danpgh23
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2023
Posts: 3
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Post by danpgh23 on Jun 25, 2024 12:42:19 GMT -5
Hello, I see a few videos of cleaning rocks in an ultrasonic. I notice mostly people only cleaning a few at a time. Can you fill it to the waterline full of rocks? Should they be spaced out?.. I hope to learn more about how to use, and what is happening in an ultrasonic cleaner. thank you, dan~ pittsburgh
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mirkee
noticing nice landscape pebbles
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Started tumbling a couple of months ago but now have four tumblers. Very interested in the hobby.
Member since March 2024
Posts: 81
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Post by mirkee on Jun 25, 2024 19:30:32 GMT -5
Me to0!
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rocknuv
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 7
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Post by rocknuv on Jun 30, 2024 16:47:33 GMT -5
Here is my understanding: Most ultrasonic cleaners have a fill line where the cleaning solution should be filled up to. In order not to damage the tank, and also get the most efficient cleaning, it's best to have the solution reach that fill line. However, I think your question is more about the amount of rocks that can be put into the tank during a cleaning. Is it better to have less or more rocks in the tank? I think you should be able to place as many rocks in the tank as you'd like as long as the cleaning solution (soap or borax solution) stays at the fill line. That being said, it’s possible that a lesser amount of material may be better for certain types of material since there will be less collisions between the rocks. But I don't think that matters too much with rocks, since you just took them out of the tumbler where many collisions were taking place for hours or days. A more important counterpoint is that with less rocks there will be a greater amount of solution compared to the rock material. Therefore, there will be a greater amount of imploding cavitation bubbles produced by the ultrasonic waves since the solution-to-rock material ratio is greater. So, you might just need to run the ultrasonic cleaner a little longer if there are many rocks. Of course, you will need to rinse the rocks when you take them out of the ultrasonic cleaner especially if the solution gets very dirty. So I guess, with all that being said, if you are placing a large amount of rocks in the bath, you might want to run it longer compared to a small sample of rocks. I usually run my ultrasonic for about 15-20 minutes and it works great in removing left over grit in cracks. For more information on how I use an ultrasonic cleaner after tumbling rocks, see this post: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1321768/thread
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