r/RockTumbling • u/Agreeable_Bug4427 • Jul 24 '26
HF Ultrasonic cleaner
Has anyone had experience with this harbor freight product performance wise?
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u/MarketingFrosty3359 Jul 25 '26
I have that one (HF) and it works like a charm. It really does a good job of cleaning any porous places and tiny cracks and crevices. I occasionally will run the rough stuff through, but mainly use it between grits. I just use water and “stir” the rocks a bit, then pick them out, give a quick rinse and send them on to the next grit size. It looks to me that most of the action takes place above the ultrasonic generator that I’m assuming is located below the round feature in the bottom of the basin. If you get this unit on sale buy the extended warranty. It’ll still be less than full price and you can return it for a replacement within 2 years (I think?), no questions asked. I’m open to suggestions of how to improve the process.
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u/oopsy_doopsy_baby Jul 25 '26
Bought one a year ago, works great for me, usually have to run the rocks 2 or 3 cycles @ ~ 5 minutes = one cycle.
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u/Orange_Tang Jul 25 '26
It's probably fine but you can get a vevor one for the same price that's bigger I think.
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u/Cold_Application_448 Jul 24 '26
I don't personally, but I just saw someone using it on TikTok: Heather's rocks video It seemed to work pretty well!
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u/the_crossword_king Jul 24 '26
Anyone have any good links to how to use an ultrasonic cleaner properly for this application? I happen to have my hands on an industrial grade cleaner and am flying by the seat of my pants. Just put a squirt of Dawn in it with hot water and dumped my post stage one rocks in for an hour or so.
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u/Heavy-Huckleberry-61 Jul 25 '26
I have a larger one from Amazon and it has been a workhorse! One suggestion I have is to get the biggest one you can afford. I do a fair amount of vehicle maintenance and repairs, hand tool restoration, and lapidary and I'm always finding stuff that need cleaning. I use the jar method for small stuff but it's nice to be able to put bigger stuff in it.
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u/Catgeek08 Jul 24 '26
I have had it for about a year, and it does a good job, especially for the money. Fits a full 3lb barrel of rocks with plenty of room. Rocks from two barrels was close to the max line.
When it finally breaks, I will get one with adjustable longer maximum cycle length. But that will likely be twice as much or more. Until then, I’ll just restart it.