Question Ultrasonic Cleaners vs HCL acid?

[Still Kicking]

When a shop has been using vinegar 50/50 for 72 years without an issue, i think it"s safe enough to use it. Yeah, don't leave stuff too long but no need to overthink it. Go ahead and disagree, Happy.

 

[PatW]

I used to work in a laboratory. We used concentrated reagent grade HCl diluted 10:1 in distilled water. Acid dilutions are by volume. You really do not need reagent grade. You can get concentrated HCl from Home Depot, etc as muriatic acid. By the way, add acid to water.. always and not vice versa. The rapid heating of water to acid can cause a sort of explosion and being splattered with hot acid is not good. A 1 to 1 dilution of vinegar is 1 volume of vinegar - just distilled white vinegar from the grocery store.

HCl is a “strong” acid, meaning it is all ionized and acting at max strength. For cleaning, that is probably too aggressive. It can cause metal corrosion, which you don’t want in your regulator.

Vinegar is a weak acid. You can soak stuff in it and it will not corrode things … well unless it is kept wet for a looong time.​

 

[happy-diver]

When a shop has been using vinegar 50/50 for 72 years without an issue, i think it"s safe enough to use it. Yeah, don't leave stuff too long but no need to overthink it. Go ahead and disagree, Happy.

Given the ancient Egyptians 3000 years or even looking at the Romans magnificent empire of 1000

that shop should plant a vinegar tree, a big one

 

[Pearlman]

Yes on the containers, l use some with lids to save solution in case something really crusty comes it can do a pre run in the older solution.

I would not put a reg in an ultrasonic for rinsing, unless you want to do that without running it. A sink, bucket etc is fine for fresh water soaking, don’t over think it.

What will happen if I do that? Me thinks I could run it for just 1-2 mins in a warm bath to shake off all the salts after each dive trip… my US Cleaner also has a semi wave function maybe that will be safer?

Vinegar is good with low TDS RO water from my kitchen supply - but not when mixed with distilled water for chrome plated brass?

 

[Jacob BV]

What will happen if I do that? Me thinks I could run it for just 1-2 mins in a warm bath to shake off all the salts after each dive trip… my US Cleaner also has a semi wave function maybe that will be safer?

Vinegar is good with low TDS RO water from my kitchen supply - but not when mixed with distilled water for chrome plated brass?

With reg servicing less is normally more. You want to do the least possible that keeps it in good condition. Throughout the year all I do is wash with fresh water, sometimes I give them a warm bath connected to a cylinder. Then 1-2 times a year I use a toothbrush and some of my used ultrasonic cleaner from the last service (I use diluted Biox) to clean both the threads on the first stage and cylinder.

 

[lexvil]

What will happen if I do that? Me thinks I could run it for just 1-2 mins in a warm bath to shake off all the salts after each dive trip… my US Cleaner also has a semi wave function maybe that will be safer?

Vinegar is good with low TDS RO water from my kitchen supply - but not when mixed with distilled water for chrome plated brass?

I don’t know, it may move things around or not but fresh water soaking will do all you need, maybe some water flowing over it in the sink after soaking.

 

[happy-diver]

So and then when the bottom of your valve gets banged up from all that overtightening and twisting
or when you have left the insert in just a bit too long, you can clean it up with a common tap reseater

and make it seal properly and be all schmick again like this ancient valve

so then you finish the job with ultimo the reg and valve thread cleaning brush in the electric machine

although the fast actionness of phosphoric acid, is truly a sight to behold