Berryman B9 ChemDip (and its equivalents from other makers) really are not appropriate or safe for use in parts washers, for a bunch of reasons. This stuff is a very aggressive cleaner meant for use by dipping parts into it. It includes a hydroseal layer that floats atop the soup to minimise evaporation...that's right out the window if you're pumping and splashing it around in a parts washer. It will likely eat up your parts washer pump; most of them are designed for use with considerably less aggressive chemicals.

ChemDip (etc) is hideously toxic and dangerous to work with. It contains methylene chloride and/or a variant form of it, which will take the anticorrosion coating off carburetor castings and dissolve other coatings you don't really want dissolved, in a fairly big hurry (30 minutes to 2 hours or so, depending on strength/freshness and temperature of the cleaner).

It will also dissolve your hands, eyes, sinuses, etc. At risk of sounding like I'm preaching, if you use this stuff, use it as intended (dipping, not splashing/pumping/spraying) and be about 3x as careful as you think you should be. I'm talking extremely good ventilation, completely shielded skin and eyes, etc. Methylene chloride by itself is grievously injurious to life. It is seriously toxic, causes cancer, and is readily absorbed through skin (liquid) and via mucus membranes and lungs (vapour). Add in the other strong chemicals found in these dip-type cleaners (MEK, toluene, acetone...) and you really do have a toxic waste dump in a 5-gallon can. These products, when used safely and carefully and disposed of properly (that can be a real trick!) can be useful for seriously filthy parts, but it's much more appropriate and safer to use diesel fuel, kerosene, stoddard solvent, mineral spirits, or varsol. I haven't heard of pearl solvent, but it's probably similar to the others I mention here. There are also some parts wash fluids based on d-limonene (a solvent from citrus peel oil) that work extremely well and are less toxic, less dangerous, and less smelly than petroleum-based products. See for instance here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

If you're not in a big hurry, I use something called Oil-Eater (get it at costco)

It's water based, and you can vary the concentration.

I last used it when I rebuilt my toyota's manual transmission, and it handled the external grease and internal gear oil.

I would let it sit for hours and help it a bit with an old toothbrush, plus I did it in 2-stages...... the really yucky first bucket to get the majority of the stuff out, then a second bucket..... (free buckets from parents.... empty cat-litter buckets). Just took the sludge & buckets to the hazardous waste cleanups when done.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Found this stuff while trying to find something on the Pearl. Pearl is local stuff made in Portland. It is similar to Stoddard solvent. Can't find much about it on the internet.

http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pc ... ctID=27956

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

k-1 kerosene or mineral spirits in mine. ron

I sometimes wonder what the typical amateur car guy does with their parts cleaning solvent when it is used up; when I worked for a business years ago, it was regulated by the EPA of course, being a business, and they had to pay, like, $600 in service/disposal fees everytime a company came by to change the hideously nasty stuff in the parts washer.

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1964 Dart 225 1966 Valiant 225
1966 Dart 273 1966 Barracuda 273
1969 Dart 225
'64-170 engine '66-170 engine
(two) 198 crank/rod sets in custom-fitted wooden boxes

wooden motor scooter with hybrid-electric drive

A friend is in the aircraft salvadge biz. He has lots of Jet A He uses it to help heat the house, and burn in the shop heater

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

I've used several strategies over the years. Sometimes a coöperative auto body shop will add your two or three gallons of gunk to their vat of gunk if you ask nicely and offer some incentive (beer sometimes works). Some municipalities have either designated drop-off locations for household hazardous waste, or special days on which such wastes can be put out alongside the garbage for pickup. Failing either of those options, I've blended used dip-type carb cleaner with used engine oil, bottled it all up and taken it to the local parts store for recycling. The parts store I used to use for this had "do it yourself" type oil recycling: You show up with jugs of old oil, they point you towards the back, you pour your old oil into the tank and dispose properly of the jugs. There were signs warning that you weren't to dump anything but engine oil, so I felt a little bit guilty, but I figured it wasn't nearly as bad as doing something stupid and irresponsible like dumping it down the drain or pouring it in the gutter*.

Whatever method you use, be sure to transport the gunk safely and thoughtfully. If you pour it into plastic engine oil bottles, they are likely to dissolve into a lake of festering, toxic goo before you get where you're going!

*-Remember those illustrated "Auto upkeep tips" types of sections in '50s-'60s Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines? I remember one such tip from about 1965, which suggested digging a hole in your yard, 8" diameter by 18" deep, filling it with coarse gravel, and pouring your used engine oil and antifreeze in it: "By the time your next oil change comes around, the previous batch will have soaked into the ground." Something to think about when tempted to believe the "good old days" were anywhere near perfect!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

..............people use that (meth) every day where I work. its a plastic glue. its a favorite among fabricators because it dries very fast to FF material (plexiglass, acrylic). on plastic it is dry and ready to be handled in under a minute.

Once a year the fab department has to walk around the shop with little sensors on our shirts to detect the hazard level. we have yet to have a problem with the levels, we are fairly well ventilated. I don't usually work in that area anymore, since I am a big fancy CNC supervisor now .

(I am not contradicting what dan said, all of what he said is accurate, I just wanted to mention I have to deal with it so I know what he is talking about).

MEK was made illegal to use in plastic companies in MN about 5-7 years ago. really nasty stuff. toluene pops up every now and then but we don't use it where I work.

Here's a bit of trivia that ought to make you think twice: Ever wonder how they get the caffeine out of coffee to make decaf? They dissolve it out using methylene chloride. Supposedly, the caffeine is soluble in methylene chloride and nothing else in coffee is, so it doesn't affect the taste, and (they say...) the bit of residual methylene chloride left in the coffee when they pour off the rest evaporates totally so there is no trace left at all. So they say.

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1964 Dart 225 1966 Valiant 225
1966 Dart 273 1966 Barracuda 273
1969 Dart 225
'64-170 engine '66-170 engine
(two) 198 crank/rod sets in custom-fitted wooden boxes

wooden motor scooter with hybrid-electric drive

Decaf? What's the point? I do't drink it for the taste!

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

I once borrowed some of my wife's nail polish remover to clean up something chemical - I can't remember what it was. But this one was advertised as "acetone free," apparently to imply it was not as harsh. But it smelled ominously familiar, like something I'd used in industrial painting. So what was the main ingredient in this kinder, gentler nail polish remover?

MEK.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair