Has anyone tried using one of the inexpensive ultrasonic cleaners to clean old carburetors ? Some of the EPA approved carb cleaning chemicals leave a lot to be desired. Wondering if using the ultrasonic tank, whether they might work with just soap and water, or maybe with some chemical . Don't see how they could hurt anything. Just wondering if anyone has used one for anything?
Ultrasonics are awesome cleaners, let the machine do the work. Just be careful that your cleaner of choice does not attack aluminum, pot metal, etc.
I've still got a couple of 1 gallon cans of the 'old' Berrymans carb cleaner. so that's my go-to in most cases. With that said, I've also got a HF ultrasonic cleaner and it works pretty well in most cases. It seems to struggle with real baked-on gunk. Anything with rubber parts that you don't want damaged goes in the ultrasonic. It may take multiple trips through the cleaner to get everything off, and I use lightly-diluted Simple Green in mine with a very thorough rinsing in warm water after, making sure all passages are blown dry. I've tried some of the 'other' recommended cleaners for ultrasonics, the SG seems to work the best.
Ultrasonic with heat, Simple Green 5% to 10%, distilled water. Really cruddy carburetor I'd use wash tank first, carb cleaner, brush getting majority gunk off. Then completely apart, use ultrasonic. Wash water after a few cycles, blow off, heat gun (not hot, just warm drying off water, blow again especially sure passages all open. Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
Last carb I did, soaked it in Pinesol, worked well. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It looks like HF only has one size, 2.5L. Can you get an AFB/Edelbrock body in there? Is there a larger or better unit that’s affordable? Good thread, I’ve been curious about other methods of cleaning carbs ever since my good old Mechanic’s Brand carb cleaner ate through the can and went away. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Unfortunately, it's bit small to fully immerse some carb bodies. I don't think a AFB would quite fit, a Holly body will if the baseplate is removed. I use mine mostly for motorcycle carbs, it works great for that. The bigger units are much bigger bucks...
I got a 9 gal ultrasonic, heated cleaner for my AFB and used the pinesol/water solution. I wasn't completely happy with the results and a friend had just started a vapor blast service in his shop so he had a go. I don't necessarily recommend vapor blasting because you will be hooked. First pic is ultrasonic results. Second pic is vapor blasted results.
Haven't tried it on a carburetor yet, but when I was de-rusting some parts with citric acid, I left the container on top of the shop dehumidifier(home model) and the vibration helped to agitate the mixture with good results. Maybe the ame will work, with a compatible solution for carbs. I've done some motorcycle carbs with Pine-Sol. When one of my buddies was still working, his lab had an ultrasonic cleaner, and we did a few carbs in it over the years.
Vapor looks good. I've been using Gumout carb cleaner and an assortment of brushes. Hard to get into every crevice. It comes out ok, kind of natural finish but not show quality. I'll probably just keep doing it like that until I find a bigger ultrasonic.
I used a cheap HF ultrasonic also........used simple green. You aren't going to get a large carb in one hole but if rebuilding one you have to take it apart anyway. Works really well.
Bought a cheap non-USA ultrasonic ($600.) on Ebay. It worked GREAT! For about an hour an a half! No warranty, no return, out my 600 bucks. Found a US company making quality ultrasonic cleaners. Spent several thousand on one large enough to clean any modern car or truck carburetor before any disassembly. Adjustable controls for the ultrasonic, and the heaters. Use Dawn dishwater soap. Still not large enough for a few of the antique carbs, but don't see many that large. Will take Carter AFB's or Holley 4150's with no problems. Have used it now for about 15 years. Paid for itself in about 3 months! ALWAYS our first step, not necessarily the final step. Some carbs, especially cast iron ones, require other methods. In addition to doing a great job of cleaning, the ultrasonic waves break up corrosion and allow much easier disassembly of the unit. This may not be a benefit to some, but we always COMPLETELY disassembled the unit, so we could check everything for tolerance to original specifications. Works well enough on corrosion, I was able to get rid of the acetylene torch that I used to use on stubborn castings. I wouldn't suggest buying one from HF. Haven't had much luck with their tools. Some worked once, some never worked. One power hack saw lasted 20 years; but it is the anomaly. Jon.
@carbking maybe you can speak to this. Of course the idle & high speed air bleeds and orifices and the like need to be clean - but somebody who sounded like they knew what they were talking about cautioned strongly about never sticking guitar strings (wires) or drill bits, or anything really in them thar various and sundry holes; it will scratch them and screw up the flow. Is this a concern?
Soda blast is your friend for modern carb clean ups. I have used old crock pot and Simple green . Google soda blast carb cleaning and check out a modern cleanup . Carbon Tet was my go to for years , but I’m not touching that crap anymore
Is is possible the individual making these comments had new old stock "idle & high speed air bleeds and orifices and the like" parts for sale? I have been using orifice drills to check sizes, clean out varnish, etc. for more than 50 years. I don't know as I would wish to use wires of unknown sizes, as it is possible one could damage the end where it was attempted to insert the wire if the wire were too large. But probably not as bad as the "mechanic" using the wrong size screwdriver on a jet; and certainly not as bad as the "mechanic" using a screwdriver on a power valve on a Stromberg EE-1 (a.k.a. 97). There is a special tool with a slot cut out for the plunger. Using a screwdriver will damage the internal seat in the valve. Wonder if anyone reading these forums has ever used a screwdriver on a 97 power valve? If you read the Carter Carburetor Company literature from the days when Carter carburetors had removable idle jets with tubes, you were told NEVER to reuse an old jet. The reason being that Carter used a tapered passage for the tube, and when a new tube was inserted, the turning action would form a seal where the tapered passage compressed the end of the tube. Of course, Carter sold new idle tubes. The Carter head school instructor taught me to use the end of an icepick to GENTLY expand the end of a used tube (the rest of the tube being good); and then the expanded end would seal to the tapered passage as it should. Jon.
I'm "in the process" of doing/deciding on doing a couple of things for cleaning parts. I have a pressure washer for initially cleaning old engines and transmissions. I have a parts tank with diesel fuel. I have a cabinet sandblaster. I 'd like to have an ultrasonic cleaner to clean carbs "internally" as I think they would do a good job on the passages inside the carbs, where some type of blasting will make only the outside look new. I'm also trying to buy one of those "plastic totes" that they use for shipping chemicals in. They are a large tank made like a cube and hold about 300 gallons. There is a metal tube frame surrounding them. They can be bought incredibly cheaply. I've seem them for as little as $10, but not near me. I'm expecting to pay $50 or less. Guy locally sells them for $35 but is out right now. Anyway, I plan to cut the top off and use it for a citric acid tank to clean engines. My idea is that many older engines get rust accumulations inside the water passages and even professional cleaning may not remove it. I plan to put a small hoist over it so I can lower an engine (or what ever) into it and let it soak. A simple trolling motor will be inserted to agitate the solution every now and then. My first test mule will be an old Cadillac motor. Won't work for carbs, thats why I'm interested in the ultrasonic cleaners. Ebay has a bunch of them available and they have up to 60 liter (appx 8 gallon) units reasonably cheap. That should easily handle a carburetor.
Worked in the jewellery ind. for 25 yrs so very familiar with ultra sonics, usually you get what you pay for ( but not always) I would recommend North American built with heater and a timer, be aware the timer doesn’t turn off the heat so if you forget it overnight it can boil dry and burn out the element, not a big deal to replace but a pain in the ass. It’s just a glue on pan heater. The electric gizmo that makes the sound waves, can’t think of the proper name at the moment, most will have one some have two, either way you will notice there are sweet spots where the adgitation is strongest so it helps to move and rotate parts periodically as in when the timer runs out. Clean the majority of crud off before hand, disassembly is the best way to clean, if you just plonk a whole carb in there it will probably loosen up all the crap inside but it will still be in there, if your not comfortable taking a carb apart take it to somebody to have it done. Best cleaner I have found to use in an ultra sonic for carbs is Simple Green.
Have you tried citric acid on cast iron? Does it work well? Instant surface rust afterward? I have an Olds block and heads that could use that treatment. I have a big Rubbermaid tank I used to use for molasses dip that’s just waiting to try a new process. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I think there's an old Jerry Reed song about how he called his ex, "Ultra Sonic" because she cleaned him out.
I have to agree with LAROKE in post #8, vapor blasting is as clean as it gets. I had a number of carbs vapor blasted earlier this winter and am happy. I took them apart and just had the bodies blasted, it was expensive and I don't really think it was worth the cost but I had to see for myself. Vintage Underground in Eugene did it.
Not throwing rocks, just making an observation: When the zinc alloy bodies were new, they were treated with a "chromate" solution. This involved dipping the cleaned castings in a combination of nitric, sulphuric, and chromic acids; resulting in the chemical etching and a greenish-gold (or goldish-green) color. The color may or may not be important from a "looks" standpoint, but it is important from a standpoint of the castings resisting oxidation. The use of E-10 only exasperates the issue. The castings pictures appear very clean, but the protective coating is gone. Of course, the old chemical dips would also remove the protective coating. An ultrasonic cleaner using a mild chemical such as Dawn dishwater soap, will NOT remove the coating (if any of it is left from previous chem dips). Just a suggestion: the pictured castings will last longer if they were sent to a metal laundry company and dipped in the chromate solution. And before someone asks, no, I don't do it; and have been out of rebuilding so long, I do not know who currently is doing it. The chromic acid is on the EPA's NoNo list, which means an approved waste water treatment to get a license (read expensive). Again, no rocks, just an observation. EDIT: if anyone knows a reputable company doing the chromate, please post contact information here. The knowledge would help a lot of members. Jon.
Just another observation here. I have to say that while the vapor blasted carbs do look remarkably clean, the finish doesn't look like any carbs I remember fooling with. Kind of too bright and too clean. On the other hand, maybe I've just been working with used junk for too long.
Nope, haven't tried it yet. Read about using the citric acid on a recent Hamb thread and everyone who tried it seemed to like it for things other than aluminum. I figure submerging a block will let it work on all the internal passages and some occasional agitation will cause loosened rust and stuff to dissolve and float out. Anyway, the tanks are cheap, the citric acid is cheap, and used trolling motors are cheap.........and I'm cheap too.
i used plastic 55 gallon barrels to soak blocks too. made a pvc tube with a cap on the end and holes in the tube to agitate the solution.
The Jalopy Journal
