We (me) are now the owners of an ultrasonic cleaner. I've wanted one for some time and been watching the prices slowly drop. There are many items I want to clean. However I need to do some experimenting first and understand how the cleaning operates.
If I place item directly into the cleaner then obviously the cleaner tub will get dirty. Sonic waves will pass through plastic and I decided I would therefore fill the cleaner with clean potable water. I would then place an empty plastic container in the water and fill it with the cleaning solution. Items requiring cleaning would go into the plastic container. This method should result in the sonic cleaner being kept clean whilst any plastic container can be remove for cleaning or disposal.
I used one of Jan's empty laundry powder containers as my plastic container and partially filled it with petrol as my cleaning agent.
The bike chain and tensioner were then placed into the container before turning the cleaner on for 30 minutes. The petrol immediately appeared to "fizz" and vibrate. Very quickly the petrol started to get dark. This surprised me as I'd only recently cleaned the chain with a rag and toothbrush.
After 30 minutes I removed and inspected the chain before deciding to continue for a further 30 minutes.
The petrol was quite dark after an hour and I stopped the cleaner removing the contents of the plastic container.
I'm very impressed with the quality of the cleaning.
After letting the petrol settle I lowered a magnet on a string into the base of the plastic container. On removing it the magnet was thickly covered with a fine black grit paste. No doubt the chain will be happier without this grinding paste wearing away at moving surfaces!
There are a few tools that can now go into the cleaner.
2 comments :
So now you have to get some fresh grease back into the chain and around the link pins... Back in the day when I was young and foolish.. (as opposed to the current situation where I am just old and... ) I raced motorcycles and one of the tricks to ensure a long life for the chain was to put it in a pot or frying pan with a cupful of grease and heat it on the stove until the grease melts, stir the chain around a bit hen turn it over to make sure the grease gets right through to coat the link pins, while it is still hot remove the chain and hang it over something to let the excess drip off, best put some newspaper down so you don't leave any evidence on the kitchen floor. Then pour the excess grease back into the container and very carefully wash your mothers frying pan and clean up any other evidence in the kitchen... By the time you have done this the chain should be cool enough to replace on the bike. Adjust the chain and then check the adjustment after the first couple of practice laps. Cheers
sp00k
A small amount of Dry Lub Dave. The advances in technology :-)
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