Turns out those ultrasonic cleaners with heater functions are actually worth the extra money

I've been cleaning lenses and shutters with just the basic ultrasonic for years, always figured the heated ones were a cash grab. Last month I got a used one at a swap meet for like $60, a Branson 2800. First time I ran a sticky leaf shutter from an old Minolta through it with some Ronsonol at 50c, the gunk just came off way faster than my cold runs. I still don't know if it's gonna kill the lubricants or anything long term, but for initial crud removal it's a game changer. Anyone have experience with these on older bellows cameras?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantthomas2d agoMost Upvoted

Have you ever noticed how just a little bit of heat makes almost everything work better? It's like cold oil versus warm oil in a pan, same principle applies to cleaning gunk off old camera parts. Makes me think all those cheap tools we put up with could be way better if we just paid a tiny bit more for a heating element.

gavinperez1d ago

That line about "cold oil versus warm oil in a pan" really hit home for me. I read somewhere that the heat helps break the surface tension on the fluid, so it gets into all those tiny crevices in shutters and lens barrels way easier. I tried it myself on a sticky Copal shutter from a 4x5 lens last week, and the difference was night and day. Cold runs left this weird residue film I had to wipe off, but the warm Ronsonol left everything squeaky clean. The trick I heard is to not go above 50c or you risk melting old shellac or something on some vintage cameras. You running yours any hotter than that?