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what's in your parts washer?

ashman

ashman

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I just picked up a 20g parts washer relatively cheap, but now I need to put some cleaner in the thing. what do you guys use?
 
I've always run mineral spirits... I'm sure there's some eco-water-based stuff out these days... but I doubt it works as well....
 
cool. I'll see if I can round up some for a decent price.
will mineral spirits evaporate if I don't seal it back up?
 
K85 Octane said:
gasoline

then again, it's a "5 gal bucket" parts washer :)
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cheap, effective, but not exactly odorless. :D plus, it will evaporate on me. :doah:

thanks ryoken, time to see where I can get it cheapest. :thumb:
 
throw in the fact a parts washer has an electric pump and gas might not be the best idea... ;)


you could run kerosene too... I just always found ms to cut a bit quicker...
 
Diesel. It's one of the higher flash points you can get for an organic solvent. It's also one of the cheapest too. I have a HF washer and ran some EPDM door gasket around the inside of the lid where it rests on the tub. I can't smell it even if I take a big whiff right next to the machine.

The water based stuff is great if it works for you (can eat up aluminum for example) and you don't mind the price. Usually want it warm though, which may or may not be an issue for you.
 
I'm leaning hard towards mineral spirits atm. odorless and effectiveness are the main pluses. diesel is a good alternative though, especially at about 1/2 the price.

I guess the next question would be, how close to a "1 time purchase" is this? I don't mind paying a little extra if it's going to last a long time. just don't want to see it become unusable quickly, or evaporate on me.

I know gas evaporates pretty quickly, does diesel?
 
Back when I used MS it was $1.97 a gallon and I had a 20 gal washer so I changed it every 6 months or so,but since Im usin diesel its once a year or so depending on usage.Im sure some evaps but its not a very noticeable amount.
 
ashman said:
I'm leaning hard towards mineral spirits atm. odorless and effectiveness are the main pluses. diesel is a good alternative though, especially at about 1/2 the price.

I guess the next question would be, how close to a "1 time purchase" is this? I don't mind paying a little extra if it's going to last a long time. just don't want to see it become unusable quickly, or evaporate on me.

I know gas evaporates pretty quickly, does diesel?
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I've lost more to what is left on parts before I dry them than I have to evaporation. I put an inline filter mount and drain mine through a PH8 oil filter once or twice a year. I've done a couple autos, a 14 bolt, and a bunch of small misc. parts with the 10 gallons that are currently in mine and it will still make things clean just fine. I don't remember how often I've had to change our other one out but it's pretty infrequent.

Biggest thing is to knock as much crud off as you can before you run it through your solvent. remove anything you can physically, and if it's really greasy (like an old tcase from a junkyard or something), I'll soak it in some engine degreaser first to keep actual dirt out of my washer as much as possible. It will be nicer for the pump anyway.
 
leaning back towards diesel now. the paint stores had MS for a reasonable price, but it wasn't odorless, so that benefit is out. the odorless stuff is WAY more expensive.

diesel will be a ton cheaper, and a lot easier to get (obviously). thinking that is the way I'll go at this point.
 
What do you guys do with the old solvent and how long does it last? Does anybody use a "matter" filter to try and keep it clean?
 
ashman said:
leaning back towards diesel now. the paint stores had MS for a reasonable price, but it wasn't odorless, so that benefit is out. the odorless stuff is WAY more expensive.

diesel will be a ton cheaper, and a lot easier to get (obviously). thinking that is the way I'll go at this point.
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For the sake of conversation what was the price???

DrkZide said:
What do you guys do with the old solvent
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Burn leaves,old stumps,kill weeds :whistle:
 
I picked up some kind of solvent at Oreilly's and it was around $50 for a 5 gal bucket. I ain't doing that no more. I was thinking about mineral spirits, but someone over at GJ suggested simple green. I can't do diesel. The garage is attached. The wife would kill me. Really.
 
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