Appreciation post: ultrasonic cleaner vs doing fuel nozzles by hand

I spend last Saturday fighting with a set of CFM56 fuel nozzles on a 737. First one took me 45 minutes scrubbing with solvent and a brush. Then I borrowed the shop's ultrasonic cleaner for the rest. 15 minutes in the tank and they came out spotless. No caked on carbon, no clogged orifices. The difference in time and quality is insane. Has anyone else made the switch and never looked back?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesleyflores4d ago

Totally agree, the ultrasonic cleaner is a game changer for fuel nozzles. I started doing the same thing with our PT6 fuel nozzles and it cut my bench time by more than half.

patricia324d ago

Read a Pratt report that said @wesleyflores saved 60% on labor with these things.

jessica9214d ago

Oh man, I saw a YouTube video about this a few months back from some A&P guy who tested ultrasonic cleaners on fuel nozzles from an old JT8D. He showed the before and after under a magnifying glass and it was wild how much gunk came out of the tiny passages. I mean, I always figured scrubbing by hand was good enough but seeing that stuff loosened up without touching it? Kinda makes you wonder why shops don't push for these more often. Even the small benchtop ones seem worth it for how clean they get things.