My Parts Cleaner tank things seem to have become more and more expensive to fill the 5 gallon buckets they draw from.
I've always used Varsol in them, but it seems they deplete quite quickly these days. (No leaks)
The primary heat source in the shop is Propane, and that's not cheap either, and have Kerosene backups just in case.
I can't run a wood stove out there because of the space/room. Way too much flammable stuff, plus the cars and stuff etc etc.
The Kerosene was $1.99/litre, Varsol more than that ! Ya, that's bulk filling my containers.
Gasoline was 94 cents !
Years ago at the old shop, I had some heater (salamander or something), that would burn just about anything. Used oil, diesel etc etc. It was about the size of one of my Propane Construction heaters.
Wondering what you guys do, cause these costs are staggering for me.
Varsol shouldn't be used in a parts washer because it's not compatible with some materials. I only use Kleen-Solv. It's about $70 for a 20 liter pail, and only need to top up the tank every couple years.
I don't have a parts cleaner so cant help there, but I do have wood stove heat, and flamables, paint, thinners,etc. What I do have is a very high flow exhaust system if I am painting or welding,I know not ideal but works for me. I have to open doors or it will suck the smoke out of the stove. get the shop nice and toasty shut the stove down turn on the exhaust crack the doors and paint.
Hot water /coolant system with black iron threaded pipe better then copper. easy to do with hot water tank...for an r/v 120 v. a transfer pump an a regulator . or out door furnance type design could be a wood stove out side on a patio stone with a cover over it an a drier vent with a heating duct fan.. or use a few heater cores...
Sick as he-ll at moment ,so gotta go....
-- Edited by Ground Pounder on Thursday 24th of November 2016 07:11:15 PM
Eye always used colored diesel in mine with an old stove hood over top of the parts washer or a ceiling fan to suck the pume. Hate to say it...u can run caustic substance.or t.s.p from home hardware.. you can also use orange glow cleaner make ur own mix.... K ...more later if you like
-- Edited by Ground Pounder on Thursday 24th of November 2016 07:15:22 PM
Wood stove but I keep it clean of creosote. I also do a lot of welding so I bought a smog hog so I can leave the doors closed when its cold out and warm inside. If you buy a used smog hog be very carful as you do not know what it was used for before you got it. They have been known to explode so I bought a new filter for mine from Praxair. I did have a large cleaning tank but gave it away so less chance of fire from welding and grinding.
-- Edited by Smokin Joe on Thursday 24th of November 2016 09:59:20 PM
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Yes they are all crazzzy but me and you........... and I am not sure about you!!!!
Separated combustion natural gas for me.
This is the only good thing I can think of about living in the friggan city.
I can't remember what I'm using in my parts washer.
Varsol, mineral spirits, or paint thinner. From HD.
I checked it to see if it would burn though, and it doesn't.
It will if it's on a piece of paper or rag of course.
I'll probably get something decent like posted above when I get back to the project.
Separated combustion natural gas for me. This is the only good thing I can think of about living in the friggan city.
I can't remember what I'm using in my parts washer. Varsol, mineral spirits, or paint thinner. From HD. I checked it to see if it would burn though, and it doesn't. It will if it's on a piece of paper or rag of course.
I'll probably get something decent like posted above when I get back to the project.
I am on a country side road on ten acres and we have natural gas. When we put the gas furnace in the house 25 years ago I had to pay for 200 Ft. of gas line. We were over the allotted distance for free installation.
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Yes they are all crazzzy but me and you........... and I am not sure about you!!!!
Thanks guys, this gives me something to ponder. I wish I had access to Natural Gas out here, but not gonna happen anytime soon. I'll have to stick with Propane and Kerosene out there for a while yet.
Wood is an option, but the clearance from walls etc would be the downfall with a lack of room.
The cleaning tank is getting low now and I've always used Varsol. I've dropped close to 20L in that thing in the last year (adding). Sure I pull the pail and clean the grunge etc out before a fresh refill, but damn it disappears fast. Varsol is just a name-brand for paint thinner, yes ?
Seems many guys use Mineral Spirits (I'll have to look that up to see what that actually is).
Right now, I'm thinking either Mineral spirits or Petebils Kleenflo.
Seems odd that guys using Mineral spirits drop a gallon of water in there with it ?
Mineral spirits, Varsol and Paint thinner are all the same thing but "Varsol" is a registered trademark, like "Kleenex".
I've been using odorless pant thinner in my parts washer for over 20 years. After a few months you start to get a bit of the varsol smell. I empty, clean and refill the washer about every year because there's no filter in the unit. The solvent does evaporate somewhat but that depends on the exposed surface area. But I probably lose more solvent blow-drying the parts. Refill is 5 gallons.
I heat with a natural gas furnace and was warned the fumes from the parts washer, paint, etc. could corrode the furnace elements but after ten years the only thing that rotted out was the aluminum adapter pipe between the furnace and the chimney - from electrolysis of dissimilar metals.
Oh, I line my tank with a garbage bag before filling it. Makes cleanup and disposal so much easier !!
-- Edited by gkent on Tuesday 13th of December 2016 08:17:00 PM
