Cleaning a Lawnmower Carburetor Made Easy

Cleaning a carburetor on a lawnmower can involve either time-consuming disassembly, soaking, brushing or spraying with solvents then re-assembly or much faster and with minimum disassembly by using a benchtop  ultrasonic cleaner. Whether you operate a repair shop or are a DIY mechanic, you'll learn here how the power of ultrasonic cleaning quickly blasts away grease, varnish and other contaminants on a lawnmower carburetor.

This post also gives you equipment suggestions on speeding your lawn mower carb cleaning process.

Three Big Benefits of Ultrasonic Cleaning a Carburetor on a Lawnmower

1. Fast Lawnmower Carb Cleaning

When a carburetor is placed in the your ultrasonic lawn mower carburetor cleaner's basket and cleaning initiated cleaning can be completed in 25 to 40 minutes (depending on the condition). No monitoring is required, leaving you free to attend to other tasks.

And with the right-sized ultrasonic lawn mower carburetor cleaner you can clean more than one at a time.

2. Thorough Lawnmower Carb Cleaning

The imploding cavitation bubbles that do the work are so small that they are able penetrate minute cracks, crevices and blind holes impossible to reach by hand scrubbing using brushes, conventional parts washers or aerosol sprays. These techniques may also create environmental and disposal challenges. Which leads to

3. Environmentally Friendly Lawnmower Carb Cleaning

Compared to solvent-based washers and aerosols, ultrasonic cleaning a lawn mower carburetor is completed in an environmentally friendly manner. No fumes, no aerosol mists, no solvents that may pose disposal challenges.

Instead the ultrasonic lawn mower carburetor cleaner formula is a biodegradable concentrate that is economical while minimizing disposal problems.

How Ultrasonic Cleaning a Carburetor on a Lawn Mower Works

Ultrasonic cleaners find a wide range of applications removing virtually any soil or contamination by using the power of cavitation action.

In addition to powering away plain old grease and dirt on the carburetor exterior, these cleaners remove varnish, gum and other contaminants deposited on interior parts and degrade performance over time.

Cavitation is the term used to describe the implosion of billions of minute vacuum bubbles when they contact a lawn mower carburetor immersed in a biodegradable ultrasonic cleaning solution.

The bubbles are created by generator-powered ultrasonic transducers bonded to an ultrasonic carburetor cleaner tank.

Transducers vibrate at a frequency such as 40 kHz (40,000 cycles per second) causing the tank bottom to vibrate as a membrane, producing the bubbles.

When the vacuum bubbles implode contaminants are quickly and safely blasted away from wetted surfaces without damaging delicate carburetor parts.

How to Select an Ultrasonic Lawnmower Carburetor Cleaner

Several options are available for cleaning a carburetor on a lawnmower. Ultrasonic cleaners come in a variety of sizes from bench top units to floor-mounted industrial ultrasonic cleaning machines, so you can select any size you need.

Whatever size you select it is important that the parts being cleaned are fully immersed in the ultrasonic cleaning solution. Baskets in which parts are placed have smaller dimensions than the cleaning tank itself, and must be taken into account. We invite you to check out our post on how to select and use an ultrasonic cleaner.

While you can clean several parts at the same time, take care that they do not contact each other when in the basket.

At iUltrasonic, a popular model for lawn mower carburetor cleaning in small-engine repair shops is the 1.6-gallon capacity SGB-160 kit that we especially promote for cleaning carburetors.

A smaller unit is the 3 quart SGB 075 kit for folks with several gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment and like to do their own maintenance.

Lawnmower and garden supply service centers handling large volumes of repairs may find the 10-gallon capacity SGB 1000 ideal to speed the cleaning of multiple lawn mower carburetors and other small engine parts.

All kits are supplied with an operating manual, our recommended cleaning solution concentrate plus a handy user guide on how to clean carburetors.

How to Set Up Your Lawn Mower Carburetor Cleaning Cycle

Whatever the model and size ultrasonic carburetor cleaner you use there are steps to take before cleaning begins.

As a first step we suggest removing built-up deposits of dust, clippings and other residue on outside surfaces. This helps reduce the load on the ultrasonic cleaning solution. Then

Fill the tank half way with water and add the recommended amount of cleaning solution concentrate for a full tank.

The 2 smaller kits offered above include 2.5 liters of tec clean A4 cleaning concentrate that make 15 gallons of solution; the larger kit is supplied with 10 liters that make 60 gallons of solution.

Then continue adding water to the fill line.

Turn on the ultrasonic cleaner, set the heater to approximately 70°C, and operate the ultrasound for about 30 minutes without a load. This mixes the solution and drives off cavitation inhibiting entrained air. Repeat this operation when preparing fresh cleaning solution.

How to Sonically Clean a Lawn Mower Carburetor

Information on removing and reinstalling a lawnmower carburetor is provided the "How to" user guide shipped with your kit. What makes an ultrasonic lawn mower carburetor cleaner so effective is provided here:

Although you can clean your carburetor without any disassembly you will achieve the most thorough cleaning with partial disassembly to allow the solution into the float chamber.

Remember that only surfaces that are wetted by the cleaning solution will be cleaned. Fine mesh baskets (ordered separately) can be used to hold very small parts.

Set the thermostat to 70°C. While the solution is heating, place your carburetor parts in the basket taking care that they do not touch each other.

When the operating temperature is reached lower the basket into the cleaning solution and set the timer for 20 minutes. As noted above, cleaning time depends on the condition of the carburetor and may have to be adjusted.

At the end of the cycle remove the components from the bath. If they are not clean replace them in the bath until the cleaning is complete. Then rinse them in fresh water to remove all traces of the cleaning solution and allow them to dry.

Safety note: DO NOT reach into an operating ultrasonic bath. Instead remove the basket if you want to inspect or rearrange the parts. Note that parts may be hot.

Cleaning Solution Maintenance Tips

While this post focuses on cleaning a lawn mower carburetor these ultrasonic cleaner kits are also perfect for removing gunk, grease, built-up road dirt and other contaminants from fuel pumps, oil pumps, brake assemblies, gears and other components without the mess and bother of manual scrubbing with solvents in wash tanks.

Common to all ultrasonic cleaning tasks is that oils that rise to the surface of the bath should be skimmed off and disposed of properly. When the solution becomes discolored or cleaning time takes longer it is time to replace it.

Drain the tank and dispose of the spent solution according to local regulations. Take the time to remove sludge that settled to the bottom of the tank. Clean the tank using a cleaning process recommended by the manufacturer.

Questions: Contact the iUltrasonic.com lawn mower carburetor cleaner experts

Disclaimer: This advice is not provided by a licensed mechanic. Follow at your own risk. We assume no liability for any damages caused by following the advice in this article.