Parts washers - solvent v. water v. bio

[Bios]

At work we use D-Limonine for several heavy cleaning tasks, such as cleaning the landing gears of airliners.

Charles

We had a d.limonene Fire two years ago and have been looking for a solution.
Nick

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

I work at a ****** shop and we use mineral spirits in our parts washers. It's hard on the hands, but after a few weeks of cleaning pans and getting some transmission fluid mixed in it's alot better.

I tried water and a degreaser years ago at home and it sucked.. It cleaned things OK, but made for alot more work. If you don't use it all the time, plan on a nice layer of rusty grime in the tank. I used straight diesel and about a quart of trans fluid in my spare parts washer that was for real nasty things. Works perfectly. some people complain about the smell of diesel fuel but i tend to not notice anything or pay attention to my surrounding... Just ask my girlfriend.

 

[Art From De Leon]

I also tried the Northern Tools water based 'solvent'

COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY. Threw it out, and went to using naptha.

 

[broncorick]

I would love to find one like they have on the BBC show wheeler dealers. It is an enclosed cabinet and uses high pressure air with solvent and really get parts clean. Have seen some BIG industrial type but theirs is a small unit with clamshell type enclosure

 

[vpd66]

I would love to find one like they have on the BBC show wheeler dealers. It is an enclosed cabinet and uses high pressure air with solvent and really get parts clean. Have seen some BIG industrial type but theirs is a small unit with clamshell type enclosure

I saw them use that too and thought it was cool. I Googled it and there are only a few companies selling them and they aren't cheap ($2000.00 up).

 

[saabman]

I used to use Super Agitene. Strong caustic stuff, gloves a must. This is no longer sold in my home state so I switched to "Oil Eater" works pretty well. I downsized from a floor standing to a bench top cleaner too.

 

[BONDOSPECIAL]

I am a DIY'er who normally uses a solvent parts washer to clean grimey differential and transmission internal parts when I do rebuilds. I am chemically sensitive and have to wear a full face respirator when I work with solvents, so I took a chance on trying a bioremediating benchtop parts washer, figuring if it worked, it would be better for my health. I got the BenchtopPro when it was initially offered for around $230 for a kit, that included the benchtop unit, cleaning fluid, and the bioremediating packets. This kit sells for around $300 now. I have now used it for a few weeks trying to degrease differential bearing caps, carriers, bearing races, brake rotors, and the like. I have found the Chemfree "BT5" cleaner supplied with the Benchtop Pro parts washer to be VERY mild...it takes a lot of scrubbing to get anything done and at that point you are cleaning more as a function of mechanical abrasion than you are really using the BT5 cleaner to accomplish much. I contacted the company that sells the parts washer and they told me I was their first and only complaint about the BT5 cleaner not being very effective. To their credit, they sent me more cleaner for free, asking me to see if maybe I had gotten a bad batch the first time around. The new cleaner is the same. It is "better than nothing" for extremely minor cleaning jobs - you can take the light oil coating off a brand new brake rotor with this cleaner, but then again you can accomplish such a minor job like that using a hand spray bottle of purple power or simple green, or dish soap. I am glad I only paid $230 for this thing. It is better than nothing, and I will use it for small jobs because it saves me from having to use solvent, but I will still rely on my solvent washer for any real greasy parts washing. The BT5 cleaner acts like a mild soap - it will only help float off dirt that is very soft and already easy to remove with a brush. It does not seem to soften any kind of caked on grime, whereas a solvent parts washer would quickly dissolve and rinse away that type of grime with the aid of some light scrubbing with a nylon brush.

Here it is.

It's a nice idea but definitely not a replacement for solvent parts washer. I was hoping it was going to be a more effective degreaser than it is.

 

[Norm01]

I recently ordered the Bio-Circle Clean Box Flow as varsol and others make me sick. I should have it in a week or two and I will report back if it's efficient or not. One things for sure is that the technology in these cleaners is rapidly evolving as more chemical based cleaners are being banned.

 

[BONDOSPECIAL]

Hey Norm, any update on your experience with the Bio Circle system?

 

[sberry]

Has any one seen a sale on mineral spirits lately? Mine has years on it, needs a change and new would last a long time as I pressure wash most everything, a parts washer is a must have but I don't use it a lot.
I just went thru it a couple weeks ago and take out a couple years worth of scrap. I have never been impressed with the fit of the trays but I fixed a couple things up in the sump. I like this one cause its big.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I used to use Safetykleen in the parts washer in the small engine shop. worked good, didn't beat up my skin too much. It did kill off a couple of Planter's warts...

Tommy

 

[Gerald O]

Mineral spirits is nice, but clean kerosene is a good second for way cheaper. Dries just a little slower and more odor. I just get it from the pump at the gas station. Chemically there's not much difference except that kerosene has a heavier spectrum of hydrocarbons than mineral spirits.

 

[Jess]

I still use solvent (Varsol) in my parts washer. For real dirty stuff, I have a 1/2 full barrel of diesel fuel outside where I can submerge pretty big stuff and then transfer it to the parts washer for final cleanup. It saves on the crud in the washer. This is in a home shop, so the requirements may be different for commercial and in your areas. Solvent is my choice either way.

 

[sberry]

Kerosene sounds easy.

 

[Nexussian]

Stoddard solvent, in an older "home use" parts washer with heavy gloves.

I've tried diesel, simple green and various purple cleaners, even Carbon Tetrachloride (once, wasn't impressed).

While the purple ones work fairly well, I don't have water in my garage so anything I clean with that I have to take to an appropriate location to wash it off.

I still prefer the Stoddard.

I have considered adding an emulsifier to extend it's useful life (as it ages it doesn't work as well, still better than diesel though).

 

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

We have one of the cheap red harbor freight type parts washer at work with a water based cleaner in it. It' doesn't work anywhere near as good as a solvent would. The parts washer says do not use a solvent based cleaner in it, you can damage the pump. I drained it today and filtered out the water based cleaner and noticed there is a lot of corrosion on the hinges and fittings that secure the hose and brush. Anyone ever put a solvent based cleaner in washer like this?

 

[DIC]

Kerosene then rinse with water spray

 

[nes999]

Safety kleen is my choice,

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Gerald O]

Stoddard solvent = varsol = mineral spirits. Same thing.