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I'd like to clean my bicycle chain with as little effort as possible, so I thought an ultra-sound cleaner would be best. Professional oil-based ultrasound cleaners are way too expensive for a hobbyist, but water-based ultrasound cleaners are pretty cheap. So I could just run it with oil.

Could this work or is it doomed to fail because you need different kinds of transducers (or something like that)?

I understand that the risk is all mine, so I won't sue any of you for damages. I'd just like a more qualified opinion than my own. I'm assuming here that the worst that could happen is that it doesn't work and I end up with an oil-smeared device that I need to properly dispose of. Oil is less conductive than water, so I see no risk of shorting the device.

Jann Poppinga
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In my lab we use ultrasound cleaners a lot, albeit to clean glassware but from all sorts of stains and dirt.

What I would suggest at first is that you try water + dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquid is formulated to bind partially to grease (surfactant effect).

Do let us know how it goes.

MeEngineerTrustMe
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Yes, it is possible.

I actually went ahead and bought a simple large (for an end-user device) ultra-sound cleaner and filled it with low-viscous oil. I operated it twice in the space of a few weeks. It still works and it does clean. The main challenge is to get the dirt out of the oil in the device's basin.

Jann Poppinga
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