[Fstarocka]

Hi all - so finally tested my ranger cleaner today and was VERY impressed - partly because i didnt have enough detergent in it which seemed to be beneficial in two ways:

• the oil disc would pickup the oil VERY well because the oil is not broken down as a much as perhaps a stronger detergent would have which
• leaves a very light oil residue on the parts which in turn does help with flash or rust

My question is has anyone used the industrial stuff like Zep Part Wash Cleaning Solution, Powder, 40 Lb?

mine holds 50 gallons and i didnt run it long enough to heat up - honestly 3-4 minutes alone in this thing cleaned up so much oil i was wonderfully surprised.

I have about 5 engines to rebuild currently and this is really helping - but I was curious what you guys have used?

My other concern is whether the detergents will break the oils down which might not leaving it floating on top for the disc to pull up thus shortening the usability of the water?

 

[Crosley]

I use the ZEP powder soap in my InstaClean parts washer. Works well. As the soap ages it will start to foam up. I bought anti-foam chemical for carpet cleaning machines to stop the foaming. Years ago I used the orange colored powder soap from InstaClean. It was amazing soap, had anti foam agent in it. The soap had some chemical in it to reduce flash rusting on ferrous materials. After the 911 attacks Instaclean told me they could not sell 5 gallon pails and ship via UPS because of new laws in place. You had to buy triple the quanity and it was truck freight only.

 

[MGK]

We had a parts washer spray cabinet, after the dealership purchased it, they service fee to clean it got crazy expensive, along with the soap. The guy that serviced it told me to just use powdered Cascade, dishwasher soap. Worked great, transmission cases and engine blocks came out squeaky clean. Iron parts would rust quickly if not dried, but it pumped 190* water, so if you blew off the parts while still hot, they would still be hot enough you could spray them with wd 40 and they would be fine.

 

[ogre]

a little washing soda in the washer will keep rust at bay. that is all we use in our plasma table, $5 worth every time we clean it out (100 gal). it doesn't affect paint or powder coating after normal paint prep

you guys and your fancy parts washers with expensive guts.
i use mineral spirits and a oil change pan for my parts cleaner. i drill a hole in a spare cap and spray out the hole or have a cup and brush handy. after mineral spirits, it goes in the sink for dawn dish soap final cleaning. nothing cuts grease like dawn dish soap

 

[Fstarocka]

yup well when u have a few engines blocks to be cleaned for rebuilding - 5 minutes in the washer vs an hour minimum messing around becomes quite clear after a few engines anyway - I ordered ZEP and will see, im not sure what part of the washer is supposed to get the caked stuff off, the pressure i suppose? detergent is probably to help wash the oils down..

I have to run a generator unfortunately so cant get the temps up otherwise I think it would be much better but for the most part im very happy with my unit- saves me alot of time at the shop.