I inherited a like new free standing parts washer. I have been shopping for solvent and so far the most economical appears to be the Graymills Agitene. Anybody have any suggestions for a solvent that has some guts and is reasonably priced? Right now I find most run $60-90+ for a five gallon pail. I fear alot of the enviro-freindly fluid may not be any stronger than dish soap?
David
HingsingM37
1958 M37B1
1968 M101A1 Trailer
MVPA# 33078
"Do Not Take Counsel of Your Fears"
General George S. Patton Jr.
"Those who pound their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not".
Hi David,
I have one of the inexpensive models from Harbor Freight and have been using cheap mineral spirits in it for 5 years with no problems. The antique tractor guys I work with swear by adding some ATF to make it work better and easier on the hands - it does seem to help. The best modification I made was to buy a US made flow through parts brush - it slips right on the flex nozzle and really makes the job easier.
FWIW,
Chad
I've not recently found a solvent that is better than mineral spirits for use in the type of washer you have; and it can be easily disposed of along with used engine oil, etc. Now a few years back we used to get Royal Chem Solv #2 that did SUPER GOOD, and lasted a long time in our washer with a paper towel fluid filtering system installed. EPA took care of that though, the last time I bought some, I thought they had mistakenly sold us baby butt wash. Our washer isn't used that much any more these days since we installed our Ranger high pressure rotary washing system. We can just load that with up to 500# of parts, and in half an hour they come out sparking clean without having to invest any scrubbing time. It uses 180 degree hot water with a powdered detergent additive, which has a rust inhibitor blended in to prevent flash rust formation on cleaned parts. One of the better investments we have made, saves hundreds of man hours. Also has a built in oil skimmer that helps remove oil and grease from the solution; if you have lots of parts to clean, you can't beat it.
One other solvent has come to mind that is a good product; it's called FLOWAY. Is produced and marketed by KANO LABS; the makers of KROIL penetrating oil that many of us use. They are located in Nashville, TN and sell direct. This product also leaves behind a gentle coating that prevents flash rust, reasonably priced for a top of the line product too.
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