parts washer

[grumpyvette]

one factor many guys over look is cleaning and degrease parts, I like most guys started out using a 5 gallon bucket and a brush and some diesel fuel to clean parts , and degrease bolts etc.

now once you get used to working with degreased components you'll start to wonder why you ever worked on cars without a parts cleaner/washer as it helps a good deal.

now obviously use of flammable diesel fuel as a solvent is not ideal and detergents mixed with solvents and water are highly preferred, from a safety perspective, and you don,t want to use anything that evaporates quickly, stinks while in use or something that's overly corrosive or expensive for obvious reasons

but once you've used a parts washer with a sprayer , drain and pump you quickly get spoiled and can,t consider working on a car without using one to clean components and get the crud out of bolt threads etc.

 

http://www.asedeals.com/partswashers2.html

 

having a pump that plugs into 110 volts and a drain with some type of filtered screen is obviously a big improvement over just soaking parts in diesel fuel, and a whole lot safer.

and having a couple brushs and a constant stream of solvent sure helps.

having a parts washer large and sturdy enough to let you soak a pair of BIG BLOCK CYLINDER HEADS and strong enough to support the weight of a bare block is a HUGE advantage, and it needs to have the OPTION to securely bolt to a wall or the floor for safety reasons as you don,t want it to tip over, as you turn a block or cylinder heads over so think thru your purchase, don,t just select on price alone

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/jay_leno_garage/4213287.html

 

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100648187&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100648187&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-100648187&locStoreNum=6379&marketID=2

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeCDxcoNXNY

 

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Tool-Design-ATD-8527-Gallon/dp/B000OUXAEE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1266865000&sr=1-2

 

http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Industrial-20-Gallon-Portable-Washer/dp/B002FV6NHG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1266865000&sr=1-10

 

http://www.asedeals.com/RangerPW.html

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLK-MT1110B/

 

heres (below) some rather cheap and rather flimsy but fairly useful parts washers for light duty use, but hardly something youll want if your equipping more than a hobby shop

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=7340

 

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94702

 

 

once more ID point out that having access to a decent welder and building your own custom version will be a cost saving and far less expensive option at times, and a decent start point can be a large stainless steel sink , surplus used restaurant supply stores and old restaurants can be a great source of stainless tables and larger sinks that can form the basis for building a cost effective parts washer

 

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1669

 

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=81

 

how many of you gentlemen use or own a parts washer?

how many built their own?

how many guys want one?

[blue72]

When we closed down my dad's shop I sold the CUDA we had. One of my favorite pieces of equipment. If I had had the space I would have held on to it. I'm back to just using a solvent tank and variety of brushes.

Still better than what I used to use, cans of degreaser, a blunt screwdriver and rags.

Someday I'll own another.

Edited February 25, 2010 by blue72

[rags]

I got mine from an old gas station that was closing down. The sink just sits on top of a drum of cleaner. The cleaner does need to be changed out but I don't really know how to go about it. And truthfully, I haven't put much time into finding out. Grump, any idea about how to go about changing out the dirty cleaner tank? It is a great addition to the garage and saves tons of money on spray cleaner.

 

Joe

[Chaparral2f]

When we had a transmision shop we had a trichlorethelene vapor degreaser. It was the best thing I've ever used. Unfortunatly, trichlor is extremely carsonigenic. EverClean(?) has a program that uses a parts washer that sits on a tank when the solvent gets dirty, they come and replace it . I forget what it costs but it is really convienient. Has anyone thought about using an old dishwasher, and a tank of Simple Green?

[JMortensen]

Safety Kleen is the company that I'm aware of that services parts washers. They will come out and change out your solvent and the filter. They have a maintenance program too, but they'll do it just once and you probably don't need a service contract unless you're working on a lot of cars.

 

I bought the HF parts washer and filled it with Oil Eater and water as described on various forums. Worked pretty well and the Oil Eater is surprisingly powerful, but after a while it started to crystallize and ruined pretty much everything. The pump stopped working, the hose end was stuffed full of white crystals, I left some parts in there and they were all covered. It was a pain to clean off the parts, but I managed to salvage them. I just got rid of the washer after that. I'll probably buy another one eventually and I won't put Oil Eater in it.

 

Dishwasher is a nice idea, but what are you going to do with the waste? Hot soap and water parts washers work great, but they filter and reuse the water.

[Evan Purple240zt]

I have a cheapy harbor freight washer full of solvent I got from Farm and Fleet. Its basically mineral spirits. There are some links online for plumbing an oil filter inline with the pump so it cleans the fluid back out for you. I am going to do it shortly because my parts washer has lots of bearing debris in it from dealing with a spun rod bearing.

 

Evan

[Chaparral2f]

Safety Kleen is the company that I'm aware of that services parts washers. They will come out and change out your solvent and the filter. They have a maintenance program too, but they'll do it just once and you probably don't need a service contract unless you're working on a lot of cars.

 

I bought the HF parts washer and filled it with Oil Eater and water as described on various forums. Worked pretty well and the Oil Eater is surprisingly powerful, but after a while it started to crystallize and ruined pretty much everything. The pump stopped working, the hose end was stuffed full of white crystals, I left some parts in there and they were all covered. It was a pain to clean off the parts, but I managed to salvage them. I just got rid of the washer after that. I'll probably buy another one eventually and I won't put Oil Eater in it.

 

Dishwasher is a nice idea, but what are you going to do with the waste? Hot soap and water parts washers work great, but they filter and reuse the water.

Yeah, that's thwe company name I was trying to think of, but I'm really old and my mind is almost gone. Er, what was I saying????