What is degassing and how to degas ultrasonic cleaning tanks?

Air and other gases dissolved in a cleaning solution will impact performance of ultrasonic cleaning tanks. Gases in the cleaning solution absorb some of the cavitation energy that would otherwise go toward cleaning, and thus reduce effectiveness. Removal of these gases from the cleaning solution will result in maximum ultrasonic cleaning performance.

The process of removing gases from ultrasonic machines is called degassing.

Any water that comes from a pressurized water supply will naturally contain dissolved gases, and therefore the water will need to be degassed when first dispensed.

Options to degas ultrasonic cleaning tanks

• Let it sit – Degassing solution is easily achieved by letting the solution sit out for a number of hours. This is why a glass of water tastes “different” when first out of the faucet vs. drinking it hours later.
• Let it run – Run the ultrasonics just as you would ordinarily, but without the parts to be cleaned. Running the ultrasonics will expedite the degas process significantly, typically down to 5-10 minutes. Keep in mind that the cleaning solution only needs to be degassed when first dispensed from a pressurized supply.
• Fast degas ultrasonic cleaning system – Although 5-10 minutes is much shorter than hours, it’s still too long to wait for our parts cleaner machines to degas each time the solution is pumped from the storage tank to the process tank of the ultrasonic cleaning system. Our system features a fast-degas feature at the start of the ultrasonic cycle which allows the solution to degas in a matter of seconds vs. minutes.

The fast degas feature can be heard in the video below (note high pitch of ultrasonic degas and tuning amplified for video demonstration).

How to tell if a solution is degassed or not?

The cleaning solution de-gases simply by releasing the dissolved and entrapped air in the solution. During a degas process with ultrasonics, fine bubbles will suddenly appear and begin to rise to the surface of the solution (similar to that seen after first pouring a glass of beer). This implosion or cavitation of the solution with dissolved gases can result in a high-pitched audible sound from the ultrasonic tank until the solution is degassed as heard in the video above.

Once a solution or fluid is degassed either by letting it sit, ultrasonic cavitation energy, or heating, it does not need to be degassed again unless the solution replaced with new fluid.