Originally Posted by
cyccommute
No, gasoline isn’t “just as flammable as any other cleaner”. It is far more flammable. Gasoline is formulated to ignite easily and quickly with minimal amounts of energy needed to ignite it. It also need to ignite at low temperatures so that you can start your car on a cold winter morning.
Other hydrocarbon based cleaners don’t need to start cars and have much higher flash points, which is a measure of flammability. Mineral spirits, for example, has a flashpoint of around 120°F. Gasoline has a flashpoint of -40°F.
Using gasoline is just plain dumb when there are other, better options. Ask your local fire department about dealing with gasoline fires caused by some idiot cleaning parts with it.
I used gasoline to clean bike parts when I was a kid. It was available and I didn’t know better. Haven’t done that for 45 years and this is why.
Otto