I added "heat" to my cleaning tank (cheap harbor freight unit)

The heating element (and mandatory thermostat) and threaded bracket all came from Home Depot, I think the cost was less than $30 for the parts.

A hole was cut and the bracket welded to the tank.

There are 2 different type of elements, this one cost a few bucks more, but will not burn out as easily if accidently turned on without being submerged.

Solution is water with Castrol SuperClean (about a 10:1 ratio)

Thermostat set at 130° (goes up to 150°)

The trailing arm in the picture was in the tank for less than 2 hours...once solution reached ideal temperature, power was left on for about another 20 minutes and then shut off. I will be adding insulation to the tank at a later date.

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Nice clean hardware, but from the looks of the pic, the fumes may be taking the "color" off your palms as well! BTW, where and how do you dispose of the used cleaning solvent?

hahaha, nah, those trees have been that way for a while

I only brought the tank out to the front yard to do the cutting/welding....gotta keep the neighbors wondering what I am up to

For the solvent, we have a free local hazardous waste station. Once junked up, I'll let some of the water evaporate and then fillup the old cleaning solution containers and drop them off.

Yeah but does it work on cloth diapers?

Mike,

When you do that, does it screw up the bearings or did you remove them first?

R

Hi Richard, I removed the bearings first, the grease wouldn't stand a chance with the heat and cleaning solution.

That's looks fantastic.

Good work.

KT

Do you think the heat would benefit a tank filled with mineral spirits? I'd think it would just turn it into a fume/fire hazard.

Maybe next time around I'll switch to a water based degreaser.

I didn't realize that SuperClean would take off paint like that.

Was it submerged?

Halfway submerged, I had to "flip" the part....I can now add more fluid if I wish, I was doing "leakage" test 1st
There is an a-arm and other parts inside the tank at the same time.

Adding some agitation to the tank would make it even quicker to remove the dirt/grease/paint.

agitation - borrow twystd1's vibrator

Mike, I gave you the wrong trailing arms. I need those back.

hahaha, good try....Randal has those trailing arms...these are off the '73....as for wrong parts, yes, you gave me the wrong front struts...the pair you gave me are from an early 911 or a /6

I told you I didn't know for sure they were right. My strut ID skills are sub-par.

Mark........is the sandblasting cabinet up and running??

what about the powdercoating oven???

I'm still on fence about powdercoating these parts or just using rust-oleum and bake 'em....

Blaster is ready to go with glass bead.

Powder coater needs a couple hours of woodworking to build and someone to motivate me. I have access to an IR heater temporarily.

Hey Mike - have you thought about using some Biodiesel as a solvent? It is suppossed to be a wicked solvent and it has a high flashpoint.

Hey Mike

What size tank is that and what are the SKU numbers for the parts from Home Depot?


Thanks

Ron

Mine is the 20 gallon tank for $79.99...HF Solvent/parts cleaning tanks

I'm pretty sure I still have the original packaging stuff from the piece parts, I'll try and look for them this week.


Steve, no, I never thought about the biodiesel....I wouldn't even begin to think of where to buy it....

Craigslist.

Looks fun. As for using mineral spirits or other organic solvents, do NOT try that ! Heat will change them from merely flamable liquid to explosive vapors.

The Castrol Superclean, and also the Purple Power from FLAPS, is a water-based mixture of lye (NaOH) and (I think) Butoxy-ethanol. I'm sure the later helps emulsify grease (makes it soluble in water), but even just the Lye + water +heat combo will strip paint. Used to be used for stripping furniture. And as nasty as Lye is, you can neutralize it with Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and end up with saltwater (NaCl + H2O). Hydrochloric acid, for some reason, gets sold under the name Muriatic acid.

No I don't.

They should now be sitting in Chris Foley shop waiting for the
complete re-strengthing process.

It took me about two hours to clean them before packing them up
and sending them to Chris. I like your process much better Mike!

Have you got new needle bearings for the two trailing arms, post Chris Foley Fabrication?

I kind of doubt I can remove and use the needle bearings that Brad and I put in my existing trailing arms. What do you think Mike?

Randal, let's talk about trading uninstalled bearings for your installed set.

Sounds good to me Mark.

I'll let you know Chris's schedule as soon as I hear.

if you got anything else that needs the treatment, just drop it off and I'll throw it in the tank with my stuff.....

OH BoY!

Castrol has a lot of caustic in it...

Hot caustic works the bomb on paint...That is what we used to clean our mixing tanks at Sherwin-WIlliams....

Part numbers:

heating element=CAMCO MFG. SKU#15597

universal element adapter kit= CAMCO MFG. SKU#15712

cannot find the package for the thermostat, but same brand and should be right with the other parts.

If you go to Kragen you can also get a 5-gallon drum of "Carburetor Cleaner" for a few bucks. That stuff is some caustic shit! It'll eat 30-year old oil off of cam towers and carbon buildup on pistons like nothin. Just don't get any on your clothes or skin... It'll smell for a week, not to mention burn like hell. Best stuff you can find, unless you got some cleaners and solvents from the 60s and 70s lying around.

Mike....

That is excellent...

I have some trailing arms that I was just about to get at to do some restoration on... and I have one of those Harbor Freight solvent tanks...

I see a weekend project in my near future.

thanks for sharing this one.

- Dave

I found the packaging for the thermostat= CAMCO MFG. SKU#15449

so how long till we see heated solvent tanks in the club store mike? LOL

Mike

I finally got to a town with Home Depot stores and collected the above three items. How did you wire it (240 volts)?

Thanks
Ron
Bishop, CA

The wiring diagram is on the thermostat packaging...and yes, I used the 240v since it's more effecient than the 120v