultrasonic cleaning about how long doe you leave parts in the cleaner? I am using L&R ultrasonic cleaner.

Generally, two to four minutes.

Then how do you remove the cleaner from the parts and dry them?

To dry: Bergeon 5733 hand blower (or similar), hair dryer, watch parts dryer, etc. Pretty much anything that dries w/o magetizing.
To remove the cleaner:....

 

[JLAIP]

Inbetween those two steps, the parts must be rinsed as Graham pointed out.

Did the photo of L&R R-I-N-S-E solution I posted after "To remove the cleaner...." not display at your end?

 

[richiec]

The regular rinse solution won't work with the ultrasonic?

 

[JLAIP]

The regular rinse solution won't work with the ultrasonic?

I reckon it probably will, but may not rinse as efficiently as a rinse made for use in ultrasonics. My grandfather, a master watchmaker, used to clean parts at home by boiling for ~ 10 minutes in water with a bit o' ammonia and a few drops of dish soap. He'd rinse in distilled water, dry them with a lint-free cloth and reinstall.

I think the recipe's less important than the process. You just need to get the parts get clean, dry and residue-free. That said, I'm not a chemist, so I could be wrong.

 

[gmorse]

An important point is that if you're using a solvent based cleaner, any rinse should be a similar substance, and water isn't appropriate at all here. Using a matching rinse from the same makers as the cleaner is a safe route.

 

[richiec]

I have used an L&R 3 jar cleaner for years but bought the ultrasonic from a fellow chapter member who is downsizing, I have lots of regular rinse just want to know if it is compatible with the ultrasonic. I can put the parts in the baskets to spin and dry them as the heater in the L&R still works.

 

[JLAIP]

I have lots of regular rinse just want to know if it is compatible with the ultrasonic.

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