Parts Washer Solvent

Got a 20 gallon Parts Washer from Tractor Supply for Christmas.

I've read quite a few threads where people mention Mineral Spirits, Kerosene, Part water, etc.

What do you run? How high do you fill your washer? I'm hoping 10 gallons should cover the pump.

I use low odor mineral spirits. Mine's a 20 gallon, but I only use 5 in it. I put one end on a 2x4 so that the 5 gallons collects around the pump.

Anyone have experience with this stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Kafko-AOD5G35438-ORIGINAL-Cleaner-Degreaser/dp/B000EANNDM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390449201&sr=8-1&keywords=parts+washer+solvent

It's 1/2 the price of the CRC solvent.

I'm interested to hear ideas. I bought a gallon of degreaser from Sam's club (some sort of pink stuff) and diluted 1:8 with water. Works like crap.

Curious what would work too. I picked up my shop's old solvent tank when we were forced to switch to the water based solvent. The solvent has gotten pretty dirty I planned on just selling/giving away the tank because it is almost useless.

Besides, I can just take my parts in to work and use the new stuff when needed.

I use kerosene, but can't say I'm happy with it.

Whatever you guys use, wear gloves. Back in the day I worked for a division of Dow Chemical. We had parts cleaner that was VERY effective, and we routinely washed our hands in it. Then one day they suddenly came and took it away. Someone said it was so dangerous that it was outlawed. Did I mention that I have all kinds of nervous system problems?

I use mineral spirits also. Some nasty stuff in the parts washer to get the worst of the mess off and then final cleaning in a clean drain pan.

I need to talk to my boss, but I might be able to get a couple of you guys some water based degreaser to test in a parts washer if you promise to write up an evaluation for us. We sell a couple concentrates for use in general spray degreasing that are pretty good, but I don't know that they've been tested in a washer.

In reply to ultraclyde:

I'd be interested in that, and as an added bonus I am a test engineer, so a write-up is not a problem.

bravenrace wrote: Whatever you guys use, wear gloves. Back in the day I worked for a division of Dow Chemical. We had parts cleaner that was VERY effective, and we routinely washed our hands in it. Then one day they suddenly came and took it away. Someone said it was so dangerous that it was outlawed. Did I mention that I have all kinds of nervous system problems?

Don't know if it explains any of my health issues, but I have used it in the past quite a few times with bare hands. The fact that it dried out my skin to the point that it cracked and would bleed was enough to make me use gloves from then on.

The new water based stuff actually works better, but only if it's heated. It's useless when cold.

ultraclyde wrote: I need to talk to my boss, but I might be able to get a couple of you guys some water based degreaser to test in a parts washer if you promise to write up an evaluation for us. We sell a couple concentrates for use in general spray degreasing that are pretty good, but I don't know that they've been tested in a washer.

I'd be highly interested in such an arrangement. As of right now, my washer is still in it's box un-assembled, so there is no chance of cross-contamination with other solvents.

I'd vote for low odor mineral spirits. I used diluted Simple Green in a parts washer once. It made a big mess and ate the paint. I had to toss out the washer.

Any thoughts on how to heat up a parts washer? I've been doing soem searching and found a few options, from adding water heater elements to some side-hung heating element that Northern Tool apparently used to sell (but no longer does). I've seen guys stick an electric griddle element under the bottom. So far, the easiest seems to be a 1000W oil pan heater I found on ebay for $80.

In reply to Ian F:

Fish tank heaters...

stafford1500 wrote: In reply to Ian F: Fish tank heaters...

I found numerous suggestions for those. The general consensus is they are typically only 100W or so and don't really get hot enough, fast enough. More powerful versions meant for large tropical tanks are not cheap.

Figure on a heater that's at least 1000W. One advantage of the pan heater is it's totally seperate from the solvent, so there's less electrical risk.

Dragging this back up; two comments.

Immersion heaters. Can find them in real hardware stores, mcmaster, and probably grainger.

Second the use gloves. Worked the first summer out of high school in a repair shop as their parts washer/chaser. Spent whole days with my hands in Safety Clean solvent. That was several decades ago, more than I want to admit to. Now if I get one drop of that stuff on my hands I get tingles in the hand similar to when your hand "falls asleep".

Something like a stick-on oil pan heater perhaps? I just don't see much higher than 500w.

Mazda787b wrote: Something like a stick-on oil pan heater perhaps? I just don't see much higher than 500w.

Here is one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oil-pan-heater-500-watt-120v-silicone-pad-style-for-gas-or-diesel-engines-500W-/291080728992?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43c5c371a0&vxp=mtr

http://www.amazon.com/Kats-24500-Watt-Universal-Heater/dp/B000I8TQF4/ref=sr_1_11?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1392761149&sr=1-11

Is what I was referring to, very similar. Just not sure if 500w is enough for the tank, or if you'd need to run 2 of them.

A few thoughts.....

A 900 watt plate heater like most used in college placed below the tank will heat the low odor minerals up nicely. You can set the temp but it is still possible to overheat the solvent. 500 watts should be plenty.

I keep approx 10 gallons of solvent in mine. After some evaporates off I resort to the wood blocks as mentioned above. It is not cheap either, $50 per fill.

WARNING: While the vapors are low odor, they are heavy and settle towards the floor. If you are using a propane heater, the fumes when burned are really nasty smelling and get into EVERYTHING!!!!

Old trick is to add some ATF so your hands don't dry out as quickly. But you'll know you should have worn gloves when your hands are "buzzing"....I hate wearing gloves.

Any suggestions on a filtering setup? I would love to pull fluid from the bottom of the tank via the drain, pump it through used oil filters, then back into the tank.

Bonespec wrote: A few thoughts..... A 900 watt plate heater like most used in college placed below the tank will heat the low odor minerals up nicely. You can set the temp but it is still possible to overheat the solvent. 500 watts should be plenty. I keep approx 10 gallons of solvent in mine. After some evaporates off I resort to the wood blocks as mentioned above. It is not cheap either, $50 per fill. WARNING: While the vapors are low odor, they are heavy and settle towards the floor. If you are using a propane heater, the fumes when burned are really nasty smelling and get into EVERYTHING!!!! Old trick is to add some ATF so your hands don't dry out as quickly. But you'll know you should have worn gloves when your hands are "buzzing"....I hate wearing gloves. Any suggestions on a filtering setup? I would love to pull fluid from the bottom of the tank via the drain, pump it through used oil filters, then back into the tank.

I set up a remote oil filter bracket in my parts washer. It used the Ford Motorcraft style LF-1 oil filter. The pump would push the fluid through the filter before it came out the brush. Due to the amount of crud in the bottom of my tank the filter would clog quite quickly when you got the fluid mixed up as you cleaned something. I remove the filter and piping.

What I did do was install a drain valve in the bottom of the tank instead of a simple plug. When the tank gets to dirty I drain it into 2 five gallon jugs. Once the dirt settles I siphon off the top part of the fluid and put it back into the washer. I combine the contents of the 2 jugs into one and let that settle and again drain off the top half. After a while you end up with all the nasty stuff in the bottom of one jug.

I pour that into a wide flat pan and let it dry out for however long it takes and then throw what's left in the trash.

^ I like this idea and this thread. All sorts of ideas getting tossed around.

My as-yet-unpurchased parts washer is going to be in an attached garage. I do not want to burn the house down or have an explosion. I also do not want giblet cancers. Is there something that does none of these things that can clean really greasy parts?

Simple Green and Super Purple are not getting the job done and I am sick of using a plastic bucket full of gasoline out in the yard (which works excellent fwiw).

this from the Dollar Store (works pretty darn well) Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner2C