Solvent To Clean Oil Bath

I've read most of the threads on cleaning the oil bath. Foks mention using a "solvent".

What would a good solvent be?

 

Paint thinner. Essentially it is Stoddard solvent, the stuff that used to be used in the old parts washers. Do NOT use lacquer thinner. Too low a flash point. Wear gloves.

 

I've successfully used kerosene in the past - though it my be politically incorrect to do so today in some areas. It's a pretty good solvent and coats the wire mesh element with a protective film until the air flowing through the unit is pulling the oil from the cup up into the element. Submerse the unit in a 5 gallon bucket and slosh it around a lot. Then I let it drip dry for about 3-4 days to get as much of the kerosene out as possible before reassembly. Regardless of what you use (kerosene, Varsol Paint Thinner - essentially mineral spirits, etc) take your time to clean the unit and let it drip dry.

I've also been told that Dawn and hot water works well followed by an oil or kerosene flush to coat the wire filter element, drip dry for 3-4 days...

As mentioned earlier, wear gloves. I also wear eye protection. Go slow and take your time.

DO NOT use gasoline

 

Not necessarily. What they sell as "thinner" these days freezes in the back my truck overnight. !?!?!

When I asked my pro paint shop for "real" mineral spirits, the owner confessed he had a pallet of it he keeps secretly stashed in his garage.

 

Thx guys, kerosene always seems to come up probably go with that!!

 

Well, it cleans the same, smells the same, and works the same as the Stoddard solvent I first started using 35 years ago for this purpose. I’m sticking to my statement. There may be some differences for other purposes but it works just the same for cleaning. At least the stuff I buy.
I can’t answer to the freezing as I don’t carry it in my vehicles in that kind of weather.

 

Not saying you are wrong. Just saying the stuff allowed on the retail shelf today can be a real disappointment. Caveat Emptor.

I just bought a 5 gallon can of genuine Stoddard's on-line, but it was $30/gallon, even in bulk.

 

Thx nickmil

 

No problem. Kerosene does work well. I just don’t like the smell

 

So what’s wrong with the good old gasoline. I mean really, just relax grab a beer and light up a cigarette. After all eye lashes grow back eventually.

 

I knew a kid in first grade whose ears never grew back...

 

Simple green?

 

That stuff is corrosive. Wouldn't use it unless you have a way to rinse it very well afterwards. With the amount of places to trap fluids in an air cleaner assembly I would steer clear of any water based cleaner.

 

I have always used Mineral Spirits, it will burn too but has a lot lower flash point than Gas. Good Luck

 

I think you meant a higher flash point - which would make it less flammable.

 

There's a whole class of solvents that are so-called petroleum distillates. When petroleum is refined, it is split into "fractions" with decreasing molecular weight and lower boiling point (higher volatility) as the distillate gets "lighter."



This is all 100% petroleum. Light distillates can be further refined to make products like gasoline. Products like paint thinner, naptha, solvent, paraffin, mineral spirits are all similar in origin, with minimal further processing as I understand it. This is all "mineral" unlike similar products such as turpentine and alcohol that comes from plant sources. These distillates are each an assortment of different naturally-occurring molecules with similar boiling points. Coleman fuel ("white gas") is supposedly a lightweight fraction of pure distillate, no other processing. If someone says "distillate" that seems to refer to white gas. Specific products are further processed to remove sulfur and could be sold as mineral spirits (or Coleman fuel?) but my online research does not indicate a uniform terminology.

I have bought paint thinner in 5 gal cans (Lowes), and it performed exactly like I expected. I put it in my parts washer, and it did not freeze in my sub-zero garage. If you have any doubts, buy a sample can and use it / freeze it. Possible modern products contain enough high-freezing-point fraction to go solid or gel at freezing temps. As Pete suggests, a local house painter may be able to point you to a quality source for a bulk purchase.

 

Mine wasn't gelled, it was 50% crystalline ice.

The owner of the local hardware responded to my comments by cheerfully saying " Yup! You are paying 15 bucks a gallon for water!"

Why I keep bringing this up here is because I suspect they are emulsifying mineral spirits with H2O, in order to achieve "clean air" VOC compliance in certain states. Beware.

 

Sounds possible. I'd also expect adulterated "paint thinner product" to be cheaper than the actual juice. Your can should say "100% petroleum distillate" on the label.

Local Lowes has paint thinner for ca $10/gal, labelled 100% mineral spirits. Maybe it's a NH thing.

 

Quite possibly. To avoid some EPA mandates we had to enforce other alternatives.

Some product formulations (e.g. oil-base stains) I can still buy in quarts but not in gallons. Certain items, Amazon will not ship to NH. The same products are fully available in Vermont, so I'm told.


"paint thinner for ca $10/gal, labelled 100% mineral spirits"
My research indicated that "thinner" can be the label on re-cycled and blended products, less pure than "mineral spirits."

 

Getting Old Sucks Pete. Starts with CRS, can't remember .