Cooking carbs - new tech tip?

[Brian_D]

Found this recently on another forum. I have not tried this yet, but will be soon.

Possibly xschop can chime in here as he uses a similar method to clean the fuel tank.

Low-buck Carb Cleaning
From this to this in 30 minutes, no scrubbing, no brushing, just walk away and come back in 30 minutes.

Interested ?

Laugh if you will , but this is the easiest and fastest way I have found to clean carbs and have now done many this way and swear by it!

Take the carb apart as you would for a rebuild. Some remove the rubber, some don't. I've done it both ways with the same results.

Put it in a metal container and cover it with straight lemon juice. Yup, lemon juice!

Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until well done.

You need to keep adding lemon juice periodically to keep all the parts covered.

This process REALLY stinks (do not even attempt in the house) and your "pot" will no longer be good for mac & cheese .

Once the time is up, pull out parts with pliers, blow out with compressor and reassemble.

Beware the finish on the outside of the carb will most likely be removed.

Additional warnings:

I'd recommend something other than the disposable ALUMINUM pans as they will disentigrate during use.

Ensure the metal container is large enough to allow room for the initial boiling process.

[Pat Kelly]

Here's a copy form last year:

03-12-2006 12:04 PM

Pat Kelly
XS-XJ Guru

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: Modesto, California
Posts: 1693
An interesting post on the XStriples site about cleaning carbs.
Someone there read about, and tried, dipping the carbs in lemon juice.
A couple of people apparantly have tried this.
One uses a crock-pot (not SWMBOs I would think). Another uses a tray commonly used for sheetrock putty on a 2 burner hotplate.
You heat the lemon juice (someone said vinegar would work too) to just below boiling. Supposedly won't hurt rubberseals (unless they were bad to begin with). Rinse well with water and dry with compresses air.
I would think the citric acid would do a good job degreasing. warming it would thin the juice and the agitation on being almost to a boil would move the debris.
It was said if parts left in too long the brass becomes discolored. Unknown effect on painted parts (MNS carbs).
Remove diaphrams, floats, needle/seats, and jets then sautee your carb rack. Photos of cleaned parts looked very clean.
I have a set of MIC1 carbs (XS720D I think) that I may try this on.


__________________
Pat Kelly
<p-lkelly@sbcglobal.net>

1978 XS1100E ($60 Gem)
1980 XS1100LG (the Black Widow)
1996 XV1100 Virago (SWMOB's)
1999 Suburban
1968 F100

"my other bike is an XS1100"

[Brian_D]

Sorry I missed your earlier post Pat.

Really wanting to try this out - on a variety of parts.

If this is the correct product, I should be able to make several gallons cheaply!

[HobbyMan]

I don't know about lemmon juice, but antifreeze works well. I have never used it on a carb, but for my little RC engines that are aluminum, it works well. You just put the aluminum parts is a crock pot with LOW heat and let them sit for a while. I have an engine that I plan on cleaning up pretty quick and I will try and get some before and after photos. The aluminum that was covered in years of baked on oil that won't come off with any solvents dissolves like magic. If I get some good photos, you might just try it on something small to see what I mean. I wouldn't put anything in there that is not aluminum. I believe that antifreeze is similar to brake fluid and you can see why that makes sense. I think it is that they are glycol based. I don't know what makes them take off crud soo easily.