I’d like to propose a group buy for an ultrasonic tank cleaner at the space. If you aren’t familiar with them, ultrasonic tank cleaners used for cleaning dirty, grimy and or corroded items by submerging them in a liquid, heating them up and using an ultrasonic transducer to cause cavitation bubbles on the surface of your part to get them super clean.
They come in a variety of prices which mostly depend on the size of the tank. Other factors to consider when getting one is the heater power and if it has a side drain (makes it more convenient to remove cleaning fluid). On the low end, I think we should probably look at getting at least 2L. For our space, I think it would also be extremely useful to have a side drain for the device so that you don’t have to carry the device to the sink to drain it, just drain into a bucket and toss the cleaner.
There are a lot of options at the $300 price point. There are also a few more expensive ones (Crest seems to be a high-end model but they start at $800. I don’t think that is necessary).
Anyways, I’m willing to chip in $100 if we can get to the 6L model and would chip in $40 for the low end model. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.
Looks pretty sweet. Just wondering what the difference is between this and
the parts cleaner we have in the wood shop? Not adverse to getting this at
all as I can see it has lots of uses, I’m just curious as I’ve never used
the parts cleaner.
I don’t have a photo but it’s in the woodshop up on the shelves. It’s red
metal and has a plug sticking out of it. Pretty sure it might be something
like this:
Ahhh ok, I’ve seen these before but never used, my old neighbour used to use one every once in a while. I think they are basically a bucket for solvents and a little pump for spraying the solvent onto the part while recycling said solvent. I’m not the biggest fan of lots of solvents - too messy to work with.
Yeah I think the drain spigot would be really really nice. No having to take the machine to the bathroom to drain it, just drain into a bucket and toss the bucket contents.
If this funding is a success I’ll put up cleaning instructions on the machine and on wiki.
I like the look of that one @Big_Mak. That would come out to ~$300 CAD after factoring in having to pick it up in the states. Plus side is that it is 10L!!
I’d think the 6L would be a better balance of function and space
requirements, to be honest.
To answer the previous question about the differences: I believe the one we
have is literally a tank in which items can be cleaned, it is still a
matter of manually scrubbing the parts. The new one is automagic!
Ultrasonic cleaners seem to be significantly cheaper on the version of Amazon south of the 49th. It looks like we could get an equivalent model to the Angel for $129USD (~$160 CAD). We, of course, would need to get it from Blaine or Point Roberts and potentially pay duties.
Alternatively, @big_mak posted an even bigger unit for $199USD.
I’m with @miststlkr here in that I think 6L would be a good size for now. Let’s be honest, space is at a premium at VHS.
Assuming we get a 6L with drain we are currently standing at:
If you guys are unsure of the sizeb you are more than welcome to come and
see mine at the shop. It lives in the bottom shelf of one of our work
benches. Just to get an idea for size. It’s advertised as a 10l. But you
only fill it with about 8l and the rest of the volume they assume will be
displaced by parts.
What is the estimated cost for operating this? Presumably, the larger the capacity, the greater volume of cleaning solution that will be required.
Are there any other consumables or regular maintenance that needs to be done?
How will used/dirty cleaning solution be disposed of? The bathroom sinks may not be the most appropriate place depending on what is being cleaned…
