What kind of filtering system do you use for your parts washer?

[Vinko]

Thanks to Krusty, Uncle Buck, & Nissan, who helped me ID my parts washer , I'm now sorting out the filtering system.

I've got a "hogs hair" mat, for the large sediment, and am looking at the 10 and 50 micron filtering systems that work in conjunction with the pump.

http://www.fountainindustries.com/fountain/accessories.asp?intTopPCA=20&pcasub=53

Most of the parts I'm cleaning aren't nearly as dirty as auto parts. It's more like for removing grease/oil from new bolts and cutting oil from tapped 1" rounds. I need to have them clean if I'm going to fasten them securely with loctite.

The thing is, I'd like to conserve the solvent if I can. As it is, I'm going through it quicker than I'd like.

Anyone care to share what filtering you've set up, or what filtering is built-in to your parts washer?

Thanks

 

[nate379]

I have a filter used for house water and it works ok but it clogs up quickly when the solvent starts getting bad.

The solvent distillers are great though. I gave all my old solvent to my friend who has a distiller and it was pretty much new stuff after it ran though the machine.

I priced them out and they are in the $1500-2000 range for the small units. The solvent I use costs about $2 a gallon so it's take a while to recoup the cost.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I have some parts to do mine, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I only have a 3 gallon parts washer (small garage), but I'm going to mount a remote oil filter setup on the outside of it and use a plain old ford oil filter on it. I'm just going to use bushings to reduce the inlet/outlet on the filter adapter to whatever size the pump I get uses (cheap crappy pump in it now, not compatible with what I'm doing).

 

[Major Ramifications]

Scotchbrite. Not the best, but it's cheap.

 

[eborcim]

Gravity...the washer bay sits on a 30 gal drum and the pump is suspended about 8" off the drum bottom.

 

[benjamming]

nate,

What brand stills?

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Hi Guys, Ive got a Zep branded parts cleaner (50 gallon or more,its big), its about 20yrs old, bought it new, paid almost $1500, anyhow its an American made model, not by Zep of course, not sure who makes it, but TP Tools was selling it recently, and the fitlers for it. They are 50 micron filters, and pretty good sized . Ive never plugged one. They also sell a "Filter Kit" to add on to any Parts washer, hangs off the side, exact same set up I have (http://www.tptools.com/p/1572,132_50-Micron-Parts-Washer-Filter-System.html). Replacement filters run $9, I change one out a year. The pump has a primary "rough" fitler that looks like scotch brite. Works great, I bought it primarily because it had a filter, and that was way back when, before the internet, and something like that was hard to find, and at the time I was a zep customer. Im running a water based Graymills solvent in it now, the washer, is starting to rust...which is a drag, but Ive become sensitive to solvents, too many years of being in that stuff.

 

[nate379]

http://www.chemchamp.com/

There was another brand I looked at as well, though I can't seem to find the info I had on them and I don't remember the name.

nate,

What brand stills?

The problem with the house water filter is sure it filters out the particles but it doesn't strip the solvent of oil or grease and that's really what dirties it up.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Hey Nate, they make a product for that very purpose. Ive got a couple, but never used them, here's one for sale, with a picture and some detail, basically cleans the solvent, its in a cotton bag of sorts, works like a dessicant: http://www.tptools.com/p/1573,132_Parts-Washer-Solvent-Saver.html

 

[nate379]

Northern Hydraulics has those as well. I considered ordering them a while back, but the reviews were not so great so I never did.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200141024_200141024

 

[bgott]

Hey Nate, they make a product for that very purpose. Ive got a couple, but never used them, here's one for sale, with a picture and some detail, basically cleans the solvent, its in a cotton bag of sorts, works like a dessicant:

Northern Hydraulics has those as well. I considered ordering them a while back, but the reviews were not so great so I never did.

Are those a one time shot? If they are good for a few times they might be worth a try.

 

[tatra]

i have used parts washer that use water in the bottom and they do an excellent job of allowing the heavey stuff and grease to settle overnight and not foul the solvent.......only thing is that you have to keep an eye on the water level as it rises as more junk and **** accumulates........also cleaning it out was a pain........used to have a big plastic bag type liner that was used to keep the bottom tank from rusting...........have seen some others that used a simple oil filter bypass kit and spin on cartrdges...........

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I think the bags are a one time shot, I got em new, but its been too many years to remember the specifics(assuming they probably had instructions). Im sure the media in them is like anything else, and has a saturation point. I got them from Zep, at the time I was running a 6 bay fleet shop, bougth allot from Zep, pretty much everything they sold worked as advertised, and you paid for it too. So my educated guess is yes, they probably work, how well probably has allot to do with the saturation point of your tank cleaner fluid, is it 50 percent motor oil and 50 percent stoddard solvent ? In that event, Id guess a product like that would be overwhelmed, but still should remove some oil. Ive always wondered how that is supposed to work, stoddard and oil are both from the same base, no? How do you mechnically, without heat, pull certian hydrocarbons out of a 100% hydrocarbon liquid ?

I went and looked at the mixed buyer feedback at Northern tool. Clearly if you dont have a filter system running, your fluid is going to come back out the same it went in (as far as it looks), this bags are supposed to adsorb oil, not micro particales of dirt. I change out my fluid at least once a year, and scrub the tank clean too, which is probably why Ive never got around to using the bags. Now that I run a aqua base, I dont know how they would react, better or worse, might not even be compatible with an aqua cleaner period? More questions, less answers!

 

[caper]

Environmental company comes in and switches ours out every month.Bring in a fresh barrel,drop the washer in it and wheel out the old barrel.Most times it's not even dirty.The way a big company works sometimes makes you wonder how they stay in business.We had a Zep one with a filter but they stopped using it when they switched companies.It had what looked like a air filter from a tractor trailer inside the drum.Solvent ran down inside the filter and all the crud got caught inside the filter.

 

[stock z/28]

I make filter bases out of flat plate and the fitting out of the aluminum adapter that is used on most small/big block Chevs,

I just use about the cheapest filters I can buy. I use these on all of the cleaning tanks, and honing equipment.

I also like to use expanded metal to make a type of raised floor that will let the debris fall through but the components you are cleaning never touch the trash.

I have also found that if you want really clean components (like engine internals) after you have cleaned them with your parts washer a quick cleaning with a small amount of brake clean does an excellent job.


Jeff

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I've got a "hogs hair" mat, for the large sediment, and am looking at the 10 and 50 micron filtering systems that work in conjunction with the pump.

What sizes are the mats? They do not say in their literature. I have a expanded metal "shelf" in my Graymills that is where I clean 90% of my parts and one of the mats on the expanded metal would catch much of the crud like paint flakes and heavier debris. I am diligent about pre cleaning parts, scraping, brushing and blowing off everything I can first. I blow out bearings to get all the grease out I can, but you cannot get everything, thats what the parts washer is for. The Graymills units like mine use a filter dome kinda like a old car canister oil filter, and Graymills has a round cylindrical screen in it. I put a oil filter element originally designed for my Ford tractor in it, but I haven't yet looked at it, since I installed it.

Charles

 

[cwstevens92]

You guys have a "Parts Washer"...Damn I just use a bucket full of Diesel Fuel w/ a brush and some rags.

 

[Vinko]

What sizes are the mats? They do not say in their literature. I have a expanded metal "shelf" in my Graymills that is where I clean 90% of my parts and one of the mats on the expanded metal would catch much of the crud like paint flakes and heavier debris. I am diligent about pre cleaning parts, scraping, brushing and blowing off everything I can first. I blow out bearings to get all the grease out I can, but you cannot get everything, thats what the parts washer is for. The Graymills units like mine use a filter dome kinda like a old car canister oil filter, and Graymills has a round cylindrical screen in it. I put a oil filter element originally designed for my Ford tractor in it, but I haven't yet looked at it, since I installed it.

Charles

Approx. dims.: 34" x 24" I got mine from McMaster-Carr.

 

[Vinko]

Gravity...

Mine didn't come with that option.

 

[Vinko]

Hi Guys, Ive got a Zep branded parts cleaner (50 gallon or more,its big), its about 20yrs old, bought it new, paid almost $1500, anyhow its an American made model, not by Zep of course, not sure who makes it, but TP Tools was selling it recently, and the fitlers for it. They are 50 micron filters, and pretty good sized . Ive never plugged one. They also sell a "Filter Kit" to add on to any Parts washer, hangs off the side, exact same set up I have (http://www.tptools.com/p/1572,132_50-Micron-Parts-Washer-Filter-System.html). Replacement filters run $9, I change one out a year. The pump has a primary "rough" fitler that looks like scotch brite. Works great, I bought it primarily because it had a filter, and that was way back when, before the internet, and something like that was hard to find, and at the time I was a zep customer. Im running a water based Graymills solvent in it now, the washer, is starting to rust...which is a drag, but Ive become sensitive to solvents, too many years of being in that stuff.

Thanks for the info. That filter system looks to be about the same ast eh ones I've seen through K&D and McMaster, 'cept those are listed at $160

Like your parts washer, mine has both the "scotch bright" or hogs hair filter and the option for the filter in conjunction with the pump.

 

[scooby074]

I picked up a remote oil filter kit and plumbed it into mine. It works OK. Nothing is going to totally clean the dissolved grease from the solvent, but any solids will be filtered.

The only issue is that the little giant washer pump im using wont produce much pressure (about 2-3 PSI) on the installed gauge. So you have to bear that in mind.