Do any of you use straight Kerosene in their washers? I want something that doesn't break the bank. What do you use? Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Mineral spirits in mine. It is not too bad if you buy 5 gallon jugs. But still more than kerosene. Sent from dumb operator on a smart phone
5 gallons of Purple Power at WalMart is $25. It's pretty aggressive. Don't let aluminum soak in it overnight!
Mineral spirits in mine but even though the pump is supposed to be for petroleum based solvents they don't last for shit.
Diesel fuel. Used to use kerosene till it went to $4 a gallon. Funny thing,the other day I drove by the place where I used to buy it years ago. Looked up and the sign still said $4........even though all other fuel prices dropped. Use Diesel, and if it ever gets too dirty, put it in a jug and save it for burning stuff. Now that's recycling
I'm assuming you all are talking about cleaning agents to spray thru the washer right? I just bought one this last weekend and was pondering on what to use as a degreaser. I was thinking Dawn dishwashing soap, or purple power? Sent from my XP8800 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
And here I was waitin to see some vintage parts washers ,,,, We have a real nice one I got at a commercial building sale. The stuff my ol man buys is some type of "Parts" cleaner .I never thought of the diesel/ kerosene route.
I used to get the cleaning fluid from Safety Kleen for free. My shop foreman had them service his home shop and they always left him a new 5 gallon jug at our shop when they serviced ours. They left him a refill even though he hadn't used it enough to change it. He gave them to me about every other time and it worked for both of us. When it was dirty I drained it and gave it back to him and he gave me more. Worked great. Problem is he died and I now have a steel parts washer full of nasty, dirty Safety Kleen solvent. I'm going to clean it out again and go with Simple Green. I have a smaller plastic tank with Simple Green in it and it does a great job, just not sure how well SG will work in a steel tank. SPark
I still use mineral spirits solvent in mine...it's expensive. I seem to buy ten gallons every year or two.
Was the old saying " Nitro is for racing, alcohol is for drinking and gasoline is for washing parts"? I use mineral spirits but have considered going to diesel or purple power. Pete
Crown PSC 1000 Parts Cleaner from Tractor Supply sold in 5 gallon cans for $42.99. I looked around the internet for what to use and this stuff got pretty good reviews from people.
Yeah, me too! It's called Flash Solvent, pretty expensive though. Costs me about $100.00 for 10 gallons.
I bought a parts washer and enough PSC 1ooo for it from Tractor Supply. Only trouble was the washer wasn't compatible with the PSC 1000. Called the washer manufacturer and they told me not to use PSC 1000 in their washer. They said they had advised TS about this but TS was still selling it without advising anyone of the incompatibility. PITA to drain the washer and return everything.
I use mineral spirits and add a gallon of Gunk degreaser concentrate. It's a little expensive but it works pretty darn well. Been using it for a long time.
Mine is a mixture of Varsol, kerosene, Gunk, gasoline, turpentine, acetone, and paint thinner. It makes runoff from 3 mile island seem like Perrier water. It cleans anything but rough on hands and eyes[emoji38] Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
Yes, I have used straight kerosene in the parts washer. I had a friend that drove the fuel truck and he would come buy and bring number one fuel oil also. Sadly, he's dead now. My washer is homemade, but the pump is actually a furnace pump, made to pump fuel oil, for anybody having pump problems.
I found out that while Krud Kutter does a great job of cleaning parts it eats the paint off anything you leave set in it and eats the paint off the inside of the solvent tank. Good for a plastic or galvanized tub but not for a parts washer. I worked in a couple of shops where I had Naphtha sitting in a pan on the bench but don't want what amounts to charcoal lighter fluid in my shop now. I stunk like diesel enough when I worked on a dairy farm servicing the equipment that I don't want that either.
Remember that whatever you use in your parts cleaner also gets absorbed into your skin. Diesel Fuel seems to clean everything I need to clean and doesn't seem to have any effect on my hands other than getting them cleaner too. When you start putting all manner of chemicals into contact with your skin, you better be reading the labels........
I knew I kept that old burner assembly around for a reason, now I know what it was. Thanks for the tip. Ed
I wanted a parts washer than was big enough to set a block in when honing. So used the front and half of the sides of a Kenmore washer and used the rest of the sides to make the ends and a flat metal top. I saw a washer that set on a cut down 55 gal. barrel that was half filled with water the pump extend down just above the water line and picks up the oil based solvent (mineral spirits) floating on the water. Dirt in the solvent settles down in the water keeping the solvent clean. Been using it sence 70s replaced the $30 pump twice.
You guys ever given any thought about wearing gloves? If not you should. Anyway, I started using diesel too. Inexpensive and when I finish I pour it through a screened funnel into my waste oil furnace tank. I get twice the use out of it Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
L.A.'s Totally Awesome in qt bottles from the Dollar Tree store. Works great and can be diluted and used in the home as well. Took 24 qts at a buck apiece for my parts washer. Dave
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