[sdiy] Ultrasonic cleaners and key grease - opinions sought!

[James R. Coplin]

I bought a cheapish Chinese unit years ago off eBay and it has performed well enough. Stay away from the smaller units designed mainly as jewelry cleaners. I went through a couple of those in short order. Their life cycle seems to be used a couple times a year for a couple years. Mine burned out quickly. I got a larger tank and more industrial one with a heater. The heater part is highly recommended as it will let you clean really difficult things and parts. Be careful though with parts that could melt. The main cost cutting on the Chinese units is they have a lower frequency than the higher end units but are fine for general use.

James R Coplin

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:07 AM, Steve Lenham <steve at bendentech.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I wondered whether I could tap into the group's wisdom on a couple of things.
> 
> First, I'm tempted to invest in a small ultrasonic cleaning bath. I have lots of keyboard instruments to restore, and it looks like that might be a quick and easy way of cleaning the keys themselves (and much more). eBay is full of cheap no-brand Chinese units, and I am curious whether anyone has already tried one of them. Are they too good to be true? Anyone care to recommend a particular type?
> 
> I'm aware of the risks and tradeoffs with buying this kind of cut-price stuff, but there is a whole spectrum between "cheap and cheerful" and "totally unusable" - hence the question.
> 
> Second, and slightly related, is the subject of "key grease", i.e. the grease for key pivots when reassembling keybeds. Sellers will happily charge large amounts of money for tiny amounts of this, but is there really anything special about it? Does it require particular properties (besides being suitable for plastic)? Silicone or silicone-free? Again, recommendations would be great.
> 
> Thanks for any advice.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Steve L.
> Benden Sound Technology
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