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Wed May 18, 2016 11:17 am

This may not be the best board to post this to, but I couldn't think of anywhere better. I'm getting a heated ultrasonic bath in on Tuesday to clean some carbs (including my 34 PICT 3) and I have no idea what solution to use. I've heard good things about Pinesol and hot water, but I have no clue. So, what's the best ultrasonic carburetor cleaning solution?

Wed May 18, 2016 4:44 pm

Steer well clear of pine-sol for carb cleaning in a heated U.S. machine.

Use the A4 solution from tovatech.

It is non corrosive and leaves all parts pristine. Not harmful to rubber, plastic.

WWW.tovatech.com

Wed May 18, 2016 5:00 pm

Some heated U/S solutions can leave a white, powdery, residue on the part if not removed from the cleaner and neutralized quickly. This happens with most home brew and some application specific cleaners for the U/S machine.

Cleaners for non-ferrous metals, ie carbs, can discolour (dark grey) if left too long in the heat.

I use a product called 'Crystal' I get from a local supplier for general cleaning.

U/S cleaning is not a magic pill. All passages must have solution present as the U/S vibrations travel through the solution not through trapped air.

Thu May 19, 2016 5:35 am

Of course I plan to clean all carbs as thoroughly as I can before I dip them (I'm just looking to clean the inside passages, I'm plenty handy at cleaning the outside ones).

"Some heated U/S solutions can leave a white, powdery, residue on the part if not removed from the cleaner and neutralized quickly."

Would I be able to neutralize it by removing it from the cleaner and quickly placing it under a running tap, then drying it thoroughly with compressed air? I'm only looking to clean a few carbs (my Solex, a Harley CV, and a pair of Mikuni VM28s), and none of them have to be pristine, just de-gunked.

Thu May 19, 2016 6:37 am

I've used pine sol several times. I cook the carb for 30 min then rinse it out with clean, hot water with no problems.i also spray it off with carb cleaner.

Thu May 19, 2016 6:50 am

Gotcha. Now, would you recommend using Pine-sol or Simple Green?

Thu May 19, 2016 10:27 pm

Dustman985 wrote: Gotcha. Now, would you recommend using Pine-sol or Simple Green?

I've used both actually. The Pine-sol leaves the garage with a much cleaner smell.. :D lol

My ultrasonic cleaner gets the water around 180 degrees. 30 minutes of vibrating in their in the mix of 90% water 10% Pine-sol gets it REALLY clean. I like to blow all the passages out w/compressed air when it comes out, then rinse it off w/hot, clean water.

I've also heard you can discolor the bodies if you cook them too long as well.

Fri May 20, 2016 5:19 am

Great! So get some canned carb cleaner and a toothbrush and clean up my carb the best I can, rinse it, boil some distilled water on the stove, add in Pine-sol, pour the solution into my cleaner, cook the carb and parts for half an hour, pull it, rinse it with hot water, then dry it with compressed air, reassemble, install and tune?

Any parts (outside of O-rings, gaskets, and the float obviously) that I shouldn't cook?
Also, does this process damage any plastics? There's a plastic retainer for the vacuum diaphragm on one of the motorcycle carbs I'm doing.

Fri May 20, 2016 5:57 am

Dustman985 wrote: Great! So get some canned carb cleaner and a toothbrush and clean up my carb the best I can, rinse it, boil some distilled water on the stove, add in Pine-sol, pour the solution into my cleaner, cook the carb and parts for half an hour, pull it, rinse it with hot water, then dry it with compressed air, reassemble, install and tune?

Any parts (outside of O-rings, gaskets, and the float obviously) that I shouldn't cook?
Also, does this process damage any plastics? There's a plastic retainer for the vacuum diaphragm on one of the motorcycle carbs I'm doing.

I strip my carbs done so there's nothing on them that's not metal. Obviously, you want to remove all the jets and electric pieces as well.

Fri May 20, 2016 6:07 am

Awesome! I'll report back here with results just as soon as I start my cleaning. Thanks for the help!