Ultrasonic cleaner..have seen questions..answers here...soon

[npaisnel]

Have Been using a small (27Watt) ultrasonic tank for a week or so to clean up a few coins.

Not as good as I was hoping, but it had a timer on it, so you could not leave it and run for a while. I know a timer can be good, especially if you have delicate items, but on something that is heavily encrusted, having to go and turn the thing back on again every 3 minutes was a bloody pain.

I used it on coins that I had gently brushed off with warm water and a soft brush after soaking for an hour or two. Still more of the hard crud came off, that would not come off with brush and water. But there was still some left.

So..I have bought a bigger 130Watt model. no timer, so will have to be very carefull to keep an eye on it. Will let you all know how it performs. maybe even some pics

Neil

[npaisnel]

Well, I received the new cleaner, and yes it does a good job....up to a point. The really hard crud does not come off as quickly as I expected, but this is true of any cleaning method you can use.

After rinsing any new finds in water a couple of times to get rid of loose dirt, I put a few items at a time in the tank, just using clean warm water.

Immediately on turning the machine on, plumes of dirt, like smoke trails fly off from the surface of the objects.

[npaisnel]

After

[Dave N Japan]

Thanks for the pictures and info...may give it a try!

[Michigan Badger]

I like your post and this may well be the way to go. It's sure a lot faster than water soak only.

Thanks

Badger

[hollowpointred]

i got one on ebay a while back for like 10 bucks! it works pretty good. it probably wouldnt loosen anything super cruddy but it does great on your garden variety dirt and grime. i would recommend one as long as you didn't have to pay a fortune for it.

[npaisnel]

Of those pictures, the second pic was taken within about 2-5 seconds of the machine being turned on. The third within 15 seconds.
It knocks the loose crud off ver quickly.

I bought this one off e-bay. It was from Clark optical in England/Scotland. It is the 130W model. It does infact have a timer, I thought it did not, but it is a mechanical clock 5 minute switch timer, so it should not be difficult to fit an overide switch in parallel with it to by pass.

[stoney56]

Sunbeam made an ultrasonic denture cleaner that's pretty good as well. It's 45 Watts and has a 10 min. timer and also heats as well. The model I use is a USC-1. I think I paid either 19 or 29 for it at WalMart some years back.

[EDDE]

good tip stoney bud!

[goldinmypan]

What other liquids could you use with it? Would viniger or ? increase your cleaning power?

[stoney56]

Soometimes I use a dishwashing liquid and other times I use Windex w/ammonia.

[Will_detect4food]

Warning! don't mix copper and silver coins, or you will get copper colored silver, change the solution between the two, yes vinegar does speed up the process, but may have unsatisfactory results with copper

[Bigcypresshunter]

Is ulra-sonic as good as electrolysis?

[stoney56]

Not really. It's good for loosening dirt in crevises and for quick cleaning of jewelry after a fast buffing. It cleans but doesn't interfere with any toning a coin might have.