What fluid do you use in your parts washers.

So, the title is self-explanatory, what fluid do you use in your parts washers? Straight simple green, mineral spirits, harbor fright specific unknown Chinese chemicals? What?

Simple green, because of the ease of disposal and safety concerns with harsher chemicals.

Kerosene...Looking for something better...

Following with interest because I need to change mine. I HATE the smell of Simple Green. I don't know if I can use it

Andy Neuman wrote: Simple green, because of the ease of disposal and safety concerns with harsher chemicals.

YEah, that's the way I'm leaning for ease of disposal as you say

mineral spirits

DrBoost wrote: Following with interest because I need to change mine. I HATE the smell of Simple Green. I don't know if I can use it

They also make it in Lemon, Orange, and fresh scents. They each have a different MSDS/SDS for each scent which is a pain if you need to keep those things on file at work.

Tractor Supply parts washing solvent.

But won't using simple Green allow the parts to rust if not dried off immediately? That's why I have been looking for something non-corrosive.

At the bike shop we used to Gunk Super Concentrated Degreaser cut with kerosene. Now they are a little more environmentally conscious and use Simple Green.

The stuff works well. Not as well as flying carcinogens heated to 212+ degrees and pre-heated 60 psi, but well.

As far as rust dry quickly.

Tractor supply chemical cleaner for parts washer. Better and cheaper than Kerosene.It will last a long time if you wash off nasty stuff before putting in vat. use it like a final clean if you will! Dirt and heavy grease can be removed with water pressure and detergents.

Anybody use a vibratory polisher thing with cleaner and those little cubes in it for small parts? I saw one somewhere and it occurred to me that about 90% of the stuff I clean could fit in one.

mazdeuce wrote: Anybody use a vibratory polisher thing with cleaner and those little cubes in it for small parts? I saw one somewhere and it occurred to me that about 90% of the stuff I clean could fit in one.

I've heard that the Eastwoods and Harbor Freight ones are both pretty crap, good ones cost $$'s so off my radar.

We have been using Simple Green Aircraft and Precision Cleaner. It comes in industrial quantities as a concentrate. I forget the exact ratios, but I remember diluting it to middle of the range for the parts washer. Maybe 4:1? It isn't smelly, is so-so cold for cleaning, and works pretty well (for a green solvent) with some heat. I would recommend gloves at that dilution. It is supposed to be safe for aluminum and most plastics. For raw steel or iron parts, I don't chuck stuff in to soak overnight and quickly rinsing before air drying seems to minimize rust.

bravenrace wrote: But won't using simple Green allow the parts to rust if not dried off immediately? That's why I have been looking for something non-corrosive.

Not sure, everything we do at work is stainless.

kerosene works for me, i use thick gloves now that i'm not in my twenties and invincible anymore.

DrBoost wrote: Following with interest because I need to change mine. I HATE the smell of Simple Green. I don't know if I can use it

That raises a great point that I hadn't, but really should have thought of. I'm putting it in my garage which the whole family walks through daily. My wife is super sensitive to solvents and chemicals, she hates it when I use brake clean, any solvent or paint something out there, but that only tends to last 24 hours or so. For something that's sitting there permanently I think I better go with simple green, not something else.

Kerosene here also. I haven't found anything readily available as good.

I use a mix of mineral sprits and kerosene. When it get dirty I drain it into plastic jugs and let the solids settle to the bottom. I then pour off the upper solvent and reuse it. I've been using the same solvent for years. I do add to it as I lose some in the process and through evaporation. The dirtiest of the solvent gets mixed with my used motor oil and disposed of.

FYI, most used oil is not reprocessed due to contamination with other "stuff". I know this as when I worked for a major oil company I arranged the pick up used oil from various locations. It was returned to our oil refinery and mixed with other petroleum products and burned to produce heat that produced steam that was used to refine crude oil. It's wasn't going to waste as something had to be burned to produce that steam to make gasoline, etc. from crude oil.

Mineral spirits is the answer.. a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff lasts forever..

I decided to try some environmentally friendly water soluble stuff a few months ago.. never again.. not only did it not get anything clean, but i had a layer of "stuff" growing on top of it within a week..

The only way to make water based soaps work is to keep it heated 24h 7d a week like the safety clean unit we have at work... it does work great but cost $$ to keep it heated and it needs 5-10 gallons of water added every week.

Cousin_Eddie wrote: Tractor Supply parts washing solvent.

Me too. I tried a couple of different environmentally friendly water based solvents but they were also friendly to grease and oil and I had issues with mold growing in the washer.

Oh wait you said parts washers, I thought it read pressure washers.

Gunk and Kero all day.

This is for the environmentally conscious. We are forced to use it for work due to contractual obligations, and it works really well. It's honestly the only 'green' degreaser that I think is worth a damn, and we've been through dozens of them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D62AI06/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

MIneral Spirits, wear gloves, keep the lid closed when not in use.