I have a stainless steel sink that was thrown in with an electric stove I purchased through craigslist that I was thinking of turning into a homemade parts cleaner. In doing some more research, I think that it might be better to use it as an ultrasonic parts cleaner but am having trouble finding anything online to use as the "ultrasonic" part. Once the major crud (if any) is cleaned off, I figured that this would do a much better job than scrubbing and washing by hand- getting into all the nooks and crannies, inside and out producing a much better end result. Any ideas?

Like so....

Ta daaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Well, an ultrasonic machine is essentially a stainless tank with a speaker glued to the bottom, sometimes with a built in heater. Find ya a woofer and hook that sucker up

Couple things...

First, you're in over your head.

Second, you can probably build it, but the potential to hurt yourself is high.

Let me explain....... Ultrasonic cleaners work by using a piezo transducer to vibrate the water. A sink is going to take a lot of power to move the water. Maybe 200-1000 watts. The Piezoelectric transducer both requires and creates high voltages to move. If you're not familiar with electronics enough to build a 20khz signal generator and a 200watt amp, stop here.

Because it gets worse. The high power of the transducer moves the water quite violently, so not only will it remove scale buildup on your parts, it could potentially create air bubbles in your blood (and instantly kill you) should you reach into the tank. This will be proceeded by a loud "yelp" as it feels like you're being electrocuted and burned at the same time. (Don't ask me how I know)

Edit to say that I am now feeling a little scared about this idea...

[This message has been edited by F-I-E-R-O (edited 10-29-2007).]

Wrong frequency range on the specs for that speaker...think REALLY high-pitched, powerful tweeter... ULTRAsonic...

Maybe I'll just use the sink for dirty work and look for something on eBay...like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Industr...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Features:

* Digital Control Timer for Cleaning
* ALL STAINLESS Construction
* Heating Temperature Control/Live Temperature Display
* Sophisticated Design/Fabulous Outlook
* LED Digital Displays
* Industrial Quality and Reliability



Specifications:

* 150W Ultrasonic Power-More Power! Triple Ultrasonic Transducers
* 42KHz Operation Frequency
* 6.0 Liter
* Inner Tank dimensions: 11.75" x 6" x 5.75"
* Power supply: 50/60Hz
* 110V USA plug

quote Originally posted by cjgable: Well, an ultrasonic machine is essentially a stainless tank with a speaker glued to the bottom, sometimes with a built in heater. Find ya a woofer and hook that sucker up

lol - I set tubs of junk soaking in solvent on speaker, and crank it up.
this is a SONIC cleaner. the "ultra" part is not gonna happen with a home entertainment system

but, it certainly does work. not as strong, but still works stuff loose.

quote Originally posted by ryan.hess: Couple things... First, you're in over your head. Second, you can probably build it, but the potential to hurt yourself is high. Let me explain....... Ultrasonic cleaners work by using a piezo transducer to vibrate the water. A sink is going to take a lot of power to move the water. Maybe 200-1000 watts. The Piezoelectric transducer both requires and creates high voltages to move. If you're not familiar with electronics enough to build a 20khz signal generator and a 200watt amp, stop here. Because it gets worse. The high power of the transducer moves the water quite violently, so not only will it remove scale buildup on your parts, it could potentially create air bubbles in your blood (and instantly kill you) should you reach into the tank. This will be proceeded by a loud "yelp" as it feels like you're being electrocuted and burned at the same time. (Don't ask me how I know)

But not to worry. Cavitation of the blood isnt as dangerous as, say, the bends, but its pretty bad. I dont think it will clot up (unless it excites the hemoglobin to release oxygen, but thats a chemical process), but it would be like a lifter getting an air pocket in it when it hits your heart. Loss of blood pressure and flow may result if clotting doesnt occur. If clotting occurs... well your SOL.

But I dont think he will have a huge problem as long as he keeps the electronics out of the water. We have some sonar transducers at work that operate on several thousand volts and so far no power supplies have keeled over. Just got to know what your doing...

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/samschem.htm#schahv5

Ohhh, and this sounds fun:

quote "While stationed on board the now-decommissioned submarine USS Hawkbill (SSN-666), I pondered this as well. One of my senior shipmates related a story of a sailor who had done that very act on his previous submarine. The guy put his feet it the cleaner while it was powered on. He remarked that it felt very good and relaxing. After a few minutes, he pulled his feet out, and as soon as he stood up and applied his full bodily weight on his feet, all the bones in his feet had shattered. He got permanent disability from it. Apparently, it had rattled his bones apart. Wow!"

Never, ever, EVER operate the transducer without a full tank of water. Thats a mighty fine way to completely blow a transducer.

[This message has been edited by AP2k (edited 10-30-2007).]

Note to Self: Don't try to build a Sonic Cleaner. Spend the money if you gotta have one. Most accidents that are stupid and needless happen at home when no one is looking.

------------------
Ron

Never, never do anything or wear things that you don't want to have to explain to Paramedics, it can get very embarrassing. They talk!

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-30-2007).]

I did a current and completed auction search (I don't know why more people don't use this feature to see what the market is paying) and the pricing seems to be decent enough to invest in something with a timer and heater. From what I've been reading so far, I guess there's a good reason why people don't make their own. My only experience with one so far has been the kind that cleans jewelery. Looks like my wife will soon have the cleanest jewelry short of those who work in a jewelry store! Note to self- take rings off fingers before cleaning.

they sell those a harbor freight stores

quote Originally posted by jweisman: they sell those a harbor freight stores

They do, but they're smaller, more for jewelry and small parts. Like 1-2qts..

Would those work to toss this huge pile of crusty fuel injectors into for cleaning them?

Yes, they do clean fuel injectors that way, but I believe you need to pulse the injector to clean the inside

The size that I posted above is about as small as I'd like to go with one. I don't know much about injectors except how to replace them (done that), if cleaning them with an ultrasonic would result in an injector that would be reusable, then that would pay for more than half the cost of investing in an ultrasonic (depending on what you paid for the injectors of course). This thing is sounding (no pun intended) more and more like something I can't wait to get for myself. Which reminds me, time to go back to eBay and take a look see...

you would need to turn the injecter off and on....like when its running on a engine...maybe you could use an old computer from a car to do that