MK5/MK10 body cleaning brush?

[fppf]

Actually, if the chrome is done in the US (which I doubt) there was issues with chroming a while back because the EPA stopped letting the chromers use key chemicals in the chroming process. There was a bit of growing pains as they figured out how to do it with newer chemicals. The thickness of the chrome is also a big issue, I have had the chrome come off of other mfgrs parts around the corners of wrench flats.

It is good to warn people of the power ultrasonic cleaners have. I pre clean all my parts with a soft brush and cleaner first. This gets all the heavy deposits off, then the ultrasonic cleans up the rest for me. This also keeps the ultrasonic bath free of heavy deposits.

 

[halocline]

If its quality chrome that has not been already compromised, by say, picking at it or corrosion. Using a water based cleaner in the ultrasonic should not damage the chroming at all.

And if we are talking about the piston, I thought that material was stainless. Typically the bodies are brass with chrome plating with the internal parts stainless.

Actually he needs to clean the body (brass) in the channel that the piston goes through. Pistons are easy to clean with a toothbrush, and if needed a small piece of sponge pushed through the piston stem with my favorite reg cleaning tool, a chopstick. You just have to find the skinny round ones that have blunt points, not the square flat-ended ones.

As a bonus, you can use your chopsticks to have a tasty snack once you've finished the work on your reg.

 

[Couv]

Sweet and Sour Verdigris with o-ring noodles.....ummmmm.

 

[Zung]

There's a little 35W ultrasonic cleaner on sale for $30 at a local store. Should I bother?

 

[Couv]

If you are going to make a habit out of rebuilding regulators, yes. If you are just going to service your own every few years, no. But remember, it's not a magic device, you will still do most of the cleaning manually.

Edit: Make sure the part(s) you want to clean will fit into it, even it you can put in half of the part and flip it over for the next session, that is ok.

c

 

[HenrikBP]

So what's the experience with inexpensive ultrasonic cleaners such as those from Harbor Freight versus the pricier ones out there?

Henrik

 

[Zung]

I have no experience neither of those, but I know a thing or two in electronics.

I think the major difference between the cheaper and the more expensive ones is the "duty cycle". Gears heat up when in use, and the cheaper ones are not specified/designed to dissipate all the heat on a continous basis.

What matters to us hobbyists is to let the cheapo cool well off between each use; half an hour is a good rule of thumb.

Another difference is the power: cheapo's are around 100 Watts or less, the Crest at Scubatools is 270W. So you need to factor this in: if someone tells you 5' in his Crest, you need to leave it longer in your cheapo; it's kinda like a microwave: 2' at half power in a small one may mean 1' in a big one. The problem is: that someone never tells you the power of his cleaner, so you'll have to guess.

 

[Gilldiver]

A quick and dirty power test is to use some very thin aluminum foil. Put a sheet into the cleaner and power it up. Pull the sheet out every minute and see if holes are being made in it. When they start, mark your time and then put chrome parts in the cleaner only for that time or a bit less.

I designed an aircraft bearing ultrasonic cleaning line made by Branson. Using the thin aluminum foil was how Branson tought me to develop my cleaning cycles. I found that cheap aluminum foil could be all eaten up in 5 minutes with the system set at one frequency. The Branson system has a sweep frequency mode that moved the frequency up and down all the time to avoid long exposures at any one frequency that might get a harmonic going in the bearings.

Also, if you use hot cleaning solutions you can cut your cleaning time in half.

 

[redacted]

I have a real cheap one (free - my favorite) that a lab was throwing away. It is small - 4" diameter basket and 1.25 " recommended solvent line at half the depth. I routinely fill it above the recommended line. All my disassembled reg parts fit (often one or two parts at a time) except my Mk7 bodies. Bottom line is I closely monitor the cleaning progress and have been successful in cleaning up some pretty ugly regs. I do not run all part through as a matter of course, only those with corrosion or deposits that I want to remove. Even with the Mk7 bodies, I can get to all sensitive o-ring sealing surfaces, but the crud around the filter orifice is probably there to stay.

 

[Zung]

What about the filter itself? Is it re-usable after soaking & cleaning?