Reel Cleaning Question

[vicb276]

I had, what I thought, was a brilliant idea. I just wanted to get some feedback in case it's not so brilliant.

At work, there is an ultrasonic cleaner - Not entirely sure what it does or what solution is in it. Recently I bought a reel from a pawn shop and have not had the time to take it apart and clean and oil it. My idea is to take the reel offshore and putting the whole thing through the ultrasonic bath. Would this clean as well as breaking it down? Would it be better to take it apart and then run it through? Would it cause harm to the components? Once clean, I plan coating it with AeroKroil and leave it in a bag for a couple of weeks and wiping off the excess before coming home.

I saw some smaller ones, online, advertised as big enough for handguns and am considering buying one. Have any of you cleaned reels this way?

[CheapRide906]

So I actually tried this with one we have at work about six months ago on a reel I was going to chunk in the trash. The cleaning unit is one made by Hornady called the Hot Tub and it is big enough to clean a complete upper AR assembly. I did it with the heat turned off and used the cleaner recommended for the unit since it said synthetic safe. Based of the amount of crap floating in the water I'd say it did pretty good, however the reel was just to far gone and it ended up in the trash anyway. I saw no signs of further damage but haven't tried it again with one of my nicer reels. For this machine a small amount of cleaner is added to several gallons of water so a good follow up lubrication is going to be a must. I think we paid around $400 for the machine but they do make a smaller one. For the record it does a hell of a job on firearms!

[Fishin Texas Aggie]

It's going to be best to take the reels apart, if not all the way at least the major components

[Yaklash]

It's going to be best to take the reels apart, if not all the way at least the major components

Yeah, if it's a throwaway, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try, but in my days using ultrasonic cleaners, we disassembled first, cleaned the parts, then dried and reassembled.

[vicb276]

Thanks, guys. I didnt bring it since i dont know what kknd of slution was being used. I know it sees main engine and air compressor parts.
Another forum suggested i can put the smaller parts in a baby food jar filled with solution ( i prefer prolix) and run that through the u/s cleaner.
The reel in question is an abu garcia morrum 3600. I may get lazy and just hand it over to Reel Deal...

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[Yaklash]

Thanks, guys. ....
The reel in question is an abu garcia morrum 3600. I may get lazy and just hand it over to Reel Deal...

If you can't do it yourself, having it done by an individual instead of a big production house is the way to go. Reel Deal is not a bad way to go from everything I've head about his service and capabilities.

[TroutSupport.com]

Thanks, guys. ....
The reel in question is an abu garcia morrum 3600. I may get lazy and just hand it over to Reel Deal...

If you can't do it yourself, having it done by an individual instead of a big production house is the way to go. Reel Deal is not a bad way to go from everything I've head about his service and capabilities.

x2 on reel deal. Joey is a good guy.

As for reels being too far gone.. it might have just needed new bearings... granted, depending on which ones it needs new it might be too far gone.. or maybe not.

I take down all my reels taking pictures along the way as I take parts off.

[EZ-E]

I've been using an ultra sonic cleaner for about 5 years. I break my reels down pop the bearings out & stick them in with 70% water & 30% simple green. Reading the directions for the u/s cleaner it says to make sure you have some "air space" between the parts ... they can not be touching. I do know if you use any type of acid base cleaner in the u/s it can cause coatings to flake off.