Homemade parts washer, stainless sink as tub

M

MontanaLon

Registered
Registered
Joined
Mar 15, 2019
Messages
708
I made myself a work bench or more correctly a work bench frame, I haven't settled on a top just yet. It is 6 feet long and I was thinking a built up top of some hardwood I have in the garage. So I went out to the garage and saw the countertop I removed from the kitchen during renovation. There are 2 pieces one of which has the cutout for the sink, which reminded me I also had a double basin stainless sink in the rafters. The countertop would be a less than ideal work surface but honestly I have used worse, but that 2 basin sink is almost begging to be put to use as a parts washer which I have been wanting for a while.

Help me with some ideas to make this work. I have the sink and a pump from a fountain and assorted plumbing for the drains. I am thinking about just draining to a 5 gallon bucket with a lid taking the drain pipe to the bottom and a divider in the middle to allow time for the swarf to settle out before spilling over the top to the part where the pump is. Should do OK protecting the pump from all but the smallest bits of metal.

What do you think?
 
The tank for my flood coolant system has a baffle from above to prevent floaters from getting sucked into the pump. metal bits should settle out rather quickly and the tank has no provision for mechanically separating them other than the screened tray above. A screen would probably be a good idea as it can be removed easily for cleaning. My screen is a 9" x 12" x 2"d metal tray with 294 1/8"holes. When the screen starts to plug, the pump gets starved for coolant, telling me to clean it.
 
In my camp trailer I have a two compartment sink like you described and in order to get more counter space is has covers, I tjhink made from plywood.
You may be able to make a similar feature.
Have a good day.
Ray
 
MontanaLon said:
I have the sink and a pump from a fountain and assorted plumbing for the drains.
Click to expand...
Depends on what you are going to use as a cleaning solvent. If a water based solution you should be fine with this. If a petroleum based solvent your pump may not handle it, same for pvc drain fittings. Regular parts washers also have a thermal safety link on the lid that closes it in the even of a solvent fire.
 
Hang the pump a few inches off the bottom with a wire hooked over the top it will be fine. I don't think any of the cleaners now days have enough guts to hurt a pump. I Can't get find varasol anymore. Also line your bucket with a couple trash bags before putting everything in, it makes changing the cleaner a lot easier
 
DANNYBOY said:
. I don't think any of the cleaners now days have enough guts to hurt a pump.
Click to expand...
You aren't shopping at the right places :)
this is what I use:

On caked on greasy stuff it far out performs any water based cleaner I have tried. Even with some of the water based solvents that clean pretty well, the issue I have with them is on complicated parts with intricate hard to reach areas it can be difficult to dry everything thoroughly enough to prevent rust from forming.

Varsol is/was just Exxons brand name for their mineral spirits solvent.
 
Thanks Robert, I've just looked locally and lived with it. But I have placed a order!
 
It is definitely harder to find solvent based cleaners than it used to be. I come from an era where Stoddard solvent was the standard and available at every autoparts store and every commercial/industrial shop had big dipping tanks of trichloroethylene. And I didn't believe those warnings that they caused drain bamage.

(of course we also blew asbestos out of brake drums with compressed air and washed the grease off our hands with leaded gasoline because we didn't know any better)
 
Stoddard solvent is available at NAPA in 5 gal cans. I buy mine by the gallon from various petroleum suppliers, same place you get your race gas.

Stoddard solvent is also known as "safety solvent" and they have brand names like "Saf-T-Kleen" and similar. It has a very low vapor pressure and a high flash point, so it takes pre-heat (think kerosene) to get it to a point where it will combust. It won't be the cause of a fire, but it'll be fuel. I use it nonetheless. Stoddard solvent is low toxicity because of it's composition, simple straight chain mixed aliphatics.

Trichloroethylene is still available in spray cans as chlorinated brake cleaner. I hate the smell of the stuff, but it has it's place in the shop. Just don't weld while you can smell it in the air, the UV turns the TCE into phosgene, which is severely bad for your lungs.
 
RobertB said:
You aren't shopping at the right places :)
this is what I use:

On caked on greasy stuff it far out performs any water based cleaner I have tried. Even with some of the water based solvents that clean pretty well, the issue I have with them is on complicated parts with intricate hard to reach areas it can be difficult to dry everything thoroughly enough to prevent rust from forming.

Varsol is/was just Exxons brand name for their mineral spirits solvent.
Click to expand...
Do you just use this in a tank? Or do you have a pump to recirculate it and let it flow over parts? If you have a pump, what pump do you use that stands up to the solvents?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top