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Team California
 
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Best solvent for parts washer in 2017

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere here before but I'm too lazy to flip through old threads.

Just scored a nice old Grey Mills/Handiclean parts washer on CL, what should I run in it? Used for cleaning oily, dirty automotive and MC parts, of course. My buddy has one at his shop w the service contract, they put some citrus based water soluable solution in it that actually works really well. I'd love to find out where to get that.

My machine shop guy told me to run odorless mineral spirits in it. That's easy to get. Before I run out and buy some, thought I'd ask here.

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Old 04-08-2017, 03:44 PM
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All of the above.
I've used Diesel fuel, also...even gasoline.
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Old 04-08-2017, 04:13 PM
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I used mineral spirits.
Old 04-08-2017, 04:33 PM
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Thanks. I'm going to run either mineral spirits or kerosene in it. Don't want to use anything more volatile than that and the smell of gasoline makes me ill.
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Old 04-08-2017, 08:19 PM
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That citrus solvent is D-Limonene. Made from orange skins. It is cut with water and actually works better when done so then straight. B100 (bio-diesel) is actually really good as well (AKA Fatty Acid Methyl Ester).

Green Solvents & Bio-Solvents Market by Type & Application - 2020 | MarketsandMarkets
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Old 04-08-2017, 08:33 PM
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I still like stoddard solvent the best. I get it it my local oil distributor.
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Old 04-09-2017, 04:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway View Post
That citrus solvent is D-Limonene. Made from orange skins. It is cut with water and actually works better when done so then straight. B100 (bio-diesel) is actually really good as well (AKA Fatty Acid Methyl Ester).

Green Solvents & Bio-Solvents Market by Type & Application - 2020 | MarketsandMarkets
Thanks! I wonder where to get that stuff.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fastfredracing View Post
I still like stoddard solvent the best. I get it it my local oil distributor.
Which is just mineral spirits, right?

I'm going to experiment w some diesel in a pan today, if it cuts grease well enough, it might win. ULSD is around $2.65 a gallon today and has no smell since they took the sulphur out of it. Mineral spirits are up to about $20 a gallon or more these days. In the list of automotive fluids that I can tolerate working with, new diesel and gasoline are on opposite ends of the scale. ULSD is like baby oil.

Some people use kerosene which is very close to diesel. Hope it works well.
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Last edited by speeder; 04-09-2017 at 11:02 AM..
Old 04-09-2017, 11:00 AM
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"Some people use kerosene which is very close to diesel. Hope it works well."
~~~~~~~~
I said diesel earlier, I meant kerosene. Oops.
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Old 04-09-2017, 11:30 AM
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Any reason that kerosene would work better than diesel? I can get kerosene. Thanks.
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Old 04-09-2017, 12:29 PM
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Isn't kerosene just highly refined diesel?...less oil, etc. Dunno.
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Old 04-09-2017, 12:46 PM
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Then again, the price of a gallon...diesel @ $3.25 per...vs kerosine $?.?? per.
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Old 04-09-2017, 12:48 PM
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Forgetting price, any reason kerosene would be better? The small amount of $$ doesn't matter to me if it works better.
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Denis

When hats and t-shirts are being sold at a funeral, it's a cult.
Old 04-09-2017, 01:34 PM
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Team California
 
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What about mixing kerosene or diesel w mineral spirits? Just looked no for the most effective, easily available stuff that won't kill me for using it.

I do have the right gloves, FWIW.
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When hats and t-shirts are being sold at a funeral, it's a cult.
Old 04-09-2017, 01:35 PM
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I ran odorless mineral spirits in mine for awhile but it tended to clog up the pump in my unit due to the milky nature of the odorless type. I then went to Purple Power degreaser which worked pretty well. It is OK as a bulk degreaser but I do have to finish up some parts with brake cleaner in a plastic tub on occasion. I bought large jugs of it a Sams Club and ran it full strength. I didn't want to use kerosene or diesel b/c my garage is attached to my house and the smell would be a problem. Other eco friendly degreasers out there are SuperClean (made by Castrol, expensive) or ZEP (at HomeDepot) but I have not tried those.

As a side note most of the "eco" degreasers are only OK for brief cleaning of aluminum. Don't soak aluminum parts in these for days. Degrease them then rinse immediately otherwise they can eat the aluminum similar to the same way SimpleGreen eats aluminum.
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Old 04-09-2017, 02:36 PM
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Don't be a cheapazz just get the stoddard solvent/mineral spirits
when you get diesel on your hands it'll take you all week to get the smell off
Those nice ladies you associate with won't appreciate it
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Old 04-09-2017, 04:01 PM
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The green & bio-based solvents market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to the stringent regulations imposed on chemical-based industrial solvents in relation to VOC emissions.

North America dominated the green & bio-based solvents market in 2015 with an estimated revenue of over USD 2 billion; and is projected to grow significantly over the coming years owing to the stringent environmental regulations imposed by the U.S. EPA on industrial solvents for VOC emissions.

Read more: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/green-bio-based-solvents-market

Old 06-19-2018, 11:26 PM
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