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Tried cleaning a fuel nozzle with a ultrasonic cleaner and got a nasty surprise

I soaked a set of CFM56 fuel nozzles in the ultrasonic bath for 30 minutes like the manual said. When I pulled them out, three were completely clogged with dislodged carbon deposits that settled in the internal passages. Now I always blow them out with compressed air before and after the bath, learned that one the hard way at LAX last week. Has anyone else had this issue with older nozzles?
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3 Comments
the_sam
the_sam1mo ago
Yeah I started doing a pre blowout with a regulated air gun before the bath and that cut way down on the clogging issues. Also switched to a finer mesh filter on the drain since some of the smaller bits were still sneaking through and redepositing.
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loganbaker
loganbaker2mo ago
Yeah learned that one the hard way" is basically my life motto at this point. I did the same thing with a set of nozzles from a PT6 and ended up blowing carbon chunks into my OWN face when I finally tried to air test them. Real "this is fine" moment.
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karen_nelson40
Did you at least get a free carbon facial out of it?
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