i go rat style with my tools too!

[joehalford01]

i got a killer deal on a 20 gallon parts washer yeaterday. $25 and it's brand new! The guy had it for five years and never used it. Turns out he is a big rat rod guy too. He posts alot on the HAMB and goes to all the monthly A&W cruz nights we have locally. He was a really cool guy, i told him about this site, i hope he makes it over here as it sounded like he knew his stuff. Here are some pics, we had to break it down to fit it in the car but i havn't had a chance to put it all together yet. Any recomendations on stuff to fill it with? 20 gallons is alot of fluid and I want to spend as little as possible but still get some bang for my buck.

 

[joehalford01]

YIKES, i knew this was a rat forum but i figured someone must have used one of these before.

 

[FlatBroke]

Try contacting your local "SAFETY KLEEN" and see if you can purchase that much fluid from them..Or mayb get on a rotation schedule with them.

Don't use carb cleaner or gas .....please

 

[donsrods]

I bought one of these from Northern, and bought the solution you mix with water. It ate all the paint off the thing in about a week. So I took it back and complained, and they gave me a new one. I put the 5 gallon can of mineral spirits in there that they sell, and have had no problems since. It isn't cheap, but I only put 15 gallons in there. I think even at that it is about $20 for a five gallon can, so about $ 60 to fill it.

But once you have one, you really start to like them. Cleaning engine parts, etc is so much easier.

Don

 

[WIZEGUY]

Joe...I'm surprised you actually bought the parts washer.......... ...jk


Tracy

 

[donsrods]

Oh, buy a good pair of rubber, chemical resistant gloves (long ones that go half way up your arm) Mineral spirits really shrivel up your hands and dry them out.


Tracy is right, looks like rat rods are going hi tech, clean parts and all. lol

Don

 

[joehalford01]

LOL, sorry guys, i just had to say something, it was the perfect opportunity.

I didn't think about mineral spirits don, i'm glad i asked, i was a little worried about 15 gallons of flammable stuff like you mentioned flat but i wasn't really sure on what to get without spending a ton of money. Also, i'll get the gloves, i was wondering about that too, didn't want to be dipping my hands in solution all day.

thanks guys!

 

[FlatBroke]

That solution will BURN your skin...in a heart beat too

 

[donsrods]

Yeah, I was really amazed. It was their tank, and their solution, and it literally ate the paint right off to the waterline. Stripped it right down to bare metal. I mixed it according to their ratio and all.

The mineral spirit stuff didn't do that, but still is rough on the hands.

Don

 

[Inked Monkey]

I bought my parts washer from Harbour Freight and I just bought their solution at first. After it got dirty I just bought the stuff from the parts store. I think O'Reilly's caries the solution.

 

[joehalford01]

hey! I got this thing set-up and the hf solvent (it was $7, thought i'd give it a try) works alright. The pump sucks (as in it blows ). The solvent barely moves, so i looked it up and it says 50 gallons per hour so i'm thinking that it is working right and is just a wimpy pump. I'm thinking about upgrading the pump so i can get some more agitation in there. has anyone tried this? i don't work tomorrow night so i'm going to pop the lid on the pump section tomorrow and see what it looks like inside. I'm thinking if i can, i can drop in a cheap water pump that does quite a bit more then this. Hf has a 1800gallon per min water pump for $30, any thoughts? Thanks guys!

 

[joehalford01]

oops, i meant gallons per hour on the 1855 pump, i cracked open the metal pump casing at lunch real quick, theres just a little water pump in there so it should be a quick swap, cool!

 

[lanechange70]

Why, all ur trying to do is move the grime away while ur cleaning,not blast it away,you trying to be Tim(the toolman)Taylor

 

[FlatBroke]

Huy guys,
If he says
"hey, y'all watch this",

don't look, just run.....Trust me on this...

 

[joehalford01]

i know that....but the stock pump barely moves the solvent, i put a grimey fuel pump in there for a few hours and the solvent loosened up the grease but didn't take it off. I'm thinking that if the solvent moves a bit more it will pull the grease off more readily. I would choose a smaller pump then the 1800 but thats the cheapest one they have so i figure i will try it.

"hey, ya'll watch this"