I bought a nice big ultrasonic cleaner. Namely a Branson 8510E-DTH It has a tank of 20 Liters (5 gallons) With a basket volume of 471 x 271 x 130mm Can I dismantle a complete Petromax and then put it in the basket for cleaning without damage? Or are there parts that I shouldn't put in the ultrasonic cleaner? Which liquid is suitable? Bandelin Tickopur R33 : Slightly alkaline, pH 9.9 (1%) Application with ultrasound:1 - 5 % / 1 - 10 minutes / 20 - 80 °C for : General soiling, drilling, grinding and polishing residues, oily and greasy residues, soot, ink, etc. material : Metals including aluminum, glass, ceramics, plastic, rubber, etc. Bandelin Tickopur TR3 : slightly sour, pH 3,0 (1%) (basic citric acid) Application with ultrasound:1 - 5 % / 1 - 10 minutes / 20 - 60 °C for : Mineral residues, flash rust, grease, oil, wax, pigments, drilling, grinding and polishing residues, etc. material : Light metals, steel, stainless steel, glass, ceramic, plastic, rubber etc.
@Remy Welcome from Queensland Australia. I use a solution made up from a cleaner for a brass rifle cartridge ultrasonic cleaner available at most gun dealers and suppliers. There are a number of brands of these. A quick scan of the Internet will help here. Enjoy your cleaner, they work well. Cheers Pete
@AussiePete For my brass i use a case tumbler and a sniff of Lemi Shine :-) I'm a shooter/reloader to :-)
Fountain Pen collectors (Pens can be 'chemical-sensitive'), use a solution of Water, 10% household Ammonia, plus a drop or two of 'Dawn' liquid detergent.
@Julian Whittaker Brass is adversely affected by ammonia. Ammonia induces stress cracking in brass, the extent of which is subject to many factors such as thickness of the brass, stress in the metal, amount of exposure to ammonia etc. There is plenty of industrial literature on this phenomenon, and that’s why here and at CCS ammonia is contraindicated for cleaning brass. Tony
Understand Tony. No ammonia then (Even though we're talking a dilute mix 90% water and 10% ammonia). They use it safely on pens, (many of which are very valuable) but they are mainly concerned with avoiding damage to the plastics and rubber involved. There may be brass in pens, but plated usually. There's gold and SS there.
Ultrasonic cleaners and heating will hasten the removal rust with citric acid. For greasy grime, oils and dirt, the ultrasonic equipment will greatly assist too. Usually in either hot or cold alkaline solutions like lye(sodium hydroxide). It would be a great help in cleaning stubborn carbon deposits in generators and jets too. Can't say much on the proprietary Bandoline Tickopur liquid concentrates. I think they are meant for large-scale production facilities having specific demands for convenience, health/safety and disposal concerns regarding their usage. For most our purpose here, I believe we have alternatives(like those mentioned earlier). The proprietary products do have their merits. They not only contain the main active ingredients but other assisting constituents like surfactants, wetting agents and corrosion inhibitors as well.
I use this stuff, get it from Amazon or local car parts place. It's fine for brass and just about anything else. One little tip -- for most things, after I clean with this, I do a second ultrasonic bath in gun lubricant solution, which is a very thin, slick liquid which drives off/emulsifies any moisture hiding anywhere. For parts that can get flash rust it's especially helpful to do this step, but also in addition to removing residual moisture from the aqueous cleaner, it serves as a purge so that any small particles of dirt left lurking in tiny spaces from what is (after the cleaning process) DIRTY cleaning solution. I am always surprised at how much fine debris shows up at the bottom of the tank after the lubricant cleanse. All that would have stayed in or on my parts if I stopped after the initial clean. Ulf.
sorry, forgot to mention that the product for the cleanse is L&R watch rinsing solution. L&R also makes a non-ammoniated watch cleaning solution which is very good stuff, if one is sensitive about the ammonia thing. I do know that ammonia isn't friendly to brass at the molecular level, but given the low and sustained pressures (a couple ATM, or less than 30 psi) and thicknesses of brass we're talking about with lanterns (as opposed to high pressure applications like firearm cartridge cases, which normally exceed 20,000 psi, a pressure rise that develops in milliseconds), unless the lantern brass is exposed to ammonia for a long period of time and/or not rinsed off, I'd be very surprised if a quick ammonia bath did any practical versus theoretical harm. That said, if you don't need to use an ammoniated solution because it's all you have on hand, it's always the better part of valor to avoid it. Like the occasional cigar, it probably won't give you cancer, but lightning does strike sometimes.
