Question about using Ultrasonic Cleaners…

[sna77]

Sorry if this is the wronf forum... I posted in the Shopping forum the other day and no one answered.. I was hoping for a bigger response than that.

Anyhow, I just bought the Crest 2 Quart (1/2 gallon) Ultrasonic Cleaner, and basket:
http://www.nationaljewelerssupplies.com/page/NJS/PROD/CR175HT

After reading a few threads on this, I have a few questions:

- My unit is heated, with a max temp of 80 degrees Celsius. What temperature should I heat the water too?

- How long should I leave the ring in the UC?

- It came with some cleaning solution. A few people recommended Mr. Clean or ammonia. What are other favorite recipes? How much solution are you using?

- Do you dump the water / cleaning solution every time you use the UC, or do you use the same solution for a week or so at a time?

- This thing does not get "hot." I''d say it heats up to luke warm. Does that sound right?

- What is the best thing to use to dry the ring with?
Thanks!

 

[sna77]

 

[Lorelei]

Sorry you had to bump!

Try this huge thread, it has most PSer''s experiences with ultrasonics, cleaning recipes they use etc.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/can-you-use-an-ultrasonic-cleaner-to-often.34606/

 

[Ellen]

Hi!

I''m surprised such an expensive unit didn''t come with instructions.

At any rate, I''d heat the water til close to boiling. As for how much solution, not sure with yours since it holds so much, maybe 1 part solution to 2 water?

As for how long, 5 min. should do it...Try it and see, experiment, maybe less.

I use water and Dawn, sometimes with a splash of Amonia.

You can keep the solution til it starts getting visably dirty if you want, but I dump mine every time simply because it doesn''t cost much to refill.

After cleaning, I rinse mine well with water, and blow it dry with a blow dryer.

 

[mrssalvo]

I agree with Ellen that I''m suprised that detailed instructions didn''t come along. I''m pretty sure Kaleigh has a Quest unit so maybe she will chime in.


Ellen, did you receive the one from Dave Atlas?

 

[Ellen]

mrss., yes, got it yesterday. I''m still experimenting, then I was going to do a thread on my opinion for future reference. Should only be a day or two.

 

[RockDoc]

Since your ultrasonic has a heater there is no need to heat the water..... It should get pretty hot if you let it run with the lid on... not to boiling but hot enough that it will remove most "dirt".

Use mostly water, then just add enough cleaner to get the water feeling a little greasy/slippery. Probably about 9 parts water - 1 part cleaner.


Then clean the jewelry....

Generally, you leave the water in it til it doesn't feel greasy any longer. You don't have to change it frequently. As you use the ultrasonic the liquid will sort of "break" down and won't have that greasy feel to it. That's when to change it.

If the items you are cleaning have small diamonds in them it is best to use a tea ball screeen thingy, to catch any diamonds that fall out during the process. If you do have small diamonds in the item, check it carefully to make sure all the stones are there. If you loose one, it should be in the screen thingy. If you don't use one it will be in the bottom of the ultrasonic, but you'll have to wait till the liquid cools down to "fish" it out.

Rinse item after cleaning.... or steam it with a Jewel Jet.

You can use compressed air on item, and if platinum and you see spots after cleaning a hair dryer works well to remove the spotting.


Hope this helps.
Rockdoc

 

[Ellen]

RockDoc, he said the water got to lukewarm, at best. Is he just not letting it heat up enough?


I have found using so little cleaning agent really doesn''t cut it. I personally use more.

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 1/3/2007 10:55:49 AM
Author: Ellen
RockDoc, he said the water got to lukewarm, at best. Is he just not letting it heat up enough?


I have found using so little cleaning agent really doesn''t cut it. I personally use more.

Re : Water heating up. I can''t answer that. He could be not letting it heat enough. I think hot to the touch is enough, don''t need temp to boiling.

Depends on what type of cleaner you have and what type of detergent you''re using. Ammonia based cleaners work better, but you get the smell of the ammonia. Some people can''t tolerate the smelll, so there is non-ammoniated cleaners available.

The Crest unit is a professional level one, and it should be pretty powerful, wheras some of the smaller ones are not, so perhaps you need or want more detergent. That will vary with people and cleaners, so best to experiment to find the right combination of water/cleaner.

The Crest unit is designed to remove residue from polishing that would necessitate replacing the liquid almost daily. But for the consumer who is not polishing items, frequent changing of the liquid isn''t needed.

Rockdoc

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/3/2007 11:12:29 AM
Author: RockDoc


Re : Water heating up. I can''t answer that. He could be not letting it heat enough. I think hot to the touch is enough, don''t need temp to boiling.

Depends on what type of cleaner you have and what type of detergent you''re using. Ammonia based cleaners work better, but you get the smell of the ammonia. Some people can''t tolerate the smelll, so there is non-ammoniated cleaners available.

The Crest unit is a professional level one, and it should be pretty powerful, wheras some of the smaller ones are not, so perhaps you need or want more detergent. That will vary with people and cleaners, so best to experiment to find the right combination of water/cleaner.

The Crest unit is designed to remove residue from polishing that would necessitate replacing the liquid almost daily. But for the consumer who is not polishing items, frequent changing of the liquid isn''t needed.

Rockdoc

You could be right about less expensive units needing more cleaning agent.

And I always got my water that hot because after putting in the Dawn (which sits under the sink-cold), and running two cycles, the water cooled off so fast.

However I do have a new one and am experimenting, so things may change.

Thanks!

 

[RockDoc]

Ellen

I tried Dawn and didn''t like it at all. It is more "syrupy" than Mr. Clean and makes it difficult to rinse off.

Try some Mr. Clean or an ultrasonic cleaner specifically for jewelry, and compare them.

Of course, this could vary in different ultrasonic units, but see what you think after trying it.


It is probably not wise to take a stone from room temp to boiling instantly. Avoid severe temp changes.

Rockdoc

 

[Ellen]

Date: 1/3/2007 11:43:53 AM
Author: RockDoc
Ellen

I tried Dawn and didn''t like it at all. It is more ''syrupy'' than Mr. Clean and makes it difficult to rinse off.

Try some Mr. Clean or an ultrasonic cleaner specifically for jewelry, and compare them.

Of course, this could vary in different ultrasonic units, but see what you think after trying it.


It is probably not wise to take a stone from room temp to boiling instantly. Avoid severe temp changes.

Rockdoc

Oh, trust me, I''ve tried everything.

One reason I don''t use Mr. Clean very often, or amonia, is that I''ve read it''s (Amonia) not good for WG. Is this true? (erring on the side of caution)

And yes, I do know not to subject them to severe changes, I always temper them first. And the water''s not even boiling by the time my stuff gets in it.

But thanks, and it may help someone else reading this!

 

[coda72]

I have the Sharper Image ultrasonic, and I recently bought some Gemoro solution made for ultrasonics. I thought it might make my rings even cleaner, but there wasn''t much difference. I was using different concoctions, sometimes Dawn, sometimes Windex, sometimes plain old hot water, but I didn''t see much difference. I think the Gemoro solution might make them a little cleaner. The cleaner you got should tell you how to dilute it. I think the Gemoro one is 40 parts of water per 1 part cleaner, and for heavy duty cleaning 20 parts of water per 1 part cleaner. I split the difference and did 30:1. I will probably use this solution a few days up to a week until it seems like it''s not working anymore. Mine is not a heated unit, so I just heat the water in the microwave until it''s pretty hot, but not boiling. I have a Jewel Jet steamer that I use to steam my jewelry after taking it out of the ultrasonic.

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 7:10:03 AM
Author: Ellen
Hi!

I''m surprised such an expensive unit didn''t come with instructions.

At any rate, I''d heat the water til close to boiling. As for how much solution, not sure with yours since it holds so much, maybe 1 part solution to 2 water?

As for how long, 5 min. should do it...Try it and see, experiment, maybe less.

I use water and Dawn, sometimes with a splash of Amonia.

You can keep the solution til it starts getting visably dirty if you want, but I dump mine every time simply because it doesn''t cost much to refill.

After cleaning, I rinse mine well with water, and blow it dry with a blow dryer.

It came with operational instructions (i.e how to turn the thing on etc), but not specifically tuned for a diamond & platinum ring.

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 11:12:29 AM
Author: RockDoc

Date: 1/3/2007 10:55:49 AM
Author: Ellen
RockDoc, he said the water got to lukewarm, at best. Is he just not letting it heat up enough?


I have found using so little cleaning agent really doesn''t cut it. I personally use more.

Re : Water heating up. I can''t answer that. He could be not letting it heat enough. I think hot to the touch is enough, don''t need temp to boiling.

Depends on what type of cleaner you have and what type of detergent you''re using. Ammonia based cleaners work better, but you get the smell of the ammonia. Some people can''t tolerate the smelll, so there is non-ammoniated cleaners available.

The Crest unit is a professional level one, and it should be pretty powerful, wheras some of the smaller ones are not, so perhaps you need or want more detergent. That will vary with people and cleaners, so best to experiment to find the right combination of water/cleaner.

The Crest unit is designed to remove residue from polishing that would necessitate replacing the liquid almost daily. But for the consumer who is not polishing items, frequent changing of the liquid isn''t needed.

Rockdoc

Thanks for all the help. I''m going to call Crest to see why its not heating up fully. I let it heat up for 15 minutes, and the water was just luke warm...

 

[CrownJewel]

quick question about the blowdrying (sorry to threadjack for a moment sna77!!)...I was using it on "high" but since RockDoc says to avoid severe temperature changes, should I keep the blowdryer on "low"?

My stone was significantly sparklier after cleaning and blowdrying (as opposed to airdrying), so I''m glad others have suggested the blowdrying. I''m just nervous about the high temps.

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 1/3/2007 1:06:52 PM
Author: CrownJewel
quick question about the blowdrying (sorry to threadjack for a moment sna77!!)...I was using it on ''high'' but since RockDoc says to avoid severe temperature changes, should I keep the blowdryer on ''low''?

My stone was significantly sparklier after cleaning and blowdrying (as opposed to airdrying), so I''m glad others have suggested the blowdrying. I''m just nervous about the high temps.

I would suggest you rinse the ring is slightly warm water.... maybe a touch higher.

If you rinse it in cold water, then steam it that shouln''t make for a problem... but best to change temps gradually.

A hair dryer doesn''t get that hot. If the ring is cool from a cold water rinse start the dryer away from it and gradually bring it closer to change them temp gradually.

Diamonds are pretty secure even with temp changes..... other colored stones are not.

Opals, emeralds, tanzanites, are no nos for leaving in a hot ultrasonic and other stones that are pourous....


An ultrasonic with a heater should appoach getting hot enough for a little steam to rise from it after running it 15-30 mins covered with the lid.

If the liquid in it only gets lukewarm, then sounds like a defective one. Crest could answer that better or the seller in this case Nat''l. Even an ultrasonic without a heater should heat up quite a bit from the intensity of the movement of the sound waves.

Rockdoc

 

[oldminer]

Your Crest unit, like all other heated ultrasonic units does NOT heat rapidly, but heats over the period of about an hour. In a professional shop you turn it on when you come in and leave it stay hot all day long. There usually is a controller inside the unit to prevent it from boiling the water. It only makes it hot to the touch, which will prevent it from shocking most gemstones with too much heat.

For people at home, it is just a lot faster and easier to use hot tap water and a little Mr. Clean or Top Job. Those work like a charm, especially with hot water.

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 3:18:26 PM
Author: oldminer
Your Crest unit, like all other heated ultrasonic units does NOT heat rapidly, but heats over the period of about an hour. In a professional shop you turn it on when you come in and leave it stay hot all day long. There usually is a controller inside the unit to prevent it from boiling the water. It only makes it hot to the touch, which will prevent it from shocking most gemstones with too much heat.

For people at home, it is just a lot faster and easier to use hot tap water and a little Mr. Clean or Top Job. Those work like a charm, especially with hot water.

Thanks! I actually got this same advice from Crest today when I spoke with them... Same thing "the thing is on all day." I''m home now and am going to run a test. Turning heater on at 6:18 PM EST. Back when the thing gets hotter.

 

[Regular Guy]

sna77,

Did I miss it, or have you made a purchase yet?

 

[CrownJewel]

Ira, oh boy did he make a purchase!!! Here's the link to the proposal and ring pics (be prepared! It's GORGEOUS!): sna77 and fiance


Thanks for the info RockDoc!

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 7:21:25 PM
Author: Regular Guy
sna77,

Did I miss it, or have you made a purchase yet?

Yup. I bought an UC. And something else....

Check the "Show Me the Ring" Thread. Apparently it has different regulars than this thread. LOL

 

[:)]

Date: 1/3/2007 6:18:37 PM
Author: sna77

Date: 1/3/2007 3:18:26 PM
Author: oldminer
Your Crest unit, like all other heated ultrasonic units does NOT heat rapidly, but heats over the period of about an hour. In a professional shop you turn it on when you come in and leave it stay hot all day long. There usually is a controller inside the unit to prevent it from boiling the water. It only makes it hot to the touch, which will prevent it from shocking most gemstones with too much heat.

For people at home, it is just a lot faster and easier to use hot tap water and a little Mr. Clean or Top Job. Those work like a charm, especially with hot water.

Thanks! I actually got this same advice from Crest today when I spoke with them... Same thing ''the thing is on all day.'' I''m home now and am going to run a test. Turning heater on at 6:18 PM EST. Back when the thing gets hotter.

Okay, it is 8:26pm EST - is it hot yet?

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 8:26:44 PM
Author:

Okay, it is 8:26pm EST - is it hot yet?

Yes... But I fell asleep, and it was near boiling (with the cover on), when I woke up... Oops. I''m still jet lagged.

I''ll rerun the test tomorrow.

 

[:)]

Well, at least we know it can get hot

- and that it will happen in less than 2 hours! Now you know you can set your alarm for 5am everyday, get up and plug her u/s in like a good fiancee

so it will be ready for her when she is getting ready in the morning, and then climb back in bed for a little extra shut eye!

 

[Regular Guy]

Congrats! I think some time early on back there this is the one you thought you favored. It sure does look swell.

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 8:32:26 PM
Author: Regular Guy
Congrats! I think some time early on back there this is the one you thought you favored. It sure does look swell.

Actually, I should be thanking you Ira... THANKS! You were the one that originally suggested that stone. My fiance and I both LOVE it.

https://www.pricescope.com/forum/rockytalky/who-wants-to-help-me-choose-a-diamond-t53985.html

Though sympathetic to the argument for F and eye clean...the options I'm looking at don't improve by lowering the scale.

I've got one or two for you to check out:

This one, an E SI 1. 2.37 carats from Abazias, and several others, including Union Diamond, who has the cert, an older one from AGS, for you to see. At just over $24 at Abazias, you're also under budget. Ask them if it's eye clean, though. If it is, even if outside current AGS0, it's a cool HCA score and provides you room, rather than any compromise.

 

[Regular Guy]

I''m delighted!

I could ask why you chose to use WF as your vendor of choice, but it''s not hard to figure out.

Very best of wishes to the both of you!

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 8:52:33 PM
Author: Regular Guy
I''m delighted!

I could ask why you chose to use WF as your vendor of choice, but it''s not hard to figure out.

Very best of wishes to the both of you!

Thanks again Ira!

 

[sna77]

Date: 1/3/2007 8:31:50 PM
Author:
Well, at least we know it can get hot

- and that it will happen in less than 2 hours! Now you know you can set your alarm for 5am everyday, get up and plug her u/s in like a good fiancee

so it will be ready for her when she is getting ready in the morning, and then climb back in bed for a little extra shut eye!

It needs a timer... My $49 coffee maker has one. Hahah