rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on Apr 30, 2022 14:27:08 GMT -5
In this thread ( forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/98739/get-soap-out-polished-rocks ) I asked if an ultrasonic/jewelry cleaner would get soap out of tumbled rocks and it seemed like others thought it would, so I decided to test it and I bought one. Thought I would post results for others to see. First thing though, I bought a cheaper, smaller one from Amazon because I don't own much jewelry so if it didn't work for rocks I at least didn't spend a ton of money on it. Luckily it does work for rocks, but I think since I got a cheaper one it isn't super powerful, so I had to run some of these through more than one cycle (it has a timer that shuts it off after a few minutes). But, adding a drop or two of Dawn soap helped a LOT, definitely reduces the amount of times you need to run the thing. Anyways, here's the pictures. A before and after of the rocks shown in the original post.  Some other before and after pictures of rocks from the same tumble.   (color is weird in this one because I took the pictures with different cameras, whoops)   So once I knew it worked for soap I decided to see if it would work on dried out polish. This rock is from my very first tumble before I started doing a soap run after the final polish stage, so this is polish that has been stuck in the rock for over a year. I did try to clean it when I first saw it but to no avail. I only ran it once through the cleaner.  I decided to test the cleaner further by seeing if it would clean rough rocks. So I put in one half of a dirty oco geode I had. I had scrubbed this thing before and had only gotten it as clean as the left half shown, so it did a pretty good job. Right half went through the cleaner, left half has not.   even the inside looks a bit cleaner  So it cleans soap, polish, and dirt. I'm pretty happy with this thing. So far it hasn't done any damage to the rocks I put in and the tumbled ones still are shiny. It's nice that it can do several rocks at once, but mostly it's nice that I don't have to clean each one by hand and can just let a machine do it for me  |
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller 
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 550
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Post by LazerFlash on Apr 30, 2022 14:39:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the great post!
I, too, have had pretty impressive results from the use of the ultrasonic cleaner. It's amazing just how quickly the water gets dirty on 'clean' stones - especially after a stage 1 run!
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phixer
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 69
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Post by phixer on Apr 30, 2022 14:50:30 GMT -5
Great before and after pics. I have also gotten good results with an ultrasonic cleaner and dish soap. Even after cleaning with a fine brush and soap I will get a lot more out in the ultrasonic cleaner.
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on Apr 30, 2022 15:03:58 GMT -5
Great before and after pics. I have also gotten good results with an ultrasonic cleaner and dish soap. Even after cleaning with a fine brush and soap I will get a lot more out in the ultrasonic cleaner. Exactly! I kept thinking there was no way it could clean something I had already scrubbed like crazy... I was wrong each time |
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hoolligan1938
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 253
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Post by hoolligan1938 on Apr 30, 2022 17:34:18 GMT -5
rockfrog - WOW! I call that pretty impressive results. I will have to try that myself. Thanks for the great photo comparisons.
Jim
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Post by Son Of Beach on Apr 30, 2022 20:06:49 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the follow up. That geode is something else  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 30, 2022 20:41:34 GMT -5
rockfrog - WOW! Seriously thank you for taking the time not only to do the experiment, but the time it took to take pics and post the results!!
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on Apr 30, 2022 22:07:25 GMT -5
rockfrog - WOW! Seriously thank you for taking the time not only to do the experiment, but the time it took to take pics and post the results!! Glad people are enjoying the pictures! When I posted the original question I didn't get much of a response, and the other threads on here didn't have any pictures so thought it would be good to get some pictures up! I looked on google and didn't see any pictures either, and only found one youtube video, but it only addressed using it to get grit out, not polish or soap. Even the reviews on Amazon for the ultrasonic cleaner (that were about rocks) didn't have pictures. |
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 550
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Post by LazerFlash on Apr 30, 2022 22:56:31 GMT -5
Even the reviews on Amazon for the ultrasonic cleaner (that were about rocks) didn't have pictures. Hope you've rectified that deficiency!  |
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CLErocks
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2021
Posts: 342
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Post by CLErocks on May 1, 2022 6:49:58 GMT -5
Ok. Cool.
Another thing to buy.
🤣🤣🤣
glad I’m learning all this relatively early in my tumbling “career”.
And thanks for sharing your wisdom.
This forum has helped me learn so much!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on May 1, 2022 10:42:16 GMT -5
Be aware that there are certain stones you SHOULD NOT put in an ultrasonic. There are a ton of lists on the web so just do a search before you plunk something in there. Generally, jaspers and agates are fine. It's the softer stones and brittle stones that shouldn't go in. Also, organic "stones" -- any type of pearl, amber, etc. shouldn't go in.
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 11:27:04 GMT -5
Even the reviews on Amazon for the ultrasonic cleaner (that were about rocks) didn't have pictures. Hope you've rectified that deficiency!  I have now! |
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 11:37:33 GMT -5
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 11:41:20 GMT -5
Be aware that there are certain stones you SHOULD NOT be put in an ultrasonic. There are a ton of lists on the web so just do a search before you plunk something in there. Generally, jaspers and agates are fine. It's the softer stones and brittle stones that shouldn't go in. Also, organic "stones" -- any type of pearl, amber, etc. shouldn't go in. Luckily mine came with a little list of what should not be put in it. I'll probably keep experimenting and posting results here if I find anything else that shouldn't be put in |
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 13:04:26 GMT -5
 quartz cluster before and after |
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 14:01:19 GMT -5
Went through several websites to see what people said not to put in. One said no smoky quartz, which sounded a bit silly to me. Ran this piece through twice. No problems.   |
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 1, 2022 14:59:18 GMT -5
Just a chunk of quartz. Ran this piece 5 times, and nothing really happened  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on May 1, 2022 15:20:22 GMT -5
Any quartz should be fine as long as it's not coated or otherwise treated. Quartz with inclusions might be iffy, but there's one way to find out. Anything heat treated might be a problem and anything dyed will definitely not do well. Lots of fractures probably wouldn't be good either. Those may break along the fracture lines. Just depends on if they're well healed or not.
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 550
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Post by LazerFlash on May 1, 2022 15:38:49 GMT -5
Just a chunk of quartz. Ran this piece 5 times, and nothing really happened |
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rockfrog
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2021
Posts: 115
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Post by rockfrog on May 6, 2022 20:58:20 GMT -5
A small update
Put a piece of coral in since that was another material listed to not put in and nothing changed. Also put a piece of "citrine" in since I read that heat treated materials could be damaged, no change on that one either.
I did put a celestite cluster in because it was dusty, and man does it sparkle like crazy now. Forgot to get a before picture though.. whoops
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