Ultrasonic cleaner - not heavy duty

Hi All,

I have been setting up and working in my first studio over the past
three months. Everything has been going well so far.

I have drawn up a bit of a wish-list of tools and equipment that I
want to purchase as I can afford them. One of the things on my list
is an ultrasonic cleaner.

My mother who works for an optometrist showed me a brochure from an
optical supplier that has an ultrasonic cleaner for $85
(Australian). The brochure doesn’t show a brand name, it simply
states that it is “Not heavy duty - but perfect for cleaning grubby
frames before adjustments or doing minor repairs.” The unit looks
to be quite small and it has a rounded, pill shaped, plastic
housing. I have seen similar ones in jewellers supplies recently.

My question is - exactly what are these types of units capable of?
How long will they last? Would they be strong enough to remove
polishing compounds? Finally, and most importantly - what is the
catch? Even the small, standard ultrasonics that have squared metal
casing are far more expensive than this… how can this unit be so
cheap?

Thanks heaps for your replies.

R.R. Jackson

I have the same question may even be the same unit, I’ve viewed a
similar unit from Harbor Freight [ http://tinyurl.com/6m7b7 ] I’ve also
seen other photos of possibly the same unit from $30.00 to $80.00
USD.

   My question is - exactly what are these types of units capable
of? How long will they last?  Would they be strong enough to remove
polishing compounds?  Finally, and most importantly - what is the
catch?  Even the small, standard ultrasonics that have squared
metal casing are far more expensive than this... how can this unit
be so cheap? 

My suspicion is that, yes, it’s plastic and certainly no rugged
unit. I suspect the price is more a result of mass and/or 3rd world
production and large scale distribution. I too would like to know if
any of this noble crew have experienced this little guy, for use in
a limited budget start-up mini-studio.

Thanks to all,
Ed

    I have the same question may even be the same unit,  I've
viewed a similar unit from Harbor Freight [
http://tinyurl.com/6m7b7 ] I've also seen other photos of possibly
the same unit from  $30.00 to $80.00 

I couldn’t resist. Although I have two large jewelers units, for the
$35 that one of these units was acquired for on EBay, I was
impressed. I actually think that it works better than my Grobet
although the capacity is a lot less.