Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III

Status
Not open for further replies.

theone28351

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 9, 2013
81
14
Right Here Right Now,USA
I use glass. $30 cheapo USC from Harbor Freight. Dog food kibble rubber banded to keep on button depressed.
No heater. I start with cold water, it heats in about 30-40 minutes.
Turkey baster to replace warm with cool if I want to keep it going.
I usually just use 30-40 minute cycles with an hour or two between cycles.
4-5 hours steeped over the weekend probably knocks a couple of weeks off of waiting.
:2c:

"The BlackHillsGoldSource sonic cleaner emits vibrations of 42,000 cycles per second with 50 watts of power, during longer cycles, the unit will heat the cleaning solution to approximately 120˚F for improved cleansing."

This is a cut and paste from their wbsite so i thought it wouldn't get above 120˚F and if it did not much, I like the idea of the turkey baster, Thanks.
 

theone28351

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 9, 2013
81
14
Right Here Right Now,USA
I use glass bottle in my UC however I have used standard(?) ejuice plastic bottles in hot water bath at up to 140F without any issues with them. IMO if the bottle were hot enough to warp juivce got to hot.


My post #752
snip




Note: How fast and how hot water gets in a UC depends on atrting water temp., room temp. amout of water and ejuice in it, how powerful the unit is. My has two 60 watt power transducers in it plus a 100 watt heater on a seperat conrtol which I only use for hot water bath stage of steeping.

So my juice may be dead?? I plan on monitoring it a lot closer tonight when i try again, temp, time, everything hopefully i didn't wasste my juices the tribeca still tastes the same and the others STILL taste bad to me so hopefully i didn't do too much damage.

Thanks
 

dannyv45

ECF DIY E-Liquid Guru
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Apr 12, 2013
7,739
8,424
New Jersey
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
This is the US cleaner that i just bought. I went ahead and got one with a heater, i figured we could use it for other things also. What do you guys think?

Amazon.com: iSonic® Ultrasonic Cleaner Model P4810 Combo 2P for Brass Cleaning: Musical Instruments

Very nice. I have the same one for several months now. Very dependable and does a great job. Use the basket and fill to the maximum line and it will run very quiet. the Heater run's a little hot (140 degrees) so watch that. you don't want the water hotter then 120 degrees. Only run the heater for half of the first cycle (15min) then shut it off. The temperature will be maintained through the rest of the cycles at just the right temperature by the ultrasonic wave action.
 
Last edited:

Scope666

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 29, 2013
903
1,066
Glen Ridge, NJ

bobalex

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Yeah, I saw that ... I'm just 2nd guessing myself for wanting to get another UC when I already have one. The 30 minute timer and 70 watts vs. the 35 I have now are very tempting though.

I just made a new batch of my four core flavors (70 mls each) over the weekend. For The First Time I made them all 70/30 PG/VG. I've always been a 100% PG 100% all tobacco guy and I thought a little VG might smooth out the flavor. It did. But this time the 8 minute limit on the UC really started to bug me. If only I had clicked around a few more times I could have found the 30 minute UC and spent a couple of dollars less. But I didn't ... and I can't bring myself to spend more money on something that ain't broke.

What I've Learned Dept.

Adding VG to the mix added another hour to the UC process. That's why the 8 minute limit was more noticeable this time around. Had to hop up 8 extra times. Not complaining ... just reporting from the field.

But by the end of the day, instead of waiting around for a month, I have 280mls of great tasting e-liquid. I can continue to put up with my 8 minute limit.

Did the aluminum foil test. Yow! It was amazing to see how fast the foil got shredded. It's like the foil was attacked by those nano-bots from the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
 

Scope666

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 29, 2013
903
1,066
Glen Ridge, NJ
This is true ... I ordered it ... my mother-in-law loves the one I have now for her glasses, so at least it will get a new home. :)


Well, it arrived ... but I think I got a bad one. I don't hear ANY buzzing sound, only the quiet whir of the fan. Top of the water is dead still. Pencil mark on frosted glass test, doesn't do anything. On my old one the mark comes off in a couple of seconds. ....


EDIT: Talked to the seller, walked me through opening it up, turns out the wire from the transducer to the circuit board had come off in shipping. She's working like a champ now.
 
Last edited:

Scope666

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 29, 2013
903
1,066
Glen Ridge, NJ
Glad it worked out. A bit disappointing that yours had a problem but at least the seller helped you through it. That would be a positive experience in my book.


Absolutely ... I'm going to give this guy STELLAR feedback because of how helpful he was. I had it up and running in about 30 minutes, and he kept me from having to ship it back and wait another week. Plus he's sending me a few bottles of cleaning solution for the trouble.

Here's the seller, I would definitely recommend him if anyone else is looking for a unit:

sonic4all on eBay



Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is an EXCELLENT unit. Since I was in there, I got a good look at the transducer, the thing looks quite hefty and industrial. It is WAY more powerful than the Magnasonic I had before.
 

Scope666

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 29, 2013
903
1,066
Glen Ridge, NJ
Some good info from the dealer (got his permission to share, he knows we're steeping with these and thinks it's a good use for the unit)


Hi Craig, Thanks a lot for your nice comments and mentioning our seller info on eBay! Really appreciate it!

I read some of the postings on the forum. Ultrasonic cleaners are our specialty so we know a thing or two about them and various models on the market. The model P4810 you bought is the best model for you application. This is a commercial model. The transducer used is a true industrial grade transducer. It's twice more powerful and more durable compared to what we call personal models like the one you had before. For those models, we use a wafer transducer. It's a thin (about 1/8") disc vs. the one you saw in this one. It also has a 30-minute timer.

One model that some members mentioned is also a commercial model. We carry it as well, model P4820 (CD-4820). One of the main difference is that model has a rectangular tank at 9.6"x6.9"x3" vs. 7.2"x6"x3" in P4810. It's more suitable to clean longer items which cannot fit into P4810. Because it's rectangular, it has weaker spots for ultrasonic energy at the two far ends. P4810's tank is almost square. Therefore it has uniform ultrasonic energy through out the tank. For mixing this is perfect. You don't need to stir material much if at all vs. P4820. The other benefit is that P4810 has a 30-minute timer vs. regular P4820 has a 8-minute timer. For liposomal vitamin C application, we also recommend P4810 for the same reasons. We do have an upgraded model of P4820 with a 25-minute timer.

I think someone mentioned that he run his 8-minute unit (P4820) 20-30 times. This could cause trouble though. We recommend that customers shouldn't run the commercial models for more than 30 minutes continuously. The reason is that the ultrasonic transducer vibrates at very high speed, 36-42KHz for our models and it generates mechanical heat. That's why the water temperature will rise even the heater is not turned on. It also keeps water warm if the heater is used earlier. If the unit is run for too long, too much heat will build up and may ruin the transducer. Our commercial units are equipped with cooling fan. Users should still give a 10-20 minute break in between two full 30-minute cycles to improve the life of the unit.

Some vendors claim their products are professional ultrasonic cleaners. If the prices are under ~$70-$90, it's unlikely it's a commercial model. The small sizes of the units have no room to house the industrial transducer which is a couple of inches tall, plus the costs.

If you have any questions regarding ultrasonic cleaners, we'll be very happy to help. I'd like to do more with your community as well so keep me posted with your findings.

Enjoy steeping over the week end!

Jerry
iSonic
index
 

HappiVappi

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 3, 2013
316
436
Altamonte Springs, FL, USA
Fair warning:
I did not read the entire 3 threads, nor did I ever mix my own juice. But what I am reading here is so intriguing that I want to try.

I enjoy juices like Halo Tribeca, Prime 15, Boba's Bounty, Gorilla Juice and a locally made MY4, which is kinda nutty and mushroomy RY4.

It will not be my goal to replicate those flavors, but I'd love to experiment a little bit without breaking the bank. I have the Harbor Freight 8 minute UC already, which should do well enough.

Bobalex here mentioned his one-stop-shop vendor (ecigexpress) and I saw they have a "starter kit". Is this a really good start or should I go with something else?

The other thing I really don't get is over at the e-liquid calculator (e-Liquid Calculator :: Berrymint Mix)

If you check this recipe - and all others for that matter - it shows 12.9% PG and 50% VG, but below the strength = 12 mg it says PG/VG ratio 50%. I cannot figure that out.....

Any suggestions regarding a starting point and lifting the fog from the ratio/recipes is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Cheers.
 

dannyv45

ECF DIY E-Liquid Guru
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Apr 12, 2013
7,739
8,424
New Jersey
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
Fair warning:
I did not read the entire 3 threads, nor did I ever mix my own juice. But what I am reading here is so intriguing that I want to try.

I enjoy juices like Halo Tribeca, Prime 15, Boba's Bounty, Gorilla Juice and a locally made MY4, which is kinda nutty and mushroomy RY4.

It will not be my goal to replicate those flavors, but I'd love to experiment a little bit without breaking the bank. I have the Harbor Freight 8 minute UC already, which should do well enough.

Bobalex here mentioned his one-stop-shop vendor (ecigexpress) and I saw they have a "starter kit". Is this a really good start or should I go with something else?

The other thing I really don't get is over at the e-liquid calculator (e-Liquid Calculator :: Berrymint Mix)

If you check this recipe - and all others for that matter - it shows 12.9% PG and 50% VG, but below the strength = 12 mg it says PG/VG ratio 50%. I cannot figure that out.....

Any suggestions regarding a starting point and lifting the fog from the ratio/recipes is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Cheers.

read my blog on getting started with supplies. It will clear a lot of things up. Then read the rest of my blogs.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...need-know-far-supplies-first-time-juicer.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread