Other: solvent tanks

[kmac530]

What do you guys use in your solvent tanks?

I do alot of carb cleaning on motorcycles, and a good bit of degreasing of engine parts and just general grim removal.

I know alot of folks that use Mineral Spirits, others Kerosene, others Diesel fuel or some other stuff.
I have a friend that uses some water soluable stuff in his commercial tank but you have to rinse it with water when done and that is not my favorite on bare metal parts like cylinders and cranks....etc.

It works ok, but it is not cheap either. What works best for you folks?

[gordr]

Lately, I have been using "spent" solvent from work. I do wellsite geology, and for washing samples drilled with oil-based drilling fluid, we use solvent, followed centrifugal and vacuum dryers. Works really well. When I began using this system, we used a plant-sourced solvent, d-limonene, derived from citrus rinds. It worked well, but was very costly. Now, I use a deodorized petroleum solvent, that looks and feels much like Varsol, but is almost completely odorless. Works just as well, and does not leave the sample lab stinking of rotten fruit.

Eventually the solvent becomes cut by base oil or diesel fuel, and does not dry well off the samples, so I pour the spent solvent into a pail, and start with fresh. Over the course of a typical well, I will accumulate 2 to 4 gallons of spent solvent. Leave it sit a few weeks, and you have a pail of clear brown liquid that works as well as fresh Varsol for degreasing your average grungy Studebaker part, like the center pivot for the steering.

Any parts that will be painted will need thorough degreasing, of course. But the spent solvent works just fine for the heavy lifting.

[sweetolbob]

Kelly

I just gave away my solvent washing tank because I haven't used it in years. When I used it I used kerosene but that stuff is getting expensive and a bitch to get rid of unless you pour it out on the ground.

I've switched to a container of the appropriate size for the job and water based "Super Clean" liquid cleaner. It does a good job of removing grease, it's non-flammable so I can use it in my heated pole barn in the winter and I've just finished cleaning about every removable chassis part from my 74 Avanti prior to painting them.

Most of the other cleaners are Posers compared to Super Clean, so if you want to try a waterbased cleaner get that brand or one with the same ingredients listed on the label. Most auto store, home centers and stores like Walmart carry it. About $8.00/ gal.

Bob

[kmac530]

Bob,
That is funny, I had a solvent tank for years, then I gave it to my bro-in-law when I quit building motors and bigger stuff to focus on racing MX. I always ran new bikes every year or two so even when i did a bike motor they were very clean already so a little spray cleaner was fine and the solvent tank just took up alot of room and stunk up my attached garage. Since then when I have needed to clean something I have been using a bucket or tray with a Purple Power or Castrol Super Clean {almost the same stuff} and while it does work, I am just tired of spraying, scrubbing, rinsing...repeating...repeating...
Now that I am doing alot more older parts cleaning and retsoration work I want my solvent tank back really badly. I miss laying a part in it and the spray brush with a constant rinse stream. I had a solvent that was low odor and specifically made for tanks but I do not remember what it was called and I am having trouble finding it in Cali again. The purple spray stuff is WAY expensive for bigger stuff. I used 2 bottles on my block and a third one on my heads, The 40 oz spray bottles here in my area are about 9-10 bucks. I have spent over 30 bucks just on cleaners not counting carb and brake clean cans, probably well over 60 bucks just to clean my parts so far and my truck is not even running yet. My tank had a spin on filter in the pump system and stayed clean for a long time. The stuff i had in my tank was a few bucks a gallon and my tank help about 5 gallons I think and lasted years with the filter. One $20+ dollar fill up and I could build a whole car.

Plus that purple super power degreaser stuff is SO heavy on amonia it kills my lungs when I spray, I choke bad on that stuff. Solvents have never bothered me other than MEK giving me headaches if I get it on my skin for very long. Thanks for the input, but I am looking for something more permanent I can have than the spray stuff.

Gord,
Where can I get this deodorized solvent that you use and what is it called?

Thanks guys.

[kmac530]

So I have done some searches based on gords ideas and Varsol is not available in Ca anymore. It looks like not since 2007. Then the optional replacement for that is Exxsol D {both are exxon mobil products} which is also not available here in "Green world". The closest thing we have in place of it is odorless Mineral Spirits which I find works ok, not great, but if that is all I can get I will use that, but I was curious if diesel or something would work as well or better?
I do not mind having to use a spray degreaser and water rinse at the end of the cleaning process to remove any residue from the diesel if I have to, I just want the best solvent for my tank.

[Neal in NM]

I use kerosene and when I am done with it, I add it to the used motor-oil that I turn in for recycling. The FLAPS have accepted it without a problem. Neal

[gordr]

The product I have been using is a proprietary product of a small company here in Alberta, but reading from their packaging and MSDS sheet, it would appear to come within an gnat's eyelash of Isopar K, from Exxon-Mobil. http://exxonmobilchemical.ides.com/e...px?I=22455&U=0

[kmac530]

I went on Kleen Strips website to look at their msds on OMS, and I found out California stinks. We even have to have a different mineral spirits than everywhere else. There is "Odorless Mineral Spirits" and then there is "OMS 'carb'" or to us here, the California Air Resources Board. So we here in the south end have the CARB, AQMD, EPA, CEPA, SCAQMD, and I think there may be another "management" group or 2 here. Im dizzy, and it is not from the fumes. It might be some of that new compound they found "Governmentium Gv"

[DEEPNHOCK]

Just look for 'Stoddard Solvent' ( a generic name)
NAPA, and most of the auto supply store chains sell solvent for recirculting parts washers.
Example: http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=MCR6510_0075100052
I have custom mixed solvents and cleaners over the years with mixed results.
Nowadays, I just bite the bullet and replace the solvent every few years.

For disposal, just mix it with your old crankcase oil and recycle it.

<snip>
Where can I get this deodorized solvent that you use and what is it called?
Thanks guys.

[kmac530]

Jeff, according to Kleen Strips msds page the odorless MS is the same basic compound as Stoddard Solvent, it even uses it as an alternate name for it. So I guess I have my solvent.

So why have I heard of people using diesel fuel? Does that work at all? Why would someone use it or not use it? Just curious.

[gordr]

Diesel fuel is way too oily for solvent tanks, and takes forever to dry off your parts. Believe me, I tried it. If you had a lot of really greasy, grungy parts, you could use diesel as a pre-wash, and rinse with "regular" solvent afterwards.

When my Dad had his lawnmower/small engine business, he used stove oil as a solvent, which was convenient because his shop was heated by an oil stove, the kind where oil was drip-fed into a firebox. Stuff is similar to kerosene; furnace oil, which is burned in a pressure-fed burner, is more like diesel.

Just remembered something. If you want decent solvent at about as good a price as you will get, go to a local airport, and get some jet fuel. You might be able to mooch some tank drainings from the shop of a charter outfit or helicopter base that runs turbine-powered aircraft. Or simply bit the bullet and order a barrel of it at the going rate, whatever that is. Makes a fine solvent, as it is basically very clean kerosene.

My used solvent goes into empty oil jugs, and along with my used oil, goes to a friend's heavy-duty shop in the next town, which heats with a waste-oil heater.

[kmac530]

Thanks everyone, that answered my questions. You folks once again came thru with a clear helpful direction.
AS to using the waste oil, that is a great idea gord....but no one heats much around here...can you use waste oil/fuel products to cool a shop? lol

[DEEPNHOCK]

Probably because diesel fuel is cheap....

Jeff, according to Kleen Strips msds page the odorless MS is the same basic compound as Stoddard Solvent, it even uses it as an alternate name for it. So I guess I have my solvent.

So why have I heard of people using diesel fuel? Does that work at all? Why would someone use it or not use it? Just curious.

[sweetolbob]

Posted by kmac530
<snip>can you use waste oil/fuel products to cool a shop? lol

Heck yes!



Bob

[kmac530]

How is that fan powered by waste oil/fuel?