Parts washers.......

[Junkman]

It came to me like a lightning bolt last night that I will be needing a parts washer to clean engine parts. My last one was so large that you could put a whole engine into it. It had a circulating pump in the bottom of the tank, and used air bubbles to scrub the dirt off the parts. I bought it used in 1962, and it seemed that it was old then. We parted company back in 1980 when it sprung a leak at the bottom. I am now in the market for one that is more compact. Any suggestions? I thought of Safety Kleen, but I was told that they don't service home accounts or small volume users. What chemicals are presently being used? I used to use a mixture of kerosene, gasoline, and a few gallons of Gunk. Today, I don't think that the combination of those ingredients would be allowed by the fire inspectors.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I have had one of the heapo cheapo HF units for years. The pump took a dump and I have yet to replace it. I mounted mine on a caster base and roll it from under my bench when I need it. It is not like I use it every day so it works fine for me. As to parts wash solution I only use kerosene, I used Gas years ago cause that was what my dad used to do but I would not do that anymore; far to risky too low a flash point, just one spark from static in your cleaning brush and it's goodbye! I do hate the smell of kerosene though, and I really cannot afford high dollar cleaning alternatives so I guess I will stick with it.

 

[dxdexter]

I have and old Safety-Kleen unit that the company did not want back when we canceled our contract back in 1986. It seems bullet proof. It no longer has the hose/brush attachment for the flexble metal hose, so I use a paint brush to scrub the parts.

I use Varsol as the solvent. Probably not the safest thing to use, but it works.

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Parts Washer? Now I could always use one of them, maybe I should put one on my wish list

 

[bmwpower]

I want one, but they take up too much space for one that would be big enough to be useful. I like those "basin on a drum" types, but they are pricey.

Last time I used a cheapie HF unit, the solvent took off the paint on the inside of the basin.

Any good?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00026Z3M2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

How about this one?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KSRAW8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[jimvannoy]

I have a HF washer that I got several years ago. It's been working fine and has held up to a lot of use. I have not had a problem with the pump or any paint flaking off. I use solvent that I get at the parts store in 5 gallon cans. I also have a small bench top HF unit, and a huge one I got free years ago. Not sure made it. It's big enough to fit a couple engine blocks in it.

 

[mikeyr]

Safety-Kleen will happily service home units, you just have to fill out paper with the EPA for hazardous materials, no biggie. My only complaint is that the longest term they have is one year, sometimes in one year my solvent is still fairly clean but it just forces me to use it more often.

I would like to move away from Safety-Kleen but so far I have not found a suitable solvent that is as good.

 

[-lecroix-]

$79 Harbor Freight washer here (less with 15% coupon) ... 10 gallons of mineral spirits ... 5 years and going strong on original pump ... no paint flaking.

It cleans greasy parts, it's not rocket science.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Either of the ones BMWPOWER shows are quite useful. I bought a used, quite old, Graymills model 500 and disassembled the pump and plumbing to clean up everything. It has a selector valve to run fluid either thru a hose with nozzle, a flex metal pipe, or thru a "rake" that is submersed in the fluid and agitates the fluid. It has a 1/3 hp motor running the pump. I blasted and primed and painted everything, left the inside bare, it has lots of pitting in the bottom but does not leak, I need to make a sludge tray for the bottom and fill it. I bought Graymills Super 141 Agitene solvent with Lanolin in it. The solvent has a 141 degree flashpoint and is over the 140 degree limit which, if below that, invokes all kinds of safety requirements and rules.

Charles

 

[bmwpower]

How much are we talking about per service?

Safety-Kleen will happily service home units, you just have to fill out paper with the EPA for hazardous materials, no biggie. My only complaint is that the longest term they have is one year, sometimes in one year my solvent is still fairly clean but it just forces me to use it more often.

I would like to move away from Safety-Kleen but so far I have not found a suitable solvent that is as good.

 

[jimvannoy]

Just go to the parts store and buy it in 5 gallon cans. I get it at Advanced auto. I think it's like $34.95 or so. It's just Mineral Spirits with a rust inhibitor added to it. 10 gallons has kept my HF cleaner going for 3 or 4 years so far. I paid $39.99 for the cleaner on sale and $70.00 for 10 gallons of fluid so that's like $110.00 for 3 or 4 years of use.

 

[bmwpower]

Just go to the parts store and buy it in 5 gallon cans. I get it at Advanced auto. I think it's like $34.95 or so. It's just Mineral Spirits with a rust inhibitor added to it. 10 gallons has kept my HF cleaner going for 3 or 4 years so far. I paid $39.99 for the cleaner on sale and $70.00 for 10 gallons of fluid so that's like $110.00 for 3 or 4 years of use.

So does SK just refill the liquid or do they clean things out?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The Safety Kleen parts washer that I had at a job some 20 years ago, was the sink or basin type on top of a 30 gal drum. The pump hangs down into the drum, and the fluid returns thru a sink like drain basket with a bag type cloth filter on the bottom. They swapped the entire drum out, and installed a new filter bag. Safety Kleen reps are very much like tool dealers, independent and responsible for all aspects of their operation. This absolves the company of many liabilities until the fluid is passed back to them. At the time I was using the service, I was a one man shop, and didn't use it much, but they insisted on a max of 9 weeks between service.

As far as petroleum solvents go, the Graymills stuff is expensive but very highly regarded. It is a very good solvent. I bought 30 gallons of it in 5 gallon cans (the Graymills 500 uses between 16 and 42 gallons, I determined that less than 30 would be too low for the agitation to work properly. Graymills makes several different solvents, a 105 degree flash point and a 141 degree without lanolin also. The only drawback to the lanolin is you cannot paint parts afterward without a soap and water wash to remove it, otherwise it is easier on the hands.

Charles

 

[JBL]

Re: Parts cleaner

Try mineral spirits. You can purchase 1-5 gallon quantities much cheaper than the solvents at the big box stores and it is essentially what Safety Clean used when I had their service a number of years ago.

 

[RAYJAY]

$79 Harbor Freight washer here (less with 15% coupon) ... 10 gallons of mineral spirits ... 5 years and going strong on original pump ... no paint flaking.

It cleans greasy parts, it's not rocket science.

same here but mine is 18 years old and 3 pumps later still working, and the paint is still on there I use a mixture varsol and mineral spirits

Jeff

 

[Danglerb]

How do the solvent cleaners compare to the giant dishwasher type?

 

[MAD]

Mine is a "vintage" Gunk brand parts washer. It is just a tub with metal cover and a drop down mesh basket bottom that allows you to submerge the parts to soak or raise them up to scrub them. I thought I might need to add a pump and filter to extend the life of the solvent but the crud mostly settles to the bottom of the tank and the solvent stays pretty clean. Every once in a blue moon I will carefully pour off the solvent and scrape the sludge from the bottom of the tank with a putty knife then pour the solvent back in. It stays good for along time that way. I guess if it was in a commercial situation where it did not sit undisturbed for long periods of time that method would not work as well.