Cleaning an MP40 wetside. How do you do it?

[2Wheelsonly]

I just throw them away and buy new ones once they get dirty. Don't worry, i'm the lead on the grill team at McDonalds so I can afford it...

Buuuuutttt.... when times are tight I just soak them in vinegar for 1 hour and clean under faucet with a toothbrush (not the same one I use on MY teeth, I use my wife's to save money).

 

[CindyKz]

Feeling stupid, but how is everyone "dissasembling" the wet sides? Mine don't seem to come apart in any way.

 

[Falcon53]

Feeling stupid, but how is everyone "dissasembling" the wet sides? Mine don't seem to come apart in any way.

There are three tabs that hold it together. You pop those up and it comes apart.

 

[Dugless]

The new QD shrouds rotate counter clockwise.

 

[Dugless]

I use a rubber jar opener on a tabletop and use that to gently press down and hold it in place while rotating.

 

[saltyhog]

The new QD shrouds rotate counter clockwise.

To assemble, clockwise to disassemble.

 

[CindyKz]

To assemble, clockwise to disassemble.

Thanks. I need to clean mine tomorrow so I'll try again. I've tried to take them apart but didn't want to force anything.

 

[Falcon53]

Thanks. I need to clean mine tomorrow so I'll try again. I've tried to take them apart but didn't want to force anything.

And like I said above, you can further disassemble by popping the three tabs once you have the guard off.

 

[ihavecrabs]

So for anyone that uses vinegar to clean their power heads, how many of you had issues with the shaft rusting or the magnets casing cracking?

Wondering if this is a potential cause.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

Vinegar removes rust so I doubt it would cause issues. I give my fragging tools a lengthy vinegar soak every 6 months to get rid of rust.

I’ve used vinegar to clean my aquarium parts since I started reefing and have not had any issues. My mag pump is over 10 years old and looks and works like new. I think my mp40 is also pushing 10 years and is still working great.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Vinegar removes rust so I doubt it would cause issues. I give my fragging tools a lengthy vinegar soak every 6 months to get rid of rust.

I’ve used vinegar to clean my aquarium parts since I started reefing and have not had any issues. My mag pump is over 10 years old and looks and works like new. I think my mp40 is also pushing 10 years and is still working great.

My point being is does vinegar lead to weakened plastic joints that contain the metal or magnets inside the MP40 or MP10s exposing them to the water and enabling them to leak into our tanks.

I have an MP10 that thr ceramic around the metal shaft has cracked and I see rust leaking from it. Curious to know if anyone else has seen this or around the seams that contain the magnet and if everyone that has, exposed their equipment to vinegar.

 

[davocean]

Ecotech actually told me to soak in half hot water half vinegar, so that is what I have always done.
Usually I soak one for about 10 minutes or so, then disassemble and scrub w/ toothbrush.

 

[redfishbluefish]

So for anyone that uses vinegar to clean their power heads, how many of you had issues with the shaft rusting or the magnets casing cracking?

Wondering if this is a potential cause.

Yes, there is a cause.....vinegar penetrates plastic. I'm simply going to paste what I've typed in another post:

Acids undergo dissociation in aqueous solution, which is commonly shown as:

HA(aq)+H2O(l)⇌H3O+(aq)+A−(aq)

where HA is the acid. In the case of acetic acid (vinegar), it very poorly dissociates into acetate and hydrogen, and predominately remains as the "uncharged" acetic acid (HA). (As a comparative, Hydrochloric acid readily dissociated). As a small uncharged compound, it can now penetrate the plastic, and eventual get to the magnet and cause it to rust and swell. It's happened to me, three times over, with the wetsides of MP40's. I can't take credit for "discovering" this....it was Randy Holmes Farley that originally enlightened me to the acetic acid thing. Here's what he said:

I think the effect on plastic may be worse with vinegar than muriatic acid but it may depend on the plastic.

Vinegar can be in the form of acetic acid and that neutral molecule can enter plastic. Diluted muriatic acid won't have any neutral acidic molecules in it to enter plastic, so just exposes the outermost leading edge of plastic. So while the muriatic acid after dilution is a much stronger acid, i would not assume it is worse on plastics.

FWIW, I've used diluted muriatic acid for decades as have others, and I've not heard of cords being damaged, but I've also not inspected them closely.


Ever since I saw this, and my experience with regularly cleaning with vinegar, and the loss of three wetsides, I've stopped using vinegar on any and all magnets.

 

[madweazl]

So for anyone that uses vinegar to clean their power heads, how many of you had issues with the shaft rusting or the magnets casing cracking?

Wondering if this is a potential cause.

Hasn't happened to me yet but I only do it about twice a year.

 

[rkpetersen]

Yes, there is a cause.....vinegar penetrates plastic. I'm simply going to paste what I've typed in another post:

Thanks, that's interesting info.
I wonder if citric acid would be ok? It's also a weakly dissociated organic acid, like acetic acid, but a much larger molecule. It would probably have a far more difficult time penetrating plastic.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Vinegar penetration of plastic doesn't happen quickly. For me, it was a couple years of cleaning the wetsides by soaking in straight vinegar over night.

If you wish to acid soak your wet sides (or any plastic coated metal equipment, such as pump bodies or impellers), I'd highly recommend other acids that are less likely to penetrate plastic. Two acids I'd recommend that are inexpensive and readily available are citric acid (3/4 - 1 cup made up to one gallon), or diluted muriatic acid (diluted 1 to 10). Muriatic acid is available at HD and a five pound bag of Citric acid (a life time supply) is available from Amazon or eBay for 12 - 15 bucks.

 

[madweazl]

Yes, there is a cause.....vinegar penetrates plastic. I'm simply going to paste what I've typed in another post:

Acids undergo dissociation in aqueous solution, which is commonly shown as:

HA(aq)+H2O(l)⇌H3O+(aq)+A−(aq)

where HA is the acid. In the case of acetic acid (vinegar), it very poorly dissociates into acetate and hydrogen, and predominately remains as the "uncharged" acetic acid (HA). (As a comparative, Hydrochloric acid readily dissociated). As a small uncharged compound, it can now penetrate the plastic, and eventual get to the magnet and cause it to rust and swell. It's happened to me, three times over, with the wetsides of MP40's. I can't take credit for "discovering" this....it was Randy Holmes Farley that originally enlightened me to the acetic acid thing. Here's what he said:

I think the effect on plastic may be worse with vinegar than muriatic acid but it may depend on the plastic.

Vinegar can be in the form of acetic acid and that neutral molecule can enter plastic. Diluted muriatic acid won't have any neutral acidic molecules in it to enter plastic, so just exposes the outermost leading edge of plastic. So while the muriatic acid after dilution is a much stronger acid, i would not assume it is worse on plastics.

FWIW, I've used diluted muriatic acid for decades as have others, and I've not heard of cords being damaged, but I've also not inspected them closely.


Ever since I saw this, and my experience with regularly cleaning with vinegar, and the loss of three wetsides, I've stopped using vinegar on any and all magnets.

Hadn't seen that yet, thanks for the repost.

 

[theMeat]

Muriatic acid works better and faster, and doesn’t damage plastic

 

[Mical]

I use 25% vinegar/75% RO water disassemble and soak. When I reassemble I lube with vegetable glycerin

 

[MartinWaite]

So for anyone that uses vinegar to clean their power heads, how many of you had issues with the shaft rusting or the magnets casing cracking?

Wondering if this is a potential cause.

I've never used anything other than water and a toothbrush to clean my MP10 and the new wetside that I fitted less than a year ago has rusted I think that ecotech are possibly using cheapest material so they can make even more from the gullible, but I for one will be throwing my MP10 into the bin as they are not getting anymore of my money ever.