CD-7800 ULTRASONIC JEWELRY CLEANER REVIEW

Let me start out by saying that this review is for a true ultrasonic cleaner, as opposed to a regular jewelry cleaner. There are big differences between the two. An ultrasonic cleaner cleans by ultrasonic sound waves that break up the dirt particles. A jewelry cleaner is nothing more than a vibrating compartment that tries to simulate the sound a sonic cleaner makes. Ultrasonic cleaners clean. Other cleaners try.

UPDATE:

They do not sell this exact cleaner anymore. But most ultrasonic cleaners work the same and have the same functions. The concept is the same; sound waves break up the dirt particles. Now, on with the show…

The box lists many features:

• 3 minute auto shut off
• Stainless steel tank
• 600 ml – 1 pint capacity
• 42,000 hz of energy wave
• Cleans CD’s, VCD’s, and DVD’s

Sounds impressive…

The box goes on to say that you can “Use only plain tap water to clean“. Now I’m intrigued. Plain water? I’ve never heard of cleaning with just plain water.

The box also says that you can clearly see dirt separate from the articles in just 3 minutes. It says it will make your rings, necklaces and earrings shine like new.

It cleans other things too:

• CD’s, VCD’s, DVD’s
• Dentures
• Glasses (people will love this)
• Razor blades
• Metal dishware
• Infantile articles (pacifiers, teething rings)
• Toothbrushes (?)
• Pen heads (calligraphy)
• Printer heads (why?)
• Small machined metal parts
• Ancient coins

One of the things that I find odd is the fact that the box shows a cutaway section of the machine. It shows the lid, viewing window, stainless steel tank… But then it also shows you the gasket, transducer and motherboard. I’m so happy my ultrasonic cleaner has a motherboard. :)

Here is some basic info about the cleaner: It weighs 2 3/4 lbs. Dimensions are 8″ L x 6 1/2″ W x 51/4″ D. The tank itself is over 5″ across. The Model# is CD-7800. And of course, it’s made in China. Isn’t everything? You can tell it’s made in China because of the broken English on the box and in the instruction booklet. It’s not a big deal though, you can still understand everything and follow the instructions easily.

Onto the review:

Inside the box you get a number of cool accessories along with the ultrasonic cleaner:

• Plastic Basket
• Plastic watch stand
• Instruction booklet
• CD Rack for holding 1 or 2 CD’s at a time

As soon as I opened the bag I was pleasantly surprised by the new car smell. You know that strong new smell of plastic and steel? I love that smell and the sonic cleaner didn’t let me down.

So now that it’s out of the box, first impressions are great. The cleaner is by far one of the coolest looking cleaners I have ever seen. Oval, domed, smooth, very streamlined. Something else I noticed, I don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it looks like the machine is smiling at you. Take a look to the left…

This machine feels very well made. Really it does. It’s sturdy, durable and feels of quality workmanship. Plus, the stainless steel tank is killer. That highly polished steel tank glistens in the light and looks stunning. What eye-candy. It’s almost futuristic. I’m impressed with the overall look and feel.

The really neat thing about that tank is the fact that it’s easy and painless to wipe clean. 2 seconds with a paper towel and the tank is spotless. That’s great.

Something else that I notice is the power cord. It’s longer than most. This power cord is over 4 feet long. That makes using the cleaner much easier and safer… you don’t have to sit right next to an outlet. Well done.

The machine is simple enough to use that a monkey could do it. There are only 2 buttons: ON & OFF. And the Off really isn’t needed. The machine auto shuts off after 3 minutes.

So how does it work?

Effortlessly!

The stainless steel tank has a water fill line (says max) that is easy to see on either side of the tank.

You can’t get any easier than that. I filled a plastic bottle with hot water (not boiling) and poured it into the machine. Crazy as it sounds, I decided to do a cleaning with just plain tap water like the box says. I wanted to see if this claim was real.

I plugged the machine in and….

How awesome. A blue light comes on. And not just any blue light but a neon blue that is out of this world. Really. It looks like a mini UFO. Very sharp and very unexpected. I loved that.

I put my jewelry in the plastic basket and submerged it into the tank. Then I pushed the ON button. The red light came on and the machine started to clean and make this buzzing noise. Not a loud noise, but steady and constant. The instruction booklet calls it the “ZIZI” voice. That noise is the ultrasonic sound waves breaking up the dirt. You can actually see this by looking through the viewing window. Cool stuff.

3 minutes later…

3 minutes go by, the machine shuts off and I lift the lid. Pulling out the basket I rinsed the jewelry off under tap water. Did my jewelry get clean? Sure! The gold was shiny. The diamonds were glistening. It cleaned pretty good. I was almost shocked. It cleaned in just plain water.

I tried another test. I put different jewelry in the basket and put it back in the tank. This time I added a squirt of dish soap to the mix. I turned it on. 3 minutes later, I pulled my jewelry out of the soapy bubbles and what did I find? I find this batch was even cleaner. Take a look for yourself. See all the dirt left in the bottom of the tank?

I will definitely say that jewelry cleaning solution (or detergent) works better than just plain tap water (like there was ever any question).

The instructions say for general cleaning, tap water is fine. But for enhanced cleaning, or extensive cleaning, detergent is necessary. That, and maybe an additional 3 minutes of sonic cleaning action. I wholeheartedly agree.

It’s like doing dishes in plain water, once you add in the soap it tends to get the dishes squeaky clean.

Cleaning watches:

Next up, I wanted to clean my watch. My watch is the dirtiest piece of jewelry I own because I wear it 18 hours a day. The links and hinges always get crud built up in the grooves. I was happy and excited that this cleaner came with a plastic holder for watches.

This feature is what makes this sonic cleaner stand head and shoulders above the competition. I’ve never seen another sonic cleaner that cleans watches.

My Watch fit into the plastic grooves just fine. I do suspect that you may have some problems if your watch doesn’t bend easily, has thicker links or a longer face. It may not fit properly. But, for standard watches, it works well.

I rinsed out the cleaner and put fresh water in. I didn’t want to use hot water around my watch because I didn’t want the face or movement to fog up which could make the parts rust.

When you’re setting your watch into the water, be careful that the watch itself stays above the water line. You don’t want to get that wet or submerge it. Water will quickly kill a watch and ruin the movement. If it’s waterproof, you should be fine (as long as the gasket doesn’t leak), but if your watch is water resistant, don’t get it wet.

I set my watch in the machine and quickly notice something I don’t like…

The watch band dangled down and rested on the bottom of the stainless steel tank. I wasn’t happy about this. If your jewelry lays directly on the steel tank, it can scratch your jewelry.

So what did I do? I improvised. I placed the plastic basket back in the tank first, then set my watch and holder on top of that. See picture below. Smart, eh?

I shut the lid, pushed the button… I love that blue light… 3 minutes later I pulled my Watch out and looked at the band. It was clean. The dirt was gone. Even in the tight cracks of the band; Clean.

See the before (dirty) and after (clean) pictures of my watch below…

But it doesn’t stop there…

Cleaning CD’s:

I keep my CD’s and DVD’s in mint condition. I’m pretty protective of them, so finding a CD to test that was dirty proved to be a problem. Mine are all clean.

I ended up going with an CD of Anita Baker from decades ago (The Songstress). It had a couple of smudges on it and some dust particles. Nothing big, but I needed something.

I put the CD on the stand (there is also a tube that is used to separate CD’s if you want to clean 2 CD’s at once). I dropped the CD and the holder into the tank and laughed. The CD rose up off the holder and floated on top of the water. Okay. That’s dumb. lol

I removed the CD. Put the plastic tube on thinking that would weight the CD down and tried it again…

NOPE! The CD and the tube floated to the top. ha!

I don’t get it. You could achieve the same effect if you didn’t use the holder at all and just dropped your CD into the tank. (It makes me think it’s a gimmick…)

No matter. I left the CD floating where it floated, closed the lid and hit the button. 3 minutes later I pulled the CD out and looked at it. Sure enough, it was clean. No smudges.

Do note that you have to be careful when cleaning CD’s or DVD’s. The cleaner can erase the writing or text off the cover. The instructions recommend not to clean it more than twice. Plus, when you pull the wet CD out of the water, be careful when you dry it off, you don’t want to scratch the surface with a towel.

Needless to say, I didn’t find the plastic holder very useful, but the CD did get clean, so I would say that it passed the test. No complaints there.

Here’s the breakdown of the PROS and CONS…

PROS:

• Quiet
• Lightweight
• Stylish
• Awesome blue light
• Stainless steel tank
• Durable
• Easy to operate
• Long power cord
• Auto safety shut off
• Easy to clean
• Comes with plastic basket and holder
• Can clean CD’s, VCD’s and DVD’s

Plus, it’s big enough to clean other things like watches, glasses, silverware and dentures.

CONS:

I’m thinking…

Give me a moment…

I got nothing. Sure I could say the plastic CD holder is a waste, it doesn’t work. But the machine still did clean the CD. Other than that, I really can’t think of a single reason why you should not buy this machine. Maybe if they threw in a bottle of cleaning solution??? Who knows?

This machine sells for $59.99. Without a doubt I would say it’s just about the best personal ultrasonic cleaner you could buy.

There really are no CONS (Which surprises me). I’ve never given a product 5 stars before (5 out of 5)… Until now.

5 stars!

Congrats CD-7800. You are an awesome product.

So if you’re looking at buying a sonic cleaner, look no further. This is the machine to buy. What have you got to lose? It’s guaranteed.

As a side note, the instruction booklet does have some amusing lines in it. Take a look…

• Do not use while bathing.
• Do not reach for the unit that has fallen into the water.
• Do not touch the socket with wet hand.
• Do not use this unit when sleeping.

(lol… I’ll remember that.)

See, I told you it was 5 Stars. :)

You may also be interested in the new trent CD-3800 digital ultrasonic cleaner that I reviewed as well.

Cheers! :)