Parts washer vs hot soapy water

[rabler]

In my mind this is not an exclusive question. Lots of different types of soaps/cleaners. The parts washer is a convenient setup that usually includes a recirculating pump and shelving to make washing simple. Nothing says you can't use hot soapy water in it. While I've heard of adapting a hot water heater element, I've found a bucket heater to be convenient for my parts washer when using water based solvents.

An opportunity came, and I procured an ultrasonic cleaner from a closed dental office. I use lab beakers in the bath to sonic clean tough stuff using cellosolv or acetone. Mostly, I just use warm water. It works fantastically. I would recommend sonic cleaning to anyone who gets their hands dirty in a shop. When I'm rebuilding an engine, the sonic cleaner runs constantly.

I imagine one from a dental office is a completely different beast, the ultrasonic cleaners I've seen from the typical hobbyist sources are underwhelming.

 

[pontiac428]

I imagine one from a dental office is a completely different beast, the ultrasonic cleaners I've seen from the typical hobbyist sources are underwhelming.

When I nabbed it, I was hoping that would be the case. Other than being a USA product, the power output is the same as most of the pseudo-industrial import units on Amazon. It does put enough power into the solution that the water starts steaming off after an hour or so. It's cool as heck to put small stuff in a jar full of acetone and watch the sonic waves cavitate the solution, and the bubbles get pushed around and beat up before being reabsorbed. The show is somewhere between a lava lamp and an ant farm, I guess it takes the right mindset. Hey, it's a green state.