Les Henson Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I bought a floor standing parts washer from MachineMart yesterday, and the fluid that they sell for it is absolute rubbish. I tried to clean a Rover camshaft housing in it and nothing happened - even after leaving it to soak overnight. Does anyone else have a parts washer, and what fluid do you use? Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 For the "Full Itchy" hands use the HFH "Special" Formula http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?s=&s...st&p=223441 For the saner amongst you Kerosene is prob best - stinks at 1st but that does go Then of course you can add "Things" to it Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OilIT Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Les, I bought some 5l tins of jizer and it works well - the same cant be said about the pump on my machinemart parts washer though! Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnover4x4 Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 If you can get hold of the stuff "safety cleen" is the best stuff. Will digest the toughest of dirt. Gizers ok but not so effective. Failing that on a budget parafin,diesel or as already stated kerosene. Diesel is really effective used to wash out the insides of locomotive engines & does pretty good job. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Persil ? Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countax Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I bought a floor standing parts washer from MachineMart yesterday, and the fluid that they sell for it is absolute rubbish. I tried to clean a Rover camshaft housing in it and nothing happened - even after leaving it to soak overnight.Does anyone else have a parts washer, and what fluid do you use? Les. Les, I also have the MachineMart parts washer and agree their cleaning fluid is rubbish. If you find a suitable alternative and its available to buy in bulk then let me know and i will join you in a buying club. Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 At work we use Astromat orange, its very good at removing almost anything, and it smells of orange, you'd almost feel like drinking it!! wouldnt know where to buy it tho! I just borrow some when I need it I should think thinner and other solvents will work fine, I just cleaned a whole tdi with thinner and it takes all the grime away! Other solvents like acetone, MEK, isopropanol etc are all good degreasers but a bit toxic (well not exactely a bit, I'd say extremely!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Spot Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Safetycleans loyal workers are more than ready to accept beer tokens! Just ask your local garage when they are calling in to service the parts washer and be there to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I thought, from recommendation in another thread, that the fluid of choice is Cillit Bang, which the thread also says is available from Lidl or Aldi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cillit_Bang) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 normal white spirit is extremely good but might eat your pump, well make it die slightly faster anyway.... mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 The problem I have with the machine mart stuff is, mine will not get used for a month or two at a time and it went mouldy. So if were buying as a group count me in.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 Substances such as Petrol, cellulose thinners, acetone, brake cleaner, etc are no good - they will wreck the pump in no time. There's also the consideration that I need a minimum of 20-litres in the tank, so expensive stuff will be expensive! Parrafin/diesel mix might be a good idea. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I bought specific stuff from Lucas (or is it now LSUK). It comes in 25litre cans and is very effective. I'd be wary about having petrol in a parts washer, not sure, especially with electrics close to it. I've got a Safety Alert from Conoco where the cooling fluid from a hacksaw grew bugs which were a bit harmful. If the machine mart stuff goes mouldy, it maybe has the safe kind of issues.. I'll see if I can find it. May not be relevant but better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I just use parrafin. Its cheap, doesnt smell too bad and is kinder to your hands than some things. Hasnt killed the pump in mine and I've had it about 3 years now. I find that and a plastic "washing up" type brush for scrubbing works a treat. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Having turned my first tub of cleaner into "Hydrocarbon Soup with added lumps", I now scrape as much off as I can before chucking them in. I also have a selection of accessories which live in the tub including an old collander, little wire brushes a couple of paint brushes and some nuts that run up and down threads. I always wear gloves as well although the latex ones go "huge" in a couple of minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D9OSV Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Any good Auto spares place will sell it in 25litre containers for about £30+vat The best way though (If you do this for a living or a serious enthusiast) is get a company such as 'Clean Machine' they come round every 3 months or sooner if required. Wash out your tank and replace the fluid and deal with the waste for about £45 inc vat. They will offer you a choice of cleaning fluids. Most of these companies rent out the machines as well. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotal Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 The problem I have with the machine mart stuff is, mine will not get used for a month or two at a time and it went mouldy.So if were buying as a group count me in.. I'm glad it's not just me - just opened mine up to find it full of white fur! I'm not impressed with the machine mart stuff either, it's not brilliant at cleaning parts but it does a fantastic job at cleaning your hands after a few hours under the land rover. Would diesel be ok for the pump then? I've got 5 gallons of contaminated diesel out of another car (when I drained the tank) I might give that a go but will it kill the pump? and will it be any good on it's own as a cleaner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Would diesel be ok for the pump then? I've got 5 gallons of contaminated diesel out of another car (when I drained the tank) I might give that a go but will it kill the pump? and will it be any good on it's own as a cleaner? Having just bought a cheap parts-washer (ebay, less than £40 ) I was thinking exactly the same - or perhaps a mix of diesel and jizer/gunk? Having read the thread above there wasn't a definitive 'mix' agreed on. I am keen to avoid full-on solvents and equally don't like the idea of solely water-based stuff... Has anybody got a mix that they recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 I've now settled on paraffin and jizer mix. It seems to get everything off except heavy staining and alloy corrosion. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy_SP Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Folks - please don't even consider trying white spirit - I used to use it as a cutting lubricant when I did cylinder head porting. Without realising it, I was breathing it in... After a while I started getting mystery headaches - they got worse and worse until I had to have a series of tests including a brain scan. Things got to the point where I was getting lost going home (I don't drink, so it wasn't that...). In the end, I got a different job and stopped working on heads. Over time, the pains in my head went away, and I forgot all about them - until many years later when I did some more porting. Within minutes of breathing in the white spirit, the pains came back - so as you can imagine, I've stayed well clear of white spirit ever since... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 That's unfortunate Paddy, as White Spirit is what everyone uses here, unless that name means another solvent in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy_SP Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 That's unfortunate Paddy, as White Spirit is what everyone uses here, unless that name means another solvent in the UK. I don't know whether it's the same as the stuff you use over there, but here's a load of info about it - toxicity is discussed at the bottom of the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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