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Retrofit · existing tanks · no rebuild

Add ultrasonics to a tank you already own

A rinse bath, a soak tank, a plating stage, a parts washer that has been in the corner for fifteen years. If the vessel is sound, the ultrasonics go into it. You do not need a new tank to get cavitation.

Immersible transducers, rod resonators or bonded plates, sized to the vessel and the duty.

Scope a retrofit The three ways
When it is the right call

A retrofit is cheaper than a machine, until it is not

You have a good tank that is not ultrasonicSound, the right size, already plumbed and already heated. Replacing it to gain ultrasonics is buying a tank you already have.
A stage in a line needs cavitationOne tank in a plating or process line needs more than soak. The line cannot come apart for a rebuild, and it does not have to.
An ultrasonic tank has gone deafBonded transducers fail and generators drift off resonance. Both are replaceable line items, not a reason to scrap the machine.
And when it is the wrong callIf the vessel is thin, patched or near the end of its life, fitting ultrasonics into it is money into a tank you will replace. We will tell you that rather than sell you the hardware.
The three ways

What goes into the tank

 Immersible transducersRod resonatorsBonded plates
FieldFrom one face, aimed at the workAll round the immersed lengthFrom the tank wall or base
SuitsRectangular tanks, defined work zonesDeep tanks, cylindrical work, awkward vesselsNew builds and rebuilds
FittingHung on the rim, bolted to a wall, or on the floorOne 34 mm holeWelded to the vessel
Retrofit?Yes — nothing drilled if it hangsYesNo — the tank has to be stripped
Comes out againA hung unit lifts straight outFixed to the vesselPermanent
GeneratorVarioSonic G4SonoDrive G5VarioSonic G4
Specify oneImmersible builder →Pick a rod length →BLT elements →
In the field

A plating line, retrofitted

These tanks were not designed for ultrasonics. The boxes hang on the rim, the cable runs along the top, and nothing was drilled, cut or re-plumbed to fit them.

Immersible transducer boxes hung on the rims of a working plating line
One box per tank, hung on the lip by its bracket and cabled back along the run. The tanks are unchanged.
Before anything else

Will it work in your bath?

Two things decide it before hardware comes into the conversation: what the tank is made of, and what is in it. Get either wrong and the power goes into the tank instead of the parts.

TankVerdictWhy
StainlessGoodStiff, sound-transmitting and chemically suitable for most baths. The usual case.
Mild or carbon steelGoodWorks acoustically. The bath chemistry is the question, not the sound.
Polypropylene, PVC, linedNoPlastic absorbs the energy instead of passing it on. An immersible in a plastic tank still radiates into the liquid, but the walls damp the field and the tank itself takes a beating.
Thin, patched or corrodedNoCavitation finds weak metal. A tank near the end of its life is not the place to spend the money.

What is in the tank

Thin aqueous bathsDetergent, rinse water, a light degreaser. The straightforward case — the field carries and the power goes into the work.
Thick, loaded or viscous bathsCoatings, heavy sludge, high solids. These damp the field as it travels, so the same tank needs more ultrasonic power than it would on an aqueous duty. It is a real effect, not a margin.
Sediment on the floorA settled layer smothers anything sitting in it. If solids drop out in your tank, a floor-mounted unit is the wrong choice — hang it or bring it in through the wall.
Solvent atmospheresA solvent or flammable bath needs hazardous-area rated equipment. We do not supply ATEX or IECEx rated units. Tell us early and we will say so rather than quote you something that cannot be installed.

The radiating face must stay under liquid. Run a transducer uncovered, even briefly, and it has nowhere to put its energy but into itself. Any retrofit into a tank with a moving level wants a low-level cut-out, and it is worth saying at quotation whether your level drops during a cycle.

Coatings and dirty baths

What stops the face fouling

In a coatings tank the failure is not electrical. Material cures onto the radiating face, the face stops moving the liquid, and the output falls away while the generator still reads normal.

Hard chrome platingA harder, more release-prone skin on the radiating face. It is a quoted option on every immersible we build, and it is the one worth taking on abrasive soils, coatings and long-running baths.
Hang it, do not stand itA hung unit lifts straight out for cleaning without draining the tank or stopping the line. That is most of the maintenance argument for an immersible over a bonded plate.
Put it where the flow isAway from the dead corner and out of the settling zone. Where the unit sits changes the service interval more than any coating does.
316L as standard on dirty dutySS304 is fine for general alkaline work. For anything acidic, chlorinated, or left sitting in the bath, the housing is 316L.
Installation

Cable out of the tank, generator away from it

Two installation details cause most of the early failures we see, and both are decided at quotation rather than on the day.

The cable never sits bare in the bathIt leaves in rigid conduit over the rim, or through a sealed bulkhead fitting in the wall or the base. A flexible lead lying in hot chemistry is a leak and a short waiting to happen. Cable length is quoted with the set, because its capacitance is part of the tuned circuit — do not extend it on site.
The generator lives away from the tankClean, ventilated, off the floor and out of the fume and overspray. It is a cabinet-mount or bench unit, not something to sit beside an open bath. Bench, 19-inch rack, DIN rail or wall mounting are all available.
Nothing is drilled unless it has to beA hung immersible needs no penetration at all. A bulkhead exit is a sealed fitting and is only used where the arrangement suits it. A rod resonator takes one 34 mm hole.

The immersible builder walks through mounting, cable exit, box size, material, finish, frequency and power →

Sizing

How the power is set

Ultrasonic power follows the working volume, the soil and the duty. A light rinse duty and a carbon-removal duty in the same tank are not the same number. We size it against the job rather than off a watts-per-litre rule, and the figure is confirmed at quotation.

Frequency is chosen the same way — by the part and the soil, not by the tank. Which frequency should I choose? →

Two limits set the top end in practice: the power available at the wall, and what the vessel and the parts will take. Both are worth telling us early.

The generator is part of the retrofit. A generator is tuned to the transducers it drives, and there is no warranty on an unmatched pair. If you already run a Misonics generator, tell us the model and serial and we will check it against the new set. Why that is →

To quote it

Five things and a photograph

  1. Tank dimensions — length, width and working depth.
  2. What the tank is made of — and roughly how old it is.
  3. What is in the bath — chemistry, concentration and operating temperature.
  4. What you are cleaning — the parts, the soil, and how you clean them today.
  5. Power available at the wall — the constraint on how much ultrasonic power you can run.

A photograph of the tank answers more than any of them. Send one and we will tell you what fits.

Questions

What people ask before a retrofit

Can any tank be converted?
Most can. It has to be sound, deep enough for the parts, and made of something the chemistry suits — stainless is the usual case. A tank that is thin, patched or near the end of its life is not worth the fitting cost, and we will say so.
Can I convert a soak tank to ultrasonic?
Yes, and it is the most common retrofit we do. A soak tank is already the right shape and already holds the chemistry; it is only missing the energy. Immersibles hang on the wall or sit on the floor of the vessel, the generator goes outside it, and the tank keeps doing the job it did before with cavitation added. The tank has to be sound, deep enough to keep the radiating face under liquid, and made of something the chemistry suits.
What does ultrasonics add to a soak tank?
Time and consistency. Soak relies on the chemistry alone and on however long the part sits there. Cavitation drives the chemistry into blind holes, threads and joints, and lifts what has already been loosened, so cycles that ran overnight commonly come back to minutes, and the result stops depending on how long the last operator left it in.
How much ultrasonic power does my tank need?
It is set by the volume, the soil and the duty, not by a rule of thumb off the litres. Send the tank dimensions, the working depth and what you are cleaning and we will size it.
Does the tank have to be drilled?
Not always. A hanging immersible hooks over the top lip and nothing is drilled. A rod resonator takes one 34 mm hole. A bulkhead exit through the wall or the base is a sealed penetration where the arrangement suits it better.
Immersible box, rod or bonded plate — which one?
An immersible box radiates from one face, so it is aimed at the work and suits rectangular tanks and defined zones. A rod radiates around its whole immersed length and suits deep tanks, cylindrical work and awkward vessels. Bonded plates are welded to the tank and are for a build, not a retrofit.
Can I keep my existing chemistry?
Usually. Tell us what is in the bath and at what concentration and temperature. Hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid and pickling solutions are not permitted in the tank of any Misonics ultrasonic equipment, in any product or blend.
Can I add ultrasonics to one stage of a plating line?
Yes, and it is the clearest case for an immersible. The units hang on the rim of the tank that needs them, the cable runs back along the line, and nothing is drilled or re-plumbed. The other stages are untouched.
Do I have to buy the generator as well?
Yes, unless the one you have is a Misonics generator we can match to the set. A generator is tuned to the transducers it drives, and there is no warranty on an unmatched pair.
Can the units be moved to another tank later?
A hanging immersible lifts out and goes into another tank of similar duty. A bulkhead-fitted unit and a rod are fixed to the vessel they were fitted to. Say at quotation if you want it portable.
Can I retrofit a plastic or polypropylene tank?
We do not recommend it. Plastic absorbs ultrasonic energy rather than passing it on, so the field is damped and the tank itself takes the punishment. Steel and stainless are the tanks worth converting.
Will it work in a thick or heavily loaded bath?
Yes, but it needs more ultrasonic power than the same tank on a thin aqueous duty. Viscous and high-solids baths damp the field as it travels. Tell us what is in the tank and we will size it for that, not for water.
What happens if the liquid level drops below the transducers?
They have nowhere to put their energy but into themselves, and they will fail. Any tank with a moving level wants a low-level cut-out. Say at quotation whether your level drops during a cycle.
Will coatings bake onto the transducer face?
It is the usual failure in a coatings tank, and it shows up as falling output while the generator still reads normal. Hard chrome plating on the radiating face is a quoted option and is the right call on coatings and abrasive soils. A hung unit also lifts out for cleaning without draining the tank.
Can I put a unit on the floor of the tank?
Only where solids do not settle. A layer of sediment smothers a floor-mounted unit. If your bath drops solids, hang it from the rim or bring it through the wall instead.
Do you supply ATEX or hazardous-area rated units?
No. If the tank is a solvent or flammable duty needing ATEX, IECEx or an equivalent rating, we are not the supplier for it and we will tell you that rather than quote around it.
Where does the generator go?
Away from the tank, in clean ventilated air, out of the fume and overspray. Bench, 19-inch rack, DIN rail or wall mounting are all available.
Can I extend the cable to reach my generator?
No. Cable capacitance is part of the tuned circuit, so the length is quoted with the set. Tell us the run you need and it is made to that length.

Send the tank

Dimensions, working depth, what is in it and what you clean. We will tell you whether it is worth converting, and what it takes.

Scope a retrofit