ultra sonic cleaners

[carrie]

Hi

Santa is going to bring me an ultrasonic cleaner, what would anyone recommend? is it necessary to get one of the expensive ones? or would the ones advertised for £20 - £50 do just as well? or shall I stick with a brush, hot water and fairy? (I am only making small amounts of mainly silver jewellery as a hobby and cant really justify a big outlay).

Merry xmas and happy new year

[ps_bond]

I would suggest that if you're thinking of getting a decent, heated one, to go that route and stick with a brush & soapy water until then. The cheaper ultrasonics do work (if you keep filling them with very hot water), but there's an exponential difference between them & a "proper" one.

[art925]

I would agree with Peter, a cheaper version wou;d be a waste of money not an investment. You might want to upgrade to an electronic toothbrush (second hand of course).

Les

[Nick martin]

Apologies for butting in on this topic, but in real terms what exactly are the big differences between Ultrasonic cleaners?

Clearly the more expensive versions are heated and have a larger capacity, but are they actually more powerful as far as cleaning goes?

The reason I ask is because I've got a cheap £40 'James' machine and to be honest it gets stuff very very clean so I too am struggling to see how the huge difference in cost is justified?

Cheers,

Nick

[Patstone]

Well I have a £20 ish one and its useless, complete waste of £20.

[Dennis]

Apologies for butting in on this topic, but in real terms what exactly are the big differences between Ultrasonic cleaners?

Clearly the more expensive versions are heated and have a larger capacity, but are they actually more powerful as far as cleaning goes? Nick

The solution, appropriate to the job in hand, will act as a chemical detergent. But the ultrasonic vibrations create a stream of fine bubbles (cavitation) which are at the heart of the cleaning process.

The cost of the unit depends on its size and sophistication of the controls. This link, I think illustrates the point. Dennis.

http://www.monmouthscientific.co.uk/...gital-10p.html

[art925]

A more expensive machine will distribute the action of the cavitation (the cleaning action) across the bath by varying the frequency slightly. In a cheaper unit the frequency is fixed and may produce a hot spot; a high intensive bombarding action which can cause damage of the item being cleaned. This can be even more intensified if your cleaning solution is too concentrated. On the other hand, there will then be areas of the bath that are completely ineffective, so you are limited to the number of items you can clean at a time. Depending upon the frequency of the machine it will produce differing bubble sizes; this information is required if you intend to clean just metal or more delicate items such as stones. Power generation to the bath size is also important.

Hope this helps.
Les

[Nick martin]

Thanks for that info Lee / Dennis.

I had a basic understanding of the technology involved, I am just struggling / surprised to see the different price points from £40 - £400+ in some cases although I gather that the more expensive variations in the machines simply operate more efficiently and at different frequencies?

Nick

[trialuser]

I originally had a cheap 30 quidish one from amazon, it worked very well I thought.
You could see the rouge streaming out from texture and settings when it was switched on, even after the item looked clean after a washing up liquid scrub.
Unfortunately it broke after about 4 months. One day the buzzing noise it made changed note and it stopped cleaning. I took it apart and the ultrasonic generator doobrey had separated from the bowl, it looked like it had been epoxied on.
I've now got a mid range 100 quidish one with a timer and heater and it doesn't seem any better at cleaning but I'm hopeful it will last longer. The original is in my to fix pile.

[CJ57]

I bought a 20 quid one from somewhere like QVC which needs hot water and washing up liquid to work but works ok for my use, it made getting rouge out of chains a much easier task. Sometimes I still just use the washing liquid on a sponge, it's really the hot water that is an important component of the job in hand to cut through the grease otherwise a cheap one definitely won't work.