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Cheap Parts Cleaner
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Uncle Joe
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:11 pm    Post subject: Cheap Parts Cleaner Reply with quote

In one of the local car mags, there is a suggestion that a secondhand dishwasher, two 5 gallon drums, and water soluble degreaser (such as Por Marine clean) can be used for cleaning car parts?

Has anyone else ever heard of this?
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It sounds a good idea - but would 10 gallons be enough to catch and recycle all the cleaner? Surely it would have to be fed with this to be really effective so a pump would be needed otherwise it would waste a lot of cleaner if new frsh water was introduced .

Anyway I have no permanent water supply in my garage so it would have to be hose fed. It heats the water/fluid up to about 75 deg C and I suppose dishwasher powder could be used although the salt in it would rsut and corrode alloy items

I also usually wait till the dishwasher packs up before replacing with a new one as they only seem to last about 5-6 years in our house although they do often turn up on Freecycle if you are quick
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Uncle Joe
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I havent a clue as to whether or not 5 gallons would be enough. Not 10, remember 1 drum must be used to catch the waste. How much water does a dishwasher use? Does any one know?
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buzzy bee



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 3382
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi

I use about 1 bowl a day, does this count?? Laughing

Cheers

Dave
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sound like a whole load of work with little gain to me, when you can buy a 10 gallon parts washer in the UK for less than £50.

If its free or cheap its going to be old and on its last legs.
With the additional drums its going to take up a load more space.
You can't get at the parts to brush thick crud off whilst it is on.
Its going to be a right pain recycling the cleaning fluid
The cleaning fluid neeed to enter the machine at somethine like mains pressure.

And dishwasher tablets aint cheap Wink Wink
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47p2



Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 2009
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Makro are offering a 20 gallon parts washer for £60.00 plus the dreaded VAT £74.00 total.....

Offer available until 11th March
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Uncle Joe
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would have a tendency to agree with the others on this, its a non starter really...

But on the other hand, if the problems involved could be sorted cheaply, it would have some advantages, such as hot degreasing. And how much would a degreaser that has the capacity to degrease a 4 cylinder block cost?
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not many - its the larger items that would be ideal in an old dishwasher eg a Rover IOE straight six block Wink
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47p2



Joined: 24 Nov 2007
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Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have known a couple of people who use the household dishwasher for smaller parts.
I never drink a cuppa when I visit them though Embarassed
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old gto



Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Posts: 172
Location: Orlando, Florida

PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

47p2 wrote:
I have known a couple of people who use the household dishwasher for smaller parts.
I never drink a cuppa when I visit them though Embarassed

Sounds like my kind of people! Parts washing in the dishwasher, powder coating in the oven, part storage in the pantry, paint booth in the shower, and carb rebuilds on the coffee table, LOL!
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Glenn Crawford



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 69
Location: Dorset, SW England

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't much want to make my own degreasing tank - I'm fixing other peoples' classic cars for income these days, and the nice big floor-standing degreaser I was given second-hand has just pegged out, the submerged pump has failed. It was a big steel box called a "Grease Eater" and stands on top of a drum of cleaning fluid, worked a treat until this week!

I have rummaged all over the internet but can't find anything to replace it apart from the ubiquitous "Sealey" brand, which looks a bit insubstantial. Can anyone recommend a sturdy floor-standing degreaser for the small-time semi-professional?
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Glen

Can't you repair / replace the pump?

Dave
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Glenn Crawford



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 69
Location: Dorset, SW England

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Dave
There are two problems - primarily, it's finding a physically compatible pump to go in place of the ailing one, which is suspended in the cleaning tank. The fault seems to be that its seals are failing and it fills up with cleaning fluid, and this in turn has led to the insulation beginning to deteriorate on the rotor, which was locking when I turned on the power.

The secondary problem is my limited enthusiasm for patching up something which is dirty, smelly and likely to go wrong again!

In desperation I have spent an hour or so stripping and temporarily (though
successfully) repairing the pump today, but this degreaser tank has proved such a useful asset that I wouldn't mind paying good money to replace it with a newer / less clapped out one.
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Farmer John



Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 181
Location: Manawatu NZ

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tried the dishwasher. Do not waste any time on it. Managed to coat all the parts as well as interior and racks with oil and grease of an even worse consistency.

John
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Churchill Johnson



Joined: 11 Jan 2011
Posts: 359
Location: Rayleigh Essex

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you tried getting new seals for the pump i admit they can be smelly but that would still be cheaper than a new parts washer. I know a bloke near me put a scooter carb in his dish-washer to clean it not that it made any difference to the bike starting, the fault was found to be a bent needle.
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