I use diesel in my parts washer. cleans really good, keep lid shut when not in use. paid $30 for 8 gallons cause I live in California. BigMike
My 100 gal. parts washer has mineral spirits in it. Always satisfied with that. Closed my shop and brought it home to my garage. I've been thinking about switching to something non flammable like simple green. I just don't know how well it would work in comparison to the spirits. God forbid I have a fire at my house but the thought of a mushroom cloud coming from the garage does not please me. And yes...the lid is always closed, unless in use.
"Mineral spirits" are flammable, but they aren't real hazardous as such, not even close to the way that gasoline is.
I operated bulldozers and drove diesel semi trucks most of my adult life. I love the smell of diesel.
I worked as a mechanic for 40 years did all the diesel work, just could never get over that nasty smell
Can’t believe no one else has mentioned this. It’s what I use. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/crown-psc-1000-parts-cleaner-5-gal $39.00 for 5 gallons
HRP, keep your hands out of the lacquer thinner please. my good friend, a painter, died in his 40's from the benzine thu the skin from washing the gun and wiping down the cars with lacquer thinner. holes in the liver was the result. not much of a drinker either.
I use prep-sol. I put it in a spray bottle and use it for many things. Does not take paint off and is great for getting crap off of the wishbones oil pan engine etc.. I do wipe grease off my hands with it. by spraying a bit on a paper towel and just wipe. I figure if I have a problem I could always blame Roundup!
I don’t worry too much about some grease and oil, but always use gloves and a mask anymore with anything solvent based. Simple green or the purple stuff is my first choice. Had a buddy who smoked and painted at the same time, then one day, he became a vegetable after painting a car. Kind of just checked out and lost all sense about him. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah, but one spark from metal parts clacking around and it'll blow up in your face. It's happened and it's a really bad deal! You, the garage, your house. I'll stand up and be Capt. Safety here cause I'd hate to see someone burned. There's been mention of Mineral Spirits, Kerosene, Lacquer thinner in the thread. All flammable, some more so than others. Some is also combustible, so the vapors in an enclosed space can go off with an ignition source. Sure that stuff cleans well, but it's not totally safe to use in your parts cleaning tub. Knowing this and using it anyway is akin to using cinder blocks as jack stands. There's no good reason to NOT seek out/purchase safety solvent. Please: buy a few gallons over the counter or take your Jerry can down to your local petroleum distributor. Don't set yourself up for an avoidable accident.
Hot rods ta hell has it right. Time to move up to modern solvents. But I have one Question. My parts washer has an agitator with submerged jets for self cleaning. Will simple green foam up during this process? I don't want it to become a foam spitter like the old clothes washers in the movies.
Hoppes is still available at almost any gun shop but I don't think that is the same stuff that was available years ago. The aroma is addictive. Pete
You are so correct Old Wolf! I would much rather smell like diesel than the dishwasher they sell for gas today. Gas engine exhaust stinks as well, diesel exhaust is much easier for me to take. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
According to the labels and warnings on the solvent tank at work, regular, commercially available parts cleaning solvent is flammable too. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Flammable, though the fumes not ordinarily explosive. It will burn if someone is determined enough. Kerosene or Diesel, or Charcoal starter fluid is similar. Gasoline is a whole 'nother story.
I do too. The smell of diesel fumes, diesel exhaust and dirt in the air in the morning as the equipment is getting started up and moving out to work, that's a great memory for me. Love it.
We ran those old D7 caterpillars with the 2 cyl gas pony engines bolted to the side of the main diesel engine. When we started the big engine we never turned off the ignition on the pony engine . we just shut off the gas and let it run out of fuel. one time in the winter we where at the shop and a guy drives up. Left Arm in a cast face all bandaged and brused & Swelled up couldn't talk plain. Lokin fer a tattapeller puny muter. This guy was only sutting off the mag on his pony engine. and the pony engine crankcase became diluted with gasoline. He has the pony running was up on the track working the clutch and compression release . when that pony engine exploded like a grenade. Tore him up really bad. Lucky to survived.
I use the Tractor Supply solvent. It is $45 for 5 gal here and it doesn't eat up HF nitrile gloves so I figure it can't be too bad. Funny though, no one seems to use Gunk anymore...
wow that crazy I have been around a few of those i'll be sure to tell my friend Jack to hurry up and get that electric starter conversion
So far in my case, diesel is looking like my best bet. My parts cleaner is in a non heated shop and the commercial available stuff , non petroleum based that was in it froze up when it got cold. Not good on pumps etc.
I still have an excavator, and if I have the smell of Diesel on my hands, or spill one drop on my clothing, I am banished from the house until I can disguise it somehow. I am in the process of switching from solvent to Simple Green. I have been using it in my ultrasonic cleaner with excellent results. I am afraid to use it with aluminum or pot metal, but I have researched the topic enough that there is a citrus product out there that is safe for aluminum. Bob
I use diesel and go outside after with a little gas and solvent sprayer to clear away the diesel and leave the part dry. Generally my parts washing jobs happen in the winter, so the gas and sprayer outside on the snowy driveway isn't a big concern. Gloves, I always wear gloves. Most of the time I have a 2 gallon bucket of diesel on the bench (steel bench) with a piece of tin laid over the top. Big jobs I bring in the large single basin kitchen sink someone left at the dump, no doubt just for me and hang it with brackets on the side of my big welding bench.When it gets too dirty I dump it in the 5 gallon bucket of used oil and sawdust I use to start the fire in my wood stove every winter morning. No better disposal I can think of. Gets rid of the sawdust from my wood shop, the waste oil and the diesel, one dipper full at a time. I can relate to the smell of diesel smoke. In my early 20's I worked in the oilfields on the North Slope of Alaska, that was late 70's early 80's. Cold starting an older diesel (new ones are about odorless) brings back good memories of my youth, the smell of those old trucks (new at the time), dozers and loaders idling in the ready line is ambrosia. Every engine family had a distinct smell of it's own, Cummins, Detroit, Caterpillar, etc. Don't want a steady diet of it, but a whiff or two causes a wonderful flashback to my youth.
Here's a little item, during WWII my dad was working civilian construction on pipeline pump stations and military bases here in Alaska. In the winter to warm their hands they would fill a coffee can with snow and put about a cup of gas in it. Then light it and the snow would slow the vaporization of the gas so there would be a little blue flame out the top of the can for a half hour or so and no smoke.
My D 4 still had a pony engine. they are safe . you just need to shut off the gas everytime you start it. One guy had a D8 pony start. the gas tank leaked. Every morning he would pour a pop bottle of gas in the tank and start it up. on a cold day it might take two pop bottles of gas. He wouldn't let anyone fix the leak. stated he did not want stale gas to it up. I was on a road job. thay had a old international Road Grader. Same engine as my TD14A international. the little starting gas tank on it leaked. Every time he started it the operator would put a nickles worth of gas in it. one day it rained us out . He asked the owner to fix the tank. Stated its nickeling me to death. The next morning the owner gave him a coffee can full of nickles. karma got him pretty quick. This guy had millions. always drove new El Caminos. He was going along and pulled down in a cut along the road. This old operator was running a D8 pulling a pull pan. He was by necessity looking back at the pan cutting the road ditch to grade. Ran one track of the D8 right smack dab in the bed of that new vehicle did not get stopped until he got to the cab. The owner just went and bought another new El Camino. There was a country store on the road. He was inside the store. and some of his guys set off a dynamite blast. The debris came into the store putting several folks including him in the hospital.
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