Parts washer help?

[GeneralDisorder]

You really don't want to use the purple **** - its caustic and will etch aluminum besides being pretty aweful for your health. Get some real petroleum based solvent. It will work just fine at low temps without being heated. The water based stuff is a waste of time for heavy grease cleaning applications. I use Breakthrough from Inland Technologies but a lot of folks just use mineral spirits. Breakthrough has the benefit of not being smelly at all but the price tag is a bit beyond most DIY applications - about $800 for 30 gallons.

GD

 

[kapster]

Yea that purple power is worse then any parts wash solvent. Msds is like a 3 for purple power, mineral spirits is 1. Our safety kleen stuff at work is 2 I believe.

I did a test with oil eater and simple green on aluminum foil. Simple green warns more about aluminum then oil eater does. After about 24 hours soaking, the foil in the oil eater was pretty corroded away. You could just pull it apart like wet paper. The foil in the simple green was unharmed. And oil eater is nasty on paint and stickers, it like bleaches paint instantly. We washed my friends toyota 22re valve cover with it and it took the ink off the decal on the front of it that's been there 23 years.

I had contacted inland technology about that stuff, your pretty happy with it? From the msds, it's type 3 mineral spirits, so ultra refined. They wanted 206.95 for 5 gallons.

General biodiesel makes a parts cleaning solvent for $51 for 5 gallons. But it only lasts a year at 80 degrees in a sealed container.

Good old solvent is hard to beat

 

[bobcatdan]

I think I'm going to pick up that stuff from TSC you recommanded. Unless I can find it cheaper, PB is crazy expensive from what I have found online.

 

[kapster]

Like i said i havent used it yet but lots of people do and they say the smell melows out after awhile. Let me know how you like it

 

[Bull]

What is the least flammable of the solvent-based cleaners? If I have a washer in my basement, I really don't want anything that is going to be high-risk.

 

[bobcatdan]

From what I have seen 140ish is the average flash point. To me that is pretty safe. The lowest I saw was northern has some that is 111.

 

[tomshep]

So I did pick up the graymills parts washer. Has anybody tried PB's washer fluid? I want a solvent based fluid. I'm not ******* around with anything like simple green again. If all eles fails I will use kerosene.

I have the same red/blue HF unit pictured in the thread. The unit has served me well for 15+ years. When I first got it I went with a water based solvent. What a milk-shake mess. The stuff partially separated. Had to tear the pump apart, all gummed up, clean the tank, etc. Went down to the local farm and ranch and bought good ole oil based solvent by the gallon. I put 5 gallons in probably 7 years ago and still plenty to work with.

Tom

 

[kapster]

Anyone use these graymills filter bags? They re supposed to absorb the oil and grease from the solvent. Does it work?

Graymills solvent saver

 

[Outlawmws]

What is the least flammable of the solvent-based cleaners? If I have a washer in my basement, I really don't want anything that is going to be high-risk.

I'd advise against a solvent tank in a basement Bull: A basement and any petroleum based solvent is a recipe for disaster. There was a reason pits in working garages were removed if not outlawed. Those vapors are heavier than air and collect... once in vaporized form become very flammable if not explosive (fuel mixed with oxygen...), and once a spark is found, BOOM!

 

[Outlawmws]

From what I have seen 140ish is the average flash point. To me that is pretty safe. The lowest I saw was northern has some that is 111.

For an enclosed area like a basement, flash point is nearly irrelevant, vaporization point is, and that will be near impossible to get for every solvent or petroleum product with solvent like properties...

Bottom line is if you can smell it at all, it's vaporizing...

 

[kapster]

Yea I wouldn't want a solvent tank in my basement, water based would be ok but that's the wrong type of washer.

I just cleaned my motorcycle chain with mineral spirits and its 30 degrees here, worked great. Solvent goes on the chemical principle of dissolving grease and oil. Water based cleaners are a surfactant, they break the bond between the surface and soil. That's why I say temperature shouldn't really matter. Or maybe even the temperature that it doesn't work well, you won't be out there anyway.

Dan, did you try that crown solvent from tsc yet?

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I'm very happy with the Inland products - Breakthrough was developed for the military and it works great. I have no need of any other petroleum based solvents in my shop. You really can't smell it unless you stick your face down there in the tank.

They have a product called Safety Prep (water based) that is used in my brake parts washer - it is AMAZING and I highly recommend it over simple green or the purple stuff. I use it around the shop in squirt bottles. It works better and is not caustic enough to harm aluminium. I have had cylinder heads and carb bodies soaking in it for weeks at a time - strips carbon off like it's nothing and doesn't discolor or harm the metal at all.

GD

 

[kapster]

I'd love to get that stuff but its soooo expensive. I saw that safety kleen sells the same stuff, same case number on msds. Haven't checked pricing though. What kind of parts washer do you have it in and what do you use for filtering with it? How often do you change it?

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I have a 30 gallon Inland parts washer (IT-30) with dual element fitration - I have about 15 gallons in the washer and 15 gallons of reserve used for top-offs. My usage is pretty heavy (I'll hoist entire engines and transmissions over it at times) and the filters get changed about every three months. The solvent ends up being replaced about every 3 years or so.

It's a good deal for me - my Inland guy does all my filter changes, sludge removal, top-offs, washer repair (lifetime waranty) etc. I just use it and buy solvent and filters from him.

GD

 

[Bull]

I'd advise against a solvent tank in a basement Bull: A basement and any petroleum based solvent is a recipe for disaster. There was a reason pits in working garages were removed if not outlawed. Those vapors are heavier than air and collect... once in vaporized form become very flammable if not explosive (fuel mixed with oxygen...), and once a spark is found, BOOM!

I did decide against it, but not because I was smart enough to realize what you just told me about. I was going to get a small tank for the basement and share the larger one with my brother. Well, he said he won't need it for a full year, so there was no reason for me to drop another $100 on a second washer. That's just OCD tool buying.

The unit came with what I assume it used Agitene. I haven't read the MSDS to know how bad the stuff is for me, but hopefully not too bad. I'd like to avoid dropping hundreds of dollars on new solvent.

 

[bobcatdan]

Kapster, I'm probably not going to be able to give a good reveiw until spring or so on the stuff from TSC. The new washer is going to be in the home garage and with colder weather setting in, I don't do **** out there. Besides the shop my buddy and I have together, I'm a one man shop at work so I have two places to work that are 70, f the unheated garage.

 

[kapster]

Don't blame you, well I might beat you to it if I ever find a parts washer.

I looked at the pb blaster and safety kleen 105 solvent msds sheets. They look to be the same solvent as the tsc, except the safety kleen has a flash point of 105. So the pb is nothing special.

 

[Outlawmws]

I did decide against it, but not because I was smart enough to realize what you just told me about. I was going to get a small tank for the basement and share the larger one with my brother. Well, he said he won't need it for a full year, so there was no reason for me to drop another $100 on a second washer. That's just OCD tool buying.

The unit came with what I assume it used Agitene. I haven't read the MSDS to know how bad the stuff is for me, but hopefully not too bad. I'd like to avoid dropping hundreds of dollars on new solvent.

Bull, if you are looking for a parts washer that IS safe to use in a basement (And assuming you have access to hot water down there), watch CL for an older Matag JetClean dishwasher, portable or built in it matters not. If no drain access use a couple of 5 gallon buckets to catch the drainage. the jets on these old Matags are nothing short of AMAZING, and ordinary dishwasher soap is a great grease/oil cutter.

With the hot cycle it just gets better.. Yes you need to get the parts out immediately and blow them off but that water is so damn hot that with an air blow off and the residual heat of the part (heck you cold even stick them back in for the heated dry cycle after the main blow off) and get very little flash rust.

 

[Bull]

Bull, if you are looking for a parts washer that IS safe to use in a basement (And assuming you have access to hot water down there), watch CL for an older Matag JetClean dishwasher, portable or built in it matters not. If no drain access use a couple of 5 gallon buckets to catch the drainage. the jets on these old Matags are nothing short of AMAZING, and ordinary dishwasher soap is a great grease/oil cutter.

With the hot cycle it just gets better.. Yes you need to get the parts out immediately and blow them off but that water is so damn hot that with an air blow off and the residual heat of the part (heck you cold even stick them back in for the heated dry cycle after the main blow off) and get very little flash rust.

I think you mentioned this in my other thread, and I meant to reply to that. This portable dishwasher idea sounds pretty awesome. I have a utility sink down there to drain into, and I assume I could tap into the hot water coming from the water storage tank next to the boiler, too. I'll set up a CL search notification for one of these. What did you pay for yours?

 

[Outlawmws]

I got the one I have now free as a remod castoff, the ones in the "portable wrapper" are hard to find free, at least around here. but I bought one of those for $15 (and a longish drive of over an hour round trip) but those I usually see from $50 to $100 as the "deals" around here.

The portable I bought not really caring if the washer itself worked as I knew I could replace the guts cheap or free, which is exactly what happened. I had to make a couple of small mods for everything to fit, but it's all good now.

 

[Bull]

Are all JetClean models created equal? In other words, any Maytag JetClean I see, will possess the awesomeness you describe?

Other than aesthetics/trim, a smaller size, and a cord, are there any differences between a portable and installed model?

 

[Outlawmws]

I don't think the portable and installed models within a given model series differ other than the portable has the wrapper, wheels, a plug in cord, and the double hose for the connection to the faucet.

The models I'm using (We have one of these installed in the kitchen as well) has the main control knob/timer on the right, and a series of six or eight buttons on the right. Once you get into the solid state control models, I can't make any claims as if you get too new and Maytag got bought out and AFAIK mfg went overseas...

The much older jet clean with the side to side flip latch (Mine has a "squeeze to release" latch) was the one I bought as a portable and the differences between the much older model and mine was probably why it was not a direct drop in.

All I know is the Jetcleans I'm using run hotter and clean better than ANY dishwasher I've used. we had to stop washing wood handled knives in them as the handles were getting ruined without using the heated drying.

For what it is worth, the model No. prefixes on mine are MDB and DWU respectively

 

[kapster]

What do you guys think of a safety kleen washer with "new" solvent for 150? Found it on local Craigslist. Sounds like he bought it new and never really used it because he had 2 others? Very weird. I was wondering, with that stuff go bad after awhile? I didn't ask how old the solvent is but will before I head over. Also want to make sure that he's tried the pump recently, as I suppose it could go bad sitting in the solvent and he wouldn't know unless he tried it. These washers are 343 new. Sound like a decent deal?

 

[kapster]

Bull, does your parts washer use these filter bags in the sink drain?

Graymills Filter bags

If it does, could you give me some dimensions of it? I'm wondering if it would work in my safety kleen unit, doesn't seem that they have one for it. Does it sit in a strainer or just hang?

 

[Bull]

Bull, does your parts washer use these filter bags in the sink drain?

Graymills Filter bags

If it does, could you give me some dimensions of it? I'm wondering if it would work in my safety kleen unit, doesn't seem that they have one for it. Does it sit in a strainer or just hang?

Hmm...mine has a metal strainer sock in the drain. Never occurred to me that a filter bag would go in it. Makes sense!

 

[kapster]

To you guys that use oil filters on your parts washer, do they plug up pretty easy? I put one on my new to me safety kleen washer, plugged my second one with not a lot of use I don't think. The solvent that's in it wasn't great to begin with. Also, it takes forever to start flowing, wondering if a pump with more volume would work better. Mine is 170 gph. Maybe a 300 gph would work better with a filter?

 

[PT Matt]

I have a HF washer that I paid $55 many years ago. It is still on the same pump. I have modified it to use a spin on Ford type of oil filter and now don't replace solvent due to trash in it. I lose about a quart each time I change the filter but my solvent is clear as water. I don't use it as someone in an rebuild shop might but for my shop uses it is perfectly fine. The cost to add a filter runs about $20 in parts.....Summit Racing for a remote oil filter kit.....some solvent resistant hose (which is not what was in this photo...later replaced with proper hose).....a brass ****** and elbow...and a filter to fit your remote filter kit.
Craig
View media item 9875

Like the ZRXOA sticker on your unit! I'm on the OA all the time.