what to use in my parts washer??

[nastyjones]

Greetings all,

I'm looking for something to use in my 10 gallon parts cleaner. I know I can use varsol, kerosene or parts cleaner solution, but I would like to try something like Simple Green or something like it that I can buy by the gallon and then just add water too. It wouldn't hurt if it was more environmentally safer too. If you have used one of the concentrates, what percentage solution worked best and where can I buy it here in Canada?

Paul

[mighty13d]

We use diesel in ours... *shrug* depends on what you're going to be cleaning

[TheCafeKid]

Kerosene. Best parts cleaner there is.

[Steve]

Mine is only a 3-gallon cleaner with about 2 gallons of kerosene.

Not sure when I'll change it, I'm still on the first two gallons from about a year and a half ago.

.

[nastyjones]

I want to take price into consideration as well. Parts washer solvent is about $59 for 5 gallons here in Canada so it costs about $140 with taxes. I worked in a factory years ago where they used a solution like Simple Green and diluted it with water. It worked great on grease too.

Paul

[nastyjones]

I've been doing a search for alternative cleaners & I can buy the Simple Green concentrate & make the solution for about $85 for 10 gallons. Diesel fuel still looks good at about $50 for 10 galllons. Is there anything negative I should know about diesel? It won't burn under most circumstances right?

Paul

[Suzuki_Don]

I've been doing a search for alternative cleaners & I can buy the Simple Green concentrate & make the solution for about $85 for 10 gallons. Diesel fuel still looks good at about $50 for 10 galllons. Is there anything negative I should know about diesel? It won't burn under most circumstances right?

Paul

Does diesel clean things up very well. Is it better than kero. How long do you soak things before scrubbing them up to remove the residue. Especially on 30 year old crank cases.

[tkent02]

Does diesel clean things up very well. Is it better than kero.

Diesel works better? Why, it's mostly the same stuff, do you know the actual difference?

[mighty13d]

well diesel is what paving companies use in the dump trucks and on all the hand tools and stuff to clean off the asphalt, and it takes grease right off from just about anything.

[tkent02]

well diesel is what paving companies use in the dump trucks and on all the hand tools and stuff to clean off the asphalt, and it takes grease right off from just about anything.

Probably because they have Diesel and they don't have kerosene...
I can't imagine any difference that would make one clean better than the other.
Most of the difference is in how it's taxed.

[mighty13d]

I really don't know if one works better, but diesel is more readily available than kerosene because all of the trucks and equipment runs on it so... seems a logical choice. Everything I've put in my parts washer comes out crazy clean with a little soak a most, a couple min of spraying and a little rubbing with a coarse bristle brush.

Probably because they have Diesel and they don't have kerosene...
I can't imagine any difference that would make one clean better than the other.
Most of the difference is in how it's taxed.

[Calvin Blackmore]

kerosene is a lighter liquid and cleaner
it would have less sulphur content than diesel so is a better choice for cleaning alloys which would react to the residual sulphur left on the cleaned part when later exposed to atmospheric moisture.
of course sulphur content varies from one type of diesel and kerosene to another.


Flashpoint of the liquids is likely the bigger concern though.
I think kerosene has a higher flashoint than diesel

[spyug]

What about mineral spirits.

I don't have a parts washer but use an old plastic bucket and a couple of different shaped bristle brushes. Abit of a soak and scrub and most things come up nicely. Still cheap enough at around $4 a gallon.

I like the original idea of something that is non volatile like the simply green but don't know of anything. Might be time for a trip to Princess Auto or one of the industrial suppliers.

I'll see what I can dig up.

Cheers all.
Spyug.

[mcloud]

These are catching on. Wonder if there's a smaller unit available for home.

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

[buster]

The shop that I worked at stop using diesel fuel as a parts cleaner because of the exposure to skin issues. From what I understood very few gloves provide protection against diesel and the ones that do provide very little protection. I don't know if it was the sulphur or what that was the main concern, and I know that BP diesel has less than 50ppm of sulpher in order to be concidered the "low sulpher" product they boast. I have also been told that kerosene has been linked to skin cancer with prolonged exposure to the skin. I think for future cancer concerns I would stick with a simple green alternative.