Parts washers

[Ghoste]

How many of you have a parts washer in your home shop?  I've been searching for one lately and the 20 gallon recirculating one seems to be about the right one for my needs, but....
I can get a new 40 gallon one right now for the same price.  Does anyone with a 20 gallon size wish it were bigger?  For the amount that I'll use it I can't automatically assume that bigger is better but if it is then I definitely want the larger unit.
Are these things all made by the same place in China?  They appear to be pretty much identical no matter who is selling or what name is on the side.
So advice?  User reviews?  Pros and cons?

[twodko]

Hi Ghoste,

It wouldn't surprise me if they all came from the
same Chinese factory.

The main question in my mind is how
much will you really use a 20gal unit much less a 40gal?

How large are the items to be cleaned?

Harbor Fright is always a first choice for minimal use tools.

I bought a couple gallon cans of parts cleaner from
Napa. They have a basket inside for small parts.
For the larger parts I needed to clean I just douched
them with cleaner, scrubbed with a brush and rinsed
them in an inviromentaly responsible area on my property.

[DC_1]

I used to have one of those parts cleaners in my garage. 99% of the time it was used as a horizontal surface to store stuff on. I got rid of it. Now I just put small parts in a rubbermade container and hit them with some degreaser. I scrub then rinse and put the container away. For for bigger items, liked the rear end housing I took apart a few months ago, I go to the local engine builder and buy him a Timmies card loaded with a few coffees to toss it in the hot tank when he has room

[Ghoste]

I definitely can use one, that much I know.

[Dino]

If it's the same price then your only question should be do I have the room for it.  If the answer is yes then get the 40 gallon version, if it's no then get the 20 gallon one.  You WILL find things to clean large enough to utilize the bigger one.

[maxwellwedge]

I've got one - not sure of the size. They are great to have if you need them. The only problem is that they stink up my building....if you can use them outside - all the better.

[HPP]

Search craigslist for someone unloading one cheap. Cut the legs off and set it on top of a drum.

The more cleaner, the more crud you can put in it before its saturated, but the more it costs to replace once its shot.

If your cleaning a lot of stuff, it may be worth while. Either one is better than the smallish 5 gallon units.

[John_Kunkel]

I don't understand the fascination with "recirculating" parts washers, a simple tank with a drainboard works the best for me. This one only uses 5 gallons of solvent.

[Ghoste]

In effect though, what you have is the same thing.  The recirculating one is likely cheaper than the stainless sink and cleaning center you have and the pump is included.
For me personally I can say the fascination is cheap, available and fits neatly into the space I have for it.

[John_Kunkel]

Not the same thing; by definition, with the "recirculating" type you don't immerse the parts in solvent but, instead, the parts sit on a tray elevated above the solvent and are bathed by solvent flowing from a nozzle which then drains back to the sump and is "recirculated".

I prefer to soak 'um.

[Ghoste]

Ah, but I can easily remove the tray in about 2 seconds and let them soak in the basin so all good. 

[squeakfinder]

   


       The solvent tanks I use at work are basically a steel sink sitting on top of a 30/35 gallon barrel. These are superior in my opinion to that rectangle blue and red thing I got at Harbor Freight. It will work, but there isn't the surface space under the lid to hose parts down and brush them off. Also, the solvent seems to evaporate out of the one I have at home rather quickly.

[Ghoste]

What was the capacity of the one you got at HF?

[squeakfinder]

     It's 20 gallons. However you can get away with just 5 gallons. That pearl solvent ain't cheap the last time I checked.

[Ghoste]

Now you have me leaning toward the 40 gallon unit then.

[squeakfinder]

//

[squeakfinder]

/////

[71 SE3834V]

One question is do you have a way to dispose of the used fluid?
I had a small HF tank for a while. The pump was a hard plastic and broke. I had a heck of a time finding someone to take the old fluid. Tried water soluble degreaser. Didn't work so good. Since I was running a small engine repair shop outta my garage and needed it a lot I ended up getting hooked up with Safety Kleen. Bought their 6 gal. unit. Don't remember what I paid but it was worth it. Cost a bit to change out the tank but no hassles with the environment.
I try to clean extremely dirty things in a drain pain to make the fluid last longer and it does have a filter.
Working area measures 20" x 12".

[Troy]

I have an HF 40 gallon and that much solvent is pricey! Yeah, I know it doesn't have to be full and the bottom can have water. I honestly think it's way too big unless maybe you're rebuilding a lot of transmissions. I actually bought a 20 gallon to use with solvent and was going to fill the big one with rust remover/converter like I had seen someone else do. That one had shipping damge though and there wasn't a replacement in stock so I stuck with what I had. I mainly use it as a shelf and fill small containers with kerosene for degreasing small parts.

Troy

[Charger4404spd]

Yeah the solvent is $$$$. Does anyone use a flammable solvent? There was a big sticker on mine that said to use non-flammable cleaner. Only thing I could find was a heavy duty cleaner and it sucks.

[69rtse4spd]

I use 5 gallons of the real nasty stuff, take your skin right off, got it back in the day. Old timer in fork truck repair said to mix it with 5 or 10 gallons of ATF fluid, cleans great & saves your skin.

[71 SE3834V]

Speaking of nasty stuff, anyone remember this stuff. It'll eat the paint off of anything and take a carb down to bare metal in no time. 2 part chemical where the upper fluid neutralizes the lower cleaning fluid. Nasty smelling. If you get any on your clothes your better off to throw them out rather than stink up your washer.  
Notice the skull and crossbones on the lid. 

[John_Kunkel]

The bottoms of last two buckets of that stuff I had rotted out.....what a mess !!!

[71 SE3834V]

The bottoms of last two buckets of that stuff I had rotted out.....what a mess !!!

That's what I'm afraid of. Mine is off the floor on a roll around cart so I'm hoping it'll be good for awhile. Anyone know if it'll eat through a 5 gal plastic bucket? I have one with a screw on lid but thinking it might soften the plastic.

[Ghoste]

What was the product John?  (and how long did it take?)

[John_Kunkel]

Both times it was Berryman Chem-Dip...it took a long time, rotted out where the bottom is seamed to the bucket.

[v21hemicharger]

I just bought 5 gal of napa solvent Wednesday.  $103.  I'd go 20 gallon.  You could buy a nice pressure washer for what it would cost for enough solvent to fill a 40 gallon tank.

[John_Kunkel]

Paint thinner (mineral spirits) is the same as solvent, $16/gallon at Home Depot...cheaper in bulk.

[Dmichels]

Low odor mineral spirits works great. I "donate" my old fluid to work and let Safety Clean deal with it.
Dave

[69wannabe]

Both times it was Berryman Chem-Dip...it took a long time, rotted out where the bottom is seamed to the bucket.

I also have a bucket of this chem-dip. The metal bucket rotted so I was able to save some of it and put it in a plastic 5 gal bucket. I bought a couple of gallons of the chem dip in the gallon size from o'reillys since I lost a little bit of the cleaner swapping from one bucket to the other. It has been in the plastic bucket for a couple of years and it is still holding up so maybe that will hold up awhile. I don't think the newer cleaner is as good as what used to come in those bucket's. The gallon size containers have a little plastic bucket in the and it used to be metal. The bucket is what I use for de-greasing engine part's and carb rebuild's but I could use a parts washer too. The part's washer would be good to rinse off the remaining carb cleaner off the part's after I take them out of the bucket. Been shopping around myself for a 20 gal that would be good for limited home use. Tractor supply has them also and I was very close to buying one last month but I got sidetracked and never made the purchase...

[John_Kunkel]

Using a solvent parts washer to clean off Chem-Dip residue will quickly pollute the solvent so you'd be better off to use a small solvent washer like the Harbor Freight offering or clean off the Chem-Dip with water..that's what I do.

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-1-2-half-gallon-parts-washer-96952.html

[69wannabe]

Good Point, wasn't really thinking I guess!!! Not a strong point for me sometimes, lol.....

[Brock Lee]

We have a Safety Kleen 250. Bought it at an auction for $150. It was barely used. Stuff like that I prefer to wait and grab them at auctions. When you buy higher end stuff like that, they are made to be serviced, so even if you get it home and find a problem, you can fix it and still be into it cheap.