Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (23 Viewers)

Heat is a much bigger problem than the strength of the solution, especially with Paulson reds. Keep the water to less than, say, 100° F or 40° C, especially for anything red, purple, or pink.
I noticed with jus luke warm water and dawn soap very little, in a clear bin after soaking 50 chips the water turned a slight red tint
 
So everything so far seems to be on cleaning Paulsons.
Anyone know if this works on the " hard plastic " kind of chips ? Not the ones you buy, but the Roulette non-value type of chips.
 
Has anyone tried using light dawn in ultrasonic mixed with water?
Don't do it. The suds will effectively stop the cavitation effect created by the ultrasonic waves, so essentially you'll just be giving them a Dawn solution bath while paying extra for electicity that is being wasted.

You need a no-suds cleaning solution (and one that's safe for chips) for the ultrasonic to do it's job properly.
 
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Don't do it. The suds will effectively stop the cativation effect created by the ultrasonic waves, so essentially you'll just be giving them a Dawn solution bath while paying extra for electicity that is being wasted.

You need a no-suds cleaning solution (and one that's safe for chips) for the ultrasonic to do it's job properly.
Thankyou
 
So everything so far seems to be on cleaning Paulsons.
Anyone know if this works on the " hard plastic " kind of chips ? Not the ones you buy, but the Roulette non-value type of chips.

Yes, it will work. I've cleaned (a few) slugged plastic chips, and I've cleaned Bud Jones chips, a few ceramics, and China Clays, and everything I've gotten my hands on. The ultrasonic works for all of them.
 
Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere but couldn't find anything with the search function - anyone ever clean Chipco chips with an Ultrasonic cleaner? Any issues/concerns/recommendations?
 
7. Set the ultrasonic cleaner timer. As a guideline, I recommend the following times:
• Lightly soiled Chipcos - 30 seconds
• Lightly soiled Paulsons of any mold - 30 to 45 seconds
• Heavily gunked up Paulson RHC chips - 45 to 60 seconds
• Heavily gunked up Bud Jones roulettes - 60 seconds
• Heavily gunked up Paulson SCV/LCV - 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes

@gkitt80
 
Great Info! thank you guys!

Great work Chaos.

Figured I'd post some before and afters of filthy Cali Bells. I was a little worried about the hotstamps on the quarters, but proceeded anyway. The hotstamps remained intact, and are actually much more visible now that the chips are cleaned. These were cleaned for 3 minutes with the Red Devil "TSP". There was still a little bit of gunk in the grooves of the quarters that I used the back of an exacto to clean out. The after pics have been oiled.
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and what did you use to oil them? mineral oil?

More crevices for hooker juice to hide.
HA ha ha - I know where she kept doze chips and it ain't her purse.....

i wonder how much these pages apply to cleaning chipco / ceramic chips

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Took me 1 hour to get 20 chips cleaned. Need to change that.
EDIT: Without ultrasonic! :)

Bought it after the test. Still waiting for shipment. :(

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boy those whites look good - i just have a hard time seeing any thing that says cleveland

Poor mans salad spinner (kids school supply box)and watching the TV news.

50 was too many - some slight discoloration remains along the flat edge, very clean to the touch. Probably 35 or so is a better number.

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what are the zip ties on there for?
 
what are the zip ties on there for?
Not sure when in a static basket, but they are used in salad spinners to promote chip movement and tumbling when rotated, so that chips don't stick together and are fully exposed to the bath solution (and sound waves, if using ultrasonic).
 
FWIW, I did not use the salad spinner. Not knocking it, but a slotted spoon worked just fine.
 
Getting ready to run my first batch of chips through the ultrasonic. But first, a couple of questions.

1. Pre-soaking. Should I use just plain warm tap water or is it better to use distilled water for pre-soaking also? I read where @Irish added TSP to his pre-soak. Which is better, TSP or no TSP in the pre-soak? If adding TSP, so you reduce the pre-soak time?

2. Oiling. After cleaning in the ultrasonic, could you go ahead and oil using the water/oil method without allowing the chips to dry first? Seems like it might save a step.
 
Getting ready to run my first batch of chips through the ultrasonic. But first, a couple of questions.

1. Pre-soaking. Should I use just plain warm tap water or is it better to use distilled water for pre-soaking also? I read where @Irish added TSP to his pre-soak. Which is better, TSP or no TSP in the pre-soak? If adding TSP, so you reduce the pre-soak time?

2. Oiling. After cleaning in the ultrasonic, could you go ahead and oil using the water/oil method without allowing the chips to dry first? Seems like it might save a step.

I would start without the pre-soak, then if you find the US isn't getting them 100% clean, you can add the step. And by pre-soak, what I actually did was just add the chips to the warm TSP bath water in the US unit, but without turning the US function on. It wasn't a separate container. I threw them in the bath, let sit for a few minutes, then turned on the US.
 
No presoak needed. Do not presoak if they are hot stamped chips. The additional time may remove or discolor the hot stamp. Make sure you use distilled water, it does make a difference. Good luck and let us know how they turn out. Here is my latest cleaning

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No presoak needed. Dp not presoak if they are hot stamped chips. The additional time may remove or discolor the hot stamp. Make sure you use distilled water, it does make a difference. Good luck and let us know how they turn out. Here is my latest cleaning

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There are several posts where people have pre-soaked when their chips were very dirty. I have a bunch of Cleveland HS's that are horribly dirty, so I was just thinking the pre-soak might be the way to go.

Thanks for the input.
 
I would try some without pre soaking. My guess is that its not necessary.

I would make really sure chips are rinsed and clean prior to oiling...whatever method is used.
 
1,200 chips run through the ultrasonic. Pleased with the outcome.

I tried the salad spinner method but the chips kept falling out into the tank. I gave up and used the “french fryer” basket that came with the unit and used a wooden spoon to stir them around. Worked well.

Chips resting comfortably in a spare bedroom while drying. Will oil tomorrow but not sure they need it.

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I am very seriously considering getting one of these larger ultrasonic cleaners after reading this thread and seeing all these beautiful clean chips!! I have a very small one for my jewelry but you can only do a few chips at a time and still have to do some scrubbing afterwards.
 
They will probably need the oil. Clay chips after the ultrasonic look super thirsty.

I used the oil/water method but I don’t see that much of a difference. Will try edge oiling a few barrels and see how they turn out by comparison.
 
Maybe they took more oil than I thought. Can you tell which barrel in each pic was edge oiled? The other barrel is water/oil mix.

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I am very seriously considering getting one of these larger ultrasonic cleaners after reading this thread and seeing all these beautiful clean chips!! I have a very small one for my jewelry but you can only do a few chips at a time and still have to do some scrubbing afterwards.

its worth it. make sure to use TSP from Lundmark as well. No scrubbing required.
 

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