Ultrasonic Cleaner for cleaning EDC items - PART 1

[PolishSumgai]

Ultrasonic Cleaners

When I was in the market for a UC a number of years ago I put out a
post looking for info and received a number of replies. Alan
Tischler has had extensive experience in using these critters and
the majority of the information comes from him. At the end of PART
II of the message I will discuss what I purchased as well as SOS for
the different models. SOS = source of supply

(Not for use with volatile solvents.)

There are 2 completely different tools that are often referred to
as "ultrasonic cleaners" (UC's). The best way to differentiate
between the is to look at the price tag. If the list price is around
$50 or below, this is NOT in the category that most actually would
call a true UC. These are most often sold in places like jewelry
stores and can get away with calling them UC's because they vibrate
water, but the ultrasonic waves they produce have very little power
to them. Yes, the will make the water dirty if you stick in a metal
watch band that hasn't been cleaned in a few years in with the
detergent. But you could get the same cleaning effect with a hand
held vibrator (The shape is the user's choice) and holding it
against any container with a detergent solution in it. A Real UC is
very powerful unit. It sends very high-pitched and very powerful
waves through the container, which is usually stainless steel. These
high powered and high pitched (i.e. ultrasonic) actually cause
microscopic bubbles to be formed in the solution and it's these high
energy microscopic bubbles are what causes the desired cleaning
effect. When a detergent is added it will be transferred with the
high energy microscopic bubbles to hasten the cleaning process.
There are several ways to separate the real and the impostors. First
is price. For fountain pen / multitools / etc work we really only need
the smallest units made and these will list from about $100 to $150.
These will generally pull 40 to 50 watts of power and will produce ultrasound waves in
the vicinity of 60,000 cycles per second. While you may not be able
to hear 60 KHz itself, you will certainly be able to hear the effect
of the microscopic bubbles in the tank. Much of the energy that the
waves give off, like almost any source of energy will be lost in the
form of heat. In a 40 watt unit that has a one cup capacity,
starting around room temperature, the water or detergent solution in
the unit will increase roughly 1 degree F per minute. THIS IS VERY
IMPORTANT TO CONSTANTLY AWARE OF! The unit I got 7 years ago
is made by Koh-I-Noor. This is an excellent unit for small items and
if you know of another source for it, I can highly recommend it. Another unit they
have made by Alvin, is one that I've seen in action at the now
replaced Michael's in San Francisco. The employees there held it in
high praise. According to the Reprint catalog, it lists for $148 and
sells in the catalog for $99. It comes with a thermostat, a lid and
an insert made for cleaning the nibs and feeds of almost any
fountain pen, by holding them vertically. This is the perfect way
every week or so to remove inks that are starting to concentrate in
the feed and nib. A UC is certainly not a mandatory piece of
equipment. Although for my money, it would rank very near the top.
If money is very tight, you might not want to spend your money on
one, even on an excellent unit costing only $99. I would, however,
put it's usefulness way ahead of a lathe as was seriously suggested
as a more useful tool in a discussion on the pen-pencils newsgroup
long ago. This is a tool that I would not only recommend for anyone
interested in pen work, but for virtually every repair person, or a
just a very useful household tool. Like any tool must be used
correctly. I has incredible usefulness in our hobby, but used
incorrectly can do significant harm. The most important source of
harm has to do with the heat buildup mentioned above. A timer,
either one that cuts the power, or one that is on your person is
very important. If starting with tap water, the time that it takes
the bath temperature above about 125 degrees F should always be the
absolute maximum. For most jobs, the limit should be under 100
degrees F. For Pyroxylin plastics this is about the hottest that the
plastic will be safe. Much hotter than this, the plastic can undergo
totally unexpected changes, the most damaging is plastic shrinking.
Also, hot temperatures can cause the plastic to melt and disfigure.
This can all be prevented by length of time exposed or tossing some
ice chips as suggested by Fultz. There are a few false claims that
have given a bad name to UC's by some (who don't use them). Some
have claimed that it can lift-off inlaid pen nibs as in many Sheaffer
pens. After this was suggested as a problem in the heated discussion
of the past on the pen-pencils newsgroup, one repair person,
described putting a section of a PFM section in a powerful cleaner
for a full 18 hours (I take it that this was one that have full heat
control.) His comment that the only change was that it came out
immaculate. I personally called Sheaffer and spoke with one of the
staff in technical service as to how old PFMs, Imperials, Targas and
now Lagacys are treated to get out dried ink, as this is one problem
that all these inlaid nibs have in common-it's hard to get the last
traces of ink out of them. I was told quite simply they use UC's. To
date I know of only one general case that is likely to be harmed by
an UC. On the other hand, the things that can be accomplished with a
UC are nothing short of amazing. When restoring any sac-filled pen,
removing the section from the pen and cleaning in a 1:1 solution of
Formula 409 to water for 5-10 minutes will render the whole
section/feed/nib as clean as knocking the parts out and cleaning
each by hand separately. The majority of the time even a totally
clogged section will be completely cleaned in 15 to 20 minutes. One
of the things that I've found that only a UC can do is remove
staining in a plastic pen due to dried ink. At other times it may be useful
to use a milder solution or one that will leave no trace after evaporation,
like ammonia. While I wouldn't recommend filling the whole bath with
clear household ammonia--this is fine if your work area is outside.
On can very easily treat a piece in ammonia by placing the parts in
a vial of ammonia/water solution and placing the vial directly in
the bath. The uses are really only limited to your imagination.

[psimonl]

Anybody read through all that?!?!?!?

Can you make a resume? :confused:

Simon