Parts Washer Shopping

Glenn F.

Member
Who makes a good petroleum solvent parts washer? It would see
limited use, but I like good quality stuff.

Thank you,
Glenn F.
 
I bought one without a pump and installed a submersible lathe coolant pump in it 34 years ago and it is still working perfect.
 
I've got a 40 gal from Northern that I got at auction ( new in box) for like $40 years ago. It's a nice heavy unit. Not sure what they cost new, but they also require about 20 gallons of solvent which can get kind of spendy in itself.
 
My wife bought me one about 30 years ago when she worked at a farm store and got an employee's discount. Seems to me her cost then was around $80. HF is selling the same thing now for a reasonable price. There's not too much to wear out on them.
 
My wife picked me up one years ago at a yard sale for $20. I have not used it much at all. The first problem I found with it was the pump motor was locked up which I did get freed up. Biggest problem I have found is a suitable fluid to use in them that did not cost an arm and leg. If you figure 20 gal. of a washer fluid that works well that can add up to as much or more the washer costs.

I did at one time have a mix of fluids in mine and I made the mistake to turn the pump off at the switch and the fluid in it was flammable so the fluid caught fire which was not a fun problem but get the lid closed and put the fire out
 
Mine is the style that sits on top of a 30? gal drum.
Pump is mounted 6 inches off the bottom.
Only needs 5 gal of solvent to work well.
1 gal of water poured into it stays on the bottom and keeps the solvent clean by pulling the dirt out of it.
Clean out sludge once a year and replace or top up solvent as needed.
 
If my wife had not found that one for such a good price I still would not have one but for $20 I figured it was worth it. But I have not used it in years also since most stuff I need to clean are small and a pan of gas works just as good since most of the time I need it cleaned fast. Now if I have something to soak it still may end up in the parts washer
 
I have a 20 Gal. one from HF and use kerosene in it . I also wear rubber gloves when using it. Only problem, the pump switch is flimsy, but was easy to replace.
 
I have one like TSC sells with diesel in it but the switch broke and I haven't used it in a long time. Lately I've been using Purple Power full strength to clean parts. Soak parts overnight and rinse with hot water. You can reuse it a lot. When I get the washer going I'm going to try the PP in it.
 
Bought a old safety kleen machine at a auction over 35 years ago. Also have a large Grey Mills washer. Both machines have ,and will always have varsol in them. Been using varsol all my 45 years of mechanic work.
 
What do you guys use for a cleaning agent!!!! I have always used regular solvent but due to the cost ($10+ per gal last time I checked ) haven't filled mine for some time!!! Think mine takes a minimum of 10-15 gal, gets expensive real quick!!!!
 
I had an old Safety-Kleen machine I bought at a garage sale. Never turned out to be practical to keep it working.

The solvent was too expensive, diesel or kerosene stunk the whole shop up. Didn't seem to matter what I put in it, use it once, not need it for a while, and it would have evaporated away.

Moved off and left it behind.
 
I bought the HF model and the instructions said not to use oil based solvents. I used diesel and the pump lasted less than 2 hours. I just soak stuff in it now.
 
Determined, I'd heard about that gallon of water trick but third hand without the explanation, ruined 5 gal of pb Blaster parts washer solvent (suspect it was mineral spirits) when I added water - it was the HF style 20 gallon unit without a sump. The durned pump homoginized the water & spirits into a whitish goo.

Waited for winter and was able to pull the frozen chunks out to salvage some.
 
(quoted from post at 19:43:31 10/30/16) Determined, I'd heard about that gallon of water trick but third hand without the explanation, ruined 5 gal of pb Blaster parts washer solvent (suspect it was mineral spirits) when I added water - it was the HF style 20 gallon unit without a sump. The durned pump homoginized the water & spirits into a whitish goo.

Waited for winter and was able to pull the frozen chunks out to salvage some.

Gears
The key to it working properly is using a petroleum based solvent that will not mix with water and mount the pump high enough that it can not suck up any water.
Petroleum based solvent much like oil will float on top of the water.
The water will attract and trap the dirt in the bottom.

I have used it in the winter when I know the water was frozen and the solvent gets pretty nasty looking, a week later after things warmed up there was a noticeable difference in the color and clarity of the solvent.
Not sure if mixing some coolant in it for the winter would work or not.
Might have to be my next experiment.
 

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