Parts Washer fluid?

[Zumo]

I have this old Safety Kleen brand parts washer that was given to me by my father in-law. He said the fluid was still good in it but I think he forgot he dumped his used motor oil in it waaaaay after the fluid evaporated.

DO any of you guys use one of these? What do you use for cleaning fluid?

 

[BillK]

Z,
I actually used to sell them. You could get a deal on them if you bought 5 or 6 at a time. I have one at home. I just wait till the Safety Kleen guy comes around and services the ones we have at the shop and just grab a few gallons of the clean fluid. If I am not mistaken, you may still be able to get the fluid container (the plastic base part) from Safety Kleen on an exchange basis. They still sell and service the same basic unit. It would be worth a call.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Mineral spirits. There aren't a lot of places still around, but you can purchase it in bulk.
Otherwise, you get it at the big box orange or blue- better known as paint thinner.

Safety Kleen is like 99% mineral spirits.

 

[dankicksass]

If it turns your skin chalky white, you've got the right fluid in there.

 

[nutjob]

I have the same unit and it works great.

If you call your local Safety Kleen about solvent don't say anything about exchanging your old stuff. It is considered hazardous waste and they will tell you that the truck has to come to your house to pick up the stuff and drop off new. So you will pay for a service call, trip charge, waste charge and new solvent.

Safety Kleen sells this unit on the web site so you should be able to stop by and pick up a 5 gallon container of clean solvent and a few filters.

The stuff Tractor supply sells is almost as good. I thnk its the PCS-1000 or something.

Kevin

 

[Zumo]

That's right, they are located in Plano, TX just up the road from where I work. I may have to give them a call. Maybe I can just take my tubs up there and exchange them and change the service call charges.

Then there is a Tractor Supply by the house too.

 

[Big-Foot]

I use kerosine made for burning in heaters... It doesn't smell bad, has good solvent properties, cuts grease well, has good evaporative qualities and is not super-flammable..

 

[Zumo]

Yeah, the flammable part if it which ever solvent I use is another thing I think about. I live in a pretty hot part of Texas and it can get pretty hot in my garage. Does the Safety Kleen fluid take heat pretty well?

I use kerosine made for burning in heaters... It doesn't smell bad, has good solvent properties, cuts grease well, has good evaporative qualities and is not super-flammable..

 

[Big-Foot]

Yeah, the flammable part if it which ever solvent I use is another thing I think about. I live in a pretty hot part of Texas and it can get pretty hot in my garage. Does the Safety Kleen fluid take heat pretty well?

I can't speak to the Safety Clean aspect of your question - but I will tell you that I lived in the Dallas area for about 12 years and used Kerosine or Diesel fuel for solvent literally the whole time and had no troubles. We even did welding (a lot) in the various shops and had no trouble.

Kerosine really needs to either be superheated or atomized (vapor spray) in order to burn. You could light a match and drop it into a pan of Kerosine and it would likely do nothing but put out the fire on the match.

I tried a few of the biodegradable cleaners and had only minor successes with them. It seems like if it's good for the environment, it doesn't work well for cleaning greasy oily parts.. Also it became easily contaminated and would glob up and plug up the pickup screen for the pump.

Well - that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

 

[Zumo]

Big-Foot: I agree. We used to use Simple Green to clean the shop floor in the Navy and it worked ok for that but for washing parts you just can't substitute those other types of solvents with it. I used to have a small carburetor cleaner can with a basket that I use to use for cleaning everything.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Yeah, the flammable part if it which ever solvent I use is another thing I think about. I live in a pretty hot part of Texas and it can get pretty hot in my garage. Does the Safety Kleen fluid take heat pretty well?

Part cleaners are suppose to have a fire suppression lid that activates when ignition occurs. And as a SOP, they should only be open when in use.
Here are the MSDS's for both MS and Safety Kleen- these should answer your questions about volatility.
Mineral Spirits MSDS:
http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926123

Safety Kleen MSDS:
http://www.safety-kleen.com/msds/82341rev8-21-09.pdf

 

[Outlawmws]

We just went through this recently (last week?)

Kerosene or paint thinner/mineral spirits is what you want...

 

[Steevo]

I remember back in the bad old days, I could bring home a 5 gallon can of benzene for about $7 and splash some in a drain pan to scrub parts clean in.
I probably poisoned myself, my neighbors, my yard, etc., and was within an inch of a fatal explosion on a regular basis.

Nowadays I like stuff like the parts cleaning solvent they sell at TSC.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/crown-reg-psc-1000-parts-cleaner-5-gal--3893915

 

[billybudge]

I have always used a product called JIZER mad by DEB swarfega, it is simply the very best and most effective part degreeser on the market, used in most pro gargaes in the UK, great stuff,

 

[Wes Tex]

I have the same exact washer. I have always used napatha because it is cheap; does not have a strong odor; and leaves no oily residue. I cannot stand the smell of diesel that seems to linger forever.

 

[6768rogues]

I agree with environmentally friendly stuff not working. Might as well put the parts outside and let the gunk weather off.

 

[beelsr]

i have 2 parts washers. one's filled with kerosene and the other's filled with super agitene. i'm thinking of dumping the kerosene in favor of a purple cleaner but need to do some reading on long-term compat with the pump and such first...

2 reccs. for a parts washer:
1. filter. i have a remote oil filter hookup that does a good job. another aternative is the pillow style.
2. ball-valved drain spout - install this before you fill it up and make it so a 5 gal bucket will fit underneath. makes draining fluid so much easier.