**DIY Ultrasonic Cleaner: A Homemade Solution**

In this video, we will explore the world of DIY electronics and demonstrate how to create a functional ultrasonic cleaner at home. The project involves building a water tank, transducers, and an induction circuit using readily available components.

**The Problem with Water and PCBs**

The host begins by discussing the issue of water and printed circuit boards (PCBs). He notes that using distilled water without minerals is recommended, but in practice, it can lead to problems. By placing the PCBs in isopropanol at the end and drying everything properly, the host was able to get them working fine.

**The First Bath: Cleaning with Isopropanol**

Moving on, the host attempts to clean a disgustingly looking PCB using an ultrasonic cleaner. After 10 minutes in the bath, most of the flux got removed, but some crusty remains were left behind. The host concludes that this method made a difference and was not half-bad.

**Removing Flux: A Test**

Next, the host tries removing dried-up flux as well as wet flux using the ultrasonic cleaner. To his surprise, both cases were successful, demonstrating the effectiveness of the DIY ultrasonic cleaner.

**The Commercial Cleaner vs. DIY Kit**

After testing the commercial cleaner and comparing it to a DIY kit, the host notes that while the commercial version is more efficient, the DIY kit can be built for around 45€ using two nice-looking transducers and an induction circuit. The DIY kit comes with a driver board similar to the one used in the commercial cleaner.

**The Risks of High Voltage**

However, working with high voltages (up to 1700V peak-to-peak) is not safe and should only be done by those who know what they're doing. The host notes that making custom inductors for this project can be challenging and may lead to errors.

**The DIY Ultrasonic Cleaner: A Functional Project**

Using a DIY kit, the host builds an ultrasonic cleaner and wires it up with mains power. After testing it, he finds that the circuit works fine. He then completes the project by building a water tank, attaching transducers using glue, and adding an active cooling system.

**The Conclusion: The Commercial Cleaner Wins**

In conclusion, the host compares the DIY ultrasonic cleaner to the commercial version and declares the commercial one as the winner due to safety concerns related to high voltage. Despite some negative aspects of both projects, the commercial cleaner is considered safer and more efficient.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enSo here is the problem!I am currently in the process of buildingthis PCB circuit 6 times and no; the problemis not spreading solder paste, placing thecomponents or reflow soldering them.The problem actually comes afterwards andbasically involves cleaning up the formedexcess solder balls all around the componentsso that they do not short components or similar.By using tweezers, a toothbrush and isopropanolthis can be a really tedious process thatI sadly have to face quite often because thisway I also remove the excess yellow flux mysolder leaves behind as well as additionalwet or dried up green flux.So I am just gonna say it; I hate manual cleaningand maybe so do you and that is why with thisPCB project I finally had the perfect excuseto buy myself an Ultrasonic Cleaner into whichyou allegedly simply throw dirty stuff, turnit on, wait a few minutes and are greetedwith beautifully cleaned stuff.Is this really true though?Well in this episode of DIY or Buy we willnot only find out whether commercial ultrasoniccleaners are the tool I have been lookingfor all my life, but we will also dive intoDIY territory to find out whether DIYing sucha product not only saves us money but alsowhether it works just as good.Let's get started!This video is sponsored by Knipex who is oneof my favorite tool manufacturers and I havebeen using their tools in tons of my videosbecause their quality is just excellent.They also have a huge variety of tools tochoose from like pliers, cutters and so onand to make your life easier in choosing one,they recently launched a new app where youcan not only get all the information aboutevery tool and even view them in augmentedreality; but they also tell you exactly whattool you need for what job, very handy.If that sounds interesting to you then checkout the link/app in the video descriptionand now onto the video.Let's start off with the Buy version thatI got for around 130€.After unpacking it; I got to say that itsbuild quality is surprisingly good.On the inside we got a water tank that canhold around 2 liters and after powering thecleaner, I next had a closer look at all thebuttons on the front.Most important here is the heating function,the timer for the ultrasonic cleaning andthe two crucial semi wave and full wave poweroptions for that, that I honestly never heardof before.To understand what they do and how they differ,I firstly opened up the bottom of the cleanerand was greeted by not only the power electronicsdriver and control board, but also two almostspeaker looking like thingies attached tothe water tank which are actually the ultrasonictransducers.When extending their wires from the powerelectronics board and then probing them withan oscilloscope while of course turning thiswhole system on, then we can see that a sinusoidallike voltage gets applied to those transducers.This voltage basically let's them vibratein accordance with the voltages frequencyand this vibration then also passes throughthe water in the attached tank.This creates very tiny cavities in the waterwhich then forcefully implode and this poweris what removes the dirt from the things weplace in such an ultrasonic cleaner.But getting back to topic what the differencebetween full and semi wave is and No; it isnot the frequency because that is about 30kHzin both cases.But while the full wave creates this voltagecontinuously, the semi wave does this onlyhalf the time meaning it should be less powerful,right?Well, to confirm that I next did the famousaluminium foil test with full and semi wavesand I got say this thing is a bit loud andscary sounding while operating.But anyway; these two foils were the resultand yes; the big hole and all the small bulgeswere created by the implosions I talked aboutbefore.And honestly speaking I didn't see much ofa difference between the two modes, but tobe on the safe side I later primarily usedthe full wave one.And with that being said I started with somebasic tests like cleaning a pair of glasses,a very green and clogged up carburetor andsome old tools I had lying around.And I got to say as soon you turn this machineon you can really see the dirt leaving theobject which was both very satisfying anddisgusting at the same time.Needless to say; the glasses were quicklycleaned up; but the carburetor and tools initiallydidn't feel like getting clean at all.So the solution here was to simply add a bitof Ultrasonic Cleaner concentrate that noticeablyimproved the cleaning capabilities of thesystem.And after 20 minutes I got to say that thecarburetor was pretty much spotless and theold tools also looked a whole lot better andwere ready for further restoration.And that meant it was time to pour in somefresh water and drop in one of the PCBs Italked about at the beginning of the video,you know those with the solder balls.And while I let it cook in there for 10 minutes,let me tell you to not worry about water +electronics = disaster because I more or lessdebunked that in a previous video.Of course using distilled water without mineralswould be recommended, but by putting the PCBsin isopropanol at the end and drying everythingoff properly, they all turned out to workperfectly fine.And with that information out of the way,the first bath was complete and I got to saythat it did not change much about the solderball problem.So in we go for another 10 minutes, but thistime with the cleaning solution and I gotto say, once again, this really did make adifference.I mean it is not perfect and once I threwin all of the boards at the same time, theend results did vary a lot from PCB to PCBbut all in all this was actually not halfbad and I wasn't even using cleaning concentratespecifically made for circuit boards.So next let's try removing all the excessflux from this kind of disgustingly lookingPCB.After 10 minutes in the bath I was once againpleasantly surprised that most flux got removed,only the extra crusty one remained.And last but not least as a test, I also triedremoving dried up flux as well as wet fluxand yes, in both cases the ultrasonic cleanerdid its job just fine.So all in all I think such a cleaner is definitelynice to have especially when it comes bringingold mechanical tools or circuit boards backto their former glory.But then again since the cleaner definitelytakes a while to do its job, I am not so sureabout its usefulness when making DIY PCB projectsbecause you can clean them much faster byhand.Now at this point you might be interestedin such cleaner; but maybe also think that130€ is way too expensive for that.Well, I am happy to report that you can geta DIY Kit for around 45€ like this one righthere.It comes with two nice looking transducersand one driver board that looks awfully similarto the one from the commercial cleaner.I actually tried reverse engineering themin order to find out whether we could makethis circuit on our own and thus save evenmore money, but my results were not positive.You see; this circuit creates a high voltageresonance for the piezoelectric transducersto let them vibrate which goes as high as1700V peak to peak which is truly dangerous.Combine that with the fact that we need custominductors that are not easy to make and youknow that a lot could go wrong when DIYingsuch a circuit and in general I need to statehere that working with any kind of high voltageshould only be done by those who know whatthey are doing.OK; with that out of the way I next did aquick test by wiring up one transducer andhooking up mains power.And as you can see the circuit seems to workjust fine meaning all that left to get forour DIY ultrasonic cleaner was such a watertank which I chose to be slightly bigger thanthe buy version.Speaking of Buy version, there they simplyused glue to attach the transducers to thewater tank and that is what I did as well,after of course marking a position for bothtransducers and then roughening up the metalsurface.After a day the glue was dry and all thatwas left for me to do was to take some measurementsand prepare a few wood pieces which I thenall combined together with wood screws inorder to create a simple and functional enclosure.Last but not least I wired up both transducersin parallel, earthed the water tank and wiredthe rest up to complete my DIY ultrasoniccleaner.And I was happy to find out that it also cleansmy glasses perfectly fine as well as anotherPCB that was infested with lots of crustyflux.The only negative aspect I noticed while operatingmy cleaner was that the temperature of someinductors as well as the transistors was ratherhigh; so I would recommend adding an activecooling here so that nothing explodes andI also feel like the buy version comes withsome beefier components that can actuallyhandle this power.And with that being said we come to the endof this episode and I got to say that bothDIY and Buy come with some unique intriguingadvantages; but all in all I have to say thatmy winner is buy.And no, the reason for that is certainly notthe additional heating function because thatis way too low power.The reason is simply safety related and yes,I know I am a buzz killer; but please do notcarelessly play around with such high voltagesthat are also powerful.And now it is time for me to return to myPCB project and I hope you enjoyed this video.If so don't forget to like, share, subscribeand hit the notification bell.Stay creative and I will see you next time.