Parts cleaning

amtrac

Member
Anybody have any experience with a parts cleaner called "BENCHTOP PRO"? It's advertised of course to be non-toxic and water-based, and claims to dissolve grease and dirt just like a chemical tank. It is a neat little box with a lid and a 18v pump for hosing down your parts. I'm a little skeptical about all these 'green" things but I sure am getting tired of cleaning up all that mess of kerosene/grease/sand/sludge mix on the newspapers spread out on my workbench. Need a parts cleaner, but don't need any more exposure to those bad old chemicals. Opinions on what bio-degradable/non toxic de-greaser works for you?
 
You should be skeptical because if it is water based and not heated it's next to worthless in the shop, that's my experiance. I also tired if the smell and costs of using petroleum solvents and switched to a hot water/soap wash cabinet. Yes the up front cost is a bit to swallow and it takes a bit of planning to use it but operation costs are a lot less than solvent and I can catch a nap or get some work done while my parts are being cleaned.
 
Save your money & time.. Use the solvent and buy some good rubber gloves..
It'll take some trial & error to find the gloves that wont melt in the solvent tho.
Just find out the active chemical in the solvent, then find the gloves that are resistant.
Cheap & easy..
 

I have a five gal. bucket for the stuff that fits in it. Bigger parts etc. gets sprayed with citrus solvent cleaner and pressure washed with hot water. As Butch says those water based units get poor reviews.
 
amtrac, like you I wanted to find something different. I use Oil Eater. It is water based and requires heating. It works really good. The only issue is the tanks they sell to contain, heat, and pump the fluid around are expensive. My son is working on building a version of his own. I believe he got some ideas from YouTube; some of those are really crude but they will give you some ideas.

If my son sees this post perhaps he will share his plan.

There are other brands out there, likely the same stuff. Check with you Auto parts store or NAPA.

I still recommend you use rubber gloves.

Paul
http://oileater.com/
 
I use a water based product called Purple power, you can use it straight or tone it down with water, straight it will take the skin off your hands, I have it in my parts cleaner at 5 to 1. Jug has all the info on it as to what you are using it for. Jug also says when you are done with it you can pour down the sewer. Can get it at wally land.
 
(quoted from post at 16:00:53 01/24/17) amtrac, like you I wanted to find something different. I use Oil Eater. It is water based and requires heating. It works really good. The only issue is the tanks they sell to contain, heat, and pump the fluid around are expensive. My son is working on building a version of his own. I believe he got some ideas from YouTube; some of those are really crude but they will give you some ideas.

If my son sees this post perhaps he will share his plan.

There are other brands out there, likely the same stuff. Check with you Auto parts store or NAPA.

I still recommend you use rubber gloves.

Paul
http://oileater.com/

I checked the SDS. There is nothing different about Oil Eater. It is just a garden variety alkaline surfactant blend. They all work better with heat and agitation.
 
Showcrop, I would like to try the Citrus Solvent. Where do you get it and is there a particular brand you buy? Paul
 
(quoted from post at 18:21:48 01/24/17) Showcrop, I would like to try the Citrus Solvent. Where do you get it and is there a particular brand you buy? Paul

Actually I sell it. But we have a 5,000 lb minimum, as we sell to distributors. There are many different brands, you need to just check that it contains d-limonene. D-limonene itself, which is a by-product of orange juice,comes from the orange peel. You would think that it would be cheap, but demand is high because it works so well. Every time an orange grove somewhere takes a frost, the price from our supplier goes up.
 
Showcrop, The company from which I retired several years ago used D-Limonene to clean parts. I purchased it in 55 gallon drums from a distributor in Fla. It worked very well using an overnight soak, but we always had a problem disposing of the stuff when we cleaned the tank. Smelled just like orange peels, but we always used gloves when handling it. Probably not too good for the skin. Do you know what is the proper method for disposal?
 
If you want a water based cleaner, try Mean Green. It is sold by Dollar General and Lowes. $5.00 a gallon around here. If you want a petral based cleaner, check out the parts washer cleaner at Tractor Supply. It comes in a steel 5 gallon can and is only $39.00
I use both and have very good results.
 
(quoted from post at 20:25:43 01/24/17) Showcrop, The company from which I retired several years ago used D-Limonene to clean parts. I purchased it in 55 gallon drums from a distributor in Fla. It worked very well using an overnight soak, but we always had a problem disposing of the stuff when we cleaned the tank. Smelled just like orange peels, but we always used gloves when handling it. Probably not too good for the skin. Do you know what is the proper method for disposal?

I don't use it as strong as you are. I generally mix it in a spray bottle and spray it on when cleaning whole tractors or machines or larger parts or assemblies. Thus I am using it like a general purpose cleaner is used. If I were going to use in a more concentrated form, in a soak tank, I think that I would run it through a strainer to eliminate the big stuff and the sludge which would go in the trash, then reuse the cleaned stuff in the tank. I just checked MSDS and tech sheets for some of our products that have D-Limonene in them, and as long as they are used in a diluted situation, it is as I said, the same as any GP cleaner, and it is OK to flush down the drain.
 
Thanks for the info. I think I will look into a small bench top and use the D-limonene solution. I have seen the baskets advertised that will slip into a 5 gallon bucket that would be great for soaking too.
 

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