# What do you use to clean a carburetor? And using an Ultrasonic Cleaner



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

This is a poll. You will be able to choose multiple answers and change your vote.

Do you have an Ultrasonic Cleaner?

I have a SharperTek.

In the past I've borrowed a laboratory grade ultrasonic cleaner and a Harbor Freight cleaner, both worked great.

I use Chem-Dip Carburetor & Parts Cleaner. It comes in 2 versions. A 1 gallon can and is water soluble. The other is strictly a dunk tank and cannot be used in an ultrasonic cleaner and comes in a 5 gallon container that has several chemical layers that can not be mixed, the top layer is designed to reduce evaporation of the active cleaning layers.

I've tried 3-4 other specific carburetor cleaners, NAPA, .... plus lacquer thinner, Simple Green, (Blue) Simple Green HD. I find the Chem-Dip is the best. Chem-Dip is a stand alone 1 gallon carb dunk. It is more than a cleaner, it is a solvent that dissolves the old gasoline that has hardened in to varnish, whether seen or not. Simple Green or any detergent does a great job making the carb appear to be "clean", it's shiny and "bright" and clean looking, but does not have the chemicals to dissolve varnished gasoline. 

I turn the heater on to the max, 175°F, when at temp, for carburetors that are not that dirty, I let it run for 15 minutes; for carburetors that are heavily vanished, I run it for 30 minutes, sometimes I let the carb sit for an hour before I turn it on.

Prior to the ultrasonic cleaner, I was using the Chem-Dip as a stand alone dunk tank. It worked terrific. But there were some carbs I had problems with. Where as prior to cleaning, I had to run the carb on full choke, after the dunk tank, it would need to run on 1 or 2 notches, then I bought the ultrasonic cleaner while the snowblower was still in my shop. After cleaning with the ultrasonic cleaner, it was running without the choke on. I had a few carbs that were surging and cleaning using the ultrasonic cleaner did not solve that problem. I then removed the side Welch plug, squirted some carb cleaner in there, used a welding tip cleaner to clean the several holes behind the plug, and it ran great. I now always remove the Welch plug! to avoid any problems later. These holes are passageways to squirt the proper amount of gasoline in to the carb throat.

I also use my ultrasonic cleaner to clean greasy nuts, bolts, screws, ... using laundry detergent or Dawn as the cleaner.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i do all my carbs manually with telephone wire, twist ties and air lol. i am too cheap to buy a ultrasonic cleaner but then again i am not doing small engine repair full time. most times if a carb is not having issues i will just leave it alone.


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## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

I very rarely have to clean any of my carbs. because I am religious about adding a fuel additive to every gallon of gas I buy in season. After the season is over, I run the tank dry, add some ethanol free gas and a bit of Seafoam, then run it dry again. I do this for my winter and summer equipment


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i work on a lot of others people's machines ( all Honda's ). 90% of carb cleaning I do is in frame and that is usually sufficient. On the other 10 % I remove the carb, dismantle and put it my ultrasonic cleaner with 50/50 purple power water. That does the trick for me.

Kinda new to cleaners but am leary on using too strong a cleaner. don't wanna damage some of the carb parts. 

only a couple were lost causes out of the last couple hundred and in those cases replace with an OEM Honda carb. I have used chinese carbs only on my machines and they are okay but when it comes to someone else's machine I use genuine Honda carbs.


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## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

carb cleaner in a spray can plus some old guitar strings to clean out the holes and compressed air to blow it all out.
i play in a band part time so there is always a supply of strings that work as well as welding tip cleaners as they are more flexible


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## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

I always use non-ethanol fuel with an additive and, like the old days, there are no problems with starting up every time. I did have a carb issue with a small EU2000i Honda generator. It would not start after 6 months of sitting and at the shop they showed me how to drain the bowl of the carb before storage.


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## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

your way as we well know is the best way, e free, stabilizer and drain , just for some finding non E gas can be a challenge, draining a carb is simple yet to many don't take the time to remove that plug and drain it, if they did lots of people would save the trips to a repair shop or have a need it now tool like your gen set not run


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

I work on other people's mowers and snowblowers on the side so I encounter varnish problems, plus when you work on someone else's snowblower, it has to start! when you need it, that's why I use the ultrasonic cleaner. I want it pristine and don't want a problem with snow on the ground and them calling me up for a failure I was responsible for.

Plus I'm dealing with old equipment, not cared for.

I'm a believer using a fuel cleaner and a fuel stabilizer in every gallon of gas and supply a small medicine bottle filled with such good for 2 gallons of gasoline.

In Central West NJ there has been a lack or a minimal amount of snow for the past 2-3 years so many choose to shovel not using their snowblower thus the gas has been sitting in the carb getting older.


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## jerryvvv (Apr 23, 2020)

strip carb down completely,

soak all parts and the bare carb body in a small bowl of gasoline for a day

remove parts and wipe clean as required,

let parts air dry for a few hours,

re-assemble


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## HillnGullyRider (Feb 9, 2014)

Which part of the carburetor? I use spray or starter fluid on the crusty outside before it gets the dunk.


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## rod330 (Oct 9, 2015)

Great thread- thanks for posting this.
I buy, refurbish and resell snow blowers and lawn mowers as a hobby so fuel contamination is common for me. I strongly prefer to save an OE carb if possible but I started a "once and done" approach last year. If Gumout carb cleaner, torch tips, compressed air and a heated ultrasonic bath with Simple Green HD and Dawn detergent doesn't get it done, I just replace it with a Chinese carb. I'm embarrassed to admit I've become too lazy to mess with Welch plugs. When my Simple Green HD runs out, I'll give Chem-Dip a whirl based on JLawrence08648's feedback.

Now, if I do resort to a Chinese carb, I tend to replace the bowl and main jet gasket with new OE parts.

Most of the machines I've worked on lately are non-adjustable with fixed RPM carbs which I detest. I'm going to have to dig an old school machine out of the refurbish pile pretty soon.


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## rod330 (Oct 9, 2015)

JLawrence08648 said:


> In Central West NJ there has been a lack or a minimal amount of snow for the past 2-3 years so many choose to shovel not using their snowblower thus the gas has been sitting in the carb getting older.


That's a great point and the same is true here in NE Ohio. The carbs I've seen in the last year are the worst I've ever seen....true science experiments!


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

it's nice have a huge Costco plastic tub full of OEM Honda carbs for spare parts.....

just rebuilt an old carb for a HS50. used parts from several carbs. all cleaned in ultrasonic and then dried by compressed air. 

Put it all together , installed it and it started on first pull. purrs like a kitten.

no better feeling.......well there is but.....


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## elffar (Jan 24, 2020)

JLawrence08648 said:


> This is a poll. You will be able to choose multiple answers and change your vote.
> 
> Do you have an Ultrasonic Cleaner?
> 
> ...


I use a Harbor Freight ultrasonic. I’ve had great success with it.
I use Simple green as a solvent.
I always do multiple cycles with heat. Gets it so hot you can’t hold it in your hand.


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## Stout (Nov 27, 2018)

JLawrence08648 said:


> This is a poll. You will be able to choose multiple answers and change your vote.
> 
> Do you have an Ultrasonic Cleaner?
> 
> ...


I run a small engine repair service as a side business. Any time I have to go into a carb that’s over a year old, I disassemble it and submerge the body (with Welch plug left alone) in Gunk Hydro-Seal for 20 minutes or so. I rinse it in water and blow it dry with air.

If they look questionable, I’ll put in a gasket & diaphragm kit. Reassemble, and in the rare case it doesn’t adjust properly, I’ll pull the Welch plugs and repeat the cleaning. I’ve only had to buy one replacement carb, and that was for a high-hour Stihl string trimmer where the throttle shaft bushings were shot. YMMV.


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## coldbear (Feb 8, 2016)

JLawrence08648 said:


> This is a poll. You will be able to choose multiple answers and change your vote.
> 
> Do you have an Ultrasonic Cleaner?
> 
> ...


I run aviation fuel in my small engines. Never in 35 yrs. had a carburetor problem. Expensive? Not as expensive as a break down in the Snow Season.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I do ultrasonic with Simple Green HD. I've had good success with this so far. I heat it to around 140F, I think, and usually let them run for an hour. I'm not in a rush, I'd rather let it run extra-long than not long enough. I'll do 90 minutes if I want a little extra.

I've never tried Chem-Dip, though it sounds interesting. Could try it when I run out of my current stuff.

I can only get ethanol gas, but I add stabilizer to the gas can every time, and I have fuel shutoffs on all my equipment. Their carbs are run dry at the end of the season, though I don't remove the bowl to drain them that way.

Curious, for those using gasoline as a solvent for cleaning carbs, how does that work? Since the carb spends it's life soaked in gas, and still has gas-residue problems, I guess that wouldn't have been my first thought for a cleaning agent.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

For those who use an Ultrasonic Cleaner, be careful how long you run it. If you are using clear liquid, after cleaning, you will see aluminum powder in the bottom coming from the carb! Quite a bit. The ultrasonic vibrations are removing the softer aluminum. Scary. I'd like to think this powder is coming from the outside of the carburetor and not from the internal passageways. To reduce this effect, I chose to use a stronger cleaner such as Chem-Dip, let the carb sit for several hours in the ultrasonic cleaner tank as it heats up, expecting the solvent to loosen the deposits to shorten the actual run time.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

That's interesting. I guess I haven't tried cleaning an aluminum part, changing out the dirty liquid, then running it again in clean liquid, to look for particles. 

The cleaner is usually pretty gross due to removing all the gunk from the parts anyhow, so I don't get to look for aluminum bits.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

The aluminum particles you see is aluminum powder but easily seen in the bottom. I will edit my post.

All carbs are made from aluminum.


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

I suspect the powder you are seeing is an aluminum oxide of some sort, a reaction of an alkaline in the cleaner stripping of the natural oxide layer off the carb body. I use a carb dip chemical, usually Berryman's, in a small pickle jar. And if that not loosening the crud fast enough, I drop the carb in the jar into plain water in the ultrasonic.The sound waves will travel through the glass just fine and you don't risk having too much flammable liquid in the UC. Never observed aluminum powder in the jar.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

After internet researching, I chose the 1 gallon Berryman's Chem-Dip Carburetor and Parts Cleaner. I started using it as a carb dunk, it worked great most times, I was very impressed, but there were some carbs that it improved but not perfect, then borrowed a friend's lab grade ultrasonic cleaner to use at his house using Berryman's Chem-Dip, worked great, then he became a nuisance asking me for freebies around the yard, discounted prices on home improvement, grass cutting, leaves, I'm already doing free snow blowing as a Thank You! It was cheaper for me to buy my own SharperTek ultrasonic cleaner. The kicker is, full time I run a investment Hedge fund, giving him trades, from what he's told me about the money he has made, he's a multi millionaire investing 50k-150k on each trade, most times only for a hour or a few days.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Ha, that's funny. Well, I guess the lesson is that you don't get to that level of wealth by paying full-price for work done around the house, then


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