Help with parts washer

I have tried the little junk tabletop washers and hate them. Working in shops I had opportunities to use really awesome heated/filtered washers that cost $4000. I've tried Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, and Eastwood only to find either the cheapy tabletop ones or the super expensive ones.

So first question: Any ideas on where to get one? CL only shows a couple and they're junk.

Secondly... what about just building one from a laundry sink and a barrel with a pump? What kind of pump do I need? I would want to do water-based fluid. What kind of soap do I use?

I would probably find a cheapy laundry sink and a 35-gallon barrel. I would cut a hole for a water heater element and then put the sink on top of the barrel mounting the drain directly to a hole in the lid. Add pump and tubing. Done.

Why not just use a dishwasher? I've uh..... heard it works pretty well.

a friend did this: DIY Parts Washer

i've been looking at making this when i change out my laundry tub http://www.w6rec.com/duane/bmw/washer/index.htm

Dishwasher does work very well, though you have a sound plan if you need the sink type.

In my experience, it's hard to find a good used parts washer. My old boss still has the same one he's been using for over twenty years.

I went on this endeavor a couple years ago and yeah, it's either cheap or expensive.

I was saving up for one, but life happened.

If you can make your own, more power to you.

My nephew called me about 2 hours ago and asked me if I knew anybody that wanted a heavy duty parts washer. He and a buddy pulled it out of a Nissan dealership. Call him at seven seven four, 454, 8392. We're in eastern Mass.

The Canadian wrote: a friend did this: DIY Parts Washer i've been looking at making this when i change out my laundry tub http://www.w6rec.com/duane/bmw/washer/index.htm

All the pictures on that page are the same thing for me.

I'd like to combine that idea with a heater & thermostat. It should work pretty well. Maybe start with the Northern Tool 40gal unit if you need something bigger.

I'd go with building your own. That way you can build what you need, as big as you want, etc., etc. http://www.tptools.com/SearchResult.aspx?searchPhrase=parts%20washer

mndsm wrote: Why not just use a dishwasher? I've uh..... heard it works pretty well.

I would love that. The shop here at dad's (where I'm working) is 100 yards behind the house and doesn't have water. I think mom might crap her housecoat if she found a pair of heads in her Maytag in the kitchen.

tr8todd wrote: My nephew called me about 2 hours ago and asked me if I knew anybody that wanted a heavy duty parts washer. He and a buddy pulled it out of a Nissan dealership. Call him at seven seven four, 454, 8392. We're in eastern Mass.

Sweet. I will call. Might be a bit until I can make it to MA though.

curtis73 wrote:

mndsm wrote: Why not just use a dishwasher? I've uh..... heard it works pretty well.

I would love that. The shop here at dad's (where I'm working) is 100 yards behind the house and doesn't have water. I think mom might crap her housecoat if she found a pair of heads in her Maytag in the kitchen.

Uhhh, we're talking like SBC or Honda cylinder heads or something I hope?

I've never been daring enough to use the dishwasher for parts; 20 years with an Italian woman make you learn what is/isn't survivable . After I discovered that baking powder coated struts in the oven was over the line, it seems that bicycle chains and simple green in the sink is the limit in my house.

My uncle gave me an old 20 gal washer that they were tossing from the mill he works in; in the past I used simple green or the castrol purple cleaner with it. I just tried to search for an older thread about better fluid choices and found this:

HF parts washer mods

The Parts Washer? That's what I call my hot tub.

curtis73 wrote:

mndsm wrote: Why not just use a dishwasher? I've uh..... heard it works pretty well.

I would love that. The shop here at dad's (where I'm working) is 100 yards behind the house and doesn't have water. I think mom might crap her housecoat if she found a pair of heads in her Maytag in the kitchen.

Gotcha. I've done terrible things to some rentals in my day..... and that is why my home will always have plumbing in the garage... or a dishwasher in the back yard.

curtis73 wrote:

mndsm wrote: Why not just use a dishwasher? I've uh..... heard it works pretty well.

I would love that. The shop here at dad's (where I'm working) is 100 yards behind the house and doesn't have water. I think mom might crap her housecoat if she found a pair of heads in her Maytag in the kitchen.

Put a tank next to the dishwasher for it to pull water from/drain water to? Put a filter somewhere and I imagine you wouldn't have to change the water very often.

a dishwasher won't work well for just degreasing a few parts in the middle of a project- a few minutes in a parts washer with mineral spirits (this stuff is awesome- why anyone would use anything but it to clean greasy parts is a foreign concept to me) vs an hour or so for a stupid modern dishwasher to go thru the cycle..

The basic design I have down. I would cut out the front of the sink for easy access (however not quite as much as the photo shows.) Strainer in the drain so I don't lose little things, and a stopper for pumping in some water to soak stuff.

My real question at this point is... what type of pump should I use and why? I don't mean I need suggestions of "part number X at this link" I mean, gearotor, vane, impeller... what flavor? I want something bulletproof. Submersible pump a few inches off the bottom, or self-priming above deck? I figure the laundry sink I can probably get for nearly free on CL, but they are $30 new. The local surplus store has brand new (or once used) steel barrels for $17. Wiring and switches will be $20, heater element is $12. So far I'm at about $80 and I budgeted $200. That leaves a little room for the pump and filter. Positive filter on the pressure side with spin-on cans, or a sock filter on the pickup? Or maybe just pump unfiltered solution until it gets dirty and periodically flip a valve to send it through a filtering cycle?

novaderrik wrote: a dishwasher won't work well for just degreasing a few parts in the middle of a project- a few minutes in a parts washer with mineral spirits (this stuff is awesome- why anyone would use anything but it to clean greasy parts is a foreign concept to me) vs an hour or so for a stupid modern dishwasher to go thru the cycle..

I'm between parts washers at the moment, so I'm finding that Dawn with hot water in the laundry sink has been very helpful. I value my man parts too much to put any auto parts in the wife's Bosch dishwasher. Fortunately, the laundry sink is in the garage.

Bought a Clarke brand parts washer similar to this from TSC prolly 20 years ago. The pump was plastic junk. I kept the tub and lid, cut hole and welded a 2" pipe coupling to tub bottom for drain. Mounted on 30 gal. grease drum, secured w/ welded tabs and expansion chamber springs. Drum sits on wheels too so easy to move around. Submersed Little Giant solvent proof pump from NAPA (they sold these just for parts washers) about midway down the drum w/ discharge attached to pipe coupling welded through drum, outlet hosed to 1/4" npt distribution block I scrounged somewhere. Oil pump pickup w/ screen for pump pickup. Had a flex tube w/ nozzle and a hosed brush off that block. Back then I bought solvent by the 55 gal. drum as I used it a ton, Varsol or similar IIRC. Worked like a champ. Tub large enough for intakes and cylinder heads too. Solvent evaporation was the only drawback. Shop is unheated so I never switched over to water base and I don't use it often enough anymore so it sits in the corner.

We have an almost identical unit at work I might snag just to put on CL for beer money. That tub alone is a pretty darn good starting point for a diy project. I like the idear of that 5 gal. bucket reservoir noted previously. Less fab and less waste.

This sent me to Clist.

Found this: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/app/4829092140.html

I trawled craigslist/searchtempest for a while and eventually turned up a genuine Safety Kleen brand big red sink w/ the flex nozzle, flex gooseneck lamp, big ass pump, lid and fusible link. It even came on a 20 gallon VP race fuel barrel w/ 2 gallons of solvent and 10 of water. Forty bucks.

A week later I was at a friends shop who'd just been given a 20 gallon barrel of actual Safety Kleen solvent by someone who'd just closed their kart shop.

So I say keep looking and one will find you.