Solvent

[RacerBill]

Santa brought BnS Racing a new parts washer. What are the solvents that you find work best in a parts washer tank?

Thanks.

[chuck baader]

Most of the commercial washers use a high temp mineral spirits...140 degree. Safety Kleen adds a soap/additive package but is extremely expensive. Find a local dry cleaner supply store...you should be able to buy 140 mineral spirits in 5 or 10 gallon lots at a reasonable price. Note, this is still flammable so be careful with the location of your washer in relation to hot water heaters/furnaces. Chuck

[Greg Amy]

I use good ole mineral spirits from Home Depot. - GA

[MMiskoe]

If you're worried about flammable, a full strength masonry degreaser will work. Be careful on your skin and man does it stink when it gets dirty.

Kerosene will work too and is not as volatile, but does not dry as cleanly.

The bigger question I have is what to do w/ 10 or 20 gallons of the stuff when its too dirty to work anymore?

[JohnRW]

NAPA sells a parts washer solvent in 5 gallon buckets that isn't too stinky, isn't particularly explosive and works reasonably well.

[joeg]

You can go real carconegenic with some Benzene, I suppose.

Excellent solvent but somewhat deadly.

[jimbbski]

I've used mineral sprits for my parts washer since I bought it. The present batch is about 5-6 years old. Funny I can't remember the last time I used it. Must be 2-3 years. I'll need to look inside and see how much has evaporated.

As for disposal, I usually drain the tub and let it set a while in a 5 gal. jug. I then pour off the top part which is free of most dirt & grit. I put it back in the cleaner and add fresh fluid. The stuff left over I let sit some more and drain off the top part again and reuse. What's left is the really dirty, oily stuff. That goes to the used motor oil collection point. Having worked for a major oil company I know that they just burn what they collect.

The reason for burning it and not recycleing it is that to refine crude oil you have to heat it up to turn it into a vapor. Used motor oil is just as good as anything else to burn to refine crude oil. Safety-Kleen built a plant right next to the oil refinery where I used to work, now why is that? Handy for the raw material to make fresh cleaning fluid and a good place to burn the old stuff.

[RacerBill]

Thanks, everyone!

[pballance]

FWIW, I use the Tractor Supply version of Mineral spirits when the run it on sale. Still pricey. They have added something to raise the flashpoint along with a surfactant of some kind. Save the 5 gal drums for removal of used fluid.

[Mike Mackaman]

I got one of these about 9 years ago and within a few months/year or two, it was nasty and I was stuck figuring out how to remove 10 gallons of solvent from the tub that only had a plug in the bottom. I had visions of a huge mess with alot if not most going on the floor. After a few years of procrastinating I found the problem had solved it's self. I found a thing online about a cheap and relatively simple mod to make it cleanable, more useable and require less solvent to work.

I welded a 1-1/2" close nipple to the bottom of the tub, beat the snot out of the area inside the fitting, and then drilled a bunch of 1/4" holes in the depressed area. I then put a tee on the close nipple with the other two holes facing straight down and lateral. The straight down gets another nipple and either a cap or better yet a ball valve. This is the big trash clean out. The lateral gets a section of pipe and then a wye down into a 5 gallon bucket. The pump goes in the bucket, sitting on a 3" metal support. This keeps the sludge from getting recirculated. The lateral part of the wye gets another cap to serve as a cleanout. I had to cut two holes in the shelf of the parts washer, one for the bucket, and one for the ball valve. This set-up works great, is much easier to clean and requires only 3-4 gallons to run well. I have not had to clean it out yet, but the solvent stays cleaner than what I had before. Right now I am using a plastic bucket, and that may have to change. I will see how that plastic holds up. I have an old metal bucket from the first batch, if I need.

Mike

[seckerich]

To add to Mikes solution:

Run the hose to the cleaning area through a cheap remote oil filter setup. Big fram throw away filter keeps the fluid clean, keeps grit out of those new parts you just washed, and costs a few bucks to replace. I actually use a dual filter in my washer for motor parts. I also use the 5 gallon used oil bucket so never need more than a few gallons and send the dirty mineral spirits out with my used oil.

[Joe Camilleri]

I put a flat bottom paper coffee filter in the drain basket to catch the big chunks.