With a very crusty gland packing refusing to budge it was suggested to me that ultrasonic cleaning may work. However having spent all of my money on lanterns, I’m improvising! Does anyone know at what frequency a sander would shatter a coffee jar? 15 mins in and there is quite a bit of debris floating around!
Yeah, not so much! I gave some thought to adding heat and sourcing the correct chemicals but decided that I had had enough fun and roped in a friend who has an ultrasonic cleaning tank. Much quicker in the end I expect.
@Scott D Necessity is the mother of invention I like to be resourseful you have given me some ideas on what that could be used for Thanks for sharing. Im thinking of adding an ultrasonic cleaning tank to my work shop,
Since you can hear a sander when it's working, it cannot, by definition, be ultrasonic. But if you're having a measure of success, well done although I suspect you're doing no more than a good shake. Ultrasonic cleaning works on a different principle altogether. Lidl (or was it Aldi?) get in ultrasonic cleaners from time to time for a reasonable price. However, they're designed to clean jewellery etc. and I found them not really 'man' enough to have much effect on lamp parts - even when I used vinegar or dilute citric acid as the medium in the tank. Something a bit more 'industrial strength' is likely to be needed for our applications. YMMV...
This is the one I use, about £80 from Amazon. I use citric acid at 50g / 500ml water and set to 50oC. It will shift the crud of a burner in less than 10 minutes and it’s just big enough to accept a complete Vapalux / Bialaddin hood.
All’s well that ends well. As luck would have it, as I was looking for an ultrasonic cleaner, a good friend of mine retired from a career spent in ultrasonic cleaning manufacturing. This 18l tank was his test rig and had just been put into storage in his garage. Now need to start on his thank you lantern, the cleaning of which should now be much easier!
