Ask Sally Sonic

Received a Branson 200  via UPS today as a gift from son. Package was covered in powder on opening there was a hole about the size of a pencil erasure at the top edege of the package of Cleanosonic powder and it was all over the ultrasonic cleaner. Has this harmed the internal parts of the Ultra sonic cleaner and how do I clean it up as instructions say not to imerse in water.or should it be returned to you?

John

Dear John,

I am sorry your package was either damaged in transit or defective. In these cases, we like to take complete control of the situation. It is our feeling that you should have to do as little as possible - so, we will send you a replacement machine and supplies. All you have to do is put the damaged unit back in the box, and set it out where your UPS driver usually drops packages off. We will schedule a pickup for you.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 11:38 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

Do you have an ultrasonic cleaning solution that is effective in the removal of selenium-based polishing compound from glass? Do you offer samples for testing?
                           Thanks for your help.

Hi! Here's how it usually breaks down - First, go to the manufacturer of the soil you are trying to remove. They usually have the best info. If that doesn't work, you can get a demo unit from us, along with some quarts of ultrasonic cleaning solutions. Normally, a days of work will yield results. If that still doesn't do it, give us a call and we will put you in touch with an industry expert on cleaning chemistry.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 11:33 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

My wife wants for Christmas a jewelry cleaner with two separate tanks.  I can't find any online, and actually I can't see why that would be necessary.  Keep me out of trouble this holiday season, help!!

Hi! - While a separate ultrasonic rinse tank is common for high precision industrial cleaning systems, it is overkill for a personal unit. The idea behind it is that if you are using ultrasonics to drive cleaning solution into every nook and cranny of your part, you should do the same to drive clean rinse water in as well.

This makes sense if you have a part that will be painted or plated after cleaning, but again, overkill for home use - and for any simple cleaning application.

Dear Sally,

Message: Does the Branson 200 clean effectively  using water only?

Sure - to an extent. It is important to note that ultrasonic cleaners only provide mechanical energy. You still have to match the cleaning solution to the soil to be removed. Some soils can be removed with mechanical energy only, just as you can wipe some soils off of any surface - but for others you need soap.

  I am looking for an easy way to clean silver jewelry, ie. get rid of tarnish.  Do these cleaners accomplish this?  I am looking at the Cleanosonic XL.  Thanks, Leslie

Hi Leslie,

Tarnish cannot be removed by ultrasonics. You need a solvent, like our silver cleaner. This is because tarnish is not a soil, but rather a product of the metal interacting with air.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 06:49 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

I also was wondering about how often the chemicals need to be changed. We would rinse off surgical debris before placing the items in the cleaner, but I don't know how many times you can re-use the chemicals.

Thanks for your time and information.

Raylene B.

Dear Raylene,

You have a lot of questions here, so let's take them one by one. First of all, you need at least a B3510MTH ultrasonic cleaner to get the size tank that will work. I am assuming that you want to do multiple instruments at a time.

As far as the solution goes, you would want to change it when it begins to lose effectiveness. You will see that it is either taking longer to get the parts clean, or the parts don't get as clean in a given ultrasonic cycle time. Alternatively, you can change it when it starts to look or smell funky. Our most popular solution for this is Bransonic MC3 Metal Cleaner. It is an emulsifying agent, which means that the soils will be held in suspension, and can't re-deposit on your parts. It is also aluminum safe. I am sure most of your instruments are stainless steel, but this way you won't have to worry if some aluminum gets into the mix.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 08:08 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Posted by Sally Sonic at 11:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

I bought a sonic jewelry cleaner by the international silver company, many years ago. I need to replace the cleaning solution but I am not sure where to find it. Can you help me? Thank you, Dawn

Dear Dawn,

You're in the right place. We have liquid jewelry cleaners from Bransonics, and powdered jewelry cleaning concentrate from Cleanosonic. Both work well and and a little goes a long way. See our selection of jewelry cleaning chemistries here on site.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 02:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,
 
 I am interested in starting a golf club cleaning business. Do you have an ultrasound tank that lends itself well to this application? Thanks, John
 
 Dear John,
 
 So long as you can fit the club heads into the tank, you should be OK. Of course, if you want to clean the entire club, you'll need a really long tank. An alternative is to buy an ultrasonic tank at least half as long as your longest club, and clean half of the club at a time.
 
 Take a look at the B8510MTH from Bransonic as a good possibility.
 

Posted by Sally Sonic at 04:09 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Cleaning is a problem we are all faced with every day in both our personal lives and our professional lives. In its broadest sense it is the removal of undesirable material from a particular place. In the more technical realm cleaning is usually performed to make a particular material or component acceptable to the next level of processing. This task is becoming increasingly difficult as geometries continue to decrease while production rates escalate.

Cleaning can be accomplished by a variety of means. One of the more common methods is immersion in a liquid. When this is the chosen methodology, it is usually a combination of chemistry and mechanical activity that is employed. Independently each will remove some soil; together the effect is multiplied many times. Some typical sources of mechanical activity include brushing, spraying, and ultrasonics. Brushing is employed where the parts to be cleaned are geometrically simple, typically having large flat surfaces with no recessed areas or blind holes. For effective use of its mechanical energy, a spray must be aimed such that is impinges directly on the soil to be removed. This makes component orientation critical. Ultrasonics is often chosen because it is not as dependent upon either geometry or orientation for effective soil removal.

Ultrasound travels in all directions in the solution and, in fact, will actual pass through the components to reach and clean areas which are otherwise inaccessible. Because ultrasonic energy penetrates into these crevices and cavities, any type of part or assembly can be cleaned. There are a number of benefits realized from the application of utlrasonics to precision cleaning.

These include:

• Enhanced cleaning speed - Ultrasonics is faster than any conventional cleaning method. Entire assemblies can be cleaned without disassembly. Often the labor-saving advantages make ultrasonics the most cost effective choice.
• Unmatched cleaning consistency - The ultrasonic activity is micro in nature and reaches all areas for uniform cleaning. This is true for large or small parts, simple or complex parts handled singly or in batches. Thorough soil removal is not operator dependent.
• Easier compliance with safety and environmental regulations through reduction of dangerous chemical concentrations or substitution of less aggressive cleaning media.
• Reduction of direct worker contact with hazardous cleaning substances.
• Savings in energy costs, labor and floor space.

• Speeding up the rate at which soil dissolves by intimately mixing the cleaning agent with the contaminants.
• Carrying fresh solution to the soiled surface through a "micro-streaming" effect.
• Attacking the molecular "cement" by which soil attaches itself to a workpiece surface.
• Preventing formation of a neutral film on the workpiece surface that may impede cleaning.
• Raising the temperature of the liquid, thereby increasing the rate of chemical activity.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 12:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

Looking for ultrasonic cleaner to clean porous ceramic. need something which will penetrate through the part & push out the dirty coolant or foreign substances from inside of part. also let me know what kind of liquid should I use. do I need heater with ultrasonic or not. please provide model # which I can buy with the prices. also need a timer

Paul P.

Dear Paul,

For this application, you absolutely need a unit with heat and a timer. You will have to experiment to find the liquid that will work best to break down the coolant. As always, I suggest that you contact the coolant manufacturer as a first step towards identifying the
proper cleaning solution.

Having said all that - I am not optimistic that this will work. Ceramics are notoriously hard to clean, especially if you need to remove all staining as well. Good luck!

Posted by Sally Sonic at 08:48 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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ear Sally: Please, I need help!

Can ultrasonic waves affect the sample placed in the plastic bag filled with the water? Plastic bag is in the glass beaker but there is no fluid in it. Can ultrasonic waves affect sample if it is just wetted but there is no water in the plast bag and the bag is in the glass beaker without water? I am working with bioburden and using ultrasonic to pick microorganisms from my samples.

Thank for helping me

Gordana C

Dear Gordana,

Bad news. You will have to fill the bag for there to be any appreciable retransmission of ultrasonic energy. As long as we can go from water to a hard surface, preferably stainless steel, then back to water, you can expect to see activity in the innermost container. You have a couple of things working against you here. First of all, your innermost container is a plastic bag, and second, it is not flooded. To get this done, you will need to come up with a way to process your parts with the bag filled with water.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 07:43 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Dear Sally,

I have a few questions to ask about a cleaning application I want to consider:

I am a collector of vinyl long-playing records (ie. lps) and want to try an ultrasonic cleaner to remove various contaminants from the playing surface. I have heard of this method being used for this application (with reported success); however, I would like to get an expert opinion. Most of the typical contaminants are general in nature: oils, greases, molds, pressing residues. In your opinion, would ultrasonic cleaning be a viable method to achieve what I'm looking for? Record grooves are very small in scale, so I'm curious whether ultrasonic cleaning would be effective.

If it would be an effective method, could you suggest a cleaning solution that would be best.

As for the best unit, given the dimensions of lps, one of the Branson B3510 units would be suitable. Ideally, I would have to immerse an lp about 3.5 to 4inches at most into a cleaning solution (the label should not be immersed). Would a tray be necessary for this application? If so, which one would you recommend?

Lastly, as for cleaning temperature, the range you recommend (around 140 deg F) would not be wise for this application, as the vinyl in lps becomes soft at this sort of temperature. Could you recommend an alternate temperature range?

Thanks, Andy R.

Dear Andy,

Great question, and a great application. Ultrasonics works great on vinyl records.

The most common technique is to orient the LP vertically, with a rod through the middle. Place the rod across the top of the cleaner, making sure the record label will not be immersed. Most people do this by adjusting the water level in the tank. For a solution, I would recommend clean water, and your are right, you want to keep the temp low so as not to deform or weaken the vinyl. We normally tell people to keep their wash solution between 140 and 170 F as this is the temp which gives the most efficient transmission of ultrasonic energy through the water.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 06:07 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message:I am looking for an ultrasonic cleaner to clean scuba regulators for oxygen use. What do you recommend as far as power and solution? Thanks!-Zach
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Hi Zach, The most common machine for this application would be the Bransonic B1510MTH with the mesh basket. The most common solution, believe it or not, is distilled water and vinegar. Non toxic, and does a fairly good job of cleaning as well. The taste is another issue altogether.....

Posted by Sally Sonic at 12:12 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message:             I have a Branson 200 jewelry cleaner.  What 
cleaning concentrate (regardless of if the same brand or not)  works best in 
it for the highest cleaning capability?  If you recommend Branson -- I 
have had trouble understanding how to dilute it properly-- any advice 
If you recommend it?  Thanks very much.
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Hi! Any of the jewelry cleaning solutions on our site will work fine.
The Cleanosonic powder will keep indefinately and not take up much room
on your shelf, if that is a consideration. The Bransonic JC solution you mention
works well, you mix it at a 1 to 10 ratio with water, so you only need about 1 1/2 oz
in your B200 machine. The most bang for the buck is the GemOro Cleaning Solution,
which mixes about 40:1. A quart of that will last you a very long time indeed.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 07:15 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message: Hello, we're polishing aluminum so we can 
electropolish and anodize it.  Currently, we're 
stepping up as far a 0.05um colloidal silica to do 
the polishing.  The problem we're running into is 
that the colloidal silica particles tend to stick 
to the aluminum surface after polishing.  We have 
an ultrasonic cleaner in our lab already, but we 
haven't had any good results when using it with 
regular water or dish soap.  We found your website 
when looking for various cleaning agents for 
aluminum and are interested in trying out one of 
your products (like MC1 or MC3).  However, we 
don't want to purchase 12Q when we have no clue if 
it will work or not.  Therein lies my question - 
is it possible for you to send us a small sample 
of your product for us to try prior to us making a 
commitment to purchasing a larger quantity of it? 

 
Thank you, 
Ryan 
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Hi Ryan,

I think you are looking in the right direction. The MC3 Metal Cleaner 
will work, most likely. And you can buy a single quart of it here
In addition, it is an emulsifying cleaner, so it will hold particulates in suspension,
and keep them from re-depositing on your parts. 

Posted by Sally Sonic at 03:36 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Are either the GemOro or Bransonic cleaners large
enough to handle silverware. Knives are about 9 inches long? Also can
stainless and/or silverplate be cleaned safely? Thanks.

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I think you are referring to the Bransonic B200, right? It really depends on the knife length.
The gemoro unit is the larger of the two, but it is still a little short for that.
My thinking is that you should look at the B300 ultrasonic cleaner.
With a tank length of nearly 12 inches, it would hold most any cutlery you need to clean.
No reason it won't work on stainles steel or silverplate.
Bear in mind, though, that you may need a separate silver cleaner to remove tarnish.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 11:20 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message: Can any of your cleaner scour black powder 
fouling? I'd like to be able to drop in my locks 
and trigger assemblies after a range session to 
guarantee all traces of fouling are removed. I'd 
than have to use a moisture displacing lubricant I 
suppose to prevent corrosion but it would make a 
tedious chore fly right by. 
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I don't see any reason why not. I suggest you try 
our Gemoro unit as a low cost way of finding out. 
Add in some metal cleaner and you will find out quickly.
I suggest the Gemoro because although it is nominally 
a jewelry cleaner, It has an industrial transducer 
and does a really good job - plus, if it doesn't work, 
you can send it back for a refund.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 12:25 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message:             I am looking for a very small ultrasonic that I 
can take on the road with me. I am a tattoo artist. Do you have anything 
this small (to hold just one cup)?

Your best bet is the B200. It only holds a pint of water, it is small, and only weighs 4 lbs. You can mix up your cleaning solution in advance and keep it in a milk jug or similar. You can the the Bransonic B200 jeselry cleaner here.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 11:23 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Instructions

1. Fill the machine with warm tap water, leaving yourself enough room for your jewelry or other items. If you are not sure, underfill. You can always add water later.
2. Put about ½ tsp of powder in the water and stir. The yellow scoop is 1 tsp. The jewelry cleaning powder is very fine. Handle and pour the powder slowly, to avoid creating powder dust in the air.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 03:42 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message: I'm trying to decide between the Bransonic B200 or 
the Cleanosonic XL for my wife for Christmas. 
Other than the timer and slight size difference I 
don't see much difference between the two. Is 
there one model that works better than the other? 
I'm trying to understand why the XL has more 
features but cost less.

It's simple - we have the Cleanosonic XL made for us, and get a better deal on it. We pass that on to our customers.

Both units have the same tank and accessories - the XL adds an adjustable digital timer.
Both unitsw also have a two year warranty, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 02:52 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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Message:             Will your product remove tarnish from sterling
silver?  And can I clean Swarovski crystals?  Thank you.

Tarnish is not a soil, but a change in the surface of the metal.
You will need to use a silver cleaner to get it off.
I see no reason why you cannot clean your crystals in an ultrasonic
tank. If they are valuable, please check with oyur jeweler first to make sure.

Posted by Sally Sonic at 02:04 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

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