Monday, March 14, 2011

Project Mania 3

Yet again I must apologize for not responding to comments like I should. I've been working a lot of hours lately and it just doesn't mesh well with my blogging. I do read and greatly appreciate your comments. Now, on to bike stuff...

Despite having owned this thing for a little over seven hours, I give two thumbs up to the ultrasonic cleaner I picked up from Harbor Freight Tools for 69.99. I read about it on Bike Forums and decided that this would be a great time saving item.

This is the 2.5 liter model. I don't think you would want to get anything smaller. The water heating feature on this cleaner is excellent, it softens up the caked on grime.

I threw the crank arm in there to give a sense of scale.

This was my test item.

Test item-before.

I ran it through several cycles and did a little scrubbing with a toothbrush.

Test item-after. It's good and clean and ready for polishing (if I'm up to it).

I blasted it with the air compressor to dry it off, then I scrubbed at the rusted areas with some fine steel wool; finally, I lubed the rust prone parts and hinges.

I started throwing everything in there. By the way, I filled the tub with water and a mild dishwashing detergent. I'll try Dawn next time around.

Clean! You could eat off this thing.
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10 comments:

  1. Steve AMarch 14, 2011 at 8:58 PM

    OMG - Another cool gadget!

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  2. GreenComotionMarch 14, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    That cleaner seems to have done a good job! Good find, Myles!!

    Why am I reminded of Mr. Jaws? :)

    Peace :)

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  3. John Romeo AlphaMarch 14, 2011 at 10:51 PM

    Thanks, I was also looking at these at HF, and wondering which size to get. That crank arm seals the deal. You da man.

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  4. adventure!March 15, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    Do they have a model you can just throw the whole bike in?

    When I first saw the photo, I was almost like, "What does this blog post have to do with a clock radio?" ;-)

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  5. PonderoMarch 15, 2011 at 6:53 AM

    Finally, a manly "dish"washer...(insert Tim Allen grunt here).

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  6. AnonymousMarch 15, 2011 at 6:58 AM

    Again WOW!

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  7. Gunnar BergMarch 15, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    ;0)

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  8. ApertomeMarch 15, 2011 at 12:33 PM

    Awesome! I also thought it was a clock radio, in the first shot.

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  9. Big OakMarch 15, 2011 at 7:39 PM

    That thing did a great job on those derailleurs. I scrubbed for over an hour on mine and they didn't turn out nearly as well as yours.

    BTW, I have a Shimano 600 derailleur, similar to yours, although yours may be older (or newer). After 26 years, that derailleur shifts as well as ever!

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  10. Steve AMarch 16, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    The price applies whether you buy it online or at your nearest Harbor Freight store. They are not prominently displayed at the stores, however, so you may have to ask.

    ReplyDelete

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