On Thu, 15 Mar 2018 07:19:43 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

On Friday, March 9, 2018 at 12:52:06 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, 15 November 2009 21:04:48 UTC-5, wrote:
As a hobbiest, I do not have the same option such as a service that
changes out the parts washer solvent. I have a 20 gal parts washer
with with a electric pump and sprayer. In the past I have used paint
thinner as the solvent. A local paint supply store sold the thinner
in bulk (at $2/gal, the price was right) and the evaporation was not
too fast. Now I have to buy the paint thinner at retail.

At the other end, disposing of the dirty solvent poses a problem for
me. Lately, I have been thinking that if my solvent were say
kerosene or diesel (an oil) maybe I could dispose of the dirty solvent
with the used oil that my local autoparts accept for free. I do not
want to be the person that "contaminates" the used oil bin.

I have also been thinking of adding an engine oil filter between the
pump and the sprayer, not sure that the pump has enough power to push
the solvent thru a filter. If it works, I might not need to change
the solvent for many years.

I know that there are water based solvents (Simple Green, etc) out
there. Question is, how does one dispose of the water based solvent
- I could flush it down the sanitary sewer - but does that not cause
potential issues at the water treatment plant (I presume that there is
still oil in the water emulsion)?

What do you do? WHat do you suggest?

Your local Hasardous Waste Collection Site should take spent Solvent. Safety Kleen may be more pricey but is much healthier on your hands. Varsol can eat away at your liver so isn't best choice. Diesel is Ok but smelly/oily and does not work as well. Filters will remove particles but not the hasardous materials. The older and more used solvent, the worse it gets. Water based products should not be used on precision parts...rust is possible on these parts if not completely dried.

Realizing this is an eight year old thread, I just want to say that 40 or so years ago, I had a small motorcycle shop. I used Safety Kleen and it was pretty cheap. The guy would come weekly, pick up the dirty drum and drop off a clean one. It was something of a luxury to always have clean solvent and again, it wasn't even close to being expensive. Of course, that was then...


I've always had the "safety kleen" solution when at m,y place of
work.

I've also used old solvent type parts cleaning fluid as an accellerant
to burn trash in the past. basically de-odorized Kerosene - or
"parafin"