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screen printing => Equipment => Topic started by: Gilligan on June 06, 2012, 03:59:20 PM
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I hate cleaning squeegees. I'm thinking about getting a parts washer.
I know some of you guys have done that. What is your advice. How big? What chems? Diluted? What brushes?
Those that maybe haven't do you have any reasons that you don't like the idea?
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i have a zep dyna clean. works great, after about 16 years, the pump gave out.
i use xenon plastiwash in it. i love it.
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How much fluid do you use? Do you dilute it?
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plastiwash is a solvent, I wouldn't recommend diluting it with anything, especially paint thinner or mineral spirits. That stuff will kill squeegees.
I use about 10 gallons at a time, so about $250. I also put an extra filter on it and I made it 4 years without cleaning out or changing the fluid.
All you need is an oil filter relocation kit and some oil filters. Just rig it up AFTER the first filter since the oil filter is finer than the other filter.
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Honestly man, we have gone back and forth with the parts washer, either way you slice it, cleaning these puppies is a dirty mess. We came up with a tray from a cut piece of wire shelving that we lay on the rail in our wash out booth, Franmar beenie doo and a scrub brush, 30 seconds of scrubbing and hit it with the pressure washer and your squeegee's and floods are cleaned. The cost of the service for saftey Kleen or even if you buy min spirits yourself doesn't make sense since you already have other ink degraders on hand. We used beenie doo for our ink degrader, cheap easy to use, doesn't take a whole lot, 3 sprays and you can easily break down thick white from your screens, floods or squeegees. You will see alot of "un-used" parts washers sitting in shops for the same reason. I just had my rep from SPA out here today setting up a friend's shop with a new reclaiming system and we were going over the MDS sheets for the reclaiming chems that we use and all of them break down plastisol to be drain safe, not for septic tanks, but outside percolation drain, or right down the pipe. We drain into a sand basin that filters out any solids which we can dispose of monthly. Everyone has their own preference though, it's messy either way.
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I have satti IR14 and that stuff doesn't work well except on screens (and that I'm still skeptic on)... I have Satti PW4 press wash and it works well, but I was unsure of the life span of such a chemical in a recirculating system (even or maybe especially if idle).
Brad, I had read about your Oil Filter relocation kit and was planning on doing that if I went this way (no brainer, great idea!)
Seems with IR 14 it degrades a thin coat and then the water just washes mostly the chemical away. PW works well, just seems like I'm wasting a lot of chemicals and paper towels cleaning them up that way.
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We have been using a little CCI press wash 200RV and a scrub brush in the wash out booth after the ink was carded off.
In the last engine shop I was at we used Crystal Clean. The small ones, 30 gallon drum with the wash tank 18"x 30" on top was $212 per quarter. This included the washer rental (they would replace it if it broke) 100% virgin solvent and disposal.
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We use the expensive Safety Kleen service but I tell you what, you'd have to pry that thing out of my cold dead hands if you tried to take it out of this shop.
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FYI, I was talking about buying a cheap $99 harbor freight parts washer, not paying a service.
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My post should tell you all you need to know, assuming the thing works worth a damn. While you're there, will you price me a long-handled torque wrench?
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We use the unit by Screen Klean Systems, I bought it used for 400 bucks. 10 gallons of chemical is 150 bucks. Good units, I had 3 at my old shop.
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My post should tell you all you need to know, assuming the thing works worth a damn. While you're there, will you price me a long-handled torque wrench?
You mean like this?
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-drive-click-stop-torque-wrench-808.html (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-drive-click-stop-torque-wrench-808.html)
Need me to pick you up one? ;)
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I have been debating the HF parts washer as well. Pick one up Kev and give us a review.
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They run the 1/2" drives for 9.99 with the right coupon--got one for M3's, one for MZX's. No torque changes for me. ;)
If you're using them on rollers, you get a little more bolt purchase on those grinding the bevel off a couple sockets too... although you can get a couple of quality sockets for less than their set costs.
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You know, there's a ton of things in this industry that shops either love or hate. I've seen
parts cleaners sitting in a dusty corner in many a shop. I've seen TriLoc's like that too,
but lord knows that wouldn't happen here.
And unfortunately the only way to know if to buy the (occasionally expensive) ticket and take the ride.
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I have enough to worry about without having to sevice and DISPOSE of chemical and solvent tank sludge. we use safety clean. well worth the piece of mind and zero up keep or liability.
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we have one and I don't care for it. We are rethinking the way we use it, so maybe it gets better, but right now, it gets everything wet and ppl using it are taking waay to long.
few more weeks and we'll address those issues. If we can't fix it, it's going in the corner. This is the HF unit. We filled it up with Easiway 150 or something and it was just too expensive. Our Nazdar rep said they have something that would cost $50 or so to fill up the tank rather than $300.
will keep you posted.
pierre
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Read your terms of service with safety kleen, YOU are liable if the driver flips the truck and your chems spill. They don't liability when they take possession.
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I just realized I had something pertinent to post before I started thinking about torque wrenches... :) Many years ago I used a Safety Kleen unit, and the boss got rid of it, saying they charged for services not rendered--something I can't say I totally believed at the time. We went to a HF unit, the pump filled up with crud in just under two years, and Ed at CCI hooked us up with a diaphragm pump--much better. Worked great for the rest of my time there.
Fast forward--get Safety Kleen service again at a different shop that already had an old school tank--the guy comes to check the tank, I say it's fine, only like a half inch of sludge on the bottom of three or four inches of fluid, and he says I need to sign to show he checked the tank and like a fool I do--and we get billed $250 for a change. Told them where to go. So.... watch those guys. Hopefully they're better now and/or wherever you happen to be.
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Foo, you found a torque wrench for 9.99?
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I got two of the 1/2" drive ones at Harbor Freight--they only run the coupon a few times a year though. They're pretty close to that on the flyer I have now--12.99. The two I got are not bad for the money--I've only had to reassemble one. ;)
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You know, there's a ton of things in this industry that shops either love or hate. I've seen
parts cleaners sitting in a dusty corner in many a shop. I've seen TriLoc's like that too,
but lord knows that wouldn't happen here.
And unfortunately the only way to know is to buy the (occasionally expensive) ticket and take the ride.
??? How would you know?
You haven't paid new list price for anything industry related as long as I have known you. ;D
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'Tis true. My free Epson 9000 is still kickin out films 4 years after
someone moved it and forgot to turn the ink back on.
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Harbor freight. get one big enuf.
franmar or cci stuff for recirculating cleaning.
Make a mesh stand.
turn on go home little work left.
Like what used to do with engine parts. seems easy. i'm probably wrong here somehow.
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I got two of the 1/2" drive ones at Harbor Freight--they only run the coupon a few times a year though. They're pretty close to that on the flyer I have now--12.99. The two I got are not bad for the money--I've only had to reassemble one. ;)
Picked one up for 19.99 and it's not the cheapest piece of crap I've ever bought. It's just a piece of metal so I bought the cheapo instead of the $100 one at Lowes. I know most of the stuff there is junk but there are plenty of tools there that will perform and last long enough to take advantage of the cheap prices. I bought a small socket set for $10 that I'm fairly certain will last longer than me, not much can go wrong with a socket.
I saw a sign in there that said all hand tools were guaranteed for life, so why the hell not?
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I have split sockets trying to undo bolts. Split right down the side. I try now and only buy good ones like Craftsman also because the metal is thinner and with that some bolts are countersunk and thicker walled sockets won't reach them.
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I have split sockets trying to undo bolts. Split right down the side. I try now and only buy good ones like Craftsman also because the metal is thinner and with that some bolts are countersunk and thicker walled sockets won't reach them.
Well hell, hopefully I won't have any roller frame bolts that are that damn tight. Trust me, I'll let everyone know if any of these things don't last.
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I got good sockets as well--They warranty the tools, but they won't warranty any fasteners you screw up with them. ;)
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I've gone through two of the HF wrenches. The pins in the head that do the torque thing stuff give
out eventually. Or maybe it's because I'm a butterfingers and drop the damn things constantly.
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The Harbor freight parts washer sucks. The motor in that thing is a joke so is the filter.
Go at the safety clean one with the Greenway in ours, although we stopped using it long story.
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Never go cheap on tools they will break when you really need them. Harbor frieght is OK For some stuff but nothing I would depend on
Sent from samsung gem(the worst smart phone ever)
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Never go cheap on tools they will break when you really need them. Harbor frieght is OK For some stuff but nothing I would depend on
I wouldn't say never. The trick is to know when it's okay to cheap out.