MM951

I think you are underestimating Van's garage

Van

Yeah, I have small kids, too.


$57 for 5 gallons: http://www.mcmaster.com/#parts-washers/=fn9jky
I diluted it about 1:3 gallons with water.

Jrboulder

I really really want one of those.

Scratch that -- I need one of those.

m73m95

I bought a portable dishwasher off of CL.

I hook it directly to the drain on the water heater, and use either Simple Green for "light cleaning", or solvent/glycerine soap for heavier duty stuff.

Run your parts through a "pots and pans" cycle, and they come out spotless

dontnow

I have one from harbor freight and the pump never worked, so I have been using it for soaking, scrubbing and dipping. Just getting around to shopping for a pump. $80-110 at Mcmaster-carr or grainger

Travis - sflraver

http://www.lowes.com/pd_124762-68-63...ductId=3010340

Try some of this stuff... Mix about 1/4 carton in 5 gal of water and it works great. Tri-Sodium Phosphate FTW... and its cheap.

944Ross

It says on the side of my box of TSP: "Do Not Apply to Aluminum Surfaces". I really like Purple Cleaner, although on CV grease and axle grease it is less effective.

My problem at the moment is I need to clean a 200-lb cast iron block and a 90-lb crankshaft. I'm thinking 55-gallon drum.

Travis - sflraver

They don't want you to know how well it works...

Van

Cool flat head V8 - looks like a monster! How much would it cost to take it to an engine shop and have them hot tank it?

944Ross

I'm taking it in for that today. It got water into three intake ports, and the valves and lifters are rusted in place. So it will get a caustic dip, then an acid dip. Flatheads are just like Porsche engines, you don't ask the cost, you just bend over and take it! At least Porsches don't have 1/2" of lead sludge in the pan.

CurtP

I use kerosene or diesel fuel in my Harbor Freight parts washer.

PorscheDoc

We just finished cleaning out our parts washer after the pump quit working. Intake screen inside the metal housing was clogged, so we opened the metal housing and cleaned that out and were rolling again. We are thinking of mounting a remote oil filter housing and filter to the side of the washer, then once the fluid starts to get dirty, skim the fluid from the top down, running it through the filter and a pump and back into the washer once the sludge is scooped out of the bottom. Toss the cheap filter each time and we should get multiple rotations out of the fluid. Fluid isn't cheap when you are washing a lot of drity parts, lol.

944Ross

Most good old-fashioned (pre HF) washers have a sludge trap in the sump, just like sewage treatment plants. But what do you do with the sludge once you scoop it out? It shouldn't go to a landfill.

PorscheDoc

Of course not, it gets dumped in the oil recycling bin and taken to the recyclers, LOL.

seafeye

Lets just hope we don't get close to anything like this.....