Can I use a cheap ultrasonic cleaner for electronics?

[Faris14]

Now I am very new when it comes to ultrasonic cleaners and I was wondering if I could use this one to clean my wireless headphones and small pcbs with isoproply alchohol and if I would cause any damage?

https://0a4.no/en/products/baku-bk-9050-30w-50w-adjustable-0-6l-lcd-display-ultrasonic-cleaner-ac-220vwhite

 

[mMontana]

If you can't remove battery... ultrasonic cleaner is a no-go for electronics.

[Applefreak]

9 minutes ago, Faris14 said:

Now I am very new when it comes to ultrasonic cleaners and I was wondering if I could use this one to clean my wireless headphones and small pcbs with isoproply alchohol and if I would cause any damage?

https://0a4.no/en/products/baku-bk-9050-30w-50w-adjustable-0-6l-lcd-display-ultrasonic-cleaner-ac-220vwhite

 

Depends on the frequency. I have had bad experiences with small units like that. You want to get at least something that draws a decent amount of power. You also need a solvent to clean parts in it. Cleaning pcb works great. You cannot clean wireless headphones. Those must not be submerged into water. Furthermore you will fry the electronics inside (might even cause a fire).

[Thepyrodex]

8 minutes ago, mMontana said:

If you can't remove battery... ultrasonic cleaner is a no-go for electronics.

This AND anything aluminum can be an issue

 

"Ultrasonic cleaners are simple to use on components with hard surfaces, such as steel or brass, and low frequencies may swiftly clean these parts. It is more challenging to quickly and effectively clean aluminum parts without causing damage to the components. Because aluminum is softer, ultrasonic cleaning techniques may cause surface pitting"

 

Investigating ultrasound-induced acoustic softening in aluminum and its alloys - ScienceDirect

The above link I tried to "check" to make sure its what I thought it was and it quickly went above my head for the most part, like I get the methods and the basic concepts but the actual math and reasons behind it all are not my forte.  Example"This paper aims to bridge this gap by using a setup that minimizes the experimental errors and selecting materials that share both similarities and differences in microstructures. Both acoustic softening and residual effect due to ultrasonic vibration are experimentally verified in commercially pure aluminum and aluminum alloys. The results are presented with discussions based on the microstructural similarities and differences between aluminum and its alloys." this is the simple explanation of what it covers.

 

GOOD LUCK I hope you find the answer you need 

[Faris14]

14 minutes ago, Thepyrodex said:

This AND anything aluminum can be an issue

 

"Ultrasonic cleaners are simple to use on components with hard surfaces, such as steel or brass, and low frequencies may swiftly clean these parts. It is more challenging to quickly and effectively clean aluminum parts without causing damage to the components. Because aluminum is softer, ultrasonic cleaning techniques may cause surface pitting"

 

Investigating ultrasound-induced acoustic softening in aluminum and its alloys - ScienceDirect

The above link I tried to "check" to make sure its what I thought it was and it quickly went above my head for the most part, like I get the methods and the basic concepts but the actual math and reasons behind it all are not my forte.  Example"This paper aims to bridge this gap by using a setup that minimizes the experimental errors and selecting materials that share both similarities and differences in microstructures. Both acoustic softening and residual effect due to ultrasonic vibration are experimentally verified in commercially pure aluminum and aluminum alloys. The results are presented with discussions based on the microstructural similarities and differences between aluminum and its alloys." this is the simple explanation of what it covers.

 

GOOD LUCK I hope you find the answer you need 

yeah I am just gonna give up about using the ultrasonic cleaner for that,will figure something else out for that. Thank you for the help

 

 

[Thepyrodex]

5 minutes ago, Faris14 said:

yeah I am just gonna give up about using the ultrasonic cleaner for that,will figure something else out for that. Thank you for the help

 

 

Just FYI most boards are copper and shouldn’t have issues.  The most “common” part I could think of would be heatsinks on the board, I HAVE used these to clean electronics before it was the inside of a guitar pedal though and was through hole mounted everything and also from like 1988, I was also just sure nothing was aluminum. 

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

Wireless headphone? No. Microphones need to be taped.

The headphones have LEDs? Another no. The packaging forbids ultrasonic cleaning.

 

If you have to clean it use a normal dishwasher and no tabs/ cleaning agent at your own risk.