Ultrasonic cleaners

[Steve Curtis]

Hi all.

No idea where to put this post

I want to buy a heated ultrasonic cleaner for bike parts, and maybe other things I have around the house.

Any guidance on size, transducer frequency etc?

I'm thinking a 10l would be as large as I'd need for cassettes etc


Thanks

[jurez]

I have a 10L one and rethink if you really need it as big as that.
Personally I'd buy a smaller one if I would buy again.

I only clean cassettes as I have found out the chain does not get clean enough.

[idickers]

I got one of these 6L tanks, and am very happy with it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088K ... UTF8&psc=1

I do use 1 or 2 liter glass beakers to hold parts, so I don't actually fill the entire tub with cleaning solution, just the beakers. So far it's worked great for stripping and waxing chains, and cleaning parts. The heater is definitely worth having as it increases the cleaning power and makes waxing a breeze.

[MrRolandos]

I got one of these 6L tanks, and am very happy with it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088K ... UTF8&psc=1

I do use 1 or 2 liter glass beakers to hold parts, so I don't actually fill the entire tub with cleaning solution, just the beakers. So far it's worked great for stripping and waxing chains, and cleaning parts. The heater is definitely worth having as it increases the cleaning power and makes waxing a breeze.

Does 6L fit larger cassettes for MTB such as 10-45 etc?

[Steve Curtis]

I'd definitely be looking at a heated unit. I considered 10l to be a good size that would be reduced with smaller containers- as you mention.

My main concern is the adbility to strip chain and cassette grime. If it can do this I'm interested, and from what I can see onlin various YT ids it can do thus with the right cleaning solution.

[kode54]

Hi all.

No idea where to put this post

I want to buy a heated ultrasonic cleaner for bike parts, and maybe other things I have around the house.

Any guidance on size, transducer frequency etc?

I'm thinking a 10l would be as large as I'd need for cassettes etc


Thanks

10L is huge. I bought my 1L years ago when I rode in 11-25T cassettes. The size was good then. I have to dip half my 11-30T cassettes in now and rotate them to clean all surfaces. A pain but do t need a huge unit I only use a few times a month. I think a 2L or 4L would be plenty for me now if mine crapped out.

[FIJIGabe]

I got one of these 6L tanks, and am very happy with it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088K ... UTF8&psc=1

I do use 1 or 2 liter glass beakers to hold parts, so I don't actually fill the entire tub with cleaning solution, just the beakers. So far it's worked great for stripping and waxing chains, and cleaning parts. The heater is definitely worth having as it increases the cleaning power and makes waxing a breeze.

Does 6L fit larger cassettes for MTB such as 10-45 etc?

Not completely submerged. I have a 6L, and it'll hold any road cassettes, but you can run half of the largest gear for 10 minutes, then flip it and run the other half and it gets the job done. I have the space and could have used the 10L, but that's a big boy, and I doubt most people will be able to store it.

[OJ]

I got one of these 6L tanks, and am very happy with it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088K ... UTF8&psc=1

I do use 1 or 2 liter glass beakers to hold parts, so I don't actually fill the entire tub with cleaning solution, just the beakers. So far it's worked great for stripping and waxing chains, and cleaning parts. The heater is definitely worth having as it increases the cleaning power and makes waxing a breeze.

Does 6L fit larger cassettes for MTB such as 10-45 etc?

I have a 6L size, and 10-52 cassette fits in there. I had a 3L before and that just wasn't large enough, so I'd pick 6L or larger...maybe not larger than 10L though. Friend has a 15L one, and it's huge.

[Noctiluxx]

Just picked up the Vevor 6L digital ultrasonic cleaner. What temp and duration do you guys use for cleaning chain and cassette?

[Miller]

There is a very lengthy thread on this topic here:

viewtopic.php?p=1862609#p1862609

[pushpush]

I have a Vevor 15L tank. Storage space isn't a major concern and fitting some larger items in the tank fully submerged is really nice. One advantage of the 15L size is that the tank is square rather than rectangular.

30min@60C gets my parts sparkling clean.

[Steve Curtis]

I have a Vevor 15L tank. Storage space isn't a major concern and fitting some larger items in the tank fully submerged is really nice. One advantage of the 15L size is that the tank is square rather than rectangular.

30min@60C gets my parts sparkling clean.

The vevor units are supposed to be terrible. How are you finding yours?
How long have you been using it ?

[pushpush]

I have a Vevor 15L tank. Storage space isn't a major concern and fitting some larger items in the tank fully submerged is really nice. One advantage of the 15L size is that the tank is square rather than rectangular.

30min@60C gets my parts sparkling clean.

The vevor units are supposed to be terrible. How are you finding yours?
How long have you been using it ?

Physical build quality is pretty solid. It doesn't feel flimsy or lightweight or rattle or anything. The "stainless" tank appears to be stainless, but time will tell. I haven't removed the cover to verify the number or size of the transducers, but it does a damn good job cleaning. The tank heater works super well so far. It properly heats to within a few degrees of the indicated temperature per the thermocouple I tested with.

It was very affordable. I think it was about $65 on sale. I've been using it for a couple of months. I've been on a spree cleaning tools and parts. Once you get it setup and have a hot tank you might as well clean as many pieces as possible since the effort is basically the same. I would estimate that so far I have maybe 15hrs of runtime on the transducers, more on the heater.

Who knows how long it will last but it has already been worth the purchase price. I'm happy with it so far. The only other US cleaners I have any experience with are huge industrial cleaners. No idea how other small tanks compare to this one. Ignorance is bliss.

[Steve Curtis]

Thanks.
That is very inexpensive compared to the cost of the same unit in Europe.
There are lots of reviews from owner's with tanks leaks and other electrical issues so I discounted them from my search.

[pushpush]

Prices on AliX fluctuate like crazy. I was watching a few different models for a while and they went from close to $200 down to well under $100. I decided to jump on it at that time.

These things are SIMPLE. You have a steel tub/tank. The only place it can possibly leak is where the drain fitting attaches. If it were to leak it would be trivial to repair. Anyone complaining about a leak shouldn't be allowed to operate the unit let alone a bicycle!

As for electrical, you have some transducers that are wired up to a power supply, and a heating element that is wired to a power supply. The electronics involved are simple and inexpensive. For personal use, the amount of operation time is going to be really minimal so the lifespan should be pretty significant even on the cheapest components possible. If you bought one of these to use all day every day at a bike shop or something I can imagine that they might not last long.

I was going to share some photos but that seems to be disabled on this forum for some reason.