Topic: What’s in Your Tank?

[BenelliSEI]

Just cleaned out my small ultrasonic cleaning tank (doing another set of carbs). Years ago someone suggested “concentrated Simple Green”, mixed at 10:1 with distilled water. It seems to work very well. I know you can buy solutions specifically for these tanks. What do you use or has worked best??

[StockRider]

I just got my ultrasonic cleaner before the holidays. After doing a lot of reading I settled on Simple Green - SMP13406 Extreme Aircraft and Precision Cleaner.

https://simplegreen.com/industrial/products/extreme-aircraft-precision-cleaner/?locale=en

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VXU7OE/

I used it 50:50 with tap water in a heated (40C) ultrasonic cleaner and had great results (as far as I can judge). Multiple sources indicated that standard Simple Green can discolor aluminum if used at too high of a concentration or for to long of a soak.

There were a lot of references in carb cleaning posts to regular/original Pine-sol being a good option as well.

I'm interested to hear what others are using.

[Don R]

 I've used pine sol and experimented with dishwasher soap on some test parts. I think the pinesol is a safer choice,  I used Castrol super clean when you could still get it and it attacked aluminum for sure.

[Kelly E]

We use this stuff, it works great.

[BenelliSEI]

Thanks for the feedback!

[Prospect]

I found that the green simple green eats away at the metal if left too long. The purple simple green doesn't do that. I use 1:5 solution with water.

Just cleaned out my small ultrasonic cleaning tank (doing another set of carbs). Years ago someone suggested “concentrated Simple Green”, mixed at 10:1 with distilled water. It seems to work very well. I know you can buy solutions specifically for these tanks. What do you use or has worked best??

[markmyodb]

Anyone have any experience with using mineral oil in an ultrasonic cleaner?  I spoke with a very talkative young lady at HF....she said no problem but recommended the extended warranty, Ha.

[BenelliSEI]

Anyone have any experience with using mineral oil in an ultrasonic cleaner?  I spoke with a very talkative young lady at HF....she said no problem but recommended the extended warranty, Ha.

I went with simple green at 5:1 with distilled water. Doing a great job on carbs. I do rinse and dry immediately after completing.

[Ryan66]

Id be curious on how long people are leaving parts in for. Obviously the amount of corrosion plays a role in that. But i see some people saying if left in too long its damaging the aluminum finish. I just bought a cleaner  few weeks for my upcoming tear down and rebuild and gonna be using it alot. Was thinking of using the simple green extreme and then playing with soak times. It says it reaches 80c which i gotta think will be plenty hot since i see someone said they did 40c.

[34barab]

It says it reaches 80c which i gotta think will be plenty hot since i see someone said they did 40c.

I can’t suggest a max temp, but 80 C (176 F) is scalding.  Be careful.

[34barab]

Anyone have any experience with using mineral oil in an ultrasonic cleaner?  I spoke with a very talkative young lady at HF....she said no problem but recommended the extended warranty, Ha.

I went with simple green at 5:1 with distilled water. Doing a great job on carbs. I do rinse and dry immediately after completing.

Green, Purple, or Extreme?

[BenelliSEI]

Just a spray bottle of GREEN, from the hardware store.

[Prospect]

I use purple only after previously using green and discolouring the metal. Now, I don't have to worry about how long I leave them in the solution but I always keep an eye on it. I keep the temp about 40-50C. I run several cycles rinsing in between with water. Each cycle is about 10-12 minutes. Works for me. 

Anyone have any experience with using mineral oil in an ultrasonic cleaner?  I spoke with a very talkative young lady at HF....she said no problem but recommended the extended warranty, Ha.

I went with simple green at 5:1 with distilled water. Doing a great job on carbs. I do rinse and dry immediately after completing.

Green, Purple, or Extreme?

[Ryan66]

I bought some ZEP purple last night. Supposedly better than simple green. Gonna try it out

[BenelliSEI]

I’ve seen that stuff, be interested to hear results.

[dave500]

i really only use mine for carbs,i use a truck wash product here called chemtech CT18,it wont harm alloys or zinc etc,has no smell,i wash my car with it,you can let it dry on paint and hose it off no streaking etc,i use about 80/100 in 10 litres of water,we have tank water only so maybe that helps?

[markmyodb]

The warning about leaving the parts in simple green are demonstrated below.  Put them in set for 480 seconds, then went got a sandwich. You can guess which bowl and cap.

No problem with mineral oil, and the parts were cleaned of old varnish, all ports blew clear with Carb cleaner. They looked good, time will tell how they run.

[Don R]

 My local (30 miles) 750 guy uses the purple cleaner but would not do my 750 4 cable carbs hot because it discolors. He waited until the next day and cleaned them at room temp. Maybe just an excuse so I would leave them and come back later. 
 Edit, he assembled the bike new, I had to get him to clean the carbs just so he could be hands on 45 years later.

[BenelliSEI]

A buddy of mine always boils carbs in distilled water and a few ounces of olive oil after cleaning them. Gives them a nice “original” sheen.

[KAndrew]

I just cleaned a set of 657b's in a big pot full of 50:50 Purple simple green and water, simmering on the bbq burner for an hour.  As soon as they got taken off the heat I dunked them in a pail of hot tap water to rinse and I've never had such great results.  The only thing I found was that I cooked the brass pieces too, and they all came out clean, but discolored to a red copper finish.  The aluminum bodies came out shiny and looked like new.

[markmyodb]

Funny how this works, both my friends who also DIY their bikes said, yes that simple green does discolor when I showed them the picture. One said particularly warm.

I am sure 100% from the evidence provided, but y'all say no problem...must be me.

Thanks for the comments.

[aclaytonb]

Depends.  Simple green for non-aluminum stuff.  Purple or zep for aluminum.  Hot water with dish-soap seems to work just as good as anything else for carbs.

[BenelliSEI]

Cleaned out the big Branson Ultrasonic Tank today. I did a bunch of big parts for a friend a while back and have been ignoring it since. It was deep in crud and took some time to scrub out.

It holds about 5 gallons and the last time I used concentrated Simple Green 20:1 with no discolouration of alloy parts. 1 gallon jug was on sale last week at my local hardware store. I go 7:1 in the small tank, so this time went 10:1 in the Branson.

[grcamna2]

I just cleaned a set of 657b's in a big pot full of 50:50 Purple simple green and water, simmering on the bbq burner for an hour.  As soon as they got taken off the heat I dunked them in a pail of hot tap water to rinse and I've never had such great results.  The only thing I found was that I cooked the brass pieces too, and they all came out clean, but discolored to a red copper finish.  The aluminum bodies came out shiny and looked like new.

I also had my brass parts turn a more copper color.