Hello all, I was wondering how good these ultrasonic cleaner machines are? I'm thinking if getting one. 1st question how good do they work on carbon removal? 2nd Will they clean Tilley vaporisers? 3rd how well do they restore brass? 4th what are the best cleaning detergents for brass. 5th what detergent to use for removing carbon? Any help will be much appreciated thanks.
In my experience not all are the same. The ones I used in factories were big, noisy and filled with a solvent "Jencleans" - a volatile but heavier than water solvent - probably oulawed by now. The small home ones tend to break and are designed to use water. Best solvents are water mixed with the "eco" washing up liquid mixed with "eco" dishwasher rinse aid. All of then will remove loose dirt but not so good at tarnish/verdigris. I used mine for cleaning black powder rifle brass cartridges and the results were "average". I now use a gem tumbler filled with small stainless steel pins and water with the soap as detailed above. That works well on brass cases, but the pins won't get inside a vapouriser. "Ecover" brand is available in Oz but you might find cheaper local versions. I think the eco stuff works as it is normally made with fruit acid so maybe some experimentation might bring better results They are however very useful for cleaning other things, jewelry for example..
Simple answer, yes. Long answer, depends what liquid you put in them. Alkaline detergents are good for general cleaning, citric acid is good on brass and copper, as the agitation increases the effect. It's not so good with heavy crud removal inside a vaporiser/generator for example but with a vinegar solution, it can remove surface crud quite well but you'll need to take the piece out of the machine and use wire wool to free the stubborn bits. Hope this helps.
Definitely recommend for lantern cleaning and restoration White vinegar solution works well clean up all the brass bits very well especially the galleries, Vaporisers and burners Just a light polish affair that
