There are 3 main types of UCs:
"Ultrasonic cleaners come in 3 categories, 1 the small toy like systems that are sold by companies for cleaning contact lenses, etc. These are very light duty cleaners with small transducers and very simple generators that are not very efficient."
The Type 1 units will work but will take longer and the results will not be as dramatic as a Type 2 unit.
The higher the wattage of your "transducer" the more pronounced the steeping effect will be.
Type 2 units typically come with larger transducers, heaters, and longer timers. Be careful about wattage specs, many units will say "200 watts" (or whatever) but what it really means is a "total" of 200w for both the transducer and the heater. Look for the "transducer" spec! There will be a spec for the Frequency (usually 42khz), the wattage of the ultrasonic transducers, and the wattage of the heater. The one you are most concerned with is the transducer wattage. For example my latest unit is a 3 liter 220w model with a 99 minuter timer. It has two 60w transducers and a 100w heater. I have seen 250w models which at first glance sound more powerful but that were really a single 50w transducer and 200w heater. This would be much less effective for our intended use. In our application we care about the transducer wattage much more than the heat. I find that if I start with hot water I dont need any heat at all as the operation of the unit generates plenty enough heat all on its own. shop for the most transducer power you can afford, even if it doesnt have any heat. The small cheap ones usually have a 35w or less transducer, and are also less efficient in design, ie the use of plastic etc, but they will work, it just takes longer.
©2013 Mike Petro. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- The small cheap units
- Small Commercial Units often used in Dental offices
- Large industrial units.
"Ultrasonic cleaners come in 3 categories, 1 the small toy like systems that are sold by companies for cleaning contact lenses, etc. These are very light duty cleaners with small transducers and very simple generators that are not very efficient."
The Type 1 units will work but will take longer and the results will not be as dramatic as a Type 2 unit.
The higher the wattage of your "transducer" the more pronounced the steeping effect will be.
Type 2 units typically come with larger transducers, heaters, and longer timers. Be careful about wattage specs, many units will say "200 watts" (or whatever) but what it really means is a "total" of 200w for both the transducer and the heater. Look for the "transducer" spec! There will be a spec for the Frequency (usually 42khz), the wattage of the ultrasonic transducers, and the wattage of the heater. The one you are most concerned with is the transducer wattage. For example my latest unit is a 3 liter 220w model with a 99 minuter timer. It has two 60w transducers and a 100w heater. I have seen 250w models which at first glance sound more powerful but that were really a single 50w transducer and 200w heater. This would be much less effective for our intended use. In our application we care about the transducer wattage much more than the heat. I find that if I start with hot water I dont need any heat at all as the operation of the unit generates plenty enough heat all on its own. shop for the most transducer power you can afford, even if it doesnt have any heat. The small cheap ones usually have a 35w or less transducer, and are also less efficient in design, ie the use of plastic etc, but they will work, it just takes longer.
©2013 Mike Petro. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
