Parts washers

hokie_yj · Mar 14, 2016

Ok, so all damn weekend I've dealt with wheel bearing grease. From trailer axle maintenance, to a brake caliper job turned into a D60 knuckle rebuild. I'm definitely in need of a parts washer. I'm tired of burning through cans of brake cleaner. From what I see most of the import (HF,TSC,etc.) versions get pretty decent reviews. Anybody here have any experience with them? Also what do you use for solvent? I know you can buy solvent, but most of what I've seen is around $40 for 5 gallons. I've heard a lot of people using kerosene, diesel, and mineral spirits in all kinds of different mixtures. Just looking for some real world opinions before I make a purchase.

toreadorranger · Mar 14, 2016

I'm running a harbor Freight 20 gallon, I mounted it to a furniture dolly from HF as well so I can roll it around. I have mine in my basement so I use a simple green mixture instead of something potentially flammable. Only thing I did to mine was to rivet some angle iron in an X to the bottom of the tray as the stock tray that you put that parts on is pretty flimsy.

uglyoffroad · Mar 14, 2016

I've had a harbor freight one for a bout 3 years with no issues. I use odorless mineral spirits and put a quart of ATF in it to help keep it from drying out my hands so bad. Only complaint is that it seems that after a while even the odorless mineral spirits smells terrible.

94xjsport94 · Mar 14, 2016

I don't know anything about them other than that we have one at work and it's worth it's weight in gold... We use some kind of solvent from a 55 gallon drum they get from a vendor. I'd also like to know what everyone uses at home.

mdo817 · Mar 14, 2016

I use Safety Kleen solvent in mine. A little pricey, but last a long time.

grcthird · Mar 14, 2016

Place I used to work used the Zep solvent, doesn't smell bad and is safe to use. There is a way to set one up with a 5 gallon bucket with water in it in the middle of the drum, to catch all the nasty crap, that makes your solvent last longer and keeps it cleaner. Had a guy try to explain it to me but I couldn't really understand what he was talking about. I need one at my shop.

If you ever wash out anything with diesel motor oil in it, the solvent turns black instantly and stays that way even if you run the solvent through a sand bag filter.

hokie_yj · Mar 14, 2016

I went ahead and ordered the 20 gallon parts washer from Harbor Freight. Using the 20% off coupon it was $79.99. It was eligible for their standard $6.99 ground shipping. I could have driven to the local store and picked it up, but right now that's a 45 minute drive each way for me. I can't make that drive in my truck for $6.99. They're opening a store just a few miles from where I work, but it's not going to be open until later this month.

I'm still undecided on what to use in it. I need to do some more research on that. I'll post up what I decide on. I'm leaning toward some version of a diesel or kerosene mix because it's a lot cheaper and will be a lot less of a hassle to dispose of when it needs to be changed.

Here's a little article I found on adding a screw on oil filter to these to help improve the life of the solvent and the pump.

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-12/build-parts-washer-filter

I think I already have most of the stuff in the garage to put that together.

truckbroke · Mar 14, 2016

Got one 4 years ago right off the safety kleen truck. 50 bucks for a used washer and like 40 bucks for a drum of solvent. I kept his number and anytime I need more which isn't to often I just call him and he meets me with another solvent container.

tommy450r · Mar 16, 2016

Yall should look at the sonic cleaners they are the **** drop part in turn it on 30 min later go get your new part out of the cleaner!!

its crazy how clean it gets stuff without touching it..

pholmann · Mar 16, 2016

How big do they make em? Sounds pricey.

hokie_yj · Mar 16, 2016

tommy450r said:
Yall should look at the sonic cleaners they are the **** drop part in turn it on 30 min later go get your new part out of the cleaner!!

its crazy how clean it gets stuff without touching it..

You mean like this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Washer-Ultrasonic-Gal-Tank/dp/B00868XXWK

I'm a broke :JRich:

I think I'll stick with slant-eye special.

Beerj · Mar 16, 2016

hokie_yj said:
You mean like this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Washer-Ultrasonic-Gal-Tank/dp/B00868XXWK

I'm a broke I think I'll stick with slant-eye special.

Hey, at least it's got free shipping

gubni · Mar 16, 2016

When I got mine many years ago I washed lots of money on special solvents. They were all a waste of money. I finally put mineral spirits in it and have used it for over 10 years without any problems other than the cheap pump quite after a year or two.

hokie_yj · Mar 16, 2016

I think I'm probably going to do 50/50 kerosene and mineral spirits.

tommy450r · Mar 17, 2016

Na no high roller here.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Ultra+sonic+cleane&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Ultra+sonic+cleaner&_sacat=0

I use a 6 but if I was to buy another I would get the 10 a 1 ton carrier would fit in the 10 I think. But the 6 does pretty much anything I need to clean. Some stuff I gotta run a few cycles on and turn the part different ways.

Edit: I just seen where they have a 15 also. That would be cool to have.

tommy450r · Mar 17, 2016

tommy450r said:
Na no high roller here.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Ultra+sonic+cleane&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Ultra+sonic+cleaner&_sacat=0

I use a 6 but if I was to buy another I would get the 10 a 1 ton carrier would fit in the 10 I think. But the 6 does pretty much anything I need to clean. Some stuff I gotta run a few cycles on and turn the part different ways.

Edit: I just seen where they have a 15 also. That would be cool to have. They are worth every penny if u ever use one u will freak out on how clean it gets stuff. I cleaned an old tractor carb. That had like 50 year old paint on it and when the guy picked it up he asked how we ordered a reman carb so cheap because he didn't know it was the same part he droped off!!

hokie_yj · Mar 18, 2016

The parts washer came in while I was at work yesterday. I got it put together today. I also added the filter setup and a flow through brush.

I put 10 gallons of kerosene in it. It works pretty good, but I think some mineral spirits would help.

Hucklebuggy · Mar 18, 2016

I use straight diesel in mine. It cleans pretty fair, but you have to blow everything off to get the "dry" look / feel. It's about time to change it out, at which point I will be going to a mostly mineral spirits mixture. You can just fill the reservoir with 10-20% water. The cleaning solution will float on top, and the solids will fall out into the water. That combined with the filter setup should help the fluid last a pretty good while. A friend of mine who has a hydraulic shop uses that mix.

hokie_yj · Mar 18, 2016

Thanks for the tip. I might try that down the road.

pushrod-racing · Mar 23, 2016

mdo817 said:
I use Safety Kleen solvent in mine. A little pricey, but last a long time.

A good friend of mine owns a repair shop and has a contract with them. I take empty buckets and leave them at his shop. He must have new put in his washers every so many days as part of the contract. Well his washer has a skimmer/filter system so he just has them dump his old in my buckets and I use it. So far ive had great luck with it.