# IPA cleanning. Ultrasound Vs. Magnetic stirrer **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2018, 9:35am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422 "2018-12-03T09:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/nicolas_gonzalez_gar/32/1038_2.png) [@Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Nicolas_Gonzalez_Gar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 9:35am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/1 "2018-12-03T09:35:22Z")
Hello everyone, I’m thinking of “automating” a bit the IPA cleaning with a “poor man’s” solution 🙂 I found this video for a DIY magnetic stirrer. The solution seems to be quite cheap. On the other hand, I found out [some people use a ~3 Liter ultrasonic cleaner](https://youtu.be/s7VrpiIfg4U?t=303) with IPA. Those are also cheap on eBay. So the question is… which gives a cleaner part for the time and the buck? I have to point out that I’m not comfortable with the non-sealed lid of the typical ultrasonic cleaner if full of IPA. I’m not concerned about it catching fire, it is just the fumes/smell of the Alcohol that will evaporate all the time are not nice to breathe. ---
**Author:** ![PeterBechtold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PeterBechtold](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/PeterBechtold)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/2 "2018-12-03T12:44:01Z")
We use a magnetic stirrer for cleaning and rinsing our Rigid Resin prints and only have the best experiences so far. No experience with ultrasonic yet. But one has to keep in mind that IPA in a ultrasonic cleaner may present a huge safety risk due to off-gassing. You would have to use a sealed container: > **[How to Safely Use IPA in an Ultrasonic Cleaner](https://www.tovatech.com/blog/3953/explosion-proof-ultrasonic-cleaners/how-to-safely-use-ipa-in-an-ultrasonic-cleaner)** > > Procedures on isolating IPA from the environment using flasks, beakers and an explosion-proof ultrasonic cleaner to control volatile fumes. See all options. ---
**Author:** ![JLYL33](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/jlyl33/32/10798_2.png) [@JLYL33](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JLYL33)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/3 "2018-12-04T12:55:39Z")
I clean parts with ultrasounds. It’s very effective and fast. I just put the part in a large beaker (full of IPA) in a distilled water ultrasonic bath and close the lid. 2 washes for 1-3 min gives good results. The only issue is for relatively large parts that do not fit in the beakers. ---
**Author:** ![P3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@P3D](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/P3D)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/4 "2018-12-04T16:16:53Z")
Very interesting, thanks for your post! So you don’t use IPA at all? Do you have any problems with sticky surfaces after post-curing? ---
**Author:** ![KenCitron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/kencitron/32/1741_2.png) [@KenCitron](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/KenCitron)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/5 "2018-12-04T19:58:14Z")
You can’t put IPA into an ultrasonic bath directly without risk of fire. Some have put the ipa in a bag with the part and submersed that into water in the ultrasonic cleaner but that would reduce your capacity and leaky bag can be a problem. Ultrasonic cleaning with solutions like Yellow Magic has worked very well for me. ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/nicolas_gonzalez_gar/32/1038_2.png) [@Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Nicolas_Gonzalez_Gar)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 8:34am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/6 "2018-12-05T08:34:34Z")
> [@KenCitron](#): > > You can’t put IPA into an ultrasonic bath directly without risk of fire. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/20fbQfsmNKc/maxresdefault.jpg "Is Isopropyl alcohol safe?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20fbQfsmNKc) It seems safe… If too busy to watch, jump to this segment: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/20fbQfsmNKc/maxresdefault.jpg "Is Isopropyl alcohol safe?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20fbQfsmNKc&t=363) ---
**Author:** ![JLYL33](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/jlyl33/32/10798_2.png) [@JLYL33](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JLYL33)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 9:35am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/7 "2018-12-05T09:35:12Z")
Sorry, yes I use IPA which I place inside the beaker which is in the US bath. (I edited my post) ---
**Author:** ![P3D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@P3D](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/P3D)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 9:46am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/8 "2018-12-05T09:46:12Z")
Thanks for the clarification 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/nicolas_gonzalez_gar/32/1038_2.png) [@Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Nicolas_Gonzalez_Gar)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 10:19am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/9 "2018-12-07T10:19:19Z")
Just found out this. I think it is very interesting: This is the product that he is using: [http://www.resinaway.com/](http://www.resinaway.com/) ---
**Author:** ![fantasy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@fantasy2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/fantasy2)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/10 "2018-12-07T11:46:58Z")
I’m doing the same with resinaway in the ultrasonic. It works really fast. Better than the FormWash, which takes longer but is a bit more convenient in handling. ---
**Author:** ![JLYL33](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/jlyl33/32/10798_2.png) [@JLYL33](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JLYL33)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/11 "2018-12-10T13:37:09Z")
It’s more 2x more expensive than IPA for me. 86€ for 5L vs. 36€ for 6L - is it really worth it? [IPA - Amazon 6L](https://www.amazon.fr/H%C3%B6fer-Chemie-GmbH-6-l-disopropanol/dp/B005J4B4LG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1544448681&sr=8-4&keywords=isopropyl+alcohol) ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/nicolas_gonzalez_gar/32/1038_2.png) [@Nicolas\_Gonzalez\_Gar](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Nicolas_Gonzalez_Gar)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/12 "2018-12-10T15:18:03Z")
Same thought… except for me it costs ~10x more… I bought recently [6L of IPA for 15.88 EUR](https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B005J4B4LG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) ResinAway in Germany costs [55 EUR for 2 Liters](https://www.edv-3d-druck.de/resin/556/monocure-resinaway-reiniger-2l) or [106.20 for 5 Liters](https://sage-shop.com/epages/DruckerundEDV-ServiceAndrease_k_.sf/de_DE/?ObjectID=94817799). That is a HUGE price difference to justify. IPA: 2.64 €/L ResinAway: 21.24 €/L ---
**Author:** ![JohnHue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@JohnHue](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JohnHue)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/13 "2018-12-10T15:54:50Z")
Same thing here. It’s much less expensive in Switzerland to use IPA than some other specialised solvent. We can deal with the elimination and the smell but would welcome a less risky and cheaper option. ---
**Author:** ![fantasy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@fantasy2](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/fantasy2)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/ipa-cleanning-ultrasound-vs-magnetic-stirrer/21422/14 "2018-12-10T17:10:11Z")
We switched because it is safer to use, does not seem evaporate in de formwash and seems to be working for a much longer time. Also the surface finish from the resinaway is much better. If it boils down to cost… yes IPA is better in that sense.