Looking for a new parts washer

[Walkers]

I am looking for a new parts washer. I am getting rid of my old Safety-Kleen or similar machine with the metal swamp cooler looking pump in the back, lid is broke, pump on its last legs, etc. it is basically used up. I am wanting to get something of similar size, but with all functions working, easy to drain, easy to keep clean. My current washer is maybe 36“ wide and 18” deep, and maybe 8” from the top down to the expanded metal wash deck and a few inches to the bottom of the tank, just guesstimating.
What units have you guys used and liked? I have been using the mineral spirits solvent from Tactor Supply and it works ok, anything you have liked better?

Thanks,

 

[Rinspeed]

Have you considered switching to an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

[nutjob]

Used to use the typical drum type unit but when I moved out and needed my own I want something that I could soak parts easily and did not take up all that drum space.
I found a Handi-Kleen PL36 and made my own cabinet for it to sit on. Inside the cabinet you can lift out the main tray or just the small tray on the side and drop parts in the bottom for soaking.
This is an expensive washer to buy new but check Ebay and auction sites. Pretty sure you still can get all parts from Graymills.





Kevin

 

[Steve_P]

I have a HF one and kerosene killed the pump in a short time. You should consider saving the pump from your current one if it's survived with mineral spirits.

 

[Walkers]

Have you considered switching to an ultrasonic cleaner.

I have hemmed and hawed, but not come to any real decision. I have the feeling I am a little heavy handed and impatient for one though.

 

[Walkers]

I have a HF one and kerosene killed the pump in a short time. You should consider saving the pump from your current one if it's survived with mineral spirits.

The pump is very old and shot in every aspect. It is still available online to fix the current tank, but there are many other parts of the tank that are bad too.

 

[PoorUB]

I bought one of these used almost 40 years ago. It is still going strong. I have it sitting on a 30 gallon steel barrel.

https://build-all.com/product-category/recirculating-parts-cleaners/base-mounted-parts-washers/

I pour ten gallons of water in the bottom and add ten gallons of solvent. The solvent floats on the water. The drain from the tank goes all the way to the bottom of the barrel. I haven't cleaned it in years, but I don't use it like I used too.

I need to clean it, but am afraid to find out what is in it! It is going to be gross and stink!

 

[rust in the eye]

I have a HF one and kerosene killed the pump in a short time. You should consider saving the pump from your current one if it's survived with mineral spirits.

The HF unit is intended for water base cleaners. It will live a while in solvent but you see the results of the plastic pump soaking in petro based solvents. Good news is that pump is cheap.
@ OP No recomendation on a unit for you(mine is an old drum unit) but I very much like the PB Blaster solvent sold at Farm & Fleet. Tractor Supply has one a little cheaper PS1000(?) but I prefer the PBBlaster.

 

[Walkers]

Well, it appears that my current tank is , albeit older, Graymills PLnot quite36. The parts to fix it are still available and not horridly expensive. Was chatting with my son who asked if making to extra length would be a huge issue, and it wouldn’t, but it is not that critical either. It appears that the rear mounted pump, which I dislike, also has premade holes for side mount ( who flippin knew?!?). I could also remake the expanded metal table that always catches parts into a modern flat table easy enough.
The other issue that I dislike is that the solvent just sits in that big tub outside, under cover, in the summer heat and evaporates, so I try to drain it back into the 5 gallon jugs, but that is a pain and rarely happens. My son asked if it could be converted to a drum underneath instead of the tank mounted pump set up. That pump is even cheaper, and adding the 15 gallon steel drum it looks to be a feasible thing.
If I go this route it is going to need a sandblast and paint on the outside, which will only take and hour or two, but I will be annoyed the entire time!

 

[TopFuel]

Hate to admit it but I've had a brand new never used traditional parts cleaner in my shop for close to 20 years. I got it back when I was working a full time job that sucked up most of my time and brain power so I never got to the point on making a decision of what cleaning solution to use in it. I was concerned about flammable and smelly chemicals in my shop. I kind of decided on low odor mineral spirits or something like that but had trouble finding a source for this that wasn't super expensive.

Fast forward to a few years ago after seeing some many people using ultrasonic cleaners. Did some reading and realized that rather than stopping my work to spend my time and effort hand scrubbing a part in a cold vat of "insert you favorite chemical here" I could simply drop the parts in a heated and ultrasonic cleaner, turn it on, and go back to work while it cleaned the parts for me and to an excellent level of cleanliness.

I use distilled water and Simple Green in it. There is a convenient ball valve drain on the side to purge the old dirty cleaning solution right back into the jugs it originally came from. The machine heats the solution for better cleaning action. It has been a HUGE game changer for me! When I find things that need cleaning I put them on top of the ultrasonic machine so next time I'm in shop I run a cycle along with whatever else I'm working on while I do my work. Just 15 minutes in the ultrasonic makes a big difference and 30 minutes for parts with 40 years of grease and dirt on them. It's like having another person in the shop doing the dirty work while I actually get real work done.

The cons are that while the home/hobbyist size machines are inexpensive they usually aren't bigger than ~36 Liters. if you want to put a transmission case in one you need a commercial sized unit and those aren't cheap. But what is cheap in a commercial size? Simple Green is inexpensive and effective plus I like the sassafras smell unlike kerosene and the like. If a part is too large for my cleaner unit I simply clean one half of it, flip it over, and run the machine again to clean the other end. I really wish I had gotten one years ago when I was spending so much time hand scrubbing everything, blowing through aerosol can after aerosol can of nasty chemicals, burning out brushes, wasting so much of my work time, and leaving abrasive brush marks on vintage parts and gasket surfaces.

The left pic of the red/black brand new never used traditional parts cleaner vs right pic of the 30 liter Ultrasonic cleaner. If someone in New Hampshire wants the red parts cleaner I will take a decent metal shelf in trade for it as that's all that I've ever used it for....a shelf for plastic oil quart bottles.

 

[WhataTool]

Do many places even still offer ones for non-water based solvents?

 

[Steve_P]

The HF unit is intended for water base cleaners. It will live a while in solvent but you see the results of the plastic pump soaking in petro based solvents. Good news is that pump is cheap.
@ OP No recomendation on a unit for you(mine is an old drum unit) but I very much like the PB Blaster solvent sold at Farm & Fleet. Tractor Supply has one a little cheaper PS1000(?) but I prefer the PBBlaster.

Understood. I bought mine 30 years ago and there was no warning about only using water-based cleaners, which I'm guessing hadn't become much of a thing at that time.

My point was that he said he's using mineral spirits, so he shouldn't expect any of the cheap pumps to last with it.

 

[Walkers]

Fast forward to a few years ago after seeing some many people using ultrasonic cleaners. Did some reading and realized that rather than stopping my work to spend my time and effort hand scrubbing a part in a cold vat of "insert you favorite chemical here" I could simply drop the parts in a heated and ultrasonic cleaner, turn it on, and go back to work while it cleaned the parts for me and to an excellen

So I think I have decided a path for my parts cleaner, but I have searched and put an ultrasonic, a 30L unit was the biggest I could find without going industrial, and put it on my wish lis. My birthday is in June and I am incredibly difficult to buy for until I developed an Amazon list that I maintain. Now I just get what is on my list and everyone is happy. So I should be the proud owner of an Ultrasonic unit in June.

 

[TopFuel]

Glad I could help. As a side note while my ultrasonic cleaner is a 30 liter unit it doesn't really hold 30. Let me explain. The distilled water I use and the Simple Green both come in gallon sizes. 30 liters = 7.92 gallons. In the photo I included of the stainless ultrasonic cleaner there is 2 gallons water and 1 gallon Simple Green = 3 gallons. There is no basket or parts shown which will displace fluid. I've never had the machine overflow on me. I could add more fluids but my eyes tell me there aren't 5 more gallons of space remaining. 7.92 gallon capacity - 3 gallons = 4.92 gallons of capacity remaining. Not important to me and doesn't matter to me but just wanted to explain "reality" to these capacity numbers from the vendors. I believe they are speaking of the measured out dimensions of the "area" not reality under use. Whatever. So don't go buy 8 gallons of stuff and expect it all to fit along with the things your are cleaning.

You can use straight water in them too and it will actually clean things. I prefer to add the gallon of Simple Green to aid in the cleaning process. The heating element really helps to heat this solution and provide better cleaning results. After cleaning parts I rinse them in pure distilled water in a bucket I keep for that purpose (like a 5 gallon with a lid so it can be reused). Then I blow them dry with compressed air. This has to be done regardless of the parts cleaner or solution type.

All that said, this ultrasonic cleaner has been a real game changer to the quality of my work. Hopefully your birthday will be a great one!

 

[Rinspeed]

You can use straight water in them too and it will actually clean things. I prefer to add the gallon of Simple Green to aid in the cleaning process. The heating element really helps to heat this solution and provide better cleaning results. After cleaning parts I rinse them in pure distilled water in a bucket I keep for that purpose (like a 5 gallon with a lid so it can be reused). Then I blow them dry with compressed air. This has to be done regardless of the parts cleaner or solution type.

All that said, this ultrasonic cleaner has been a real game changer to the quality of my work. Hopefully your birthday will be a great one!

Just out of curiosity why are you using distilled water for cleaning.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have hemmed and hawed, but not come to any real decision. I have the feeling I am a little heavy handed and impatient for one though.

I bought ultrasonic. I have never regretted the purchase. Ultrasonic makes Evapo-Rust work better and faster. I did a bunch of antique rusty bolts to clean metal in 15 minutes. I ultrasonic clean all of the used tools I buy.

 

[Sumboodie]

Have you considered switching to an ultrasonic cleaner.

Garrrbage compared to a proper solvent tank.

 

[Sumboodie]

What i use. It's older,, but System One makes them still.

 

[Rinspeed]

Garrrbage compared to a proper solvent tank.

Lol, you don't know what you don't know.

 

[Sumboodie]

Lol, you don't know what you don't know.

I have both. So how don't I know?

 

[Rinspeed]

I have both. So how don't I know?

What kind of ultrasonic cleaner do you have.

 

[Stick-man]

I just got lucky and scored an older 30 gal Snap-on for $400. It's in pretty decent shape, with a heavy duty pump that is still available. I picked up 30 gallons of PSC1000 from Tractor Supply for it, but haven't set it up yet. I think I am going to add a fuel filter to it for the heck of it.
I was looking at new ones, and after reading reviews of them being cheap steel, only rated for water based solvent, arriving damaged because of poor packaging, etc., I wanted something that will last.
For the heck of it I looked it up on Snap-on and couldn't believe, the same one now is $5465.00! I can't believe they can even sell one at that price.

If you're not in a hurry, scan marketplace, craigs, ebay, local auctions, etc. Good luck!

 

[Sumboodie]

What kind of ultrasonic cleaner do you have. If it's a made in China POS you have no clue what you are talking about, very

I just got lucky and scored an older 30 gal Snap-on for $400. It's in pretty decent shape, with a heavy duty pump that is still available. I picked up 30 gallons of PSC1000 from Tractor Supply for it, but haven't set it up yet. I think I am going to add a fuel filter to it for the heck of it.
I was looking at new ones, and after reading reviews of them being cheap steel, only rated for water based solvent, arriving damaged because of poor packaging, etc., I wanted something that will last.
For the heck of it I looked it up on Snap-on and couldn't believe, the same one now is $5465.00! I can't believe they can even sell one at that price.

If you're not in a hurry, scan marketplace, craigs, ebay, local auctions, etc. Good luck!

Dang.

Wonder what the recycling ones cost?! I paid $1200 for mine at auction. I figured 4 or 5k.

 

[Snapped-off]

I just got lucky and scored an older 30 gal Snap-on for $400. It's in pretty decent shape, with a heavy duty pump that is still available. I picked up 30 gallons of PSC1000 from Tractor Supply for it, but haven't set it up yet. I think I am going to add a fuel filter to it for the heck of it.
I was looking at new ones, and after reading reviews of them being cheap steel, only rated for water based solvent, arriving damaged because of poor packaging, etc., I wanted something that will last.
For the heck of it I looked it up on Snap-on and couldn't believe, the same one now is $5465.00! I can't believe they can even sell one at that price.

If you're not in a hurry, scan marketplace, craigs, ebay, local auctions, etc. Good luck!

There's a good chance they sell them 20-40% off through the industrial side. The rest are probably financed if I had to guess. Damn near sell anything for the right monthly payment.

 

[rust in the eye]

Well, it appears that my current tank is , albeit older, Graymills PLnot quite36. The parts to fix it are still available and not horridly expensive. Was chatting with my son who asked if making to extra length would be a huge issue, and it wouldn’t, but it is not that critical either. It appears that the rear mounted pump, which I dislike, also has premade holes for side mount ( who flippin knew?!?). I could also remake the expanded metal table that always catches parts into a modern flat table easy enough.
The other issue that I dislike is that the solvent just sits in that big tub outside, under cover, in the summer heat and evaporates, so I try to drain it back into the 5 gallon jugs, but that is a pain and rarely happens. My son asked if it could be converted to a drum underneath instead of the tank mounted pump set up. That pump is even cheaper, and adding the 15 gallon steel drum it looks to be a feasible thing.
If I go this route it is going to need a sandblast and paint on the outside, which will only take and hour or two, but I will be annoyed the entire time!

Those old Graymills units were well made, here in Chicago. Freshening up and making the side mount change to better suit you shouldn't be tough. Could you connect a hose to the spout or install a three way valve somewhere in line to make draining easier? Draining does allow the opportunity to clean the machine.

 

[rust in the eye]

I just got lucky and scored an older 30 gal Snap-on for $400. It's in pretty decent shape, with a heavy duty pump that is still available. I picked up 30 gallons of PSC1000 from Tractor Supply for it, but haven't set it up yet. I think I am going to add a fuel filter to it for the heck of it.
I was looking at new ones, and after reading reviews of them being cheap steel, only rated for water based solvent, arriving damaged because of poor packaging, etc., I wanted something that will last.
For the heck of it I looked it up on Snap-on and couldn't believe, the same one now is $5465.00! I can't believe they can even sell one at that price.

If you're not in a hurry, scan marketplace, craigs, ebay, local auctions, etc. Good luck!

Depending on how grimy your stuff is the fuel filter may clog FAST, my attempt at this using a pretty large filter worked well until it didn't, the filter clogged quickly. My pump is above the bottom of the barrel* so settling works in my favor.
*30 gl of solvent is too costly for me in one go so I've extended the drain and simply use a 5 gl pail from the PB Blaster solvent with separate lid centered in the bottom of the drum. Lots easier to clean up and less surface area to evaporate. Granted the changes are more frequent than if I had 30 gallons of the stuff.

 

[Stick-man]

Depending on how grimy your stuff is the fuel filter may clog FAST, my attempt at this using a pretty large filter worked well until it didn't, the filter clogged quickly. My pump is above the bottom of the barrel* so settling works in my favor.
*30 gl of solvent is too costly for me in one go so I've extended the drain and simply use a 5 gl pail from the PB Blaster solvent with separate lid centered in the bottom of the drum. Lots easier to clean up and less surface area to evaporate. Granted the changes are more frequent than if I had 30 gallons of the stuff.

I don't know that I will use all 30 gallons. I will judge that when I set it up. But I have it, it won't go to waste, and it will only go up in price. LOL

 

[Stick-man]

Depending on how grimy your stuff is the fuel filter may clog FAST, my attempt at this using a pretty large filter worked well until it didn't, the filter clogged quickly. My pump is above the bottom of the barrel* so settling works in my favor.
*30 gl of solvent is too costly for me in one go so I've extended the drain and simply use a 5 gl pail from the PB Blaster solvent with separate lid centered in the bottom of the drum. Lots easier to clean up and less surface area to evaporate. Granted the changes are more frequent than if I had 30 gallons of the stuff.

I figure the pre-filter will take most of the ****. I was planning on trying to make that pre-filter a little thicker (more material.) And I seen the upgrade on youtube with a CAT filter and right away I was like yeah I gotta do that. Now after I bought the stuff I'm thinking, what am I really accomplishing? The filter has to be on the pressure side, so I'm not helping the pump. Once the solvent turns dark, I doubt it will clear it up. All it's doing is removing little particles that really won't affect anything to begin with. But, It will look cool I guess. LOL Yeah, I'm having buyers remorse on those parts.

Maybe someone else can chime in on at least one reason to install the filter! Haha

Stay safe!

 

[Wamsutta]

 

[Wamsutta]

 

[Wamsutta]

VIXEN AQUABLAST 1215

 

[Walkers]

VIXEN AQUABLAST 1215

While I agree with you that they are awesome, it is not a price I can justify for the little bit of work I do.

 

[babyseal]

I bought the cheap HF washer, and the upgrade kit with filter from https://www.partswasherupgradekit.com/ for $100. Also boxed in the bottom legs with angle iron and put caster wheels and a bottom storage shelf on it. Push it out of the way when not using it, keep my Evapo-Rust and carb cleaner buckets on it. I use Simple Green concentrate.

Upgrade kit comes with a good drain valve, can empty it out into 5 gal. buckets if I got nothing going on, to keep it from rusting out.

Works good enough for my uses, didn't spend but around $250 IIRC.