Sounds like I've got some grit in my biltins. Anyone have any tips on cleaning these things?
Thanks,
Q
Cleaning Biltins
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Jack Quarantillo
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Dan Mitchell
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I prefer a Citrus Cleaner over a Solvent as being better for the environment. Also, I can buy a gallon of Citrus Cleaner at a place like Home Depot for about $6.50, and for this price use it full strength (even reusing it for a few cleaning sessions). And after you’re done using it you can flush it down the toilet and even though it is bio-degradable it will go through the sewer treatment facility as well.
The only thing with using Citrus Cleaner is that you need to rinse it off and the dirt it loosened off with water afterwards. Water can cause the bearing to rust if you don’t get it all off at the end of the cleaning. So use of a hair drier to make sure all water is evaporated is essential. Use a hot water rinse to ensure better evaporation as well. And use that hair drier to get the bearing so hot that you cannot hold them; using it more than you might think necessary.
Now an "Ultrasonic Cleaner" would probably be best for sure. Other bearing holder/cleaners that you can buy from skate bearing makers have to be shaken by hand to clean the bearings. Pleasure Tool Bearings makes a container that holds many sets of bearing and it is just a plastic container with a lit that seals water tight. The lid on this cleaner has two tie-straps attached to the inside of the lid to hold the bearing securely so they don’t bash around and against each other during shaking. And this system would work well for Built-ins as well as regular bearing at the same time.
Pleasure Tool bearing cleaner container:
The only thing with using Citrus Cleaner is that you need to rinse it off and the dirt it loosened off with water afterwards. Water can cause the bearing to rust if you don’t get it all off at the end of the cleaning. So use of a hair drier to make sure all water is evaporated is essential. Use a hot water rinse to ensure better evaporation as well. And use that hair drier to get the bearing so hot that you cannot hold them; using it more than you might think necessary.
Now an "Ultrasonic Cleaner" would probably be best for sure. Other bearing holder/cleaners that you can buy from skate bearing makers have to be shaken by hand to clean the bearings. Pleasure Tool Bearings makes a container that holds many sets of bearing and it is just a plastic container with a lit that seals water tight. The lid on this cleaner has two tie-straps attached to the inside of the lid to hold the bearing securely so they don’t bash around and against each other during shaking. And this system would work well for Built-ins as well as regular bearing at the same time.
Pleasure Tool bearing cleaner container:
Last edited by Glenn S on Tue Dec 16, 2003 10:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Jack Quarantillo
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Dan Mitchell
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Ultrasonic Cleaner
I'm curious, would a $15 cleaner do an adequate job cleaning?
The least expensive small commercial grade "ultrasonic cleaner" cost about $300 or more new. I've seen top namebrand ones selling used on eBay for about $100 or so. Most table top units have specs on the frequency in kHz (like 25kHz, 40 kHz, 80kHz, 120kHz, 200kHz) that they operate at and the wattage (from about 150 to over 1000 watt). And most of them have a heater so they maintain a heat of 140-160 degrees fahrenheit during the cleaning.
Commercial units like these found here for example:
http://crest-ultrasonics.com/175.htm
http://www.bransonultrasonics.com/ppg/index_bp.html
Branson FAQ: http://www.bransonultrasonics.com/ppg/B ... cs/faq.htm
The least expensive small commercial grade "ultrasonic cleaner" cost about $300 or more new. I've seen top namebrand ones selling used on eBay for about $100 or so. Most table top units have specs on the frequency in kHz (like 25kHz, 40 kHz, 80kHz, 120kHz, 200kHz) that they operate at and the wattage (from about 150 to over 1000 watt). And most of them have a heater so they maintain a heat of 140-160 degrees fahrenheit during the cleaning.
Commercial units like these found here for example:
http://crest-ultrasonics.com/175.htm
http://www.bransonultrasonics.com/ppg/index_bp.html
Branson FAQ: http://www.bransonultrasonics.com/ppg/B ... cs/faq.htm
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Jack Quarantillo
- Posts: 428
- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:15 am
- Location: G'burg, MD, USA
- Contact:
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Dan Mitchell
- Posts: 214
- Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2002 1:00 am
- Location: York, PA
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Erik Basil
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I have two ways to clean them:
--in a "LaSonic" ultrasonic jewelry cleaner that I picked up at WalMart for $17. I use a heated solvent and leave them open-side-down in the basket. Time varies by what I'm doing at the time, but 20 minutes is about what I use. When I'm done, I rinse them with a squirt of rubbing alcohol or brake cleaner, let them dry and lube. I use this mostly for non-Biltin bearings.
--in a "$1.25 Bearing Cleaner" rig, as described in the Tech Articles on Silverfish. It's just a shaker bottle method, like the Bones Bearing Cleaner, but using a bolt and spacer either from a Biltins package or Home Depot. I used Performance Bike Shops "shop degreaser" thinned to mix with hot water, shake for 30 steady seconds and then rinse the bearings as described above. This also works great, and the Biltin design spaces the open sides of the bearings just about perfectly.
--in a "LaSonic" ultrasonic jewelry cleaner that I picked up at WalMart for $17. I use a heated solvent and leave them open-side-down in the basket. Time varies by what I'm doing at the time, but 20 minutes is about what I use. When I'm done, I rinse them with a squirt of rubbing alcohol or brake cleaner, let them dry and lube. I use this mostly for non-Biltin bearings.
--in a "$1.25 Bearing Cleaner" rig, as described in the Tech Articles on Silverfish. It's just a shaker bottle method, like the Bones Bearing Cleaner, but using a bolt and spacer either from a Biltins package or Home Depot. I used Performance Bike Shops "shop degreaser" thinned to mix with hot water, shake for 30 steady seconds and then rinse the bearings as described above. This also works great, and the Biltin design spaces the open sides of the bearings just about perfectly.
I ride fast boards, slowly.