Parts Washer solution?

[Ken Bartz]

I just purchased a 20 gallon parts washer and would like to know what solution I should use in it? I thought I would use mineral spirits but at $8 per gallon, 15 gallons would be 120 bucks. I have not found any place that sells it in 5 gallon buckets. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[bob westphal]

NAPA in my area sells cleaning solvent by the gallon for a reasonable amount. Couldn't have been too costly or I would definitely remember the cost.

[Normspeed]

I got mineral spirits at Walmart for quite a bit less than that.

[David Maxwell]

...and after using it for awhile, I strained it back into the bottles, stored it for a couple of years and re-used it. It seemed to work fine. Any thoughts, concerns, comments about this practice? It seems ecologicallly friendly (at least friendlier than desposing of it each time).

[Tim Frank]

I use kerosene or diesel fuel and find that it works about as well as anything.

[Merle Coggins]

I got solvent from my local Farm & Fleet store. It is parts washer solvent (don't know exactly what it is) and came in 5 gal buckets. I believe it was around $20 per bucket and I used 3 in my 20 gal parts washer. It works pretty good.

Merle

[Chester Brzostowski]

I got solvent from my local Farm & Fleet store. It is parts washer solvent (don't know exactly what it is) and came in 5 gal buckets. I believe it was around $20 per bucket and I used 3 in my 20 gal parts washer. It works pretty good.

Merle

I use the same stuff Merle does and 10 gals works just fine. After it gets really bad I connect a rubber hose to the wash outlet on the pump and pump it through a Jeep Gas filter and into a clean 5 gal can. Then what’s left goes to the haziest waste area of the local landfill. There is usually about a half-inch of slug at the bottom. Once clean I pour the filtered stuff back in and add fresh 5 gals of new solvent. I can't wait to not need it anymore but don't see that happening in the near future.

Chet...