Turtlerock Forum

Hi there all Turtlerockers.

Get down to Aldi's tomorrow and buy yourself a Ultrasonic Cleaner for $24.95

So you ask... "why do I need an ultrasonic cleaner?"

1: These things are excellent for getting all the dirt and grime out of microphone headbaskets, particularly the the Sennheiser and AKG variety that have a very fine mesh inside. Ideal for all the live sound guys. Just make sure you take the headbasket off the mic first... doh!

2: Clean flux from small circuit boards. Note: as this is a fixed frequency unit (40kHz), only submerge the PCB, leave the components above the water line.

3: Clean any small mechanical parts, coins, connectors, etc

4: I used it to restore a blocked inkjet printer head

5: Clean your wife/girlfriend's jewelery. Note: I wouldn't put anything with precious stones in it... but silver or gold bracelets and necklaces are fine. She'll love it and you won't have to justify why you're buying another electronic device.

The first small domestic ultrasonic cleaner I bought 20 years ago cost me just under $200, I bought the same Aldi unit 3 years ago for $70. At a price of $25 this thing is a real bargain... go get it.

I'll get back to you over the weekend with some tips and tricks.

Will it be any good on my marine grade stainless steel watch?

Sounds like an Aldi in SA would be good..............

We'll send you some Norwegian digestive biscuits to cheer you up.

here's my wacky bargain of the week. I picked up this $7.95 octopus clothes hanger thing from Ikea yesterday and it is perfect as a cable hanger for all my assorted test and power leads in the workshop.

Dont submerge silver in the sonic as it will turn the shiny silver to yucky silver and hours of elbow grease trying to manually clean it. Diamonds are safe to be used in the sonic as long as they arent industrial grade.

Aso Robs hanging thing is only $4.99 in QLD
PRESSA
Hanging dryer 16 clothes pegs, assorted colours
$4.99
Article Number :
601.896.64
http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/60189664/
Cheers
Dale

Dont submerge silver in the sonic as it will turn the shiny silver to yucky silver

Hi Dale

I've been cleaning my wife's silver bracelet for years without any problem, maybe it has to do with the quality of the silver.

On the subject of Ikea... how can they justify a price increase of 60% from Queensland to South Australia, that's outrageous.

Actually I think the silver thingy might have to do with adding chemicals to the water. I used to use bleach for cleaning gold in ultrasonics and when you used 99% silver it went really bad.
I think I still have the ultrasonic in the shed. Maybe its time to move it on.
Cheers for the info.
Dale

I used to use bleach for cleaning gold in ultrasonics and when you used 99% silver it went really bad.

Bleach... that would explain it. That's nasty stuff.

I never add anything stronger to the water than a couple of drops of detergent.

If I'm at all concerned I will just use distilled water.

I remember they use to clean circuit boards with variable frequency industrial ultrasonics filled with Freon until it was banned. Howard Jones might chime in on that one.

Will it be any good on my marine grade stainless steel watch?

Hi Lee

Myself... I wouldn't have a problem with a putting a marine grade watch into a consumer ultrasonic cleaner as long as the seals were in good condition, but... my advice is... check with the manufacturer.

Hookemeister wrote:

Dont submerge silver in the sonic as it will turn the shiny silver to yucky silver

Hi Dale

I've been cleaning my wife's silver bracelet for years without any problem, maybe it has to do with the quality of the silver.

On the subject of Ikea... how can they justify a price increase of 60% from Queensland to South Australia, that's outrageous.

for some reason there are two separate IKEA franchises in Australia - one for SA/WA, one for everywhere else. would be fairer to have uniform pricing though.

that said, i recently bought an IKEA chair in France which was €48, or about AU$58. Here, the same chair costs AU$119. so i guess IKEA, Apple, Gillette (to name a few multinationals) will charge what they think we are prepared to pay.

Chris

My tip for ultrasonic cleaning - a diluted 'Shower Power' solution

A good friend of mine is a jeweler and this is what they use in their ultra sonic cleaner for cleaning all jewelery.

The only thing to note about an ultra sonic cleaner is that a damaged stone can actually shatter from the vibration [but i do not believe that this happens very often]

Is it good for cleaning scratchy pot's in a wah pedal?

New thread
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6076

Is it good for cleaning scratchy pot's in a wah pedal?

Hi Lee

I've never tried it myself, I find when pots start to get scratchy it's best to replace them.

Spraying them with a cleaner like DeOxit sometimes work but usually isn't long lasting.

A wah pot gets more action then probably any other pot so it's going to fail before most other pots in your setup.

I think you can get a genuine replacement (Dunlop Hot Potz II} for under $25 on ebay.

But getting back to your original question... if you've tried everything else and you have no other choice than replace the pot... well you've got nothing to lose. Put it in the Ultrasonic and see what happens.

Next time I remove a scratchy pot I'll it try myself and report back.

Hope this helps

not sure about putting the pot in the ultrasonic cleaner. Sure, it will clean it but what you really need to do is lubricate it. Contact cleaners that leave a lubricating film are the go. Deoxit is not one of these.
Caig faderlube is the best. EML200F is also quite good and a lot cheaper. It available from WES.

Thanks guys.

I might mention the ultrasonic cleaner to my granny: she might consider taking a dip to treat her arthritis.

Tue as true, for years she has been using WD40 on her knee joints, and reckons nothin else comes close!

I might mention the ultrasonic cleaner to my granny: she might consider taking a dip to treat her arthritis.

I wouldn't recommend putting any of your extremities in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Tue as true, for years she has been using WD40 on her knee joints, and reckons nothin else comes close!

With the way that stuff smells I don't think anything would be coming close!

Yeah WD40 has a lot of uses but I haven't heard of that one before.

It's also good for removing that sticky residue that's left when you peal off a label or old insulation tape.

I use can of Australian Export Degreaser from Supercheap Auto for that exact purpose. A lot cheaper than WD40, about $2.50 a can.

I think it's the kerosene ingredient in it that breaks down the sticky residue.

EML200F is also quite good and a lot cheaper.

+1 on that Rob... Electrolube EML200F is a great product... been using that one for years.

I think it was what Neve recommended in their maintenance schedule.

Contact cleaners that leave a lubricating film are the go. Deoxit is not one of these.

I was actually referring to DeOxit Fader Lube, I wasn't quite clear about that.