Using ultrasonic cleaner to clean carb

[Ax-man]

You basically answered my next question as we seem to have differing opinions about the Simple Green . Using PineSol and water was another method to try. WD 40 to displace the water in the carb.

I am going to bring this up for discussion sake. A long time ago on this site it was mentioned by a knowledgeable poster that once a carb is subjected too water you can never entirely get rid of it from the carb body which is why you shouldn't use water based cleaners to do carbs , some how it gets trapped inside the carb and can cause problems down the road, his recommendation was to use solvent based cleaners which is one of the reasons why I haven't tried other cleaners like Simple Green or PineSol.

I myself don't entirely understand how this could happen as once the saw gets running any water remaining in the carb would get flushed out through the passages and into the combustion chamber and there most certainly wouldn't be enough water and or cleaner residue left over to cause any damage to an engine. Based on most of the replies to the thread this water retention doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Not an issue at all if dealt with appropriately. Any H2O residue in a carb after a thorough USC treatment will either quickly evaporate or be completely displaced during operation and not damage anything. A shot of WD or carb cleaner certainly won't hurt, either. On the other hand, strong solvents or oxidizers when used at full strength can potentially damage the internals of a carb, displace perfectly sound welch plugs, etch the aluminum inside and out, etc. And one thing not to do (as has been said forever) is to use high pressure compressed air to dry the passages. Damage to internals can happen that way, too.

I'm by no means an expert. Just sharing my approach based on everything I've read, learned, and experienced firsthand myself.

The Walbro Service Manual for those inclined to read such stuff...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxP5Bbk4lL0Ab3JBWE9kaWE0b0U/view?usp=sharing

 

[TheTone]

Someone mentioned ethylene glycol. There is a video on Youtube about boiling parts in 50/50 ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and water. I tried this and it did very little (although I have not tried it in a US cleaner, and probably won't). Tried boiling a 009 muffler in Purple Power and ended up with a still dirty muffler covered with white powdery oxidation. Will never use it again. I use hot tap water and a big squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid in my US cleaner for carbs, followed by a short run in plain water. Then blow it out (be sure to hold a finger over any screens or they can go flying), squirt all passages with WD-40 to displace any residual water, then blow it out again and put it in a zip-lock bag if not rebuilding it then. BTW, the WD in WD-40 stands for "water displacement"; 40 probably means the 40th formula tested - makes you wonder about Preparation H - what happened to A - G?

 

[Rockjock]

Someone mentioned ethylene glycol. There is a video on Youtube about boiling parts in 50/50 ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and water. I tried this and it did very little (although I have not tried it in a US cleaner, and probably won't). Tried boiling a 009 muffler in Purple Power and ended up with a still dirty muffler covered with white powdery oxidation. Will never use it again. I use hot tap water and a big squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid in my US cleaner for carbs, followed by a short run in plain water. Then blow it out (be sure to hold a finger over any screens or they can go flying), squirt all passages with WD-40 to displace any residual water, then blow it out again and put it in a zip-lock bag if not rebuilding it then. BTW, the WD in WD-40 stands for "water displacement"; 40 probably means the 40th formula tested - makes you wonder about Preparation H - what happened to A - G?

No need to try all these sorts of concoctions.. plain water ( distilled if you feel the need ) and a drop of dish soap. The wd 40 is not necessary because the carb will be quite hot and the water will evaporate. I must say that many take a simple and tried and true procedure and try to re-invent it.

 

[TheTone]

No need to try all these sorts of concoctions.. plain water ( distilled if you feel the need ) and a drop of dish soap. The wd 40 is not necessary because the carb will be quite hot and the water will evaporate. I must say that many take a simple and tried and true procedure and try to re-invent it.

I wasn't advocating "concoctions", simply warning others about some methods that are out there that had not worked for me or had produced negative results. The US solvent I use is the same one you use - water and dish soap. The WD-40 may well not be necessary - belt and suspenders, perhaps.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Agreed. I've also had decent results with just water and Dawn. 50/50 water and PineSol is a strong concoction and will handle some pretty nasty cake and varnish, tho!
I use the WD more as a 'fogger' for the non-aluminum components like springs, shafts, needles, and throttle/choke plate screws which indeed have a tendency to rust if left untreated with at least something after a bath.

 

[TheTone]

Agreed. I've also had decent results with just water and Dawn. 50/50 water and PineSol is a strong concoction and will handle some pretty nasty cake and varnish, tho!
I use the WD more as a 'fogger' for the non-aluminum components like springs, shafts, needles, and throttle/choke plate screws which indeed have a tendency to rust if left untreated with at least something after a bath.

Have you had better results with 50/50 water and PineSol with carbs vs. water and Dawn?

 

[SteveSr]

I use regular Berrymans liquid carb cleaner in my small unheated US. It is mostly xylene so has a low vapor pressure. I put the carb in a small glass jar with a lid on it and fill the US with hot water. You can tell the cleaning that is occurring by the color that the Berrymans changes to. Seems to work well and is guaranteed not to attack or etch aluminum.

One issue that you need to watch out for is sealed welch plugs. The US cleaning will likely remove or soften this sealant if the ethanol gas hasn't done it already. In which case you may have a fuel leak into the idle circuit which is irreparable. I believe that both Walbro and Zama have improved their casting and welch plug machining to obviate the need for sealants. Neither manufacturer was able to find a sealant that was resistant to all fuel types and additives.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

On nasty carbs (and other really greasy stuff), absolutely. No comparison. Nor should there be..., even with two drops of dish soap. LOL

Bottom line is use common sense with whatever seems to float your boat and convinces you the results you obtain are what you're looking for. Also bear in mind the limitations and inconsistencies between USC's..., especially the cheapies. I honestly believe I got lucky with mine since it's lasted so long and still does the job I'm looking for in a carb cleaning. I use it for other things as well, of course. Does a nice finishing job on say a piston or cylinder after a soak in Berryman's Chem Dip or certain other stuff right out of the parts washer (solvent based). These jobs are generally a Dawn and water solution followed by a faucet rinse and whatever makes sense after that depending on the metal or material.

Then again, the thread is about carb cleaning. Most carb rebuilds shouldn't need to even see a USC and will be fine with a couple shots of carb cleaner unless they've been sitting for a long time with old gas or ethanol mix that's sucked water and left the typical scuz and gum.

 

[TheTone]

On nasty carbs (and other really greasy stuff), absolutely. No comparison. Nor should there be..., even with two drops of dish soap. LOL (. . .)
Then again, the thread is about carb cleaning. Most carb rebuilds shouldn't need to even see a USC and will be fine with a couple shots of carb cleaner unless they've been sitting for a long time with old gas or ethanol mix that's sucked water and left the typical scuz and gum.

I have an old 056 Tillotson that will need all the cleaning power I can muster. I'm going to try the PineSol/water on that one!

 

[BrokenSVT]

BTW, the WD in WD-40 stands for "water displacement"; 40 probably means the 40th formula tested - makes you wonder about Preparation H - what happened to A - G?

Your description may make a person wonder what happened to Preparations prior to 'H', but leaves no one wondering what Preparation 'A' stood for

 

[TheTone]

Your description may make a person wonder what happened to Preparations prior to 'H', but leaves no one wondering what Preparation 'A' stood for

Probably a good thing the first one didn't work.

 

[BrokenSVT]

Probably a good thing the first one didn't work.

Ass, Butt, Crevasse, Dirty Hole, Exit, Farter, Great Divide...

They all coulda been hits.

 

[TheTone]

I'm sure the H was for hemorrhoids, but it does provide material for a joke!

 

[Okie]

I use a 50/50ix of white vinegar and water and it's heated to about 180 in my ultrasonic.

Cheap and works great. If the carb is not going to be installed when thru cleaning, such as stored as a test spare for later, I dry the carb good and oil down with WD40 or ATF and place in a zip loc bag.
The heated vinegar/water is cheap and safe and works good for cleaning the carb. I also use a tag wire or a carb orfice cleaning tool, which is dirt cheap from flea bay and clean the itty bitty jets holes then low pressure air. Too much air can blow out welch plugs, etc. I sometimes use the air cleaning three or 4 times during the cleaning going by the visual condition of the carb when I took it apart.
If I see a carb that needs re-built and I'm not familiar with that carb I try to review the re-build procedure for do's and mainly Do not's on line before taking the carb apart.

Some things in the little Walbro's you do not need to remove because no replaceable parts available and tips on-line as to how to test these parts during the re-build process.
(such a some small springs and check valves)

 

[JonCraig]

Might open a can of worms here, but I prefer to fill the tank with plain warm water, but I put the carb in a jelly jar filled with marvel mystery oil. The glass sits directly on the floor of the USC (promotes transferring of the vibrations to the fluid in the jar). Marvel Mystery Oil is almost entirely petroleum-based detergents. I'm sure you'd get the same results from ATF or sea foam or the like. With the USC running, I have often seen the gunk coming out of carb passages. I filter the MMO thru a rag back into the bottle for re-use. Been using the same bottle for over a year.

My $0.02.

 

[Ax-man]

Lots of good info being posted . Keep it coming. I have some known to be bad carbs I have been saving for small parts like springs that don't come in the kits . I'll have to try some of these methods and see what happens and put them on the saws they came off of and see if they run just as good or perhaps better.

 

[Okie]

Might open a can of worms here, but I prefer to fill the tank with plain warm water, but I put the carb in a jelly jar filled with marvel mystery oil. The glass sits directly on the floor of the USC (promotes transferring of the vibrations to the fluid in the jar). Marvel Mystery Oil is almost entirely petroleum-based detergents. I'm sure you'd get the same results from ATF or sea foam or the like. With the USC running, I have often seen the gunk coming out of carb passages. I filter the MMO thru a rag back into the bottle for re-use. Been using the same bottle for over a year.

My $0.02.

I'll try that with Marvel Mystery Oil idea. I already have the MM oil and I also preheat the water even though my ultrasonic eventually does the heating. When I use the 50/50 mix of vinegar and water I have to clean the vinegar solution out of the carb real good and soak in ATF fluid before storing a carb so as to stop the vinegar from possibly eventually rusting some parts. The carb is ok if I just put the carb on equipment and start using the carb.
I'll also try just using ATF fluid.

I also strain some of my cleaners thru coffee filter for re-use.

 

[JTM]

I use regular Berrymans liquid carb cleaner in my small unheated US. It is mostly xylene so has a low vapor pressure. I put the carb in a small glass jar with a lid on it and fill the US with hot water. You can tell the cleaning that is occurring by the color that the Berrymans changes to. Seems to work well and is guaranteed not to attack or etch aluminum.

One issue that you need to watch out for is sealed welch plugs. The US cleaning will likely remove or soften this sealant if the ethanol gas hasn't done it already. In which case you may have a fuel leak into the idle circuit which is irreparable. I believe that both Walbro and Zama have improved their casting and welch plug machining to obviate the need for sealants. Neither manufacturer was able to find a sealant that was resistant to all fuel types and additives.

A practice in chemistry is that like dissolves like. An organic solvent like that mentioned here is the most efficient. And certainly safer in a closed container.

 

[SteveSr]

I use a 50/50ix of white vinegar and water and it's heated to about 180 in my ultrasonic.

I would have reservations using vinegar due to its acidic nature (acetic acid) and the fear that it might etch polished (or at least machined) needle seats and possible enlarge small carb orifices.

Both Walbro and Zama also warn against using any kind of wires or other sharp objects in orifices for fear of enlarging/damaging them especially if they are cast metal/aluminum. I would think that the US and suitable solvent should be able to reopen even blocked passages without the risk of damage.