thompson1600
ArboristSite Guru
What's a good (cheap) way to do steam cleaning of saws and parts? Any ingenious ways of cleaning and using steam? Any cheap steamers out there that work good?
Thanks
Tom
Thanks
Tom
steam cleaning
- Thread starter thompson1600
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Mange
Addicted to ArboristSite
Tell me some more about steam cleaning.
Mange
Mange
Van
ArboristSite Member
If the parts are off the saw, as in the covers, I clean them up with tough on grease and a brush, rinse well and pop them in the dishwasher. They come out spotless. Don't do this if the wife is home though.
Van
Van
Lawn Masters
Addicted to ArboristSite
If your wife finds out, shell kill ya for it.
I used to see this steam cleaner on tv all the time, I cant recall what it was, but it was portable, and looked like it worked well. never bothered to buy one though.
Proj Eng
ArboristSite Operative
steam cleaner
I think you are thinking of the Scuzzi (sp)? My brother bought one, i used it for about 5 minutes on the grime on a stove top. I know I could clean better with a rag and elbow grease, though it may help out in very hard to reach areas like heat sink fins. I think he paid about $35 for it.
I think you are thinking of the Scuzzi (sp)? My brother bought one, i used it for about 5 minutes on the grime on a stove top. I know I could clean better with a rag and elbow grease, though it may help out in very hard to reach areas like heat sink fins. I think he paid about $35 for it.
Castrol Super Clean is very effective when sprayed on full strength, worked just a little with a brush, and sprayed off with water. It cuts that bar oil-sawdust-dirt buildup.
It won't kill your brain cells or burn the shop down either. But it will dissolve your skin, so wear rubber gloves.
If you could use the Super Clean to pre-dissolve the crap, and then blast it off with steam, that would work very well.
It won't kill your brain cells or burn the shop down either. But it will dissolve your skin, so wear rubber gloves.
If you could use the Super Clean to pre-dissolve the crap, and then blast it off with steam, that would work very well.
Lewis Brander
Addicted to ArboristSite
Steam Cleaning:
I would be very carefull in using a steam cleaner (pressure washer) to clean a chainsaw, unless you remove the igniton or electrical components to keep them from getting waterlogged and ruined. Also be carefull about some of the chemical cleaners that are on the market as some aren't to be used on aluminum, which may etch or eat into the metal. Read the instructions first. Best to use elbow grease and a little common sence. WD 40 and a rag will remove some pine pitch that may be stuck to the outside of a saw. Then I use an automotive wax or Armour all to coat the outside of the saw to help protect them. Armour all seems to work best for me. I use low pressure compressed air, paint burshes, old tooth brushes, etc to clean the inside clutch area, around the cooling fins etc. If a saw is torn down and your cleaning pistons, jugs, etc, then use a plastic homemade scaper to remove carbon along with a green pad. Finally wash everyting in the dishwasher or used dish washing soap and hot water and elbow grease to do a final cleaning and dry throughly and coat with some WD 40 or good oil if parts aren't assembled right away. Just some of what I use and do. JMO. Lewis....
I would be very carefull in using a steam cleaner (pressure washer) to clean a chainsaw, unless you remove the igniton or electrical components to keep them from getting waterlogged and ruined. Also be carefull about some of the chemical cleaners that are on the market as some aren't to be used on aluminum, which may etch or eat into the metal. Read the instructions first. Best to use elbow grease and a little common sence. WD 40 and a rag will remove some pine pitch that may be stuck to the outside of a saw. Then I use an automotive wax or Armour all to coat the outside of the saw to help protect them. Armour all seems to work best for me. I use low pressure compressed air, paint burshes, old tooth brushes, etc to clean the inside clutch area, around the cooling fins etc. If a saw is torn down and your cleaning pistons, jugs, etc, then use a plastic homemade scaper to remove carbon along with a green pad. Finally wash everyting in the dishwasher or used dish washing soap and hot water and elbow grease to do a final cleaning and dry throughly and coat with some WD 40 or good oil if parts aren't assembled right away. Just some of what I use and do. JMO. Lewis....
jokers
Addicted to ArboristSite
Re: Steam Cleaning:
I`ll second the Cautions that Lewis has pointed out.
My prefered method is Castrol Super Clean, also. There is a warning on the label about use on aluminum but it hasn`t been a problem in the few years that I have been using it. Just make sure that you thouroughly rinse the items. Huskyman first pointed this out.
Russ
I`ll second the Cautions that Lewis has pointed out.
My prefered method is Castrol Super Clean, also. There is a warning on the label about use on aluminum but it hasn`t been a problem in the few years that I have been using it. Just make sure that you thouroughly rinse the items. Huskyman first pointed this out.
Russ
Lewis Brander
Addicted to ArboristSite
Cleaners:
As pointed out in the past, be carefull when using certain cleaners. Use a little common sence and read the lables. As stated in different posts, some cleaners can be harsh on aluminum. I've seen cleaners that will acutally corrode or eat into aluminum and after a while will leave the metal looking tarnished even after a good wash and rinse in hot water and the parts were coated with say WD-40 or an oil. Handleing perfectly clean parts with your hands can also cause problems unless the parts are wiped down throughly and preserved, especially if they are to sit for awhile. Just be aware of what you are doing and trying to accomplish. Jokers, thanks for the reply. Guess I'm not too far off in making my point. Take care. Lewis.
As pointed out in the past, be carefull when using certain cleaners. Use a little common sence and read the lables. As stated in different posts, some cleaners can be harsh on aluminum. I've seen cleaners that will acutally corrode or eat into aluminum and after a while will leave the metal looking tarnished even after a good wash and rinse in hot water and the parts were coated with say WD-40 or an oil. Handleing perfectly clean parts with your hands can also cause problems unless the parts are wiped down throughly and preserved, especially if they are to sit for awhile. Just be aware of what you are doing and trying to accomplish. Jokers, thanks for the reply. Guess I'm not too far off in making my point. Take care. Lewis.
thompson1600
ArboristSite Guru
What I was looking for wasn't a "pressure washer" type of cleaning, but using something like Simple Green, etc and a method of steam to heat and dissolve the grease, etc. Not pressure to waterlog the saw. Thanks
Tom
Tom
Lewis Brander
Addicted to ArboristSite
Steam Cleaning?
thompson 1600. I'll admit that I'm not the brightest bulb in the string on lights, so to say, but I still would be worried about using steam to clean saws. It would seem that at steam temperatures and the moisture it contains, that it might and could ruin electrical parts (moduels, coils, etc) on your saw unless you remove them. I understand the use of a steam cleaner or pressrue washer. Don't understand what cleaning system you're talking about. Are you using say a pressure cooker or putting something in a say roasting pan and steaming in an oven or using some sort of steam wrinkle remover for clothes? I can't comprehend what your are trying to do or use. I'm not trying ot be sarcastic or put anyone down or cause any problems. Please explain. I just might learn something here. Take care and thanks. Lewis.
thompson 1600. I'll admit that I'm not the brightest bulb in the string on lights, so to say, but I still would be worried about using steam to clean saws. It would seem that at steam temperatures and the moisture it contains, that it might and could ruin electrical parts (moduels, coils, etc) on your saw unless you remove them. I understand the use of a steam cleaner or pressrue washer. Don't understand what cleaning system you're talking about. Are you using say a pressure cooker or putting something in a say roasting pan and steaming in an oven or using some sort of steam wrinkle remover for clothes? I can't comprehend what your are trying to do or use. I'm not trying ot be sarcastic or put anyone down or cause any problems. Please explain. I just might learn something here. Take care and thanks. Lewis.
Mange
Addicted to ArboristSite
When I clean saws, engin parts etc. I wash in diesel.
Cheep and if it is not too cold, wery effective.
I have an old sink with a bucket under to collect everything, and reuse as much as possible. This takes care of almost anything.
When saws have run on the older types of veg. oil it's tuff to get off, then I heat up the diesel to 40-50c´ and it comes off like a bad habit.
This is something I learned as mekanic, there was a kind off barrel with pumps and covers and regulated heating, but this workes to.
Mange
Cheep and if it is not too cold, wery effective.
I have an old sink with a bucket under to collect everything, and reuse as much as possible. This takes care of almost anything.
When saws have run on the older types of veg. oil it's tuff to get off, then I heat up the diesel to 40-50c´ and it comes off like a bad habit.
This is something I learned as mekanic, there was a kind off barrel with pumps and covers and regulated heating, but this workes to.
Mange
Mange
Addicted to ArboristSite
Lewis, I think it is someting like an airbrush but with steam instead, seen something like that in Erikssons factory when they cleand out their tools.
They used it to get plastic off metal, by heating the plastic up faster then metal.
Is this what you mean, Tom.
Mange
They used it to get plastic off metal, by heating the plastic up faster then metal.
Is this what you mean, Tom.
Mange
Newfie
Addicted to ArboristSite
Holy Crap Batman!
Is it just me or am I too busy using my saws to spit and polish them?
Is it just me or am I too busy using my saws to spit and polish them?
thompson1600
ArboristSite Guru
Mange, yeah that is pretty much what I am talking about. Some kind of portable unit that can use steam to help degrease and remove the accumulated crud.
Gotta clean the saws occassionally.
Tom
Gotta clean the saws occassionally.
Tom
Lewis Brander
Addicted to ArboristSite
Steam Cleaning:
Hi guys. So this steam machine thing is like some sort of vaporizer that heats water to put out a stream of steam to direct it on parts or what ever your cleaning. Can't say as I've ever seen one offered anywhere. Will have to keep an eye out for one to look at.
Mange, one thing I do do clean parts, especially before priming and painting is to spray them down with Coleman Lantern fuel and use some low air pressure to dry the parts. It completely, from what I can tell, removes all the oil residue from the parts. Have had no problems with primer or paint not adhering to the parts. I spray the parts, blow them dry, set them up on a wire rack and warm them using a salamander (space heater) then prime and prep the surface for painting. Warm them up again and paint them. May be a pain, but works for me. Especially in the winter or when the humidity is high. Coleman lanture fuel also will work as a general cleaner, but is expensive, so don't use too much of it for that. When the stuff evaporates, the parts are usually oil free, no residue left to worry about. Works for me. Take care. Lewis.
Hi guys. So this steam machine thing is like some sort of vaporizer that heats water to put out a stream of steam to direct it on parts or what ever your cleaning. Can't say as I've ever seen one offered anywhere. Will have to keep an eye out for one to look at.
Mange, one thing I do do clean parts, especially before priming and painting is to spray them down with Coleman Lantern fuel and use some low air pressure to dry the parts. It completely, from what I can tell, removes all the oil residue from the parts. Have had no problems with primer or paint not adhering to the parts. I spray the parts, blow them dry, set them up on a wire rack and warm them using a salamander (space heater) then prime and prep the surface for painting. Warm them up again and paint them. May be a pain, but works for me. Especially in the winter or when the humidity is high. Coleman lanture fuel also will work as a general cleaner, but is expensive, so don't use too much of it for that. When the stuff evaporates, the parts are usually oil free, no residue left to worry about. Works for me. Take care. Lewis.
I used a steam cleaner on 3 saws (steam shark the hand held one that they are talking about) and it works OK, but nothing great. They have told you to use a good grease cutting cleaner and a brush, I found that to be better than using steam, I did half of one saw with just steam and the other half using the cleaner and just blasting it out with water to get the dirt and cleaner out and it was definitely the best way to do it.
jimbo1490
ArboristSite Guru
Lewis Brander wrote:
As pointed out in the past, be carefull when using certain cleaners. Use a little common sence and read the lables. As stated in different posts, some cleaners can be harsh on aluminum. I've seen cleaners that will acutally corrode or eat into aluminum and after a while will leave the metal looking tarnished even after a good wash and rinse
It's worth mentioning that of all the structural metals you will likely ever encounter, Magnesium is by far the most intolerant of contact with caustics. If some cleaner is a little hard on Aluminum, you can bet that same product will be MURDER on mag. Mag on saws is always painted but then it always gets scratched, doesn't it? Scratches are bare metal. Be careful!
Jimbo
As pointed out in the past, be carefull when using certain cleaners. Use a little common sence and read the lables. As stated in different posts, some cleaners can be harsh on aluminum. I've seen cleaners that will acutally corrode or eat into aluminum and after a while will leave the metal looking tarnished even after a good wash and rinse
It's worth mentioning that of all the structural metals you will likely ever encounter, Magnesium is by far the most intolerant of contact with caustics. If some cleaner is a little hard on Aluminum, you can bet that same product will be MURDER on mag. Mag on saws is always painted but then it always gets scratched, doesn't it? Scratches are bare metal. Be careful!
Jimbo
Lewis Brander
Addicted to ArboristSite
Aluminum/ Magnesium:
Guess that I have the term aluminum stuck in my mind. Most of my old saws are cast aluminum, and yes some of the newer saws use cast magnesium cases with chrome plated aluminum cylinders. But my point is still be carefull on what cleaners you use, some could be caustic and harmfull to the saw and you. I usually use a kerosene/gunk sollution, various burshes and low pressure air nozzels to clean my saws. After drying, I spray either an automotive type wax or use Armoural to help protect them. It seems to work for me. I've gotten pine pitch on the outside of the saws and if the saw has a coat of armoural on it, I spray armoural on a cleaning rag and usually the pitch comes off rather well. It seems also to help protect the rubber parts on the saw to keep them from drying out and cracking. OK, talk later, take care. Lewis.
Guess that I have the term aluminum stuck in my mind. Most of my old saws are cast aluminum, and yes some of the newer saws use cast magnesium cases with chrome plated aluminum cylinders. But my point is still be carefull on what cleaners you use, some could be caustic and harmfull to the saw and you. I usually use a kerosene/gunk sollution, various burshes and low pressure air nozzels to clean my saws. After drying, I spray either an automotive type wax or use Armoural to help protect them. It seems to work for me. I've gotten pine pitch on the outside of the saws and if the saw has a coat of armoural on it, I spray armoural on a cleaning rag and usually the pitch comes off rather well. It seems also to help protect the rubber parts on the saw to keep them from drying out and cracking. OK, talk later, take care. Lewis.
