$5 Hot Tank update....

[tkent02]

from the post the other day...

http://www.cyclepsycho.com/crockpot/crockpot.html

First off a five dollar crockpot cost me $8 - to be expected these days.

Filled it with Castrol degreaser - the purple stuff- and some nasty old parts.

It did well on grease and OK on corroded aluminum, did nothing to the rust.

What chemicals do they use in real hot tanks?

Anything I can get over the counter?

Got any other ideas on what to use?

I'm thinking maybe the carb dip in the bucket might be a bit dangerous?

What eats rust?

Thanks,

Tom

[FL02]

I think POR-15 has some good rust disolving products. You can find parts cleaner that might work well.

[slash02]

from the post the other day...

http://www.cyclepsycho.com/crockpot/crockpot.html

First off a five dollar crockpot cost me $8 - to be expected these days.

Filled it with Castrol degreaser - the purple stuff- and some nasty old parts.

It did well on grease and OK on corroded aluminum, did nothing to the rust.

What chemicals do they use in real hot tanks?

Anything I can get over the counter?

Got any other ideas on what to use?

I'm thinking maybe the carb dip in the bucket might be a bit dangerous?

What eats rust?

Thanks,

Tom

I have a friend with a hot tank at his shop big enough to shove a 2002 in.

It is some kind of seriously caustic stuff that ate right through the skin on his hands when he spilled a little of it...

For non-industrial use, we probably have safer alternatives.

I know that alittle bit (5% solution) muriatic acid will eat rust, but you have to make sure to really wash the part after that. I'm not sure what happens with aluminum and mueiatic acid though.

[Guest Anonymous]

sodium hydroxide is the generic stuff in the old hot tanks and yes, it will make your fingers 'feel' greasy to the touch. don't store it in glass as it will etch it. use PTFE containers (same stuff as plastic milk jugs). avoid exposure to Al, Mg.

dilute phosporic acid is typically what the Naval jelly and POR-15 stuff for dissolving/converting rust is.

there really is no cure-all for removing rust. i have access to some really nasty solns used to strip aeroengine parts and even those don't remove rust (but they sure do leave a clean, grease free surface .

jerry

[Guest Anonymous]

You definatly don't want the proffesion hot tank stuff at your house, plus it eats aluminum so you have to be careful what you put in it. I don't know what you are trying to de-rust but here's a method that works good safely and doesn't really cost anything. Old tractor/engine guys do it all the time. http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

[2002Targa]

try "Ospho", it's the same stuff as the POR15 rust eater and a helluva lot cheaper. Get it at your local hardware store..

MUST WEAR GLOVES with it

[Guest Anonymous]

For small parts I use the carburetor cleaner can. This stuff is nasty! Do not touch with bare skin, avoid fumes! I've been using the same can for many years. It has an advantage of not eating aluminum like the caustic Sodium Hydroxide cleaners do. Which are fine in their own right if you limit the exposure time of an aluminum part.

My procedure is this:

First scrape parts as clean as possible to reduce the amount of sludge going into the can.

1) dip parts into can with basket included. Replace lid!

2) leave until the parts call for you, you'll know when the time is right.

3) remove parts, clean off with carburetor spray cleaner in a separate tray/container, a small wire basket works well to hold the parts in while you spray over a separate container.

4) pour the overspray thats in the separate container into the carb cleaner can, recycling it.

5) Finish cleaning with Iso propanol or other mild solvent etc.

With this method I've never had to dispose of that nasty stuff in any unfriendly way. It still cleans fine after many years.

Of course the carbeurator cleaner can is able to take the extra liquid cause some of it evaporates into the atmosphere no matter what.

For large parts, I use the caustic cleaners, and use a garden spray unit to wash off with water in a small forcefull spray to reduce the amount of runoff. So far I've collected that to take to the hazardous dropoff in the city.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Mark B

[TheWolf]

http://www.goodson.com/store/template/product_detail.php?IID=312&SID=befc3cadfb021129a6c5c8eda0b6df5b

good for aluminum and iron... non caustic...

[jgerock]

Reviving a really old thread here. I know this has been discussed here before..

Need to clean (2) Solex 40PHH carbs that will most likely need dipping to remove old gunk (not grease). Will start looking at Auto parts stores this week for brands. I have a feeling most newer stores like AutoZone and Advanced may not have the 1-gallon can for dipping.

Manifolds are already removed. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to remove the float before the dip - correct?

I'm afraid to (glass) bead blast the carbs due to the dust forcing itself into the passages. Anyone here have luck doing this?

I will do (1) carb at a time to keep all the hardware and jets together.

Thanks for any/all advice.

[Swiftus]

Jim

I was able to buy a 1 gallon 'paint can' of carburetor cleaner from advance auto a couple of months ago. It even came with a basket!

If you can get new gaskets, I would completely disassemble the carbs and soak/clean the parts separately.

I don't know what kind of look you are after with the ti, but having seen some side-drafts polished, I would say that I am a huge fan of doing that. Plus, it adds horsepower! ;-)

[Harv]

Try this!

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

John

[jerry]

i had a set of really greasy PHH's. i used mineral spirits in a big coffee can to remove all the greasy crud and when i was convinced that the outside was oil free i followed up with grit blast using walnut shells. absolutely the safest way to get them factory new looking. the best part was that all that cruddy grease protected all the Cd plated bits so when i was done they really did look like they just came off the shelf.

using grit or soda may make the die-cast pot metal look too shiny. btw, i bet there's a high percentage of lead in the pot metal cuz those castings sure are heavy.

if you have an ultrasonic cleaner you can be assured that you'll get the innards clean too.

i never have finished my reassembly of the initial one i tore down. i have two sets of these and didn't mess with the really clean set.

[jgerock]

Try this!

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

John

Thanks for the link John. Very interesting and low-buck.

[mike472]

I put my carb parts in one of those gallon cans of cleaner with the basket called Berryman. I put my DCOE's in that stuff and didn't notice a little of the carb casting was above the level of the cleaner. Got a black line right at the cleaner level and some of the carb parts turned black over 48 hours. I might have left it too long but I still don't think I would use it again after that. I will stick to the spray cans of Gumout and compressed air. Try a toothbrush on the body of the carb. The brass parts can be unscrewed and put in an abrasive polisher you can get from Harbor Freight.

Mike

[jgerock]

During my lunch break at work I Googled "carburetor cleaning" and found a "how-to" site saying to dunk your carbs in a bucket of distilled vinegar then use some baking soda. One person commented that he tried this with his Dellorto DHLA carbs and they were ruined - as some of the cast parts started to melt in the vinegar.