Large HF USC hacked :)

[roncoinc]

After hacking the timer on the smaller hf usc to stay on i took my big one apart this morning.

This one uses a mechanical relay for on and to shut it off after the timer runs out.

all the buttons on these units are momentary push buttons so that is what i used to by pass the timer.

Without all the electronic explanation a simple switch and soldering two wires is all it takes.

now using the switch to turn it on the clock readout dont change and the unit stays on.

using the on button the unit turns on and the clock winds down and shuts it off as normal.

one glitch i did notice is if you start it with the bypass switch and shut it off with the off button it will not start again with the bypass switch.

it seems whatever the clock sees when it is shut off it remembers as the "off" time.

workaround is to hit the time set button to change the time and that is cleared and the new bypass switch works again.

the "on" button always works regardless.

the "off" button always works.

 

[tbone75]

I need to find the other hack for the small one. I don't have that kind of big one.

 

[roncoinc]

I need to find the other hack for the small one. I don't have that kind of big one.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/ultrasonic-cleaner-timer-hack.250938/#post-4666913

 

[pops21]

Thanks ron. I'm wondering what frequency these cleaners use and if there is a better frequency then what they use? Also how do you dump the water/cleaner out without it going down into the cleaner itself? Seeing how there is a small gap between the tank and plastic. I have been using a cup to get the bulk out, then a syringe with a tube attached to get the last bit. But its a pain in the butt.

 

[roncoinc]

Thanks ron. I'm wondering what frequency these cleaners use and if there is a better frequency then what they use? Also how do you dump the water/cleaner out without it going down into the cleaner itself? Seeing how there is a small gap between the tank and plastic. I have been using a cup to get the bulk out, then a syringe with a tube attached to get the last bit. But its a pain in the butt.

They use 40khz freq.

i like higher freq better but transducers get priceing if the wattage is up there.

lower freq makes larger scrubbing bubbles,,,higher the freq smaller the bubbles,,better cleaning.

i just tip it up and dump it out.

 

[Stihl 041S]

Thanks Ron.

Another triumph for all Smurffdom.

It is good work.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Thanks for posting up this info Ron. There are a lot of these USC`s out there with the short cycle durations, a longer run time will be really helpful.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Yeah. Old thread. But my HF USC is even older and I've probably reset the damned timer a million times by now. I've gotten way more use out of it than I ever expected and figured if I messed it up trying this workaround it'd be a good excuse to get a newer and larger one anyway.

So after taking the whole thing apart (eight screws on the bottom hold it together) looking for the connections on the main circuit board and not finding them, it dawned on me that the logical place for em would be on the little control board. Duh. Easy enough to remove it for soldering but you'll need a pc board pencil soldering tip to make the connections without getting into the adjacent soldering points and making a mess for yourself.

I bought a momentary switch as suggested, but the smallest one I could find locally came with leads that were just a little too large for the solder locations. I messed with it for awhile before deciding to eliminate the switch altogether and just jump the two connections together with a piece of dinky gauge wire for a permanent "on" solution (which is the desired result in the first place, right?). I plug it in, it turns on. Unplug it, it turns off. Heater still works normally with the panel button. "Set" button still sets the timer and displayed time but has no effect on the unit itself, just what's on the display. "On" switch activates the timer countdown but has no other effect. Counts down to all zeroes and the unit keeps operating. "Off" button does nothing.

Wish I woulda done this 5 years ago.

 

[tug]

I don't mean to hyjack this thread, I have one of the smaller units that quit working any ideas what goes wrong with these? I did not get much use out of it before it died.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Would obviously depend on what doesn't work about it. See link above in post #3 for what happened to his and how he fixed it. May be a common issue with the smaller units. Not much to em. The larger ones have a fuse. Smaller ones probably do too. You may get lucky and it's just blown from a power spike or something else not related to the unit itself.

 

[hangfirew8]

What kind of cleaning fluid do you all use? I tried my usual carb cleaner (forget exactly what) in my small HF USC and the white plastic melted and made a real mess.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Guys swear by all kinds of solutions. And it depends on what you're trying to clean. 50/50 Pine-Sol and water is a popular choice. So is plain ol' Blue Dawn and water..., and just about anything else you can think of.

 

[Jimmy in NC]

Cleaning solution varies on what you are trying to clean. Dawn works wonders on standard mung. PineSol works good on caked crusties.


Carbs I run twice.... once in 50/50 Simple Green and Water and then in straight Sea Foam.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk