Testing wattage ultrasonic transducer

Thread Starter

Derekm

Joined Jan 22, 2022
2
First post...Hope I'm in the right place.

Bought a quite expensive 28L ultrasonic cleaner, paid extra for 80 watt, 40k transducers, 8 in the unit.

They normally use 80 watt, 37k transducers but told me they can do the same in 40k and 80W...After delivery and before I had opened it they emailed me and said sorry we put the right transducers in but forgot to change the screen so it still says 37k...but said all good as it has the 40k transducers.

I don't trust them and also wondered if they had actually used their 60 watt transducers.

I used a watt meter between power and the unit and it only uses around 490 watts on full power.

Have they ripped some watts off me? :) or am I missing something.

Thanks. Derek
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,177
It appears that the driver is verry efficient if you have 8 sixty watt transducers (8 x 60 =480 watts).
Clearly 8 of the 80 watt transducers will require at least 640 watts at 100% efficiency.
Of course it might be that some cleaning power levels are calculated differently.
It may also be that the lower powered unit has fewer transducers. If youare able to open the unit and examine it without voiding the warantee then you could examine the insides and possibly see additional markings that may tell you more. Or go online and look at any service literature that may describe the driver circuit and allow comparison.
 

Thread Starter

Derekm

Joined Jan 22, 2022
2
It appears that the driver is verry efficient if you have 8 sixty watt transducers (8 x 60 =480 watts).
Clearly 8 of the 80 watt transducers will require at least 640 watts at 100% efficiency.
Of course it might be that some cleaning power levels are calculated differently.
It may also be that the lower powered unit has fewer transducers. If youare able to open the unit and examine it without voiding the warantee then you could examine the insides and possibly see additional markings that may tell you more. Or go online and look at any service literature that may describe the driver circuit and allow comparison.
Thanks a lot for the reply.

I have opened the unit and there are 8 transducers with no markings. As I mentioned it is only drawing around 490W on full power...when I turn the ultrasonic part off, the fan runs for a while and it seems to draw around 9W.
So as I said, I suspect that they have sent 60w units.
Would you expect that the transformers should draw the full amount of watts advertised. ie 8 X 80W =640W plus fan.

I paid a lot extra for the 80w units

Cheers Derek
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,177
Thanks a lot for the reply.

I have opened the unit and there are 8 transducers with no markings. As I mentioned it is only drawing around 490W on full power...when I turn the ultrasonic part off, the fan runs for a while and it seems to draw around 9W.
So as I said, I suspect that they have sent 60w units.
Would you expect that the transformers should draw the full amount of watts advertised. ie 8 X 80W =640W plus fan.

I paid a lot extra for the 80w units

Cheers Derek
I suspect that the unit must be filled with the proper amount of cleaning solution, but for a check, water should be enough. The full power would be used driving the cleaning liquid, and if the machine were empty probably the driving would be much less.
Be sure to use clean water so that if you return the machine it will not appear to be used.
OR, did you have it filled when you checked the power drawn? Let us know about that. then it should draw full power.
And no, a transformer draws only a lower magnetizing current when it is not loaded and transferring power.

One more thought would be to research the weight of the cleaner package. The higher power transformers should weigh more than the lower powered ones, and so that might be a way to tell the difference.
Were there any markings on the power transformer.
 

k1ng 1337

Joined Sep 11, 2020
940
I would demand a new unit with the correct markings. If the company can't be bothered to quality control some text after a supposed modification who can be sure it was properly modified and subsequently quality controlled. I have made a number of purchases that were grossly misrepresented.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
My read on these is the 28L is tank capacity (7.5 Gallon). The 40 KHz is very common as to frequency, normally 40 to 60 Khz depending on your application.

This is a typical chart as to power consumption:
Ultra Sonic Cleaners.png

What I am unsure about is are we looking at Transducer Max Ratings or what transducers should be driven at? Manufacturer and complete part number would likely help and you could call the manufacturer to see how things are reted. Every ultra sonic you I have worked with or seen has a name plate with data as to line voltage, line current, heater power (when heated) and anything you could want to know.

Ron
 
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