Ultrasonic cleaning for dummies

[Graeme Fraser]

Dear all

Ive been a tinkerer for a while, but have now decided to take the plunge on servicing my own regs.

One thing I can't quite get straight in my head is a simple step by step procedure for ultrasonic O2 cleaning my regs. One of my issues has been cleaning solutions as some of these are known by different names in the UK.

I know I've probably got some of this wrong, but would be grateful for any pointers. Just for info, I've bought a 3L 100w, 40Hz ultrasonic bath. Obviously not industrial grade, but hopefully good enough for home use.

1) hand wash metal parts in mild dish soap solution (couldn't find this in the UK, but found out it's what we call washing up liquid). Use nylon brush (toothbrush) for threads and internal spaces

2) fill US with White Vinegar (is this neat or diluted?) to waterline, place parts in basket and run US for 5 minutes.

3) rinse parts and empty fluid

4) fill US with neat BIOX and run US for further 5 minutes. Keep used BIOX for reuse if not to soiled?

5) carefully rinse parts (I live in a very hard water area so was thinking of using distilled water).

6) thoroughly dry using LPI air gun attachment.

I know I've probably got some things wrong so please feel free to add, delete, amend as you see fit. Also any useful tips are gratefully received.

Many thanks. G

 

[grf88]

I only use vinegar diluted 50% for parts that have build up that can't be removed with a brush as left too long you can damage the chrome. When I do use it I neutralize in a baking soda solution prior to rinsing or final wash. Do not put plastic parts in the ultrasonic as it can damage them. I don't bother with a proprietary O2 cleaner but use either Simple Crystal Green or Dawn washing up liquid.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

I only use vinegar diluted 50% for parts that have build up that can't be removed with a brush as left too long you can damage the chrome. When I do use it I neutralize in a baking soda solution prior to rinsing or final wash. Do not put plastic parts in the ultrasonic as it can damage them. I don't bother with a proprietary O2 cleaner but use either Simple Crystal Green or Dawn washing up liquid.

That's great, thank you.

Just to get thinks straight, do you add the baking soda solution as an extra step; so 50% white vinegar in US, then soak in baking soda solution, then rinse?

Also, I've had no luck sourcing Simple Green over here. Hopefully there's an equivalent but just with a different brand name.

 

[grf88]

The idea of the baking soda step is to neutralize any remaining acid. Most concentrated dishwashing liquids are probably suitable with adequate rinsing. Joy is another one suggested in the NOAA diving manual.

Edit: it looks like both Joy and Dawn are available in the UK

 

[tbone1004]

Here's what I do.
Step 1-After disassembly, soak everything in hot water for a couple of hours. If there is any salt buildup on there, just put it in the bath with kettle hot water and turn it on for 5 mins.
Step 2-Remove and brush stuff off with toothbrush or similar. If it doesn't come off, then put the parts that have the buildup in a bath with 50% diluted vinegar for a couple of minutes which should get it all of. Rinse VERY well as you want to neutralize the acid so it doesn't eat all of your chrome off. Vinegar is only used to remove salt corrosion, it doesn't do anything for O2 cleaning.
Note-soap is used as a degreaser in this case, and is not necessary IMO. It doesn't do anything to remove the salt, and you're about to dunk it in something that is going to do a better job so don't bother. If you feel that you must, Dawn is perfectly fine. Same stuff they use to degrease birds and what not after oil spills, works really well but you should never have that much hydrocarbon on them so it's a waste of time

Step 3-Time for a bath to remove hydrocarbons. Simple Green Crystal is what I use, but you can get special scuba O2 clean fluid blah blah blah. Simple Green Crystal if available is cheap and can also be used to do all sorts of other cleaning around the house. Regular Simple Green is fine but because it has dye's and scents, you need to rinse it with scalding hot water then send it for a hot water bath to make it not smell like "Green".

Step 4-optional clean water run then dry.

Now if you have really hard water, distilled water is better because it won't leave water spots on the regs. Not going to do anything, but they can be ugly and if it bothers you, distilled water is cheap.
Suggestion. If doing multiple regulators, use paint cups/red solo cups/etc for the chemical mixes so you don't have to dump all of it out if you are doing multiple regs. Keep one for vinegar, one for simple green, then one for clean water. Will waste a lot less water and chemical, but also give you an easier way to keep all of the bits organized since most of the baskets are a PITA with all the small parts of the regs.
Hot water is good, and most cheap US don't have great heaters, so I would use water out of the kettle which helps to release salt, but more importantly the hydrocarbons

 

[grf88]

Just to clarify I am suggesting Dawn or Joy, both available in the UK, in place of Crystal Simple Green for the Oxygen cleaning and not as an additional step.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Thanks, that's really helpful.

Just two more dumb questions if I may; I have now find a UK supplier for Simple Green online but it comes out more expensive than BIOX (approx $55 for 4L of SG compared to $50 for 5L of B).

1) assuming no cost saving does it make sense to just use the BIOX or are there any other advantages?

2) does the Simple Green go in neat or diluted?

Once again, many thanks

any cost saving

 

[CuriousRambler]

Suggestion. If doing multiple regulators, use paint cups/red solo cups/etc for the chemical mixes so you don't have to dump all of it out if you are doing multiple regs. Keep one for vinegar, one for simple green, then one for clean water. Will waste a lot less water and chemical, but also give you an easier way to keep all of the bits organized since most of the baskets are a PITA with all the small parts of the regs.

tbone posted as I was typing. This is a tip I wish I'd picked up years ago. If I'm cleaning super greasy engine bolts or something, I'll drop them in a plastic water bottle filled with degreaser, put the cap on it, and toss it in the US. Beats the snot out of changing 100% of the US bath, not to mention cleaning the US cleaner out if you're doing extra filthy stuff, which shouldn't be a concern for regs.

 

[tbone1004]

Just to clarify I am suggesting Dawn or Joy, both available in the UK, in place of Crystal Simple Green for the Oxygen cleaning and not as an additional step.

They work, just a bit more annoying to get a full mixture since they're viscous soaps. I find when you use that, you have to get it in some sort of jar/bottle and shake it up really well, but yes that works fine.

Thanks, that's really helpful.

Just two more dumb questions if I may; I have now find a UK supplier for Simple Green online but it comes out more expensive than BIOX (approx $55 for 4L of SG compared to $50 for 5L of B).

1) assuming no cost saving does it make sense to just use the BIOX or are there any other advantages?

2) does the Simple Green go in neat or diluted?

Once again, many thanks

any cost saving

1-I'd just use Biox, but that's about twice what we pay for Simple Green for reference.
2-there are dilution scales on the bottle, I typically put it in at 1:10 dilution which is way overkill, but makes me feel better. 1:30 is probably more reasonable, but since it's quite cheap here and you don't use all that much, it doesn't really matter to me. I have a 6L ultrasonic, and usually use a 1L paint bucket. It's an extra 20ml of simple green for 1:10 vs 1:30. At $5/L, that's an extra $0.10 of chemical. Basically irrelevant for me, but if I was doing the full ultrasonic at an extra $0.50/fill difference then I'd probably pay a bit more attention especially if I did a lot of regulators, but I don't...

@CuriousRambler I do use my US for a LOT of stuff that's not scuba related, so the point about keeping the US itself clean is really valuable if you're doing anything like greasy bolts.

 

[Zef]

tbone posted as I was typing. This is a tip I wish I'd picked up years ago. If I'm cleaning super greasy engine bolts or something, I'll drop them in a plastic water bottle filled with degreaser, put the cap on it, and toss it in the US. Beats the snot out of changing 100% of the US bath, not to mention cleaning the US cleaner out if you're doing extra filthy stuff, which shouldn't be a concern for regs.

quick question: when using the US bath this way do you just have it filled with water and have the chemicals i(vinegar, simple green, etc) in the cups/water bottle, with that sitting in the water bath with the parts in them?

Also, if the above is correct, can a ziplock bag be effectively used for the same purpose?

-Z