Choosing an Ultrasonic

[badbee]

I really need to clean my stuff, and I really hate cleaning. Help me buy an ultrasonic cleaner.

There are discussions about using them but I didn't find anything about picking a model. It looks like you go cheap on Amazon for $25-$40 or twice that for a fancier brand like Vevor. Some of the cheap ones have what looks to be a more convenient, for stems, rectangular shape rather than square.

Anything to specifically avoid or look for?

 

[Averyminya]

I got a cheapo one from Bezoson and for its purposes it works fine. It was from the Magnasonic brand. It's 20oz/600mL total size, so it can fit a small ash catcher - stems are no problem. That said, I do not recommend mine.

Because of that, I actually do have some things you should watch out for.

First is being aware of the minimum fill capacity - mine mentions possible risk of damage if it's not filled to the minimum. I haven't experienced that sort of issue, but I also am worried to find out. It also happens to be quite a lot of alcohol, which I wish I had realized beforehand. If there were a smaller one for screens I may have opted for that one, although it is handy to be able to clean stems as you mentioned. Also, mine may not technically suggest alcohol as a fluid to use. It does get warm but I wouldn't say hot. Definitely do not have open flames nearby, lol. And have a fan with other ventilation.

Second is being aware of the finish / paint on the Ultrasonic Cleaner. Mine very smartly (/s) came with some kind of paint which melted when introduced to alcohol vapors. I must have spent an hour getting a bunch of it off, and didn't even get all of it so that was a nice surprise. It also is important to check how they empty, for example, if you just have to dump the liquid out of the unit and maybe it drips down into the display buttons, or the paint.

Third and maybe finally, they also plug in, so you may want to have a space by a sink with an outlet nearby. Mine also happens to be quite high pitched and as loud as the devil pissing, so you may want to have that sink with an outlet be in a bathroom behind a closed door where you clean your equipment. Or a kitchen where you live alone with a room you can close and hide in.

Okay fourth and finally, mine happens to have a timer set for up to 480 seconds (about 5 minutes). Not bad for quick cleans and it tends to get the job done in that amount of time, but I mostly have only used it with screens. The few times I have cleaned my glass stems in there it takes maybe 2-3 rounds to get them sparkling.

Were I to go for a round 2 on an Ultrasonic cleaner I might try and opt for one with a removable liquid container + removable basket. I would double check the noise and see if it's present across all options. And I would definitely not get one that has a painted finish. The fact that it plugs in can be annoying, given that you have to empty it, so that may be something to consider as well if there's no removable liquid dish. Whether or not a device with some variation of all 3 of these exists, I'm not sure, but it would be pretty close to the perfect one from my experience.

 

[Ramahs]

First is being aware of the minimum fill capacity - mine mentions possible risk of damage if it's not filled to the minimum. I haven't experienced that sort of issue, but I also am worried to find out. It also happens to be quite a lot of alcohol, which I wish I had realized beforehand.

You fill the whole thing with alcohol? I thought what most people did was fill the thing with distilled water, and then put the small glass pieces in sealed bags (ziplock?) with alcohol in them, and then put that bag in the water so that they only need to use smaller amounts of alcohol. Otherwise, wouldn't there be a problem with evaporation when you're not using it?

 

[Averyminya]

You fill the whole thing with alcohol? I thought what most people did was fill the thing with distilled water, and then put the small glass pieces in sealed bags (ziplock?) with alcohol in them, and then put that bag in the water so that they only need to use smaller amounts of alcohol.

I've done that before too! That's definitely the way it should be done! I just.. well I've just found that for my unit to cover the screens/mesh baskets it ends up being roughly the same amount as what I fill the baggie with... add in some spite and.. Admittedly, it's lazy but it hasn't seemed to affect anything. Not that I recommend anyone else do this!

 

[Hippie]

Make sure it's big enough to take the bits you want to clean
My 3.2l machine isn't as deep as I thought it was going to be

I really struggled to clean glass screen bowls before I got the ultrasonic cleaner
A couple of mins in the bath with hot washing up water, rinse and it's done, now.
(you can watch the dirt dancing it's way out lol)

 

[Ramahs]

I've done that before too! That's definitely the way it should be done! I just.. well I've just found that for my unit to cover the screens/mesh baskets it ends up being roughly the same amount as what I fill the baggie with... add in some spite and.. Admittedly, it's lazy but it hasn't seemed to affect anything. Not that I recommend anyone else do this!

Yeah, and maybe I'm just thinking of a bigger reservoir model as well. I've been contemplating getting a sonic cleaner, but I wanted to get one big enough to put my medium size glass pieces (at least 12" long) in it as well. I know it's very important to have one that's heated with temperature control as well. So, I was thinking something more like THIS, which is a 10L model pictured here:

 

[Cheebsy]

I love my ultrasonic cleaner! I got one slightly bigger than the smallest ones that seem to be designed for glasses. If I needed to replace it I would choose a better and bigger one next time. I use a tall plastic bottle with the top cut off to hold items to be cleaned, and the iso, then use a second bottle with the bottom cut off for the lid. This then sits inside the cleaner with only the bottom of the bottle submerged, as long as you can fit the item in the bottle you're good, it doesn't need to get fully into the cleaner to work.

Do be aware though, I have had several thin glass pieces break during the process, anything with some thickness is fine.

 

[popitup]

I'm going to agree with other posters here. I focused on getting something with a stainless steel basin that could handle most of my stems, and blended in okay. Mine looks like a miniature printer.

It is a little annoying to have stems that don't fit and I have to clean differently, and I end up using those stems less even if they might be "better".

 

[badbee]

Thank you for the insights everyone. I might go with the Vevor 1.2 L. It's reasonably inexpensive but is likely made with the same electronics as their bigger and more expensive models.

 

[RustyOldNail]

Thank you for the insights everyone. I might go with the Vevor 1.2 L. It's reasonably inexpensive but is likely made with the same electronics as their bigger and more expensive models.

There is a little warning on the Amazon site saying read the reviews, as this product has a high report of “returns”.
I had a cheap Chinese Amazon unit, that almost caught on fire. If you search on my posts you may find my thoughts and suggestions. Good luck!

 

[badbee]

There is a little warning on the Amazon site saying read the reviews, as this product has a high report of “returns”.
I had a cheap Chinese Amazon unit, that almost caught on fire. If you search on my posts you may find my thoughts and suggestions. Good luck!

I see that now, interesting. I wonder if it's because people find it to be too small (I wish this one was more rectangular). Only on Amazon do things have 4.5 star rating and a return warning.

 

[TedJones]

I see that now, interesting. I wonder if it's because people find it to be too small (I wish this one was more rectangular). Only on Amazon do things have 4.5 star rating and a return warning.

The 2L looks a bit better and not much more expensive..