Parts washers: spray cabinet, wash station or ultrasonic
Looking for a parts washer? Most workshops start with a heated spray cabinet or a wash station at the bench. Both clean what the jet or the brush reaches. An ultrasonic parts washer cleans by cavitation in a heated water-based bath, so it also takes off bonded carbon and scale and reaches galleries, threads and blind holes. Misonics builds the ultrasonic ones, from a bench tank on a power point to a sealed chamber that washes, rinses and dries without anyone handling the parts.
Updated · Fred Shaw, Misonics
Which parts washer does what
"Parts washer" covers five different machines. Misonics builds the last two: the ultrasonic parts cleaner and the sealed ultrasonic washer. We do not sell spray cabinets or wash stations.
| Type | How it cleans | Best for | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot spray washer (cabinet) | Heated aqueous detergent sprayed under pressure on a turntable | Mud, heavy oil and loose dirt off engine and transmission parts, fast | Mostly line of sight. Targeted jets reach some passages; recessed features and blind holes are hard to clean |
| Wash station (sink on a drum) | Brush and a pumped stream of fluid | Quick hand cleaning of small parts at the bench | Labour-heavy; with solvent, brings fire, health and waste costs |
| Soak tank | Heated chemistry and time | Loosening heavy soil before another stage | Slow; nothing moves the soil out of passages |
| Ultrasonic parts cleaner | Cavitation in heated water-based chemistry | Baked carbon, varnish and scale, galleries, threads and blind holes the liquid can get into | Not the tool for mud and gross soil; part must fit the basket |
| Sealed wash, rinse and dry | Spray, ultrasonics, rinse and hot-air drying in one chamber | Parts that must leave the machine clean, rinsed and dry, in volume | Higher outlay; sized for throughput |
Keep the spray washer, add the ultrasonic tank
A heated spray cabinet takes bulk soil off fast. An ultrasonic parts cleaner beside it takes off what the jet leaves: bonded carbon, varnish and scale, and the soil inside galleries and threads. For engines, pumps, valves and hydraulic parts the two work well together, or a correctly specified ultrasonic machine can do the whole job.
Job by job, which machine does what: spray washer or ultrasonic parts cleaner, or both.
Which parts washer for which work
The part and the soil choose the machine. These are the jobs that come through Australian workshops and plants, and the washer that suits each.
Oil galleries, water jackets and blind bolt holes. A spray cabinet cleans the faces; internal galleries may need ultrasonic immersion or a validated flushing process. A floor-standing ultrasonic tank with an alkaline degreaser. Read the engine block case study.
Jets and drillings smaller than a pin. A spray jet or a brush struggles to reach them. A benchtop ultrasonic cleaner at 40 kHz, with a mild chemistry that protects the alloy. Carburettor cleaning.
Chips and cutting fluid before assembly or coating. Spray moves the bulk; ultrasonics clears what clings in the drillings. For volume, a sealed chamber that washes, rinses and dries without handling.
Baked carbon and varnish. Solvent leaves it on and a spray cabinet needs long cycles. Heated ultrasonics with a carbon-removal chemistry takes it off. Piston ring groove carbon.
Pleats and mesh pack soil where a jet cannot follow. Immersion with cavitation clears the element from the inside. Pleated mesh filter elements.
Bulk soil on big simple shapes. A pressure washer or spray cabinet is the right tool; bring the ultrasonic tank in afterwards only for the parts with internals.
What fluid goes in a parts washer
Choose the fluid for the washer it runs in and the metal of the part.
A spray cabinet needs a detergent that does not foam under pressure and heat. AquaVantage 1990 GD is made for spray washing.
Heavy workshop soil runs in AquaVantage 815 QR-NF. Aluminium, brass and mixed metals run in near-neutral AquaVantage 1696 GD.
Most solvent parts-washer fluids are flammable or combustible liquids; section 9 of the safety data sheet gives the flash point. A suitable non-flammable aqueous detergent removes the flammable cleaning solvent from the job. Confirm its classification on the safety data sheet and assess the new process, its temperature and the soil coming off.
Before switching a solvent washer to water-based fluid, check that its pump, seals and tank are rated for it. Flammable solvent never goes in an ultrasonic tank. More on flammable solvents in ultrasonic tanks. Dose and temperature for each product are on its chemistry page.
Solvent parts washers: fire, insurance and the new exposure limits
A solvent wash station has running costs beyond the fluid: fire controls, insurance conditions, health paperwork and waste removal. On 1 December 2026 Safe Work Australia's exposure standards become workplace exposure limits, and several common solvents drop sharply: white spirits from 790 to 296 mg/m³, toluene from 50 to 20 ppm.
- Fire: a flammable liquid beside a pump and switch can bring hazardous-area assessment, AS 1940 storage rules and a self-closing lid.
- Insurance: commercial insurers ask about flammable liquids. Declare it and ask what conditions apply.
- Health: vapour and skin contact; safety data sheet, hazardous chemicals register, risk assessment, ventilation and gloves.
- Waste: dirty solvent and sludge go out with a licensed contractor, and you pay for every drum.
A suitable water-based detergent is not flammable, and the ultrasonic tank cleans the galleries and blind holes a brush misses. If you also run a spray washer for gross soil, put a low-foam aqueous detergent in it.
Misonics parts washers, bench to automatic
Every Misonics parts washer is ultrasonic. The range runs from a bench tank on a standard 10 A socket to a sealed chamber that sprays, ultrasonically washes, rinses and hot-air dries a rotating basket in one programmed cycle.
MSX 15 and MSX 30
Baskets to 490 × 235 mm, heated to 80 °C, from a standard 240 V 10 A socket. The daily bench washer for carburettors, injectors, tooling and small assemblies.
MSX 50 and MSX 70
Baskets to 600 × 400 mm with 300 mm working depth, 1,500 W at 25 kHz with load sensing, 240 V 15 A. Heads, housings and batch trays.
SonoWash 85 to 220
Four industrial sizes, to 35 kg a basket, 25/45 kHz in one tank. The same platform as the automated levels, so a process proved here climbs with you.
UltraWash 70 to 300
Spray wash, rotating ultrasonics, flush, rinse, RO rinse, forced hot-air and vacuum dry in one door. Load, press start, unload assembly-dry.
| Machine | Type | Tank | Basket | Ultrasonics | Supply | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSX 15 | Benchtop ultrasonic | 15 L | 320 × 225 mm · 130 mm deep · 8 kg | 300 W, 40 kHz | 240 V, 10 A socket | $4,367 inc GST |
| MSX 30 | Benchtop ultrasonic | 30 L | 490 × 235 mm · 140 mm deep · 12 kg | 650 W, 25/45 kHz | 240 V, 10 A socket | $6,578 inc GST |
| MSX 50 | Floor-standing ultrasonic | 50 L | 500 × 300 mm · 300 mm deep | 1,500 W, 25 kHz | 240 V, 15 A socket | Quoted to site |
| MSX 70 | Floor-standing ultrasonic | 70 L | 600 × 400 mm · 300 mm deep | 1,500 W, 25 kHz | 240 V, 15 A socket | Quoted to site |
| SonoWash 85 | Manual immersion, dual frequency | 85 L | 510 × 330 mm · 25 kg | 1,500 W, 25/45 kHz | 240 V, own circuit | On application |
| UltraWash 70 | Automatic sealed chamber | 70 L | 470 × 320 × 160 mm, rotating | 1,500 W, 25 kHz | 415 V 3-phase | Quoted to site |
| UltraWash 150 | Automatic sealed chamber | 150 L | 610 × 320 × 200 mm · 100 kg | 3,000 W, 25 kHz | 415 V 3-phase | Quoted to site |
| UltraWash 300 | Automatic sealed chamber | 300 L | 620 × 380 × 380 mm, rotating | 3,000 W, 25 kHz | 415 V 3-phase | Quoted to site |
Prices include GST where shown. All specifications and pricing are confirmed in writing at quotation. Parts longer than 600 mm go to the MSX 140 to 240 or the EvoSonic range: see ultrasonic cleaner sizes.
When a parts washer should load itself
A manual tank is the lowest capital step and the right one until the labour arithmetic says otherwise. The signs that it is time to climb: an operator standing at the tank for most of a shift, parts handled wet between wash and rinse, and a cleanliness spec that has to be proved batch by batch.
MSX and SonoWash. The operator loads the basket, sets time and temperature, and lifts it out to rinse and dry. Lowest cost, biggest range of parts, and the process proved here gives the starting point for the automatic chamber, with the cycle checked on that machine.
UltraWash. One door, one button. Spray wash, ultrasonics with basket rotation, flush to drain, hot rinse, RO rinse, forced hot-air and vacuum dry, from a stored recipe. Parts come out assembly-dry and the cycle is logged. Built for throughput and for specs that must be repeatable.
Send the parts and we run them on the machine you are considering, with the chemistry matched to the soil. The recipe that works on the trial is the starting recipe the machine ships with, checked again at commissioning.
Choosing a parts washer
Which parts washer is best for a workshop?
Can an ultrasonic parts washer replace a spray cabinet?
Why move away from a solvent parts washer?
What does an ultrasonic parts washer cost?
What chemistry goes in a parts washer?
What is an automatic parts washer?
What fluid should I use in a parts washer?
Is parts washer fluid flammable?
Is a hot water parts washer better than a solvent washer?
Do I need to tell my insurer about a solvent parts washer?
What changes on 1 December 2026?
Tell us what you are cleaning
Send the part, the soil and how many you clean a day. An engineer will come back with the washer, the chemistry and the cycle.
Looking only at ultrasonic machines? See the ultrasonic parts cleaner page. Want the wash, rinse and dry done in one closed chamber? See the automatic ultrasonic parts washer. Cleaning carburettors or engine parts? See the ultrasonic carburettor cleaner and ultrasonic cleaner for car parts pages.