Very timely and helpful, Dave. I tend to do less ultrasonic cleaning because of a worry that I might put the wrong materials into the bath. I appreciate your concise way of stating what is prohibited .
Hi Joel, you do have to be careful for sure, I have put some celluloid and ebonite pens in the bath but I tend to stand the nib up tines facing down and nest them between the holes of the grate/grid and try to ensure the sections of those pens aren't submerged, so it's just the nib/feed that are submerged. Any other plastic/resin sections I don't mind submerging in the bath. I'd also avoid anything wood, but I have heard of people having plating damage to some gold plated nibs, although I haven't experienced that myself. I think it depends on the quality of the plating. I've also heard that Casein can be problematic if soaked but don't have any pens made of Casein.
My solution to minimize the hassle of cleaning is to use well-behaving inks (Iroshizuku, waterman, etc.), and dedicate piston and vacuum fillers to one type/color/shade ink per pen. I use my CC pens for playing with different inks. Not an approach for everyone, but I gave it a lot of thought as to how I anticipated each pen would be used before committing to an ink. And it’s not as though it’s irreversible... changing simply means spending some extra time at the sink!
I’ve watched a few videos. Do you just toss the water? I’m concerned about damaging the electronics in the base. Thx for the close ups so I could see the ink being washed away.
Most of the Ultrasonic Cleaners don't have a removable water tray, only a removable basket. So I do have to unplug the Ultrasonic Cleaner from the mains socket and then pour the water away down the sink once finished.
Many thanks for this very useful video. Personally, I would rather use simple rincing (if necessary with a bulb flusher syringe). It takes longer but I would not have a concern at affecting the materials in the pen. Would you use an ultrasound cleaner for a very expensive pen, such as a Pelikan Raden? Or would you clean in the traditional manner for these types of pen?
Honestly, I usually find rinsing with a bulb syringe and an ink syringe the quickest way for me, although some people find it a real chore. Personally I like to wash the dishes the old fashion way in the sink with water and soap but many will want to put everything into the dishwasher and just power it on and then come back in 30 mins or so to have everything clean. Most of the time I won't submerge an entire pen int he ultrasonic cleaner unless it's just resin, just in case the ultrasonic could get into removing glue for instance that might be on the pen or potential lacquer.
Most Ultrasonic cleaners don't have a removal water reservoir, so you have to unplug from the power and then take the entire unit and open the lid and pour out the water. Some more expensive ones come with a removable water tray. The ink won't get onto other parts of the pen as it's diluted in water. I haven't had the Ultrasonic cleaner ever stain.
Sometimes trying to get my pens clean, especially piston or vacuum fillers, makes me want to switch to using a pencil, lol. Recently trying to flush my Homo Sapiens Bronze Age gave me fits, and I prefer not to remove the nib and feed unless I need to lube these types. Certain inks can just be a major pain in any pen it seems.
Yes vac fillers more so than piston fillers can be problematic to get clean, even more so if they are demonstrators. For that reason I usually will unscrew the nib, providing the nib hasn't been screwed in tightly. Usually when I get a new pen the first thing I do before anything is see how tight the nib is screwed in. The best way I've found with the Power Vac's is to unscrew the nib, hold them what would be nib facing down and then inject a lot of water from an inky syringe into the pen and let it run out. Make sure you retract the filling rod though otherwise you'll make a big splash as the water won't go anywhere. I've never understood why Visconti nibs need to be screwed in so tight, if it's to ensure a good fit so that ink doesn't leak out around the nib collar, then just put an o-ring on it. For Power Vac's, I rarely will submerge them fully in the ultrasonic, although I have cleaned a few that had stubborn ink stains on. The rods are titanium so won't rust.
Good info, Dave. And good cautions on materials. Have you tried this with plastic converters? I have some with just a last bit of ink I can never get out.
Hi Alejandra, yeah it'll work fine on converters to get out ink. Although my best experience on converters is to pull the piston to the back of the converter, take an inky syringe full of water, point the converter opening down into the sink whilst you squirt your water jet from the needle into the hole, all the inky residue will run out. You'll have some water left inside the converter but now suck that out with the syringe and it'll be pretty clean. If there's ink that gets behind the o-ring then you might need to disassemble the converter, the metal usually can be pulled off on most and then you could soak it in the ultrasonic cleaner.
Hi Dave! Really helpful video. Have you tried this method with vac fillers such as pilot custom 823 or twsbi vac 700r? If so, what parts do you think are safe to go in the ultrasonic cleaner?
Yes I have, although only if it's a resin, I wouldn't want to submerge something that was eithe rmetal or celluloid. A Pilot Custom 823 and TWSI Vac 700R should be safe.
I have one of these that I've used for airbrushes, so I may give it a try for my fountain pens. I'm wondering if airbrush cleaning solution would be safe for fountain pens. Anyone tried that?
I've not tried that to be honest, I usually just use plain water, or if I need to flush out a pen properly nib/feed to get out dried ink then I will fill the cleaner with water and put a cup in there with some pen flush and then place the nib/feed into that.
Penultimate Dave I have a hunch that the ingredients in airbrush cleaners and pen flushes are likely to be fairly similar. I’ll look into it and report back. I’m always skeptical of buying things marketed specifically to a hobby, when in fact, it isn’t any different than other readily available items. Sort of like those “ink syringes” that are exactly like other non-medical syringes that are available for much cheaper without the “ink” specific tag. Thanks for your video and quick response!
Unfortunately the model where I purchased is no longer available, it was the James Products Ultrasonic 7000S. If you google that or something similar maybe there's a newer model.
Very timely and helpful, Dave. I tend to do less ultrasonic cleaning because of a worry that I might put the wrong materials into the bath. I appreciate your concise way of stating what is prohibited .
Hi Joel, you do have to be careful for sure, I have put some celluloid and ebonite pens in the bath but I tend to stand the nib up tines facing down and nest them between the holes of the grate/grid and try to ensure the sections of those pens aren't submerged, so it's just the nib/feed that are submerged. Any other plastic/resin sections I don't mind submerging in the bath. I'd also avoid anything wood, but I have heard of people having plating damage to some gold plated nibs, although I haven't experienced that myself. I think it depends on the quality of the plating. I've also heard that Casein can be problematic if soaked but don't have any pens made of Casein.
"Thank you for your wonderful review. It's very informative and helpful."
Glad it was helpful!
Thx for convincing me :)
My solution to minimize the hassle of cleaning is to use well-behaving inks (Iroshizuku, waterman, etc.), and dedicate piston and vacuum fillers to one type/color/shade ink per pen. I use my CC pens for playing with different inks. Not an approach for everyone, but I gave it a lot of thought as to how I anticipated each pen would be used before committing to an ink. And it’s not as though it’s irreversible... changing simply means spending some extra time at the sink!
That is my approach too.
I’ve watched a few videos. Do you just toss the water? I’m concerned about damaging the electronics in the base. Thx for the close ups so I could see the ink being washed away.
Most of the Ultrasonic Cleaners don't have a removable water tray, only a removable basket. So I do have to unplug the Ultrasonic Cleaner from the mains socket and then pour the water away down the sink once finished.
Many thanks for this very useful video. Personally, I would rather use simple rincing (if necessary with a bulb flusher syringe). It takes longer but I would not have a concern at affecting the materials in the pen.
Would you use an ultrasound cleaner for a very expensive pen, such as a Pelikan Raden? Or would you clean in the traditional manner for these types of pen?
Honestly, I usually find rinsing with a bulb syringe and an ink syringe the quickest way for me, although some people find it a real chore. Personally I like to wash the dishes the old fashion way in the sink with water and soap but many will want to put everything into the dishwasher and just power it on and then come back in 30 mins or so to have everything clean.
Most of the time I won't submerge an entire pen int he ultrasonic cleaner unless it's just resin, just in case the ultrasonic could get into removing glue for instance that might be on the pen or potential lacquer.
wouldn't the ink smear onto the other part of the pens? how do you discharge the dirty water? will that stain the USC?
Most Ultrasonic cleaners don't have a removal water reservoir, so you have to unplug from the power and then take the entire unit and open the lid and pour out the water. Some more expensive ones come with a removable water tray. The ink won't get onto other parts of the pen as it's diluted in water. I haven't had the Ultrasonic cleaner ever stain.
Sometimes trying to get my pens clean, especially piston or vacuum fillers, makes me want to switch to using a pencil, lol. Recently trying to flush my Homo Sapiens Bronze Age gave me fits, and I prefer not to remove the nib and feed unless I need to lube these types. Certain inks can just be a major pain in any pen it seems.
Yes vac fillers more so than piston fillers can be problematic to get clean, even more so if they are demonstrators. For that reason I usually will unscrew the nib, providing the nib hasn't been screwed in tightly. Usually when I get a new pen the first thing I do before anything is see how tight the nib is screwed in. The best way I've found with the Power Vac's is to unscrew the nib, hold them what would be nib facing down and then inject a lot of water from an inky syringe into the pen and let it run out. Make sure you retract the filling rod though otherwise you'll make a big splash as the water won't go anywhere.
I've never understood why Visconti nibs need to be screwed in so tight, if it's to ensure a good fit so that ink doesn't leak out around the nib collar, then just put an o-ring on it.
For Power Vac's, I rarely will submerge them fully in the ultrasonic, although I have cleaned a few that had stubborn ink stains on. The rods are titanium so won't rust.
Good info, Dave. And good cautions on materials. Have you tried this with plastic converters? I have some with just a last bit of ink I can never get out.
Hi Alejandra, yeah it'll work fine on converters to get out ink. Although my best experience on converters is to pull the piston to the back of the converter, take an inky syringe full of water, point the converter opening down into the sink whilst you squirt your water jet from the needle into the hole, all the inky residue will run out. You'll have some water left inside the converter but now suck that out with the syringe and it'll be pretty clean. If there's ink that gets behind the o-ring then you might need to disassemble the converter, the metal usually can be pulled off on most and then you could soak it in the ultrasonic cleaner.
Hi Dave! Really helpful video. Have you tried this method with vac fillers such as pilot custom 823 or twsbi vac 700r? If so, what parts do you think are safe to go in the ultrasonic cleaner?
Yes I have, although only if it's a resin, I wouldn't want to submerge something that was eithe rmetal or celluloid. A Pilot Custom 823 and TWSI Vac 700R should be safe.
@@PenultimateDave thanks for the info!
I have one of these that I've used for airbrushes, so I may give it a try for my fountain pens. I'm wondering if airbrush cleaning solution would be safe for fountain pens. Anyone tried that?
I've not tried that to be honest, I usually just use plain water, or if I need to flush out a pen properly nib/feed to get out dried ink then I will fill the cleaner with water and put a cup in there with some pen flush and then place the nib/feed into that.
Penultimate Dave I have a hunch that the ingredients in airbrush cleaners and pen flushes are likely to be fairly similar. I’ll look into it and report back. I’m always skeptical of buying things marketed specifically to a hobby, when in fact, it isn’t any different than other readily available items. Sort of like those “ink syringes” that are exactly like other non-medical syringes that are available for much cheaper without the “ink” specific tag. Thanks for your video and quick response!
could you send me a link to the ultrasonic cleaner you used
Unfortunately the model where I purchased is no longer available, it was the James Products Ultrasonic 7000S. If you google that or something similar maybe there's a newer model.
Thanks for telling us virtually nothing about the equipment or its cost. 9 minutes wasted.
Thanks for the view, you're welcome!