Parts Washer Solvent suggestions

[Eman85]

I'm in the same situation, time to replace the fluid in my parts washer. Wondering if the OP found any deals on mineral spirits or what the pricing has been. My drum is a 30 gal. drum and uses 20gal on refill. I can get it serviced by a company for $200 and they haul off the old stuff.

 

[SkipperII]

Our company bought some citrus based solvent(there was also some aerosol in cans). It cleaned real well, but; After using it for a couple months, we started getting a tingling feeling in our mouths, just like haven eaten too many oranges or lemons. Citri-Sol, I believe it was called. We finally had to get rid of it. Even now, just thinking about it makes my mouth burn.

 

[stevieb49829]

I'm in the same situation, time to replace the fluid in my parts washer. Wondering if the OP found any deals on mineral spirits or what the pricing has been. My drum is a 30 gal. drum and uses 20gal on refill. I can get it serviced by a company for $200 and they haul off the old stuff.

I kind of got discouraged with the cost and backed away from filling mine back up. I use small squirt bottles of white gas (camp stove fuel/ naphtha) in a plastic wash basin. It does a good job of degreasing for paint. I save and use the used stuff to get the most grease off, then rinse with a few squirts of fresh, blow dry and paint in a few minutes. steve

 

[Tgrasher]

Thanks, Tim. I did a bunch of digging on the brand names that were suggested here, and you are right - almost all are just a variation of mineral spirits. Sounds like the way to go. Now the search is on for the best value, since I need at least 10 gallons for the way this parts washer pump is set up off the bottom of the tub. I may lower the pump a bit to use less solvent, because its unlikely I'll be getting it very dirty very quickly. I mostly hand clean parts with a small squirt bottle of Naphtha and a brush, before the final cleaning anyway. Thanks to all who have helped with this discussion. Steve

Low oder mineral spirits makes it easier for others to tolerate your smell. Also, I plumbed a oil filter to the side of my tub using an oil filter bracket. It takes the solvent from the pump, filters it, and then to the spout. Easy and cheap way to keep your solvent clean.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I kind of got discouraged with the cost and backed away from filling mine back up. I use small squirt bottles of white gas (camp stove fuel/ naphtha) in a plastic wash basin. It does a good job of degreasing for paint. I save and use the used stuff to get the most grease off, then rinse with a few squirts of fresh, blow dry and paint in a few minutes. steve

I gave up on keeping a home parts washer years ago. Every type of petroleum base solvent I tried was futile. Very expensive and evaporated faster than I could justify the cost of getting to use it once then be gone a week later. Of course, this was in a closed up shop that got very hot in the summer.

I have since started using full strength Purple Power. It works well for soaking parts, takes off grease and paint. Heating it makes it work even better.

I then wash the parts in hot water and brush away the residue, repeat if necessary.

I've never tried it in a parts washer, can't see that it wouldn't work. You'll need gloves though, it's hard on the hands, but sure gets the fingernails clean!

 

[Dave G9N]

I need 20 gallons to fill a parts washer. I know there are a bunch of different solvents I could use. What do you use, and why? Typical steel parts to be washed of grease and grime, particularly engine parts. steve

Lots of recommendations for mineral spirits and variations on that theme, from Varisol to kerosene. They are all part of a series of hydrocarbons distilled from crude oil. The major difference between them is the boiling range, which corresponds to the flash point. As cleaners, the similarities are greater than the differences.

Citrus solvent is limonene, a natural byproduct of the orange juice industry that is also a good cleaner. As a solvent, it is stronger than mineral spirits for some things and has a similar flash point. Chemically, it is quite similar to turpentine, and not all that different from mineral spirits as a solvent. Mineral turpentine is mineral spirits.

For many of us, it comes down to cost since they all work, but with just enough differences to form preferences. I use K1 kerosene because I can't find mineral spirits for less than 4 times the price and I can't burn diesel in my kerosene heater. I can buy a 5 gallon can and use it for cleaning and heating the shop. Is it as good as mineral spirits or limonene in all respects? Probably not, but it isn't $15 per gallon better.

There are two properties that determine how strongly the different petroleum based solvents clean. They are the boiling point and aromatic content. Unfortunately, the same properties that make them stronger cleaners lower the flash point and how strongly they affect your skin. We generally avoid the solvents with lower boiling points and flash points like gasoline because we prefer to survive our efforts to clean the parts.

From lightest to heaviest, (lowest boiling range to highest) they are Light naptha and gasoline, heavy naptha (Varisol, Stoddard solvent and VM&P Naptha), mineral spirits, and Kerosene. Low odor mineral spirits are mineral spirits with the toluene and xylene removed. Before the chemistry was understood, the stinky things were called aromatic, and since most of the stinkers have benzene rings, the name still worked after they figured out the chemistry. Low odor is nicer to be around, but not quite as strong as a cleaner due to the lack of aromatics.

For thinning paints, the oiliness becomes important, so kerosene falls short and mineral spirits or naphtha dry faster and cleaner. If I really want a cleaner, dryer surface on tractor parts, I clean the bulk of the crud with kerosene and finish off with a small amount of paint thinner or VM&P naphtha. VM&P means varnish makers & painters. It's just a slightly faster drying paint thinner and very similar to Varisol and Stoddard.

 

[Eman85]

Well, it looks like I'll go with the big company and have them service my parts washer. They did it last time and it was quite a few years ago and it's worked fine, I shut the lid after using to slow evaporation. This way I don't have to get rid of the old fluid and the cost is cheaper that me buying 20 gals of mineral spirits from what I've found so far.

 

[Destroked 450]

I tried straight mineral spirits years ago but it evaporated to fast, especially in a open tank style parts cleaner and I actually had parts rust due to the lack of oily residue
I’ve been using a kerosene/mineral spirits mix of one gallon mineral spirits per two gallons kerosene since I purchased a Safety-Clean pump and tub in the late 80’s and placed it on my own drum