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Thread: Ultrasonic Damanging Jewellery

  1. #21
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    Aug 2012
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    I have got a vax s4. It's not meant for jewellery, it's just a steam generator for cleaning tiles etc, sit it on the worktop and press the button and a decent jet of stream squirts out.
    It seems to displace crud quite well.
    I think it's about 30 odd quid now, there are cheaper ones but I thought it worth a couple of quid more for the vax name and 2 year warranty.
    I have a mid/cheap range ultrasonic and I just use washing up liquid and drop stuff in the basket, I don't notice any odd marks.
    But, I probably produce in a year what you make in a day.

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis View Post
    Testimonials alone would not do,as witnessed by the range of advice found here.
    I stopped my Which subscription a while back primarily because I felt that the tech advice was invariably subjective, misleading and in several cases completely wrong. Similarly, I've seen a few product reviews that focus less on how well (or not) the product does the job and more on what it's made of.

    As for using steam cleaners - I have, during the course with Jura; faster and less cleanup than an ultrasonic although if you're blasting lemel out of nooks & crannies you might want to think about where it ends up. I wouldn't risk emeralds, pearls or opals (amongst others) in a steam cleaner myself - they still get hot and for me it doesn't feel worth the risk. I did have a disagreement with a silversmith a while back about putting emeralds in an ultrasonic - he said it was perfectly OK, I said I wasn't prepared to risk it. "Well, have you ever broken one in an ultrasonic?" - no, because I wasn't prepared to risk it...

    http://www.studleysjewellers.co.uk/gemstone-guide/ has a bit of a list of what cleaning is & isn't sensible.

  3. #23
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    I quite fancy a steam cleaner for my bathroom, so I may just get one of those Vax ones and see how it goes. I suspect it'll need re-filling all day though, so it may slow us down.

  4. #24
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    I have tried a couple of both ultrasonics and steam cleaners, purpose built for the jewellery trade and general purpose substitutes......

    unheated small ultrasonic.........not worth the money, lots of faff in comparison to heated unit....
    heated purpose built and general purpose unit......both good,.....to my mind the 'detergent' used, combined with the heat makes most difference (ammonia based solution, which I know many prefer not to use is best, and certainly most efficient if making a reasonable amount of work,....I'd recommend this solution...http://www.eurofindings.com/Product/...trated-Cleaner

    I have a 1litre professional/purpose made heated ultrasonic

    Steam cleaners are great, but more time consuming, I would use an ultrasonic for anything I could and any missed bits, for instance in corners or intricate saw piercing, I would use the steam cleaner,.....I've not had any problems with opals, pearls or emeralds in either type of steam cleaner, Peter,.....I think the trick is not to use a continuous jet of steam, but shorter bursts, ensuring that the piece isn't over heated.....

    I have a hand held Vax.....was about £20, works reasonably well, and is better than nothing.... but I also have access to something similar to this http://www.hswalsh.com/product/eitan...-ts29.....well, that's an awful lot of money!!!!!!....but worth every penny if a0 you have the money, and b)you are making a lot of work with precious gemstones which can not go in the ultrasonic , or lots of work which has lots of nooks and crannies, blasts it out in seconds.....

  5. #25
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    Now I'm thinking I may get an Elma and cross my fingers that it's better than the one that I've been using. I was never very happy with it as it was obviously Chinese, as the instructions were very badly translated. It was also very noisy and always set my teeth on edge. It was a heated one and I think it cost about £150. I see Cooksons don't sell it any more. Note to self - it's not worth buying value when it comes to jewellery equipment.

  6. #26
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    I don't think it is either Carole. Buy the best you can afford......

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by caroleallen View Post
    I have exactly the same problem Hannah. In fact, I think my ultrasonic keeps fusing my electricity, so it's had to be scrapped. Mine was the Cooksons economy range and cost something like £150. They don't seem to do the same one now.

    My question is, if I go for a more expensive one, will I still have the same problems? I don't want to fork out a lot of money if it's no better than the cheap one.
    I also get the white marks on my jewellery after putting in the ultrasonic. I rarely use mine any more, because the marks have to be polished out again, thus rendering putting them in the ultrasonic in the first place entirel pointless. I have this one: http://www.hswalsh.com/product/digit...5-litres-hu151 and have tried various cleaning fluids with it.

  8. #28
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    That one looks very similar to my old one Lauren.

    I have today, taken delivery of a fab spanking new Elma one and I can't believe how quiet it is. The old one always set my teeth on edge. So far I haven't noticed the white marks yet, so fingers crossed that I've solved the problem.

  9. #29
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    Jul 2010
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    Steamer or ultrasonic?

    You have to have both!

    We have even used our steamer to make frothy coffees too, when we had it new.

    There is often dirt left behind stones even with the ultrasonic, thats where a steamer comes in so handy.

    Never had a problem with white marks. i can only assume these are caused by 'something' rubbing against the surface, bubbles perhaps?

    We have always bought expensive ultrasonics £500+ and have never had a problem. We don't use environmental friendly products either, sorry. Stick with the proven products and established brands such as Elma etc. Some of the new brands are not as good and neither are the solutions.

    Out current ultrasonic has been with us for over 18 years, on every day, no problems. Twin transducer? I think. Cleaned out every couple of weeks despite the colour of the solution. Not a good idea I know.

    Andrew
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  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrew_berry View Post
    We don't use environmental friendly products either, sorry. Stick with the proven products and established brands such as Elma etc. Some of the new brands are not as good and neither are the solutions.
    Echoes of my comment earlier - I'm more interested in whether the stuff works than what it's made of!

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