Buying an ultrasonic carburettor cleaner.

A guide to buying and using an ultrasonic cleaner.

Bill Pilkington

Last Update 3 months ago

Deciding which ultrasonic cleaner for your carburettor is a 4 step process.


  1. Measure your carburettor. Measure twice, purchase once.
  2. Compare your measurements with the tank sizing chart HERE>>>
  3. Decide dial control or digital with degassing. Info HERE>>>
  4. Order cleaning fluid. Info HERE>>>

Measure your carb twice, purchase the cleaner once.


Price is always a major factor and when deciding which ultrasonic cleaner to buy, but I have a mantra about the selection process – SIZE MATTERS


I can’t say that often or loud enough, so I will repeat it, SIZE MATTERS


Several customers purchase a machine by guessing or estimating the size of their carb. When the ultrasonic tank is delivered, they discover the tank is too small and need to exchange it. That isn’t a problem, but it costs you the customer money to return it and it’s a bit of faffing around. The golden rule: measure twice, purchase once.

Getting it right first time.


Get it right first time by measuring the overall dimensions of your carburettor. This isn’t always possible, especially if the carbs are bolted to the engine. In this situation it’s a “best guesstimate”. As you will be removing some of the carb parts such as float bowls, slides, jets etc the overall tank size required might be smaller (and also a bit lower in price).


If you can afford it, select an ultrasonic carburettor cleaner a bit bigger than you estimate. Trying to shoehorn a large carb into a small tank results in the cleaning being less efficient. By placing the carb into a larger tank it allows the ultrasonic waves to travel more evenly and easily. As the saying goes, “what will hold more will hold less”.

After removing float bowls and jets, parts of a carb might protrude above the water level. This isn’t a problem. Many customers simply turn the carburettor through 180 degrees and switch it on again. Therefore it's the length and width dimensions that are most important. 

It's the basket size that is relevant.


Your carburettor will sit in the stainless steel basket that is supplied with every ultrasonic cleaner we sell. Therefore when measuring your carburettor, it needs to fit inside the basket. The basket dimensions are shown on every description.

Which functions do I need?

There are two versions for most sizes of ultrasonic cleaner. In summary, the more money you pay, the greater the control over the cleaning process.


The “manual” (dial adjustment) has limited control. The “digital with degassing” range gives you full control over all aspects of the cleaning operation and importantly, you have an LED display showing the temperature of the water (it helps stop the operator plunging their hand into hot water). In addition the degassing model can give a deeper more thorough clean.


At the heart of any ultrasonic cleaner is a transducer. This is the component that produces the ultrasonic cleaning waves. The number of  transducers fitted to an ultrasonic bath increases with the size of the tank. However you don't get a better clean because you have more transducers. The increased power is only because it's a greater volume. 


If you want to clean a bank of 4 carburettors off a motorbike but don’t want to separate them, the 22 litre digital model will be the best size for you.

The analogue adjustment ultrasonic carburettor cleaner has a simple knob / dial to set the cleaning time (0-20 minutes) and another dial for the temperature adjustment (20 – 80 degrees C). There is no LED display.

Degassing is an addition function which after a change a cleaning solution, quickly removes air from the liquid. It makes the cleaning process more effective and is especially useful when cleaning motorbike carburettors. With some degassing models the cleaning power can be reduced by 50%. This is so that delicate products can be cleaned gently. However, for ultrasonic carb cleaning, the lower power function isn’t needed. More on degassing HERE>>>

Don't penny pinch on the fluid. Picking the correct ultrasonic cleaning fluid is as important as the machine itself. The fluids we sell are formulated to work well in an ultrasonic tank. Specifically, the carburettor cleaning fluid is made to work with alloys and alloy castings. It removes petrol residue and brightens dull castings. More information (and you can also buy) on the fluid HERE>>>>.

Using the ultrasonic carb cleaner.

Using an ultrasonic cleaner requires no special knowledge or skill. All you need is water and a specific cleaning fluid to put into the tank. The cleaner is then plugged into a domestic power socket and the built-in heater raises the temperature of the water & cleaning solution mixture (10:1 ratio) to around 60 degrees centigrade (maximum 80 degrees). And then you are ready to go.

Get it submerged.

Remove float bowls and jets. Also remove any electrical components such as solenoids or sensors that are not sealed because water and electricity do not mix.

Place your dismantled carb into the tank and turn on the ultrasonic control. Normally around 20-30 minutes is sufficient cleaning time. If the carb has not been used for many years you can leave the tank buzzing for up to 40-50 minutes. Leaving it in for longer will not damage it.

If parts of a carb will protrude above the water level. This isn’t a problem. Many customers simply turn the carburetor through 180 degrees and turn it on again.

This special fine mesh basket (25mm diameter) can be used to hold jets and small screws. You get one included free with all our "Best Ultrasonic" brand.

And finally...

Rinse in clean water and leave to dry. The carb will now be deep cleaned internally and externally the casting should look bright and clean. 


NOTE: Some alloy castings were dull when new, especially on some of the 1980's Japanese motorbikes. The ultrasonic cleaning process can’t make an old carb look better than the day it was new.

How to clean small parts>>>>>


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