I've been using an old dishwasher as a parts washer, and while it's somewhat effective, there's a lot of room for improvement. For one, the rotating spray bar gave up the ghost, and secondly, I wish the wash cycle was longer.
I did some googling on the subject, and it seems that what I want is an immersion parts washer. There's a few companies that make them, but they're in the solid 4 figures, some in the 5 figure range.
It seems my options are to modify a dishwasher to do what I need, or build a parts washer from scratch.
The advantages of modifying an existing dishwasher is the functionality is all there, so all I'd have to do is figure out how to make it behave the way I want. The disadvantage is I have to become an expert in dishwashery.
The advantage of building my own parts washer is I get to make it exactly the way I want it, but I have to re-invent the wheel for the various functions. I figure I would need a pump for pressure, a pump for draining, some sort of spray apparatus, a heating element, a rack/frame to put the parts on, and an enclosure to hold it all. I'm envisioning a stainless steel box with an opening top, and a matrix of copper tubing around the inside edges with holes drilled in it to act as the spray apparatus.
Have any of you done something like this, or know of a parts washer of this type that is suitable for a home mechanic?
Here's a couple of examples:
http://www.renegadepartswashers.com/parts_washer/TMB_7000_parts_washer_110v.htm