parts washer fluid questions

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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Hi Y'all,

A good friend of mine just gave me a gently used parts washer. Jim is pushing 88 years of age, and is kinda done with the whole car thing. He said he used Naptha in it. I always heard to use mineral spirits, or varsol.

What do y'all use in one of these. I cant wait to fill it up and use it.

Thanks in advance
Matt
 
Nothing but NOTHING works like mineral spirits. But you need to keep the lid closed because it evaporates easily.
 
Mineral spirits with a qt of auto trans fluid added.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Nothing but NOTHING works like mineral spirits. But you need to keep the lid closed because it evaporates easily.
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best stuff to use. when it gets too oily drain it back in it's can and start over with new. get what is called paint thinner, same exact thing but cheaper. use the black chemical gloves on your mits. when doing engine parts rinse them off with water and blow dry with your compressor.
 
I'd say low odor mineral spirits, especially in a poorly ventilated area.
 
naptha has flash point of 111 F. IMHO is as low of flash point i would use. but think its not cheap. nitrometane is 90 F. gasoline is -45 F
 
We have stuff called "solvent" here,, same as Varsol,, or paint thinner,.. I shy away from the heavy scented fluids like "diesel" just cuz I hate the smell, and the smell goes home with you...

as mentioned adding a little ATF makes it a little easier on the hands if you don't use gloves,..

I found that putting a 1/2 gal or so of water in the bottom lets the "solids" settle and not be re-circulated by the pump,, keeping the fluid cleaner longer...

hope it helps
 
moe7404 said:
naptha has flash point of 111 F. IMHO is as low of flash point i would use. but think its not cheap. nitrometane is 90 F. gasoline is -45 F
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Can someone expand on this?

I have a parts washer I picked up a while back. Haven't used it yet because I have the same question as the OP. But my concerns were having to do with flammability, cost, odors, etc. but particularly, can these things be a fire hazard? What about the pump itself causing a spark, or static electricity, etc? I do recall that these parts washers have an automatic means of shutting the lid if exposed to flame or heat.
 
bighammer said:
Can someone expand on this?

I have a parts washer I picked up a while back. Haven't used it yet because I have the same question as the OP. But my concerns were having to do with flammability, cost, odors, etc. but particularly, can these things be a fire hazard? What about the pump itself causing a spark, or static electricity, etc? I do recall that these parts washers have an automatic means of shutting the lid if exposed to flame or heat.
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An outfit called "Safety Clean" services industial washers,, an uses a Hi-flash cleaner,, you may be able to purchase some from them..

Everyone in the business I know, generally uses Varsol,, it will light with an open flame, and evaporate, so keeping the lid closed while not in use is recommmended,, but I never did, and never had a fire.. where you put it is a high consideration, Varsol is relatively low odor, low cost, low evap, low flash, avail by the gal,, at Walmart paint depts..

There is supposed to be a "woods metal", low-melt point fastener to hold the lid open,, and it releases the lid with low temp,, fire in the basin,, closing off oxygen..

I have never heard or read of a pump, or switch, or static causing a fire thru decades of trade magazines,, but I'm sure it's happened,, that's when the lid closes..

cheers..
 
Mineral spirits is around 109 flash. Just search the MSDS for what you are interested in.
I don't know for sure but I was under the impression Safety Clean wants to hook you for a year?
There are also citrus cleaners out there that are not a fire hazard. More corrosive I expect though.
 
Depending on what size you got, you'll need about 10 gallons of fluid. I picked up "parts cleaner" in 5 gal buckets at NAPA. If I remember its about $100 per bucket. I tried just 5 gals in mine and the pump wouldn't pickup.
 
cudasean said:
Depending on what size you got, you'll need about 10 gallons of fluid. I picked up "parts cleaner" in 5 gal buckets at NAPA. If I remember its about $100 per bucket. I tried just 5 gals in mine and the pump wouldn't pickup.
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This is what I've seen in my local auto parts store as well. But $20 per gallon?? Dang!
 
Mineral spirits with a qt of ATF to every 7.5-10 gal. As mentioned, keep a type seal on it when not in use so you don't lose your fluid to evaporation. I buy mine from a local Sherwin Williams paint supply. I just bought 15 gal for $10.00 a gal.
 
Yeah. I've tried all that "green" and "safe" stuff. Bottom line is, unless it's something that'll make you have two headed babies, it's not worth a damn.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yeah. I've tried all that "green" and "safe" stuff. Bottom line is, unless it's something that'll make you have two headed babies, it's not worth a damn.
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yup, just look what happened to Berrymans carb dip out here in CA. Stuff used to melt flesh off, now you can soak your hands in it. The yellow "Awesome" degreaser as .99 store works pretty good full strength, but you'd have to buy about 80 bottles.
 
I was raised on the original Gunk Hydro Seal. You could put a disassembled carb in it and in a couple of hours it was spotless. When it got older it might take several hours but still did an awesome job. When I was 16 i thought I would use some of the stuff to clean a Muncie 4sp. I put some in a glass and started cleaning it with a parts brush, after a while my index finger started burning, when I washed my hands off I had pin holes in my finger and it burned like hell!! I eventually recovered and all was well. Then along came the tree huggers and they came out with the new ans improved environmentally friendly Gunk Hydro Seal II, This crap is so lame you can soak your wood pecker in it all night. That is progress for you!!!
 
Yup. I had a 55 gallon drum of it that I was given when a machine shop went under. The old guy that owned it brought it back with him from the Navy. It was about 35 gallons in that 55 gallon drum with a ring lock lid. It was not a name brand. It just had a corrosive sticker on it and said carbon tetrachloride. When it would get "weak" I had another 55 gallon drum I would strain it into and them rinse the original out and put it back in and it was good as new. Worked great. The bottom of the barrel developed a pin hole I didn't know about and it leaked out between uses. Really pissed me off.
 
Yup, you had to stay on top of the corrosion thing. I can't tell you how many 5 gal pals I found empty when they would develop a leak.
 
Rusty, that "Carbon Tet" is some bad stuff. Maybe "too" bad.
 
Call your local petroleum wholesaler and ask for "Stoddard Solvent" aka odorless mineral spirits, aka Mil Spec P-D-680 Type 1, aka Varsol, aka VM&P thinner. They're all about the same stuff. Naphtha is a catch all term for several petroleum distillate hydrocarbons.

Last time I refilled my cheapo Harbor Fright tank I think it cost me about $45 for 10 gallons (my cans) of mineral spirits. The stuff will evaporate if you leave the lid open, but is less stinky than diesel. In terms of volatility, it's similar to kerosene/Jet A so it should be treated with some respect, but not a serious fire hazard compared to Gumout or lacquer thinner.

I've never added ATF (gloves are your friend) as the fluid tends to get oily with time. In fact once it gets some oil in it it no longer evaporates clean and loses its efficiency. I try to drain and degrease parts before I throw them in the tank to prolong the life of the solvent. Also, the old oily solvent is hazardous waste much like used oil and should be disposed of accordingly (any place that sells it is probably required to accept the waste).
 
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