Using Ultrasonic Cleaners to Clean Carburetors and Engine Parts of Motorcycles and Autos

The carburetors and other related engine parts on older or vintage motorcycles and autos are mostly mechanical devices designed to achieve precise fuel-air mixtures for their internal combustion engines. They are built of valves, chambers, floats, jets and other intricately designed components placed together in fine balance.

When a carburetor and other engine parts become greasy and coated with soot from extended use, it can result in difficult starts, poor power delivery and fuel inefficiency, soot-filled exhaust, timing sneezes and overheating. Visible fuel leaks from the carburetor are not uncommon, either. Cleaning carburetors and other engine parts requires the ability to thoroughly clean all surfaces of the component. This can be a tough challenging endeavor.

The conventional way to clean carburetors is to painstakingly disassemble the component to separate every intricate part, and to manually scrub every nook with powerful, hazardous chemicals. The entire process can be very time-consuming. Not only is it very hard taking these intricate components apart, it can be challenging putting them back together, as well. This is where the use of ultrasonic cleaning technology enters the picture.

What is ultrasonic cleaning?

Ultrasonic cleaning technology was first developed by RCA way back in the 30s. In 1957, Kaijo Corporation developed their first ultrasonic cleaner that was the beginning of their product line of industrial ultrasonic cleaners. The use of the Ultrasonics has continually evolved over the years. Many advances in the past decade alone have made the technology particularly accessible and affordable to businesses that would have previously deemed it out of reach.

Ultrasonic cleaning is a powerful, but gentle cleaning method that makes practical use of a natural phenomenon called cavitation. The term refers to the behavior of bubbles in liquid, when they are subjected to intense levels of pressure variation.

When rapid changes of pressure pass through a liquid, the condition creates tiny bubbles that periodically implode to intense shockwaves. The forces generated by such implosions can be great enough to dislodge grease, rust or other stubborn deposits.

While the cavitation phenomenon is one that designers strive to prevent in certain applications such as marine propeller design, it is a useful one when correctly applied to various industrial processes that involve tough cleaning applications.

How does ultrasonic cleaning technology help clean motorcycle and auto carburetors?

Motorcycle and auto carburetors use complex, intricate constructions, and cleaning layers of heavy, burned-on grease can present a challenge to mechanics. It requires the use of ultrasonic cleaning technology to address the cleaning action needed.

Industrial ultrasonic cleaners come with a cleaning tank or bath that includes either a built-in or removable ultrasonic cleaning transducer. The cleaning tank is filled with ordinary water or a mild cleaning solvent, and the carburetor and other engine parts to be cleaned are placed in the tank. The unit generates sound waves of ultrahigh-frequency to rapidly cycle pressure waves in the tank which create a powerful cavitation effect. Millions of tiny, microscopic bubbles form over the surface of the carburetor and other parts implode with strong force, each implosion generating enough power to dislodge the grease, rust or baked-on dirt on the surface.

Since the liquid of the tank and the sound waves passing through it reach every crevice on the surface of and inside the carburetor, there is no area left untouched. In no more than a few minutes, the carburetor and other engine parts emerge clean, completely stripped of grease, rust and other contaminants that were on the surface.

No part is too complex for ultrasonic cleaning. The process can save hours upon hours of human labor.

The benefits of Industrial ultrasonic cleaners

One might imagine that forces of cavitation strong enough to eat grease and rust away would be powerful enough to cause damage to metal, as well. While such an effect is technically possible, it is prevented in practice, by using the right ultrasonic equipment to apply the appropriate frequency and power for the specific cleaning application needed.

Megasonic (frequencies of 200kHz-1.2 MHz) and Ultrasonic (frequencies of 20khz-200kHz) cleaning is one of the most advanced cleaning approaches in existence; such technology is used to clean everything from semiconductor wafers to computer parts, to large rugged industrial parts safely and effectively.

Kaijo’s Industrial ultrasonic cleaners can be used to address a wide variety of motorcycle and automotive cleaning applications. The environmental and monetary benefits of ultrasonic cleaners are also quite significant. The method requires no use of harsh chemicals or solvents, and is therefore healthy both for the environment and for workers. Contact Kaijo for a free consultation or quote on using the right ultrasonic cleaning equipment for your cleaning application.