Considering an ultrasonic cleaner - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 08:56:00 am
content: Hi allI'm thinking of buying an ultrasonic cleaner. Main uses will be:- getting flux residue and other contamination off PCBs- removing old lubricant and other road dirt from bicycle chains, sprockets and similarI can get a no-name Chinese unit off Ebay of the right kind of size for ~£100, or something of a similar size and spec from a German supplier for ~£250, or I can pay £750+ for a (presumably) much more solid and industrial piece of kit, but that's not justified for the very occasional use it will get.Does anyone have experience of running one of these? Is there a good reason to avoid the cheap units for occasional use?What cleaning solutions do people prefer to use? Do you tend to keep the same solution in the machine, or change it regularly?

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2020, 11:51:14 pm
content: I don't have any recent experience with "professional" cleaners.But I do have one of those cheap jewelry cleaners (this one specificallyhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XKVGCVP) and for cleaning PCBs it works fine.Note it does not have a heater. I do not find it to be a problem.It definitely less powerful and takes longer to clean, but for small batch and occasional use it really does not bother me.I can't say I 100% recommend that over a real cleaner, but it is something to consider, for sure.

author: gigavolt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 03:16:28 am
content: I also purchased one of the ~$50 USD ones and I was a bit let down by it. I use one of the real ultrasonic cleaners at my job and this isn't even the same piece of equipment. You do get bubbles on the surface of parts inside of it, so I assume it's doing something, but it isn't the clear effect of knocking dirt off that you'd expect.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 03:24:00 am
content: To clarify - I have not used it for dirt or any sort of mechanical cleaning. I just used it for PCBs and cleaning flux residue using alcohol as a solvent. It worked reasonably well, but not perfect by any means.

author: rpetitho
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 04:56:26 am
content: Just consider what you are cleaning, some crystal oscillators will be damaged by the ultrasonic part of the cleaner. Something I've seen on datasheets.-Bob

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 07:18:25 am
content: Also reported here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/ultrasonic-cleaner-broke-working-pcb/msg3004518/#msg3004518If its not swept frequency, and is powerful enough to clean effectively, its almost certainly unsuitable for circuit boards with any sensitive or mechanically delicate parts including crystals, resonators, hermetically packaged semiconductors with bond wires in a cavity, etc.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2020, 08:22:41 am
content: Thanks for the tips. I think for now I'll stick with a can of flux-off for the PCBs, it's just not worth an expensive unit for the amount of use it'll get.Maybe I'll pick up a cheap cleaner which I know I can use on bike parts, and maybe try some scrap PCBs in it to see how they hold up.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2020, 07:42:21 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on August 19, 2020, 08:56:00 amFor both degreasing and printed circuit boards, I tend to use reverse osmosis water with a little dish soap added which is cheap enough to be changed with every use minimizing contamination. For tougher jobs, I use TSP (trisodiumphosphate) instead of dish soap.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2020, 10:39:19 pm
content: Do any cheap but decent spread spectrum cleaners exist?

author: DaJMasta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2020, 11:30:01 pm
content: Not spread spectrum, but swept frequency, I got my Trusonik unit a couple years ago for <$100. Can use some silicone tubing split and put on the bottom of the basket, as well as some silicone around the rim of the lid to dampen vibration, but all stainless steel, easy controls, and it's worked fine for me so far.These can be good for cleaning all sorts of bits in unexpected ways once you can experiment. I used a bunch of distilled vinegar to remove rust from a whole bunch of steel pins and it just took 30 mins in the bath, but with a few different cleaners you should be able to do a lot of different otherwise tedious cleaning tasks automatically.