parts washer

[SignWave]

I needed a parts washer. With some digging and scrounging I came up with the following. Its not the prettiest thing but its doing the job so far. The only thing i paid for was the pump , solvent, and drain tube extension. The sink, stand, casters, pail, and drain assembly&stopper were scrounged. The flexible outlet or spigot or whatever you call it where the solvent comes out used to be an Ikea lamp fixture... it leaks a bit but not enough to be a concern.

the spigot thing is adjustable to about 30 inches above the sink for taller parts and i had to do some mickeying to get teh valve in there.

Its not pretty but it does the job and I needed something quick so that i could deal with the 50HP and other dirty , greasy items ive got going..

wanna buy it? only $299.99 on sale! yeah right.
when i think of all the time it took. I could have bought a unit for less than the cost of my labour. Problem was that all the units I saw did not have a bucket sump. They all had a mesh screen bottom and the solvent sat in the wash area. I didnt like that. I would have always been cleaning parts in a 3 inch deep lake of cleaner... the sink affords me a bit of distance from the solvent and I can see where those loose washers and nuts get to rather than having to fuddle around in the solvent trying to find them.

[tnjind]

Thats pretty slick. Even stainless.
I wonder if a lid is needed to keep the sink from funneling sparks into the solvent? I know, never gonna weld around it, right?

[Noisy Nova]

Darn, that's a good idea. I'll have to keep a look-out for the parts.

[Goodhand]

Impressive job on that. What will you use to stopper the sink outlet, that won't be eaten up by the solvent, if you need to soak something?

Only $299 on sale? How much for shipping to Montana?

[shott8283]

is there a filter anywhere to protect your pump or to seperate the gunk from the good fluid so the drum will last longer?

thats another one to add to the list of stuff to build

thanks for the idea!

[SignWave]

Hi Guys,
thanks for the +f/b.
to answer all your questions.

This rig does need a cover, but right now the sink stopper fits nice and tight so if a renegade spark did happen to find its way... not much would come of it, but still, I dont intend to find out. Its on wheels so I can push it out of the way when I dont need to use it. Most likely keep it outside. No need to stink up the shop, house etc. The solvent (varsol, paint thinner, trimethylbenzene- all the same stuff) does not smell good to me.

As for filtration, I have put a piece of silkscreening mesh in front of the suction side of the pump. The mesh of this screen is about 250 so its fine enough to keep out all the nasties that might clog the pump. The pump doesnt sit on the bottom of the pail iether, its about ahlf way down in the solvent. This serves double duty. It keeps the pump clean and lets me know when im running low on cleaner.

All the parts on this rig are iether rubber, polyethylene, ABS , or inox. all of these materials are stable when in contact withthe juice. The pump was made in that country so I suspect it will be first to go so if and when it does, I'll be looking for one made closer to home.

I was going to put a switch on it, but I think i like the idea of having to plug it in to use it alot better. I cant accidentally leave it running that way. The pump is whisper silent so... I dont need some unforseen event happening and starting a fire or leaving a lake of solvent on the floor to evaporate and blow the house off its foundation...

[welderman23]

good stuff .did you tig it ?

the last one i built was a 55 gallon drum
cut in half lengthwise with a screen made out of 22 Ga. galvanized perf

[SignWave]

TIGgity, TIGgity, TIGgity... Ooooooh Yeahhhhhhh!

I have some space restrictions so the sink set up works well. A 55 gl. drum would have been nice. Lots of space for big parts. less spalsh on the floor

[shott8283]

for the lid id recomend riggin it to a foot pedal.. so when your not using it .. it "fails" closed.. it suck to leave the lid open and start throwin sparks in that general direction

[SignWave]

for the lid id recomend riggin it to a foot pedal.. so when your not using it .. it "fails" closed.. it suck to leave the lid open and start throwin sparks in that general direction

good idea. I'll need to cut the flow of solvent too. thats the part thats going to prove the challenge.

[tnjind]

You could put a limit type switch that is wired to the pump on the foot pedal for the lid.
You did a very nice job, just please be careful with the solvents, BOOM could be bad. There are some waterbased cleaners that might work OK.

[SignWave]

You could put a limit type switch that is wired to the pump on the foot pedal for the lid.
You did a very nice job, just please be careful with the solvents, BOOM could be bad. There are some waterbased cleaners that might work OK.

Thanks Tim.

There is a problem with putting a switch on the pump. It will still be running as the lid slams shut and ultimately because of my layout, this will spill solvent, perhaps if i move the spout then maybe i can make it work.

I suspect that this rig is going ot live outside (were someone can steal it....) becuase im not keen on having it in the shop. Likew you say. it only takes one spark. Im a pyro and id love to see the sink on fire just to see it burn, but not in the shop...my whole life is tied up in my shop(s).

[tnjind]

I hear ya, I love to burn things too but also like you not in the shop. The contents of my shop are worth more the contents of the house.
I di like the idea of using a sink for a wash tank.

[Trap Doctor]

I use jet-A ava-gas in my parts washer. Cleans super dry and works on Clay target (shotgun shooting).

looks great

jim,

[SignWave]

Hi Jim,
Jet A is pretty much kerosene. Be very careful that you dont atomize the stuff near a flame or spark. That stuff is fun to light!!! hehehehe.
How much did you pay for a gallon? I have a client at the local airport that sells jet A and av gas 100 low lead. that 100 LL goes well in high compression gokarts and hotrods!

I bought a 5 gallon (20liter) pail of varsol for 35bucks.. what a ripp off.