Parts Washer Solvent?

[Iplayfarmer]

I know someone one here, if not many of you, have a clever answer to this...

What's a good, inexpensive solvent to use in a parts washer?

 

[ericjeeper]

Water is the cheapest right now..
But seriously. Kerosene or diesel is going to be cheaper than Mineral spirits.I use mineral spirits. I bout like 30 gallons a few years ago.. and honestly I have not had to much of it evaporate off.. Keep the lid closed.. But beware a closed lid creates more of a "Flat surface syndrome" Meaning another flat elevated place to pile junk on...

 

[Bird]

Personally, I never used anything in my parts washer except Varsol. I bought some 5 gallon buckets of it from my local Exxon distributor, then later just had him refill those buckets when I needed more. It never bothered my hands as long as I kept them wet in it, but as soon as I dried them off, I needed to wash them with soap and water or they'd sure get chapped.

 

[SimS]

I just acquired a new parts washer and it came with an instant flat surface syndrome. To the point; I'm looking for a biodegradable non petroleum solvent. I'm old school and thought about mineral spirits or diesel but I'm not keen on having that much flammable liquid sitting around in my part time auto shop. I've heard about Simple Green, Oil Eater, etc. Has anybody had any luck using biodegradable cleaners in their parts washer? Thanks for any insight.
SimS

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...a closed lid creates more of a "Flat surface syndrome" Meaning another flat elevated place to pile junk on...

LOL! So True. I think mine is actually going to "live" on the end of the work bench under the cabinets. There won't be much room there, and I think I can resist the urge to pile junk.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

I like the good, old regular petroleum based solvent. I forget what it is actually called. But it works really good especially compared to the water based solvents.

steve

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I looked up prices on some of the solvents out there. They're not cheap. Are they worth it?

The suggestion to use mineral spirits or diesel sounds good to me if it works well. I don't really see myself using the parts washer too frequently. How often does one have to change out the solvent?

 

[skipmarcy]

I'm with Bird, Varsol is the best. I worked as an auto mechanic in many shops and tried all kinds of solvents, including the so-called "safe" solvents. Varsol used to be readily available from local petroleum distributors in 5 gal. buckets at a reasonable cost. It lasts a long time and isn't quite as flammable as mineral spirits. Like anything that dissolves oils well, it will dry your hands out, just use some hand lotion at the end of the work day.

 

[Bird]

Another possible consideration might be evaporation of your solvent. My parts washer was this one from Northern Tool, so I kept the lid closed when not in use. Since I was in the air tool repair business at the time, there were very few days when it wasn't used at all, except on weekends. But someone told me before I got the parts washer that the solvent sometimes evaporates too quickly. Now I don't know whether that's true or not, but with the Varsol I used, I could never tell that I lost any to evaporation. A little experimenting proved that it will burn, but it does not ignite easily; i.e., pretty high flash point, so pretty safe.

 

[BTDT]

Something we did in our shop years ago, was to install large filters to help keep the fluid cleaner for longer periods of time. It seemed to help.

 

[Bird]

That parts washer had a filter, of sorts, to protect the pump; i.e., fluid being pulled into the pump housing was pulled through a fabric filter. And after sitting over the weekend, sometimes it would look like the solvent was pretty clean and clear, but with mud in the bottom of the tank. So I did, a few times, siphon off the clean looking Varsol, then clean out the bottom of the tank and put the Varsol back. I have no idea what the stuff costs now, but I just now looked back at some of my old records for 1998 and 1999 and found when I was paying $.90 to $1.05 a gallon for gasoline, I paid $1.69 to $1.90 a gallon for Varsol.

 

[droy]

+1 for varsol; nothing better IMHO.

Years ago when working for a major oil company, one of the pencil pushers came by our shop, and asked why our parts washer was "running". The mechanic explained that the fluid was circulating through a filter, being cleaned. Concerned about emissions, this do-gooder managed to get all leased parts washers in our region replaced with washers using a water based cleaning solution which cost more than the previous leased units. Not only did this stuff not work, but after becoming dirty, the fluid STUNK! Many of the shops sent them back in, or unplugged them, and pushed them into a corner to become a "storage" unit.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm looking for a biodegradable non petroleum solvent...

...I've heard about Simple Green, Oil Eater, etc. Has anybody had any luck using biodegradable cleaners in their parts washer?

Simple Green... Isn't that a concentrate that you mix with water? Can you do that in a parts washer? Does it work?

 

[DieselPower]

Simple Green... Isn't that a concentrate that you mix with water? Can you do that in a parts washer? Does it work?

You can if it's a water type parts washer.

 

[DieselPower]

By far the best parts washer I ever purchased was a System One from Snap On I got years ago. It uses regular mineral spirits and has a vaccuum type recycling system. It draws the old fluid out of the tank and into a vaccuum chamber where it is heated. The solvent boils off and condenses in a seperate "clean" tank. After all is said and done you just remove the cover from the vaccuum tank and remove the solid sludge and oil. I have seen some of the new System One cleaners and from what I hear they do not work as well as the older ones. The other nice thing about it is that it has a huge work area.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've always wanted a parts washer, but could never justify the space it would take. Too much floor or workbench space. If I need to clean a part, I rely on a can or two of brake cleaner. Nothing cleans quite like brake cleaner!!!

Eddie

 

[mjncad]

I just acquired a new parts washer and it came with an instant flat surface syndrome. To the point; I'm looking for a biodegradable non petroleum solvent. I'm old school and thought about mineral spirits or diesel but I'm not keen on having that much flammable liquid sitting around in my part time auto shop. I've heard about Simple Green, Oil Eater, etc. Has anybody had any luck using biodegradable cleaners in their parts washer? Thanks for any insight.
SimS

A buddy of mine tried a water based solvent in his parts washer, and he ended up with a rusty parts washer. He's going back to petroleum based solvents.

I've seen the water based parts washers online and good grief are they ever expensive compared to a petroleum based unit.

 

[SimS]

Well I'm changing my mind regarding biodegradable solvents. I didn't think about the "stink" factor or the rusting of parts and/or the washer itself. Makes sense. Since I won't be using the washer on a daily basis to keep the water based solvent "fresh", I'm going with dino based solvents and keep the lid closed when not in use.

SimS

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Well I'm changing my mind regarding biodegradable solvents. I didn't think about the "stink" factor or the rusting of parts and/or the washer itself. Makes sense. Since I won't be using the washer on a daily basis to keep the water based solvent "fresh", I'm going with dino based solvents and keep the lid closed when not in use.

SimS

I think I'm with you. I also think I need to just save up and buy a real solvent vs. diesel, etc.

I was talking with an old farmer buddy this morning and he related the story of using a diesel/gasoline mix in his parts washer at the farm shop (diesel was too oily). The shop caught on fire and after everything else had burned to the ground, the parts washer was still burning. The fire department couldn't even put it out with a chemical fire extinguisher. After that they bought a true solvent and were much happier with the results, not to mention the safety.

 

[bjr]

Which grade of VARSOL there are about five according to this, if I can attach link? bjr