Heating a Parts Washer

[bwingate]

Scored a good sink-over-a-barrel style parts washer deal last weekend and I am trying to figure out a way to heat it. Searching around I found a lot of ways to heat the tub style ones, but nothing really on this style.

Hunting on Amazon I found a circulation engine heater (like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UNCJ1S/?tag=atomicindus08-20).

If I plumb this inline with the pump, do you think it would heat the fluid going through it? They go up to 1000 or 1500w, what size might work?

 

[dadsEH]

One question.......WHY?

 

[bwingate]

It's supposed to help the water based solvents work.

 

[jimindm]

If the barrel is steel, there are all kinds if magnetic heaters you can buy.

I have one that is heated. It looks like a heating element out of a water heater. Any way to use something like that. I would suppose it would need some kind of thermostat

 

[bwingate]

That's another option I have been looking at but it's a little more complex. This is all in one unit with a built in thermostat.

It's really between this one and a magnetic one. I was curious if this would work. Neither will be quick from what j can tell

 

[jhelrey]

I have a hot tub heater I have no use for.... Ha

 

[kunkernator]

When I built my biodiesel processor, I used a hot water heater coil threaded in to a pipe tee, in line with a pump, so fluid would pass over the coil. Stupid simple to wire up, and if I remember, most coils thread in to 1'' pipe.

Tell me how it works out, I have been thinking of switching from mineral spirits to water based (mineral spirits are expensive as hell).

 

[floordry]

It's supposed to help the water based solvents work.

speaking from experience, heated cleaner (water based ) does indeed make it work a whole lot better.

cold works but heated, really works

 

[The Cobbler]

keep in mind that engine block heaters have built in thermostats that will undoubtedly shut off at much lower temperature than you want.

 

[slip knot]

Look at a heater for a livestock water trough. just set it in the bottom of the barrel.

 

[bwingate]

So far, all of the solutions that I have found required cobbling together a heater and a thermostat or using parts in ways they were not intended. Granted, putting together a water heater element and a thermostat would probably be easy, but it was more work than I wanted to do and left the parts hanging off the side of the barrel - even in an electrical box it would be too prone to damage in my crowded garage.

I gave the circulation heater further thought and decided against it. From the application, it sounds like its a "gentle" heating and would require moving fluid to work - so I would have to leave the pump on for about 1 hour to get the fluid hot.

Then I found this bucket heater: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PKW30P0/?tag=atomicindus08-20. Supposedly it is used by beekeepers to warm honey. More than I initially wanted to spend, but it comes with a thermostat preset for 125F. My plan is to put a 5 gallon plastic bucket inside the drum and use that to hold the cleaning fluid so that there is less volume of fluid and a no corrosion of the drum from the water based cleaners.

"My Plan" ha! I'll keep you posted. This should be this weekend's project.

 

[Crusarius]

be careful. we have heated test stands here at work. one day the level got a little to low (The limit switch was not installed correctly). someone turned the heater on and walked away. They came back 10 minutes later to the test stand on fire.

the oil level had gotten just low enough that the heating element was partially exposed to the air allowing it to get hot enough to ignite the oil.

 

[thymer]

keep in mind that engine block heaters have built in thermostats that will undoubtedly shut off at much lower temperature than you want.

I had adhesive oil pan/block heaters on the large diesel engines of my sport fisherman and it kept them toasty warm to the touch, wouldn't want solvent any hotter than that.

Used these: https://www.wolverineheater.com/Marine-s/1514.htm

 

[bwingate]

be careful. we have heated test stands here at work. one day the level got a little to low (The limit switch was not installed correctly). someone turned the heater on and walked away. They came back 10 minutes later to the test stand on fire.

the oil level had gotten just low enough that the heating element was partially exposed to the air allowing it to get hot enough to ignite the oil.

I will be using water based cleaners, although there is still the risk of a fire if the level gets low.