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What fluid do you guys use in your parts washer?

I use Purple Power full strength. I used Simple Green Industrial Cleaner in my prior parts washer. Over time it lifted all the paint and was starting to eat into the metal.

I am not seeing the same level of degradation with the Purple Power. There is some but I expect that with any cleaner that is strong enough to clean these old parts. I just plan on buying a new Harbor Freight parts washer every 5+ years.

I purchased a new parts washer and then sold it before using when I did my research on the fluid requirements. I would suggest mineral spirits for cleaning as it can be cleaned and recycled but the waste becomes a problem to dispose of as it's considered hazardous waste . There are services that will come and clean and recycle the fluids but that does get expensive. I found it much more economical to manually scrape off as much as possible and then clean with mineral spirits or brake clean and a paper towel which I then can dispose of in my wood stove. I do have a bead blast cabinet and use that for smaller parts after cleaning as above to remove grease and dirt. The nice part about the cabinet is when the medium ( glass beads) gets dirty it can be thrown in the trash.

I use a parts solvent from Tractor Supply. Every 5 years or so I drain the washer (depends on how dirty and effective it is), allow it to dry out and then scrape the gunk out of the bottom. Use some of the drained cleaner to start brush fires or take it to the recycle center at our local land fill.