Steam Cleaner recommendations

[chas036]

I have a JD 50 that I bought at an auction last year that was covered in baked on oil ,grease and dirt. I used a regualar pressure washer and a de-greaser liquid to get most of the loose stuff off, but these is some baked oil and grease that just won't come off. I have read that hot steam will take this baked on oil off .

I was wondering if any of those small steam cleaners that you see advertised to clean car engines, if they really work , and if anyone here has used them on a tractor to remove grease and oil?

 

[Jim.ME]

Not an answer to your question, but something to try before buying a steam cleaner.

Try oven cleaner, cheap stuff from a dollar store, spray it on when the tractor is dry and let it set a bit before hitting with your pressure washer. Let it dry between applications if it needs more than one application.

 

[Mule Meat]

May be better off to hire someone that has a Hotsy or similar commercial steam cleaner. Or load it up and take it to a semi truck wash.
No consumer grade steam cleaner will be very effective on heavy baked on engine and gear oil.

Alternative.. Look around the neighborhood for someone that does Dry Ice blasting. Dry ice blasting is like sand blasting but uses dry ice. It does not make a mess, will not harm rubber parts or damage paint (unless it's chipping).

 

[Mark-Ia]

I've used a hand held propane torch on baked on grease as long as it's not close to the fuel system. Burn the old grease and oil out and the rest easily removes with a wire brush.

 

[504]

Soak the whole thing with diesel fuel with a hand held sprayer and pay one of the local guys who do power washing. It will be a better job and cheaper too

 

[scootergmc]

Those small homeowner cleaners will be useless. There's a reason most tractor and equipment dealerships use Hotsys or the like. They work very well with minimal effort. If you can rent one locally that's what I would do.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

bunch of quarters at the local car wash if you have to. Would cost a 3rd what you would invest in the cleaner and you would be done in a day

most of the car washes have a couple settings that would be very effective. And when you are done it will smell nice too

I’ve actually done the little steam cleaner on the tractor in the shed at my house when I didn’t want to load one on a trailer without wheels to go wash it with the hotsy.

Horrible choice it took an extra week. It is effective. On a small spot sure I didn’t throw it away it technically worked. On car upholstery great!! Antique tractor no so much it took forever

 

[showcrop]

First you aren't looking for a steam cleaner, you are looking for a hot water pressure washer. I have to recommend the Power Eagle because I have had one for thirty years. They are fairly expensive, so I agree with Jim, Me.'s suggestion about spraying dollar store oven cleaner, letting it work, then spraying with a regular cold water washer. When buying any pressure washer don't consider any that don't have a brass pump. The cast aluminum ones are good for only 50 hours.

 

[560Dennis]

Better off hiring it done as suggested ,really if that way of cleaning is a must do to your liking .
I ve operated steam cleaner for hours in an industrial setting Cleaning production equipment with extremely cases of oil , You can get seriously hurt with one ,just saying ,hire it out.
Also i think you will find that the steam will not clean it to immaculate,there will still be stains. It will remove paint that has been poor adhesive.

 

[Keith True]

I don't know if anybody even makes a real steam cleaner for equipment anymore.Everything is high pressure hot water.We bought a new Hotsey in 1978,the coil finally died in that about 8 years ago.I painted hundreds of things after using that machine.I have a good sized Delco now,a horizontal unit that makes that Hotsey look like a squirt gun.A local rental place rents Power America units,they're sold under a half a dozen different names,and are very dependable.My friends still have a real steam cleaner their dad bought in the 60's.It's a Jenny,(the original Steam Jenny).It does a good job,but it is agonizing to use.The nozzle is big enough to put your finger in.A piston pump chuffs the steam out in regular spurts,like a locomotive.I went there to help them paint their family heirloom,a Farmall A the family had bought new.We took turns with that old Steam Jenny,and I will say there was very little prep after cleaning it to paint it.There was not one loose piece of paint left.They also removed the wiring harness first.

 

[chvet73]

Had a Steam Jenny when I taught Autoshop. It was a beast. Ran on kerosene. Left a beautiful clean surface. Don’t like to think of the mess we just let runoff to who knows where.

 

[scootergmc]

I cleaned an old IH crawler with an old electric over diesel Jenny. It was a firebreathing toilet tank with a pump. Fun times.

 

[Rich'sToys]

I replied to your post in the John Deere forum, but if a pressure washer won't take it off, you may have to resort to the old fashioned method--elbow grease and a putty knife! A parts washing brush and some paint thinner will help soften up that old hard grease.

 

[Ray,IN]

I have a JD 50 that I bought at an auction last year that was covered in baked on oil ,grease and dirt. I used a regualar pressure washer and a de-greaser liquid to get most of the loose stuff off, but these is some baked oil and grease that just won't come off. I have read that hot steam will take this baked on oil off .

I was wondering if any of those small steam cleaners that you see advertised to clean car engines, if they really work , and if anyone here has used them on a tractor to remove grease and oil?

Consider renting one for a ½day. The only issue is hot water might be hard on the OEM wiring, and other electric stuff.
I like the oven cleaner suggestion, however I've only used Simple Green Extreme, which is not harmful to Aluminum.

 

[moresmoke]

I like the idea of renting a big hot water unit, or hiring it done by a mobile service if one is avaiable.

I have had good luck with ZEP purple degreaser. Spray it full strength on a dry surface, let it work then rinse off. Do not use it on paint you want to keep. It will etch paint. A couple applications will get most grime off. It is not as effective on a wet surface.

 

[Watthour]

There is a BIG difference between a pressure washer and a steam cleaner. A place I used to work had both. To operate a steam cleaner requires live steam. That was provided by two 200HP Johnston and Cleaver-Brooks boilers, and one 150HP Johnston. A 1" line was plumbed to the steam cleaner at 65 PSI. The steam cleaner could have additives siphoned into the stream by an adjustable venturi. I can attest to the fact that a hot pressure washer would removed a lot of things, but there were some things that only 290°F live steam could strip off, such as epoxy paints, synthetic coolant and lubricant sludge, asphaltic tar, encrusted calcium or cyanide salts, and numerous other things. The steam cleaner was also markedly faster at removing many of the things a hot pressure washer could remove. I also remember replacing many coils in Karcher and Hotsy pressure washers, repairing/replacing burners, repairing/replacing pressure pumps, and massaging the controls. The simple valve and venturi of the true steam cleaner never wore out.

 

[showcrop]

I replied to your post in the John Deere forum, but if a pressure washer won't take it off, you may have to resort to the old fashioned method--elbow grease and a putty knife! A parts washing brush and some paint thinner will help soften up that old hard grease.

On something with old build-up I start with a putty knife. It is much better dry than dripping on you as you lie under it.

 

[flembo]

Not an answer to your question, but something to try before buying a steam cleaner.

Try oven cleaner, cheap stuff from a dollar store, spray it on when the tractor is dry and let it set a bit before hitting with your pressure washer. Let it dry between applications if it needs more than one application.

I agree with the oven cleaner, just don't leave it on too long or it could remove the paint. I have used it on several tractors with great results.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

May be better off to hire someone that has a Hotsy or similar commercial steam cleaner. Or load it up and take it to a semi truck wash.
No consumer grade steam cleaner will be very effective on heavy baked on engine and gear oil.

Alternative.. Look around the neighborhood for someone that does Dry Ice blasting. Dry ice blasting is like sand blasting but uses dry ice. It does not make a mess, will not harm rubber parts or damage paint (unless it's chipping).

Never heard of that. How does it work? Do they grind it up or something?

 

[chas036]

I have a JD 50 that I bought at an auction last year that was covered in baked on oil ,grease and dirt. I used a regualar pressure washer and a de-greaser liquid to get most of the loose stuff off, but these is some baked oil and grease that just won't come off. I have read that hot steam will take this baked on oil off .

I was wondering if any of those small steam cleaners that you see advertised to clean car engines, if they really work , and if anyone here has used them on a tractor to remove grease and oil?

I have tried several of the auto de-greasers with out much luck. I then read about brake cleaner and tried that, but only a little better. Finally I tried regular gasoline and wire brush, and that worked the best, but it was a lot of labor for small amount of success. I spent an hour just on the PTO shield alone.