# ultrasonic cleaner



## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

Anyone know if these are any good for watch bracelets?
Or do you recommend another product within the same price range?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2907259.htm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2909240.htm


----------



## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

its good for a lot of things, well worth having.


----------



## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

the second one is a rebranded Silvercrest item that i had from Lidl for £20 about four years ago until it went pop recently

I bought another brand from Amazon, not quite as nice as the silvercrest tbh (no countdown timer), but effective. Warm water, a dash of fairy liquid and then use the rest of the warm water to have a brew while it does the job


----------



## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

Pigging typical, they've gone up in price overnight!

They were both under £30 yesterday and now they are £44! :swoon:


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

I have the James model and it is excellent, perfect for watches, it even comes with an accessory to mount dive watches . I am on my mobile now, I will post pictures later. I paid £21 I think they retail at £30.

Shop around I am sure you will find cheaper, than £44

Cheers Martin


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

In my experience, these sub-£50 cleaners don't last long. I can't tell you how many I've got through. I finally splashed out on an all stainless steel one from Walker Electronics but a good one is not cheap.


----------



## graham1981 (Jan 1, 2016)

Why does the first one at Argos show a watch and jewellery holder, with a watch attached? I thought you could only clean bracelets not the actual watch body??


----------



## andyclient (Aug 1, 2009)

graham1981 said:


> Why does the first one at Argos show a watch and jewellery holder, with a watch attached? I thought you could only clean bracelets not the actual watch body??


 the bridge type attachment the watch is shown on keeps the watch body out of the solution , used it many times on mine with no problems


----------



## graham1981 (Jan 1, 2016)

andyclient said:


> the bridge type attachment the watch is shown on keeps the watch body out of the solution , used it many times on mine with no problems


 Ahh ok, so it's cleaned just by the bubbles not the actual solution? I was wondering, thought there may have been a lot of p****d people if you couldn't put watches in it :laugh:


----------



## andyclient (Aug 1, 2009)

graham1981 said:


> Ahh ok, so it's cleaned just by the bubbles not the actual solution? I was wondering, thought there may have been a lot of p****d people if you couldn't put watches in it :laugh:


 no the watch body is kept hi and dry so to speak , it just saves removing the bracelet from the watch . the actual body of watch shouldn't be immersed even if its waterproof really.

They do a great job of cleaning watch cases but with the movement removed is the way to do it and obviously ensure case is though rally dried before re assembly


----------



## graham1981 (Jan 1, 2016)

andyclient said:


> no the watch body is kept hi and dry so to speak , it just saves removing the bracelet from the watch . the actual body of watch shouldn't be immersed even if its waterproof really.
> 
> They do a great job of cleaning watch cases but with the movement removed is the way to do it and obviously ensure case is though rally dried before re assembly


 Ahh ok, I'm a complete novice when it comes to this sort of thing, thanks for the info :thumbsup:


----------



## andyclient (Aug 1, 2009)

graham1981 said:


> Ahh ok, I'm a complete novice when it comes to this sort of thing, thanks for the info :thumbsup:


 They are certainly worth having , tend to use mine quite a bit , if you get into servicing watches they are great for cleaning the watch components to. I put the gear wheels etc in a small jar in cleaning solution then place that in the ultrasonic with a small amount of water in the cleaner and the ultrasonic waves will go through the jar and clean the components . saves filling the cleaner with expensive solution and keeps the small parts in one place.

Hope that makes sense :thumbsup:


----------



## rhino2k (Oct 17, 2014)

Hi Faze,

I have this one LINK and it is excellent. Really handy that the top detaches from the base, No leads hanging off it!

It can be had cheapest here though eBay link

Hope this helps buddy

Neil


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Here are a few pics of my James ultrasonic cleaner, it has a countdown & presets, does an excellent job in minutes 

















Here are a few pics of my James ultrasonic cleaner, it has a countdown & presets, does an excellent job in minutes 










http://www.amazon.co.uk/JPL-Ultrasonic-Jewellery-Spectacle-Personal-Black/dp/B00112B0U0


----------



## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

the thing they will not do is - properly clean a watch movment without complete disassembly.


----------



## Guest (Mar 16, 2016)

i bought a cheap stainless steel chinese one for £30 ish, it is so powerful its painful to put your finger in the solution while running [ i probably shouldn't anyway]


----------



## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

I've the LIDL one, use it fairly well, but I can see hwere Silverhawk is coming from, they ARE hobbyist rather than Professional :yes:

Pays yer dosh takes yer chances!


----------



## Foxdog (Apr 13, 2011)

Hi Trev the first one is here for £25 delivered

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Home-Appliances/James-Products/James-Products-ULTRA7000-Ultrasonic-Jewellery-%26-Spectacle-Cleaner?products=&gclid=CPX8oKuaxcsCFVYo0wodgIkMfQ

there is also a link to a video.

G


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Foxdog said:


> Hi Trev the first one is here for £25 delivered
> 
> http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Home-Appliances/James-Products/James-Products-ULTRA7000-Ultrasonic-Jewellery-%26-Spectacle-Cleaner?products=&gclid=CPX8oKuaxcsCFVYo0wodgIkMfQ
> 
> ...


----------



## rhino2k (Oct 17, 2014)

Bruce said:


> i bought a cheap stainless steel chinese one for £30 ish, it is so powerful its painful to put your finger in the solution while running [ i probably shouldn't anyway]


 I do this everytime! It's a bit like electric fences or PP9 batteries....You just can't help yourself :laugh:


----------



## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

rubber gloves may keep you OUT OF THE CIRCUiT. what is your voltage and current cycle?


----------



## Guest (Mar 16, 2016)

rhino2k said:


> I do this everytime! It's a bit like electric fences or PP9 batteries....You just can't help yourself :laugh:


 i know, every time i use it i wonder if its working and in goes the finger :biggrin:

i use ammonia a lot [ dont ask ] i am forever tell my kids to never ever smell it :nono: the first thing i ALWAYS do is have a quick sniff and...............BOOM


----------



## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

Cheers guys, I'm at work but will have a check on all options later :thumbsup:


----------



## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

mel said:


> I've the LIDL one, use it fairly well, but I can see hwere Silverhawk is coming from, they ARE hobbyist rather than Professional :yes:
> 
> Pays yer dosh takes yer chances!


 Me too and it does all I need it to do. :thumbsup:


----------



## craynerd (Feb 16, 2016)

Bruce said:


> i use ammonia a lot [ dont ask ] i am forever tell my kids to never ever smell it :nono: the first thing i ALWAYS do is have a quick sniff and...............BOOM


 Do as I say and not as I do! Ammonia does have a weird smell... Always have a quick sniff just to remind myself...


----------



## Guest (Mar 22, 2016)

craynerd said:


> Do as I say and not as I do! Ammonia does have a weird smell... Always have a quick sniff just to remind myself...


 beyond weird me thinks :biggrin:


----------



## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

Bought a James Ultra 7000, not at this price, but this is it - http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Products-ULTRA7000-Ultrasonic-Jewellery/dp/B000L95UYG

Using it now for the first time, 2 bracelets in the bath and it looks like I've just washed the dog :swoon:


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Faze said:


> Bought a James Ultra 7000, not at this price, but this is it - http://www.amazon.co.uk/James-Products-ULTRA7000-Ultrasonic-Jewellery/dp/B000L95UYG
> 
> Using it now for the first time, 2 bracelets in the bath and it looks like I've just washed the dog :swoon:


 Great choice, an excellent bit if kit!


----------



## craynerd (Feb 16, 2016)

Do most of you guys use the trick of filling the large cleaning tank with water, putting in a class cup and placing the cleaning solution and the items in the cup. It certainly reduces the amount of cleaning solution required and allows it to be emptied and stored quicker, I'm sure you do, but it was worth mentioning.


----------



## Damo516 (Nov 9, 2015)

Picked up one of these as some of my bracelets were pretty grubby, thought I'd do a before and after to show the difference. 5 mins cleaning with a bit of fairy liquid, bracelet removed from watch as not all of the bracelet would have been submerged if it was left on

Before:










After:










Even cleaned the spring bars pretty well too


----------



## MilSub (May 9, 2006)

Silver Hawk said:


> In my experience, these sub-£50 cleaners don't last long. I can't tell you how many I've got through. I finally splashed out on an all stainless steel one from Walker Electronics but a good one is not cheap.


 +1 on Walker Electronics - I bought one of their QC units directly from them as a "cosmetically damaged" unit around 10 years ago, I went over it with a loupe - couldn't find a mark on it, as new. it's had regular use since then, on all kinds of jewelery, watch bracelets etc., no issues whatsoever and the stainless interior is so easy to clean after use. Thoroughly recommended :thumbsup:


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

MilSub said:


> +1 on Walker Electronics - I bought one of their QC units directly from them as a "cosmetically damaged" unit around 10 years ago, I went over it with a loupe - couldn't find a mark on it, as new. it's had regular use since then, on all kinds of jewelery, watch bracelets etc., no issues whatsoever and the stainless interior is so easy to clean after use. Thoroughly recommended :thumbsup:


 Mine is a "cosmetically damaged" one...and I cant find a mark on it. After daily use for 5 years, it did breakdown.... I sent it back to Walker for repair. It was quite expensive to have it repaired...I could have bought several new plastic units ( :thumbdown: ) but don't regret it one bit.


----------



## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

MilSub said:


> +1 on Walker Electronics - I bought one of their QC units directly from them as a "cosmetically damaged" unit around 10 years ago, I went over it with a loupe - couldn't find a mark on it, as new. it's had regular use since then, on all kinds of jewelery, watch bracelets etc., no issues whatsoever and the stainless interior is so easy to clean after use. Thoroughly recommended :thumbsup:


 I think a hobbyist could not justify the outlay imo, if you like Silver Hawk use them in a commercial way, like daily for 5 years the outlay is justified. 

Looks a great bit of kit BTW
Cheers Martin :thumbsup:


----------



## Padders (Oct 21, 2008)

martinzx said:


> I think a hobbyist could not justify the outlay imo, if you like Silver Hawk use them in a commercial way, like daily for 5 years the outlay is justified.
> 
> Looks a great bit of kit BTW
> Cheers Martin :thumbsup:


 Yep, £700+ is a lot for the hobbyist alright. Even if the Lidl/James units only last a couple of years they still seem a better choice for us not directly involved in watchmaking.


----------

