I just bought a Harbor parts washer item #60769
 

I just bought a parts washer from HF I know they can be hit and miss. This parts washer gets pretty good reviews.
20 gal. Parts Washer with Pump
I bought the stuff to mod it. This mod takes the flow from the parts tank through an oil filter.
It just uses a remote oil filter kit they use for cars. I am going to put a valve in the bottom of the tank to make it simpler to drain it.
I was going to build my own parts washer after I priced the pump it did not make much sense to do it.
After the 20% off $75.19 this parts washer seems like good deal. I guess after a use if for a while I will really know if it was a good deal.

This is a picture of someone's moded one.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488995834

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1488995834

I am going to use Tractor supply PSC solvent. I will come back to add to this after I put it together and use it.

Good deal! At that price you can't go wrong.

My last parts washer was a dishwasher. It worked great until a buddy borrowed it forever.

A dishwasher seems like a great idea. I read a where three different guys tried it but the solvent killed the pump.
What did you use for solvent?

I have the same or similar parts washer. It works great. I have used Simple Green pro HD for a solvent. It is water based, so its a lot easier on skin, etc.

I had it rigged up a few ways at first, with recycling drain/supply/settling barrel at first. I found it worked better just connected to the fresh water supply. The multiple rinses of fresh, hot water beat even some pretty toxic solvents.

I found two effective products to pretreat just about any dirty, greasy, rusty, dusty part with. The first: foamy engine bright. The gel type works well on extra-thick stuff like bearings and gearboxes. The second: easy off oven cleaner spray. Works on rusty, dusty, carbon burnt stuff like valves and heads. Spray product on, right in the machine, flipping parts for even coating. Let sit a few minutes, then run like dishes.

I'm lazy, so I rarely ever brushed or scrubbed any of these parts off until they ran through the machine. For stuff that was swimming in mud or grease, it got pressure washed (mud/dirt clods), steam cleaned, and/or spray painted with kerosene/atf mixture (waxy/gloppy) then maybe hit with a blow gun before going in the dishwasher.

My filter was a grease trap for a range hood. I used some leftover door sweep weatherstrip for a seal and some toggle clamps to keep it from floating around. The clamps resembled this one:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-1305755...269_849125.jpg

The secret recipe for detergent: whatever is compatible with pretreat (spray can) product in the open cup, cheapest generic cascade substitute available for closed cup. Whatever pretreat ingredients include lye/KOH, tsp, washing soda, borax, etc. For really dirty parts, I stuck lots of "first" chemical in and hung around for the first wash cycle to end. When it tried to drain, I advanced the timer until the pump shut off, so the dirty parts would get two cycles worth of hot wash.

I did a double head gasket replacement on a small block chevy V8 this winter, and I really missed the dishwasher. The steam cleaner won top honors for the most useful device this time:
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/ae2...2f4bfb461.jpeg
The parts washer I improvised, not so much. It got made out of a rubbermaid tub, a little fountain pump, and a few gallons of kerosene. Way too much touching involved, plus kerosene stinks. On a positive note, the kerosene worked very well to heat the shop!