For those who like clean bits.

[dlovett]

I have a much more basic one than that and everything tends to come out looking like new. I use washing up liquid and then another run with fresh water. I do clean things BEFORE they get too bad. For really nasty stuff I used some home made cleaning alcohol solution and that just easts through grease and yuck. Not that I normally need to use it that often ad the key is to clean them regularly so it doesn't build up too much.

How good are these meant to be on bike bits? I ask because, inspired by this thread, I bought this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

(luckily it was a bit cheaper on Black Friday or some sale)

....and I'm not that impressed! With similar amounts of water/degreaser to what I normally use, a dirty chain in this thing for 20 minutes of madness-inducing buzzing comes out.....about half clean, with dirt/grease still obvious on the outer links.

Conversely, in a couple of minutes of shaking it in a jar with the same mix, then emptying it and going again with a bit of washing up liquid, I can have an almost totally clean and gleaming chain.

Similar with cassettes - ultrasonic, 20 minutes at 80 degrees and still has gunk caked on it. The exact same mix in a plastic tub, wait 5 minutes then a couple of minutes scrubbing and you could eat your dinner off it.

Do I have a dud unit? Do I need to use different chemicals? Any other ideas/suggestions?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Worth bearing in mind that ultrasonic cleaners aren't really designed as 'degreasers'. Basically, they won't shift oily / greasy deposits.

[AlexGold]

Worth bearing in mind that ultrasonic cleaners aren't really designed as 'degreasers'. Basically, they won't shift oily / greasy deposits.

Well in that case it's performing admirably then

Tthe key is to clean them regularly so it doesn't build up too much.

I'm working on other people's bikes, and was hoping this would save me time. Oh well, back to the plastic tub and scrubbing brush!

.....so what can I use the US cleaner for since I've got it?

[u02sgb]

Interesting! I looked at the price of US cleaners for doing the chain and decided to give deep fat fryer and Putoline a shot instead.

Been reasonably impressed with it so far. It did the CL300 without getting oiled again, although it was a bit noisy on the uphills towards the end. Still shifted fine though.
Drivetrain much cleaner than its ever been too, although I've been on - wet lube and only clean occasionally - maintenance for a while.

Stu.