Emmi-4 Ultrasonic Cleaner

[DanielCoffey]

This is a review of the Emmi-4 Ultrasonic Cleaner from the German company EMAG.

 

You should consider this cleaner if you have a small number of pen parts that you want to clean on an occasional basis. If you are a pen repair professional you would probably want a heavier duty model.

 

Model : Emmi-4

 

Manufacturer Website : http://emag-germany.de/de/products/ultrasonic/Emmi_4.php?page=1

Liquid Capacity : 600ml

Dimensions : 165 x 90 x 50mm

Power : 40W

Max Operation : 7 minutes

Voltage : Euro 230V/50Hz

 

Price in UK : £27.99 plus £5.95 shipping from Europe (inclusive of UK VAT at 20%)

 

Bought from : http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/product/825187/Ultrasonic-cleaner-Emmi-4/

 

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http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/Emmi4/Emmi4.jpg

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/Emmi4/Emmi4Open.jpg

 

===

 

The Emmi-4 is the smallest model that EMAG manufacture and has a simple ON/OFF switch which is of the "membrane" type. While not robust for seriously heavy duty use, the switch is perfectly fit for purpose for a light use cleaner. There is a single blue LED indicating if the device is in use or not. It comes with a lid and plastic parts basket as well as a small bottle of their general purpose cleaner (5ml per use). There is a built-in safety timer which auto-switches off the cleaner if you do not do so before its 7 minute operating limit is reached.

 

The cleaner is appropriate for "looking glasses, jewellery, indian ink pens, ball heads, small tools and instruments, small precision engineering parts, razor heads etc." although the cleaner will of course work with anything from plain water, diluted household ammonia and so on. There is much evidence of Google Translate in the manual but everything is perfectly clear (if a little quaint - ask them about their "cleaning adders").

 

IMPORTANT : CLEAN THE EMMI-4 BEFORE FIRST USE. There is oil from manufacturing in the aluminium cleaning tank which needs to be washed off first. Don't just give it a quick wipe - wash it.

 

===

 

So - the big question... how did it work?

 

Well I had a nib/feed from a CC pen which had a minor clog and a dirty CC to clean. I put hand-warm water with a touch of Fairy dish soap in a jug, mixed it and filled to the appropriate level. I dropped in the nib/feed and switched on at the socket. There was a quiet transformer whine which I would expect from any mains powered device. Pressing the toggle started the cleaning cycle and immediately air bubbles were pushed out of the feed. I sucked some water from the jug into the CC and dipped the end centimetre into the cleaner and immediately a large puff of purple was expelled into the water. I have no idea when I last used purple so it was probably a mixture of the past few fills that had got between the clear plastic of the CC and the metal end ring.

 

I don't ever intend having to make this cleaner work on a seriously clogged pen but I get the feeling it would be up to the job should I ask it to.

 

Any more questions about the cleaner, just ask.

[atypical]

Thank you for the review.

 

It seems I have the same one. Bought it from Conrad as well.

Apart from the somewhat fiddly on/off switch it works rather well.

 

I'm often surprised to see how much ink can be released by a "clean" pen once cleaned ultrasonically.

[DanielCoffey]

I think it was you mentioning on the Emmi-4 that got me looking for it. I remember your comment about the switch.

 

I agree the on/off switch is delicate but since it has an auto-off timer all it needs to be is a touch-to-start switch rather than a toggle. There are more robust options they could have used but since they do a professional range as well I guess it was fit for purpose given the expected duty cycle.

 

I couldn't believe the puff of purple that came off the end of a CLEAN converter! The section that I cleaned is performing very nicely now. Flow is back to what I experienced from the pen a good while ago. I always use a rubber bulb syringe between colour changes but I guess an annual sonic bath is good.

[IWantThat]

Nice to see a review of an ultrasonic cleaner, as they are mentioned often

[atypical]

I think it was you mentioning on the Emmi-4 that got me looking for it.

Oh, I see... I must admit that I completely forgot about my own post.

[The Good Captain]

I'm about to order one.

[ajk13a]

Is there a US voltage version (120v 60 hz)?

Thanks

[DanielCoffey]

Not from that company, no. The Emmi-4 is labelled 230V 50Hz since it is a Euro model.

[Abel Penman]

This is a review of the Emmi-4 Ultrasonic Cleaner from the German company EMAG.

 

You should consider this cleaner if you have a small number of pen parts that you want to clean on an occasional basis. If you are a pen repair professional you would probably want a heavier duty model.

 

Model : Emmi-4

 

Manufacturer Website : http://emag-germany.de/de/products/ultrasonic/Emmi_4.php?page=1

Liquid Capacity : 600ml

Dimensions : 165 x 90 x 50mm

Power : 40W

Max Operation : 7 minutes

Voltage : Euro 230V/50Hz

 

Price in UK : £27.99 plus £5.95 shipping from Europe (inclusive of UK VAT at 20%)

 

Bought from : http://www.conrad-uk.com/ce/en/product/825187/Ultrasonic-cleaner-Emmi-4/

 

===

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/Emmi4/Emmi4.jpg

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/Emmi4/Emmi4Open.jpg

 

===

 

The Emmi-4 is the smallest model that EMAG manufacture and has a simple ON/OFF switch which is of the "membrane" type. While not robust for seriously heavy duty use, the switch is perfectly fit for purpose for a light use cleaner. There is a single blue LED indicating if the device is in use or not. It comes with a lid and plastic parts basket as well as a small bottle of their general purpose cleaner (5ml per use). There is a built-in safety timer which auto-switches off the cleaner if you do not do so before its 7 minute operating limit is reached.

 

The cleaner is appropriate for "looking glasses, jewellery, indian ink pens, ball heads, small tools and instruments, small precision engineering parts, razor heads etc." although the cleaner will of course work with anything from plain water, diluted household ammonia and so on. There is much evidence of Google Translate in the manual but everything is perfectly clear (if a little quaint - ask them about their "cleaning adders").

 

IMPORTANT : CLEAN THE EMMI-4 BEFORE FIRST USE. There is oil from manufacturing in the aluminium cleaning tank which needs to be washed off first. Don't just give it a quick wipe - wash it.

 

===

 

So - the big question... how did it work?

 

Well I had a nib/feed from a CC pen which had a minor clog and a dirty CC to clean. I put hand-warm water with a touch of Fairy dish soap in a jug, mixed it and filled to the appropriate level. I dropped in the nib/feed and switched on at the socket. There was a quiet transformer whine which I would expect from any mains powered device. Pressing the toggle started the cleaning cycle and immediately air bubbles were pushed out of the feed. I sucked some water from the jug into the CC and dipped the end centimetre into the cleaner and immediately a large puff of purple was expelled into the water. I have no idea when I last used purple so it was probably a mixture of the past few fills that had got between the clear plastic of the CC and the metal end ring.

 

I don't ever intend having to make this cleaner work on a seriously clogged pen but I get the feeling it would be up to the job should I ask it to.

 

Any more questions about the cleaner, just ask.

 

Great review. Thoroughly detailed and informative. If the on/off switch were to fail, do you have any thoughts about whether it could be easily replaced with a more durable surface mounted switch?

[DanielCoffey]

There are two screws on the underside which I assume allow the plastic casing to come apart but I have not looked. So far after having used it 20-odd times I have had no issues at all. The warranty is two years in the EU after all.

 

The company do a heavier duty model but it looks aimed at the professional market and has a 2-litre tank.

Edited June 9, 2012 by DanielCoffey

[The Good Captain]

Mins duly arrived on Friday but I've yet to use it on a proper bit of cleaning. I tried it out on a Pelikan nib that I'd cleaned really thoroughly after using Prime of the Commons and it seems that I'd already done a good job. The machine didn't bring out anything further from the nib but in a second test, after only a couple of minutes in the tray, some intricate silver jewellery was really noticeably cleaner.

I must have a couple of grimy nibs somewhere...

[DanielCoffey]

Glad you bought one... I tend to just use Fairy in water as a wash rather than the supplied cleaning fluid, with lots of rinsing afterwards.