Ultrasonic cleaner...

[oldguy00]

Hey all, thinking of getting one for cleaning chain, etc. Not sure if I'm going to venture down the path of waxing or not, but will start with this..

Any recommendations? Just get a 2L one like this?

https://www.amazon.ca/Flexzion-Comme...asonic+cleaner


Thx!

[Veloo]

I just got this one in August.
Cleaned the cassette and chain. Too small for a 39 chainring.
Just blue Dawn and water.
I'd say it took care of 90% of the scrubbing. Main reason I got it was cuz I got tired of being hunched of the laundry tub scrubbing parts.

I found the chain had a more dramatic grease cloud forming than the cassette.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00AXEB6BA/...00_TE_3p_dp_i1

[Cicli]

Seems like alot if expence to clean a chain.

[cloudchaser]

Veloo,

I use the same one as you, a Harbor Freight model. I fill my tank partially with water, then use a ziploc bag with cleaning solution that I leave open. For solution I use whatever I have on hand, Dawn, Pinesol, etc. For chainrings that are too big, I put them in the bag, and then rotate them 90 degrees and rerun the cycle and repeat. I am even able to clean my 50t chainring this way. Works great for me.

[Mikej]

I've been ultra sonically cleaning my old parts with new ones for years - works perfect every time!

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Veloo

I just got this one in August.
Cleaned the cassette and chain. Too small for a 39 chainring.
Just blue Dawn and water.
I'd say it took care of 90% of the scrubbing. Main reason I got it was cuz I got tired of being hunched of the laundry tub scrubbing parts.

I found the chain had a more dramatic grease cloud forming than the cassette.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00AXEB6BA/...00_TE_3p_dp_i1

Hope yours worked longer than mine...heater quit and then the whole thing..about 14 months, not very frequent use.

Now tub, simple green, hot water and brush...works fine be.

[bjf]

I bought one, used it a couple of times. But I still had to brush the parts a little, and by the time I waited for the thing to heat up, then run its cycle, then clean it up afterwards, it just wasn't worth it. Haven't used it since.

[zmudshark]

When I flipped bikes I used the Harbor Freight $70 model. It was easy to clean. It got pretty heavy use for a couple of Summers. Now I may use it once a Summer, it's about 7 years old and still works fine. I guess I got lucky with mine.

[Ronsonic]

My small HF lasted years and years. It does work great on chains. Gravel and trail bikes go through a lot of sand and pick up a lot of silt, but there's too much mud and rain for a dry / wax lube solution to work well so frequent and thorough chain cleaning is almost mandatory. The MTB chain and cassette and jockey wheels get a complete clean and lube at least every 100-150 miles. Otherwise you can't see light through the chain.

Care is needed with anodized parts. Very easy to abrade spots in them with an ultrasonic.

[bart998]

I cleaned the oil off my chain and cassette in a metal bowl with carburetor cleaner. Then cleaned it again with Dawn. Re-lubed with wax based lube... good to go.

[mt2u77]

I got the Harbor Freight one, and it's best use has been bringing old shifters back to life. No disassembly needed. Just drop it in. Rinse. Dry. Spray with some lube.

Cains and cassettes are OK, but there's no substitute for elbow grease.



Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by bart998

I cleaned the oil off my chain and cassette in a metal bowl with carburetor cleaner. Then cleaned it again with Dawn. Re-lubed with wax based lube... good to go.

Doesn't anybody use the Parks chain cleaner? $25 and gets it as clean as any other method and relatively easy. I have access to a uber expensive commercial sonic cleaner and the Parks works as well.

As far as other parts, the sonic does a very nice job but not any better than a bucket, hot water, dish soap and a few scrub brushes.

[Seramount]

I just retired a KMC chain at 9,328 miles (the previous one was replaced at ~11K miles).

neither had ever been off the bike and were only wiped with a old t-shirt after each ride and lubed with Chain-L about every 800 miles.

can't see any reason to do anything more labor-intensive.

[PaulE]

I got this one around 10 years ago from Bed Bath and Beyond. $40 and they always have a 20% off coupon. It holds a cassette or a chain and is still going strong and can also clean my wife's jewelry and metal watchbands removed from the watch. I will use it on a chain and cassette once or twice a year on all of my bikes. In between I will wipe down the chain and re-lube it. I have one of the early Park chain cleaners from the 1990's and feel that mostly what it does is use a ton of expensive chain degreaser and make a mess.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Seramount

I just retired a KMC chain at 9,328 miles (the previous one was replaced at ~11K miles).

neither had ever been off the bike and were only wiped with a old t-shirt after each ride and lubed with Chain-L about every 800 miles.

can't see any reason to do anything more labor-intensive.

If you keep up on the lubing/wiping cycle, I agree. Seems that lots of people forget the 'wiping' part of the lubing/wiping cycle and their chains and cassettes are NAS-tee!

If you don't want to spend $$ on an ultrasonic cleaner (they do work, BTW) Morgan Blue degreaser and Muc-off degreaser both work very well with little scrubbing.

HTH

M