Photography by Tom Suddard
Don’t want to drop hundreds of dollars on a new parts washer? Here’s how we built one for less than $45.
Step 1: Go to the place most lost souls go to find projects: Facebook Marketplace.
Step 2: Pretty quickly, we found a beaten and broken parts washer for only $20. The one problem being the busted pump.
Step 3: The solution? A pond pump. While there are multiple pumps with various rates, which did we choose? The cheapest one, of course.
The whole process took about 20 minutes–most of that time spent wiring the pump to the factory switch.
Just like that, the GRM shop gained a fully functioning parts washer. Total cost? Only $43.98 (plus tax).
Oo, now expand this to add filtration and add part numbers and fitting sizes!
There are already examples out there, but I haven't found one with great documentation... I'm sure the Jegs washer I got to replace my rusted out HF unit is identical save paint color.
Okay, that got me off my butt that last little bit. No idea if it's totally correct, but this Popular Science article has a bill of materials...
https://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-12/build-parts-washer-filter/
And for the one-click option now that you've saved all that money on the washer itself:
https://www.partswasherupgradekit.com/store/p1/partswasherupgradekit.html
What solvent do you use ?
In reply to mcloud :
I use Extreme Simple Green Aircraft & Precision Cleaner (aluminum-safe, unlike the normal stuff), but perhaps more usefully, there have been a couple of discussions.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/good-parts-washer-solvent/135537/page1/
And not parts-washer specific, but: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/lets-talk-dirty-dirty-parts-that-is-and-how-best-to-refurbish-them/274315/page1/
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