# Ultrasonic cleaning : Bottles



## Uncle_Jarvis

Hey guys . 

 I have several Cole Parmer ultrasonic cleaning machines at my employment. I was wondering how well would this method work when compared to using chemicals and scrubbing? 

 Does anyone have experience with this ? 


 thanks.


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## SC pontil collector

Hi, 
 What is Cole Palmer ultra cleaning machine and what is usually used for?
 Thanks,
 sc pontil collector


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## cyberdigger

These cleaners transform low-frequency AC current into 42 kHz high-frequency sound waves via a piezoelectric transducer. The transducer creates sinusoidal waves, which in turn cause cavitationâ€”the formation and violent collapse of minute vacuum bubbles in the solution. These implosions thoroughly scrub every surface with which the solution makes contact, yet are not harsh on delicate items.
 I'd love to know what results you get on sick glass, uncle J..


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## Wheelah23

I say go for it! Try it on a sick slick... []


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## Uncle_Jarvis

I brought some test subjects into work today..  []   Hold on, Ill take a pic before I proceed


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## SC pontil collector

Thank you for explaining what this method does and how it works. Sounds like some pretty high tech stuff.
 sc pontil collector


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## blobbottlebob

> via a piezoelectric transducer.


 Chuck,
 It sounds like you've been watching the sci-fi channel.


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## Uncle_Jarvis

here is a link to what Im using ..  

  http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=0889504

 I have one unit with cleaning solution and another with distilled water only 

 just ran a 60 min cycle .. gona do it again and then put the bottles in the water only bath for another 60 min


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## splante

never thought of that, used to use ultra sonic in my past employement .May work great,keep us posted. you may be onto something here


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## Uncle_Jarvis

*Before ultrasonic idea*
_Have in mind I was using scotch brite pads and industrial cylinder  brushes with barkeepers friend and progress was...slow.... minimal  results..  and a lot of grunt force required.. for these bottles_


*Currently*
 I went to take a look at the progress of my 3 bottles after the 60 min cycle..  Upon inspection I found no need for another cleaning cycle so I proceeded to put them in the distilled water bath. 

 Results are pretty staggering. (in a good way) [][]  All three bottles were cloudy and had mineral deposits all encrusted in the glass. NOW they look brand new. 

 Super fragile and delicate bottles and glass ware would vastly benefit from this method also.. there is 0 abrasion in any way what so ever . . 

 Im speechless folks...  

_I'll post up some pics a lil later , I just realized I forgot my usb cable at home_... []


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## Uncle_Jarvis

The ultrasonic machine will not fix abrasions or case wear marks (thats where a tumbler come in) but as far as removing actual material and mineral deposits go (the least evasive way possible), I find this to be my new , go to solution..   

 Now I need a tumbler..  [:-]


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## peejrey

Can we have a before and after shot?[]


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## Wheelah23

Where can I get one of those? []


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## cyberdigger

I hope the sickness doesn't reappear when the bottles dry out.. if not, I'd definitely like to see before/after pix!


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## Bixel

Next question is, can you buy one of these that will clean a larger bottle, something like a quart soda?


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## xxfollyxx

> ORIGINAL:  cyberdigger
> 
> These cleaners transform low-frequency AC current into 42 kHz high-frequency sound waves via a piezoelectric transducer. The transducer creates sinusoidal waves, which in turn cause cavitationâ€”the formation and violent collapse of minute vacuum bubbles in the solution. These implosions thoroughly scrub every surface with which the solution makes contact, yet are not harsh on delicate items.
> I'd love to know what results you get on sick glass, uncle J..


 
 Sounds somewhat technical.  

 Allow me to explain it in layman's terms

_Lightning will strike the clock tower, electrifying the cable... 
 as the connecting hook makes contact... 
 thereby sending 1.21 gigawatts into the flux capacitor... 
 and sending you back to 1985. _


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## splante

yes need to see a before and after shot


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## Uncle_Jarvis

sorry to leave ya'll hanging .. Yesterday I never took before pics..  I had 3 sickly bottles of the common Bromo Seltzer. I have after pics Ill post in a bit. 

 Today I brought 4 Coke bottles in that I have previously cleaned but once they dried you got this cloudy caking matte finish on the inside from what Im guessing is mineral deposits that could not be removed when I vigorously hand cleaned them with brushes and barkeepers friend ..  It was a bit frustrating but as we speak Im giving them a go in the ultrasonic bath. 

 Im just refining some settings with proper heat temperature and De-gas the solution , because air bubbles are BAD for this cleaning method. Ohhh. I took before pics this time around also. keep posted..


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## Uncle_Jarvis

Here are some pics from yesterday .. these 3 bottles were very cloudy looking before the dip.. They look pretty good now.


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## Uncle_Jarvis

Have in mind with these next one. They were already cleaned but were being very picky on loosing that dang sick look. . The aqua ss coke looks like there not much hope other than a tumbling. 

*BEFORE the ultrasonic cleaning*


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## Uncle_Jarvis

*AFTER 

*yea.. I know *, *not much hope for the ss Coke.. only the numerous physical defects remain  . The 1915 Coke finally lost the cloudy inside []
*







*The circular ring on the green Coke is actually a physical defect in the bottle. Everything else looked good. It was recovered underwater in the FL keys
*




*


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## RED Matthews

Thank you,  This looks good to me.  RED Matthews


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## Uncle_Jarvis

Overall I'm pretty happy with the results. I only ran these bottles through one 50 min cycle @ 48 C temperature 

 Im still in the process of fine tuning the settings but I know in the future I'll for sure be using this method instead the old brush/scrubber/chemical bath method. 

 More fragile objects can also most benefit from this process.


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## splante

appears to be a good soulation for most bottles that are hard to remove stains ect...like you said the others may neesd tumbling. But for most bottles looks like it will clean up nice I have some luck with acis magic but dangerous stuff to work with. Do you have an acl bottle (common) that you wouldt care if it hurts the acl or not. would like to know if it wears it downor not. Might be surffing ebay and craigs list for ultrasonic cleaners, anothe way would be companys that are having equipment being auctioned off. I know we used to have them from small desk top to maybe 3x4 tanks...........
 thanks uncle jarvis


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## SC pontil collector

This seems like a safe method for clearing up bottles that are hazed. Before we tumble a dug bottle , the bottle goes through a cleaning process that can be somewhat lengthy.  We do this mainly so we can pin point any weak points (pot stones, areas of thin glass, burst bubbles, etc.) before tumbling.
 Please, keep us updated on your tests and if possible can anyone tell us where to find one of these machines?
 Thank you,
 sc pontil collector


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## AntiqueMeds

Be careful using an ultrasonic cleaner for any bottle that has hairline cracks, bruises, pontil marks or other discontinuities in the glass.
 You may end up with a basket full of parts.

 It will clean glass pretty well but it wont fix sick, erroded surfaces so tumbling is still the best approach there.


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## suzanne

A dentist e-mailed me a while back and said they used those machines to clean stains on dentures and stuff and I looked up prices and found out they were impossibly expensive as far as the average person goes.  Great results though.  He said it really cut down on the time he had to spend tumbling bottles.


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## splante

wide range of sizes and prices on the bay.
 I would think craigs list might have them once in a while from companys that are going out of biz or something
 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=ultra+sonic+cleaners&_sacat=See-All-Categories


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## SC pontil collector

Thanks for the link to these cleaning machines.
 From the little I saw on the link, the machines run from small to about a 30 L (which seemed pretty large).Prices of course varied.
 A commercial two canister tumbling machine from Wayne runs roughly about $400.00? So, one of these ultra cleaning machines seem somewhat reasonable.
 From what has been posted, it seems that this machine won't clean a heavily dug bottle compleetly clean. However, if it cleans it up enough to cut down on the hand cleaning and tumbling time, that seems like maybe its worth it.
 Can it be used on bottles that have very thin glass? Does it affect the iron on I/P s. I tumble mostly pontiled bottles.
 Thank you,
 sc pontil collector


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## Rockhounder55

We have one of those ultra-sonic machines at work, and I've been wanting to try it on a bottle since this thread started. Well, today I took one to work, and here's the preliminary results. This is the before pic. []  ~Mike


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## Rockhounder55

Here it is after about an hour in the cleaner. I'm not sure what the temp was. It's a little better. I'll try and get it back in there tomorrow or Monday.  ~Mike


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## rockbot

We used to use that with trichloroethylene as the solution. Cleaned real good, nice and toxic too.


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