Any ideas on a parts washer?

[Sc0]

I have/use a R&D parts washer, solvent based for automotive stuff and few other tidbits. Comes in handy and actually saves money over buying cases of brake cleaner to perform a job. The stoddard solvent is kinda of pricey and is fumey, and is flammable, and is considered toxic afterwards, and is pricey to get recycled, and the higher the flashpoint the longer it will stay a liquid and not a vapor.

I do need to add a filter to it as the solvent isn't clear anymore, my unit is a 110v 30 gallon drum with a box on top. I would have likes a aqueous version but the only good ones are heated and should not be located anywhere that has items that can rust or are sensitive to humidity, if that's not a dealbreaker you then have cost as they are expensive.

 

[edisto]

Use a bucket of whatever. Solvent, kerosene, what have you. then use 1/4" copper tube, make a coil to cover the whole bottom, then solder the inside end closed, the outer end gets extended out of the bucket, in the coil part drill many many consecutive holes 1/16". stick and air regulator on it to about 4-5psi, and let er rip for a while. suspend the parts in the middle don't let them rest on the bottom.

+1

I made something similar in my teens, when i was rebuilding my '66 Ford pickup. I poked holes in aquarium tubing, and just used a cheap aquarium pump. I don't remember how long the tubing lasted (I was using varsol), but I do remember I'd put the parts in, let it bubble overnight, and it did a great job.

 

[howellhandmade]

Unless you can buy a fairly good-sized parts washer, a bucket is the best bet. In my opinion, the little ones have too little room for anything but the smallest of parts, and before too long you wind up splashing solvent all over. A spray bottle and a 5-gallon bucket are economical. I use kerosene and filter it. It is not corrosive, will not harm paint, and will not promote rust. I can understand how others would prefer a more aggressive cleaner, but kerosene will do a lot of good and no harm.

Jack

 

[HimWill]

I use kerosene because it's cheap and readily available and non -corrosive.As to the oily business,most parts I clean got gummed up in an oily environment and will be re-installed in a similiar environment.If I need a little extra cleaning power,I add a few ounces of Coleman fuel (naptha),MEK (MethylEthylKetone) or acetone (fingernail polish remover).The aquarium pump is a non-sparking unit,basically a solenoid attached to a rubber diaphragm.The electric drill driven pump is only safe for water based solutions,drills throw too many sparks,that includes cordless drills.If cleaning something that will be repainted,then I use BrakeCleaner to get to dry metal,after the kerosene bath.

 

[SkippyKtm]

I'm with Himwill- Kero is the most practical IMHO.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Still watching!

My wife says the kitchen sink is a no no!

Now I have never asked mine!! Somehow bet she would say the same! :jawdrop:

 

[TreeClimber57]

parrisw - I am looking at your list of "projects" ..

Projects:

Stihl 070
Husky 395xp
Dolmar 143
Dolmar 119
Stihl 051
Stihl 051 AV
Mac 250

You have more saws in your project list than many of us have in a working list!

 

[TreeClimber57]

Back to thread - I use automotive parts cleaner - and a small parts cleaner that I purchased at a auto supply store when on sale. Has a little metal tube to a parts cleaning brush, pump, filter.. works well and love it.

 

[spacemule]

There was a thread on here not too long ago where the poster took and made a baking soda blaster cleaner for a very small amount of money. I can't remember who posted that thread, but you should be able to find it through a search.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

I didn't have to ask......

Now I have never asked mine!! Somehow bet she would say the same! :jawdrop:

I didn't have to ask...... I knew the answer.

Although I know if it was necessary........(who determines that?) I could do it. I just wouldn't want the smell and mess!

Dan

 

[kyle1!]

Too large of scale maybe

I hate washing parts. I knew the owner of a transmission shop and for a small fee he would wash my dirty car engine parts. Maybe there is a shop in your area that would do the same. Probably come out even with the high price of solvent and the savings of ones health.

Brian

 

[JONSEREDFAN6069]

I made mine from an old double stainless sink. welded tabs about 3/4 the way down on the 4 sides of the rt side. cut a peice of 1/8 plate and plasma'd a bunch of drain lines in it around the middle put it in a press and dimpled the center about 1/4" so it drains to the center. welded 1/2"
flat bar all around perimater so parts cant fall between plate and fall into the bottom of the sink. put a submersible pump in 5 gallon pail of varsol
ran a hose from the outlet to the inlet on an old set of taps. two hoses for the drain back into the varsol bucket. and built a stand outa some old 2x4's. i use the other side to let parts drip off and the varsol goes back into the bucket.

 

[TreeClimber57]

I made mine from an old double stainless sink. welded tabs about 3/4 the way down on the 4 sides of the rt side. cut a peice of 1/8 plate and plasma'd a bunch of drain lines in it around the middle put it in a press and dimpled the center about 1/4" so it drains to the center. welded 1/2" flat bar all around perimater so parts cant fall between plate and fall into the bottom of the sink. put a submersible pump in 5 gallon pail of varsol ran a hose from the outlet to the inlet on an old set of taps. two hoses for the drain back into the varsol bucket. and built a stand outa some old 2x4's. i use the other side to let parts drip off and the varsol goes back into the bucket.

Now that is a great idea.. makes me kind of jealous..

 

[eyolf]

My old Pa used the paint brush and a bucket of gas method. Works, but can be dangerous. Throw the gas on the driveway to keep the weeds down. Works, but the neighbors will turn you in.

I made a parts washer from an old cast-iron sink, a 15-gallon gas tank from a fork lift, and the power steering pump from a Packard. stoddard solvent goes through the canister filter from a flathead Ford, then a cartridge filter for a hydraulic system. The cheap Ford canister filters save on spendy hydraulic cartridges, and both keep the P. steering pump alive. Has worked for almost 30 years, so far.

A few years ago I got one of those Chinese self-contained units and use it for water-based cleaning. Of course the pump died after about 2 years, but I was able to adapt one in from the NAPA store. I have to drain that unit for winter, as I don't heat the shop, but for things that I want squeaky clean I will use both. The water based works really well if you clean parts with the solvent first, and if you use hot water, cleaned parts dry very fast.

I almost never use either one to clean chain saws, not unless I'm repairing an oil pump or something I want to be really spotless. I just blow 'em out with air...

 

[parrisw]

parrisw - I am looking at your list of "projects" ..

Projects:

Stihl 070
Husky 395xp
Dolmar 143
Dolmar 119
Stihl 051
Stihl 051 AV
Mac 250

You have more saws in your project list than many of us have in a working list!

LOL, ya I got a few. You should of seen my garage a couple months ago. I got rid of about a dozen other project saws. Just had too many, so I sold them to someone else. Oh and there is one more that's not in the list. A PM270

 

[timberjack]

I've yet to weld it up, but i plan to build one out of two 45 gallon oil barrels, i got for $5 a piece.

I plan to use one barrel as the base, and place the other barrel, cut in half perpendicular to the base one, on top. The top section is to be hinged, much like a bbq, and with slots/drains leading back to the base. With a bit of angle iron welded inside the bottom of the top section, will lay some expanded mesh in there to place parts on.

A circulating pump in the bottom, a nozzle for directing spray, and will be in business soon enough.

Only setback i have, is trying to figure how to make the cut in the base barrel, so i can set the bottom part of the upper barrel in as neatly as possible, before welding them together.

Would probably be cheaper to find a ready made one at harborfreight or northerntool, but i've got plenty of time to fiddle.

Hmmm, looking like rain in the forecast, so might get back on this soon.

 

[Philbert]

I tried one of the small, water-based cleaner units from Northern Tool (similar to their Item# 141222). Worked OK, but not as good as the solvent based cleaners.

Tried heating the water-based cleaner in the parts washer with an automotive block heater with limited success. Had better results putting the water-based cleaner in an old crock pot (set on LOW!), but still not as good as the organic solvents, and only good for smaller parts.

What has worked well are several of the citrus-based cleaners sold at auto parts stores and through bicycle dealers. Not as nasty as the organic cleaners and non-flammable, so better for working in basements or enclosed spaces.

Still wear gloves, because they really dry out your hands.

Philbert

 

[7oaks]

There was a thread on here not too long ago where the poster took and made a baking soda blaster cleaner for a very small amount of money. I can't remember who posted that thread, but you should be able to find it through a search.

I followed the directions and made one. It didn't work very well for me...Carl

 

[Jacob J.]

A spray bottle of Purple Power and the wife's kitchen sink.

+1, except I use a large old laundry sink with an attached sprayer.

 

[bluto]

I built one like Timberjack outlined. I used 2 30 gal drums, one cut in half and the other as the stand with the top radiused to fit the drum. I brazed an old sink drain in the bottom and made a removable tray of expanded metal. I put the pump in a 5 gal. pail and found an old hub cap, with holes drilled in the center, that i put on top of the pail to ensure that all the solvent went back into the bucket. Bought a parts brush that the solvent would flow through and plumbed it into the pump. I have used this for the last 15 years and the whole thing cost me 45 bucks to build. I use a stodard solvent that I get from my local auto parts store...never had a problem with it. We have a spendy, 3-4 hundred dollar, parts washer at work, but my homebuilt one works just as good.