So I want to switch to using an ultrasonic cleaner to clean my chain and sprockets on both my road bike and mountian bike. I did a search and found "mentions" of ultrasonic cleaners but no real detail. I would like to hear from those who currently use an ultrasonic cleaner for this pupose. Specifically:
How well does it clean (can i eat off of it when cleaned)?
What liquid capacity is best?
How many watts and hertz is needed?
Model recommedations?
And thing special to look out for?
I'm telling you, you can use anything in an ultrasonic for solution. No need to buy expensive solutions. I mean, don't use an acid 'cause it can ruin the basin. but any good soap/degreaser. The only issue you might encounter is foaming. You should be able to get a defoamer at Home D or at any pool chemical shop. Just a drop will keep things in check. You might not even need it.
I use prolink on both my bikes. On my road bike I'm extremely picky about how clean my chain is. I like it to be as clean as when you buy a new chain. On my Blur, I just wipe the chain after every ride and relube before every ride. Realistically, I'll probably really only use the ultrasonic cleaner for my roadbike chain.
I did try another thicker lube once on both chains and it was a dirt magnet. I think it may have been a Pedro's lube.
It certainly sounds as though you'd get on well with a UC. I use Purple Extreme, a very thin but excellent all-weather lube, and find that it works best if applied to a 'naked' chain. I have a small (nothing bigger than a coiled chain) cleaner and use four five-minute cycles with a water/detergent (washing-up liquid) solution, rinsing the chain in a jar of hot water in-between cycles. I soften the old lube by swilling the chain in a jar with an inch or so of white spirits for a couple of minutes before I drop it in the UC.
I use two seperate chains which I alternate, so I can leave a chain to dry thoroughly before applying fresh lube which will have several days to 'set' on the chain as the solvent carrier evaporates. The exterior of the chain gets a good wipe before it is fitted to the bike, so it goes on pretty much dry. One significant benefit of this method is that the 'dry' chain leaves very little lube on the cassette sprockets and chainring, so they also stay cleaner for longer.
Such is the relative insignificance of the dirt collected on the sprockets that I can usually just use a cloth with a little Finish Line bike cleaner to wipe them clean; no need for intensive cleaning.
that's what I did. My only gripe is the auto shutoff timer, it takes 3-4 cycles to clean anything and it's annoying to have to keep pressing the button. Also with the smallest model only half the cassette will be submerged, you'll have to flip it. I just use a pinch of powdered dish soap, works like a champ.
Mine came from a German company called Tchibo, although I picked mine up on ebay. They have shops in the UK, I think there may even be one in Ryton. They do have a different UC on their website, which actually seems to be larger than the one that have. I'm thinking I should go pick one of those up, can't go wrong for 17 and a half quid!
Thanks for the tip of Harbor Freight Tools. They have a store in Pasadena, CA which is not to far from me. I can walk in and pick one up. They have them in stock. I saw the one for sale $28.99, then they have another for $59.99, a bit larger. I'm gonna get the one for $99.99 which has 160 watts vs. the $59.99 one which has 60 watts.
so I ended up buying the ultrasonic cleaner and tried it. Tried it many times, over and over. Bottom line for me...it really didn't work. I still had to scrub to get the crap off my chain. And that was only my road bike chain, mind you...
Oh well, back to the old fashion way or I'm gonna have to get a solvent tank.
I had similarly disappointing results with the UC that I got. I was expecting a spanking clean road chain to come out and that's not what I got. There was still a good bit of crud on the inner plates and this was after twenty minutes in the tank with mineral spirits as the solution.
Now I am back to shaking the hell out of the chain in an old water bottle with mineral spirits sloshing around in there. Does the job!
Like WalMart bikes vs. $4500 XTR-equipped bikes, not all ultrasonics cleaners are equal.
What brand / model did you get?
I've got a used L&R transistor model w/heater I picked up used on eBay for cheap. Using Mineral Spirits, it does a great job on all my greasy crapped up parts.
Does yours use a basket? If not, the chain will just sit in the sludge that slides off of it.
What I got was an ARI cleaner just link the one in the link above, except that it is a 3L tank. It does have a basket and is an 80W unit with a frequency of 42hz.
It was loud and sounded like it was doing something but when I pulled a chain out it wasn't that much cleaner than went it went in.
I use one of these, with a mix of a splash of citrus degreaser and about a litre of water. Chains might have to go through two or three 8 minute cycles, but it's no effort (other than changing the solution until it stops getting dirty).
It's also great for cleaning derailleurs, and getting grit out from the pivots, making them smoooooth.
You do need to use the right sort of solution, and hot water helps. I found that using washing-up liquid didn't do much, and plain water did almost nothing. Citrus degreaser works very well indeed.
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