Cleaning powerheads

[tent boy]

I am removing a powerhead and would like to clean it off. Pretty nasty. Anything around the house that will do the job? I wont be using it for a while if that matters.

 

[dreaminmel]

If you've got any distilled white vinegar hanging around you can do a water/vinegar mix soak for a few hours. That should loosen up any caked on crud for easy scrubbing. Not sure of the validity but remember recently reading somewhere that soaking for too long could possibly damage seals. I've never had to soak them that long anyways so can't speak from experience.

 

[talon4x4]

Someone commented recently about it ruining the seals but I believe he also said it was sitting in vinegar/water for a couple weeks. I've let mine sit overnight and haven't noticed any ill effects.

 

[zooman72]

I have had problems a few times with rubber seals/ gaskets when soaking more than 12 hours or so in vinegar. I would not go for more than an overnight soak if possible, and I have found that just a couple of hours is usually more than enough to allow me to scrub any equipment clean - good luck!

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I do about 15 minutes in a muriatic acid/water (1/20) ratio. After that, a quick rinse, and all the nasty wipes clean off.

I'm a busy guy, so I don't have time to monkey around with vinegar.

 

[mr86mister]

I'm a busy guy, so I don't have time to monkey around with vinegar.

You also have probably the easiest access!:thumbsup: If I could just get my hands on some of that, the things I could get rid of...hahaha. J/K!

 

[tent boy]

Where do you get muriatic acid from? If I have to go vinegar route approx what is ratio?

 

[belgian_waffleman]

For vinegar, use it straight up.
I buy it by the gallon at Wegmans.
I had a power head soaking for days and the seal around the motor started to peel away. Overnight should be OK and that is also what the people at Ec0tech recommend for cleaning of the MP40's.

Waffleman

 

[superkat]

You also have probably the easiest access!:thumbsup: If I could just get my hands on some of that, the things I could get rid of...hahaha. J/K!

i could think of a dozen uses for that....

 

[BigandUgly]

I just let one soak in vinegar for way too long (few weeks). The seals still look good, but they swelled up a lot. At least it was a cheap unit I killed.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Paul-

They sell muriatic acid at Weider's hardware store. It's commonly available.

Just be careful with it. Eye protection, gloves, etc.

Remember: Always add acid to water, not the other way around!

 

[cardiffgiant]

I try to clean all of my powerheads and pumps every 6 months.

I use plain vinegar on mine. I check the pumps after 2 hours or so. Usually a couple of hours is enough to get 90% of the crud off. If they look good enough, I rinse them and put them back in. I can't remember the last time that I needed to have pumps sit in vinegar for much longer.