badger_biker 

I have about a 2 gallon parts washer. It is the kind with a little pump and a spout to spray the recycled fluid. I've used it for a couple years with some type of water based "green" solvent. It works OK with most soft grease but older dried grease is hardly touched.

I'm debating switching to mineral spirits or something that is more petroleum based so it will work better to dissolve the old grease and would like to know of anyone using such a device and what fluid works best for you. I use it in a garage but fumes and flash point are things I want to consider.

I wouldn't much care for my own bikes but I fix up a lot of older ones and encounter some pretty crusty stuff.

Thanks -

reptilezs

the one at work has simple green crystal in it. not really a fan of it, doesn't work that well on grease/oils. cleans dirt great though.

HillRider

My "parts washer" is a cut down 5-gallon pail bottom about 4" deep and an old paint brush. I use kerosene or OMS as the wash fluid and discard the dirty solvent into my container of used automobile oil that's going to be recycled. Works well.

fietsbob

Well I got Bike shop owners to sign up for the Safety Kleen service,
that auto repair companies use, when I worked in the bike shops.
It's environmentally friendly because it's a closed loop.
they take responsibility for the filtering and re use of their fluids.
https://www.safety-kleen.com/Pages/Default.aspx

you can buy the fluid by the gallon, perhaps pour your used fluids
in another container and give it to a Shop that has the service,
to put back into the reuse cycle.
https://s-kstore.com/index.php/heavy-...5727b1d9e52500

Jed19

the most reasonable parts cleaner, in my opinion is odorless mineral spirits. It works well, and I am still on a gallon that I bought three years ago, due to its recyclability.

I should also state that I mostly clean chains, rear derailleurs and cassettes.

rekmeyata

I just get cheap solvent...solvent is solvent, there all the same; I get it at auto parts store like Advance has CRC Parts Washer Solvent in a 5 gallon pail for $75 for my solvent basin. But on the bike I use Finish Line Degreaser because it's supposedly green and it does spill onto the ground.

Looigi

We used these washers with Stoddard solvent. It's the best stuff I've ever used for cutting through oil, old caked on grease and grime, etc.. I'm not sure if it's readily available anymore though. None of the water soluble solvents I've tried comes close. Of those, Citra-Solv from Chempoint was perhaps the best.

cyccommute 

So which of the following solvents is the same

Pentane
Cyclopentane
Hexane
Naphtha
Cyclohexane
Benzene
Toluene
1,4-Dioxane
Chloroform
Diethyl ether
Dichloromethane
Tetrahydrofuran
Ethyl acetate
Acetone
Dimethylformamide
Acetonitrile
Dimethyl sulfoxide
Formic acid
n-Butanol
Isopropanol
n-Propanol
Ethanol
Methanol
Acetic acid
Water

All...including the last one...are common solvents in the chemical industry. Some you can find out in the retail world. Some won't do you any harm. Some will cut grease, some won't. Some will kill you dead today. Some will kill you dead tomorrow. Some will kill you dead in 40 years. Some will burst into flames with the slightest spark. Which one do you want to use?

...Oh, wait...they are all the same to you. Feel free to roll the dice

Commercial parts washer...the ones that are sealed against sparks and get regular service...use odorless mineral spirits because the solvent has a high flashpoint and works well at cutting grease and oils.

3alarmer 

I had (may still have?) one of these that I used
strictly with water based cleaners. I seem to
recall that the instructions said that was all they
recommended?

I never use mine any more. It turned out to be
easier to soak whatever was really crusty in
a coffee can with a strainer basket, filled to a
level just above the parts with deodorized kerosene,
and covered with a tight fitting plastic lid
(the one that comes with the coffee can).

The overnight soak makes a great deal of difference.

I would hazard a guess that the sprayer mechanism
in these small parts washers might not hold up all
that well to mineral spirits or kerosene -- but I have
no real science to base it on.

cyccommute 

Commercial washer use sealed motors for their pumps. If you purchased the parts washer from Harbor Freight, I'd not use anything flammable in it. I think their instructions say that too.

I have a very old plastic parts washer that uses a pressurized tank and a hand sprayer to spray solvent onto the parts. It doesn't use electricity and it works well but I never use it. It's just too much hassle and I don't use gloppy lubricants anymore. A small Gatorade bottle works well to clean chains (I clean them once and then never have to clean them again.) A little mineral spirits on a rag works well enough to remove most anything from the rest of the drivetrain.