Ultrasonic cleaning.

[ajlelectronics]

My inverter generator is still misbehaving after being left for a couple of years with fuel in it. I have taken the carburetor out and cleaned it up, poking the main jet out but can't find any others. I have fuel delivery and a spark. The generator will only start in Eco mode, where the throttle servo is keeping it alive by hunting. It will fire but not run in standard mode. Replacement carburetors are unavailable it seems, so I am a bit stuck.

How effective is Ultrasonic cleaning, especially at home? Will one of the budget Amazon cleaners do the job and what fluid should I use if so?

 

[MattF]

I believe @JOEPRO does a notable amount of carb cleaning using an ultrasonic.

 

[JOEPRO]

I have 100% sucess with this product https://ebay.us/m/74z4HE

I buy the powder version of it as.I use alot of it.

Re an ultrasonic cleaner, buy the largest one you can afford pretty much. I use a 3 or 4L one suits me fine but I have access to a much larger one too my brother has for intake manifolds and larger parts.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Herewith, my short list...

 

[badabec]

I bought mine through @BikerBill
Discount and quick.

 

[Fairlane 66]

I got the 3Ltr version off Amazon with 5 Ltr of carb cleaner and used it on the Holley 800cfm double pumper carb off the fairlane
and it did a very good job of cleaning not only the ally parts butt the brass jets and all the screws as well.

Dave

 

[bourbon]

Now that's ANOTHER tool I want. Thanks guys

 

[GRW]

My little Honda EX1000 ran like a pig, hunting till I ran it through the Ultrasonic (despite stripping & cleaning it inc removing emulsifier tubes etc).
The internal galleries are so small that you just can't shift any blockages, but the US tank did the trick (with the carb in a glass bowl/jar, in carb cleaner solution, surrounded by hot water).

 

[m_c]

I've boiled carbs in an old pot with some laundry detergent in the past with good results.

I've also got an ultrasonic cleaner, but never really found that it's worked that well with things like blocked jets in carbs. I suspect the cleaning fluid and heat probably has a bigger effect than the ultrasonic part once you get into the more enclosed parts of anything.

 

[BrokenBiker]

my father uses one for the carbs on his 1200 bandit, he has terrible trouble with them for some reason, even if they are drained, cleaned and kept dry when not in use, it still wont run right until they have been cleaned again

 

[winchman]

I was recently in a Large Stihl dealer, the repairs bloke said 70% of the repair work is stuff left with petrol in, even when drained it still leaves some behind, they recommend last run on aspen then drain or leave in

 

[mightymig]

I got a generic one and it works really well for the bits you cant get at, or threads in bolts which never seem to get fully clean no matter how much scrubbing you do. Cant fault it really. Just make sure you degass whatever solution youre using to make it work properly - some machines have a degass setting, others you just run for a cycle of 30 mins and it's usually ready after that I find.

 

[droopsnoot]

How long do these machines take to warm up? I'm thinking about getting one, but I don't want to leave it going while I'm not there. I'm at the shed for about three hours - is that enough time for it to warm up enough to be effective, and then to clean a carb? I know it'll vary depending on the size of carb - the ones I'm thinking of are Dellorto twin-chokes, about the same size as a Weber.

 

[bourbon]

I was recently in a Large Stihl dealer, the repairs bloke said 70% of the repair work is stuff left with petrol in, even when drained it still leaves some behind, they recommend last run on aspen then drain or leave in

exactly what I tell my customers

 

[mightymig]

How long do these machines take to warm up? I'm thinking about getting one, but I don't want to leave it going while I'm not there. I'm at the shed for about three hours - is that enough time for it to warm up enough to be effective, and then to clean a carb? I know it'll vary depending on the size of carb - the ones I'm thinking of are Dellorto twin-chokes, about the same size as a Weber.

When I'm making a new batch of fluid I use boiling water - but if you're using an off the shelf fluid, you can put it in a smaller container with cleaning fluid and the parts inside, then fill the the tank surrounding container with boiling water and it works the same and heats it up quickly, also saves on fluid. Ive not actually tried heating a full tank of cold cleaning fluid with just the in-built heaters.

 

[Seadog]

How long do these machines take to warm up? I'm thinking about getting one, but I don't want to leave it going while I'm not there. I'm at the shed for about three hours - is that enough time for it to warm up enough to be effective, and then to clean a carb? I know it'll vary depending on the size of carb - the ones I'm thinking of are Dellorto twin-chokes, about the same size as a Weber.

Mine takes forever to warm up.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Mine takes forever to warm up.

My cleaning fluid is 10:1 so I like the sound of the boiling water idea. I assume that you can put in the amount of fluid needed, rather than fill it every time?

 

[bricol]

Just make sure it never boils dry - the transducer will fail, or fall off, or hole the tank.

With blocked, closed passages you needed to rotate the components here and all round there - the ultrasonics will have zero effect on anything not in contact with the liquid. A turn about during cleaning will help too - just don't put your fingers in the tank - the same cavitation effect in the liquid, will work in your blood too.

 

[Seadog]

My cleaning fluid is 10:1 so I like the sound of the boiling water idea. I assume that you can put in the amount of fluid needed, rather than fill it every time?

The last time that I used it I filled it with boiling water. The idea of waiting for an hour or more for it to heat up did not appeal to me.

 

[northwest]

just don't put your fingers in the tank - the same cavitation effect in the liquid, will work in your blood too.

Ooops! I see where I might have gone wrong now.