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I recently got a used parts washer & was searching online & here on our site for solvent options. I was going to use kerosene or mineral spirits. I came across a couple posts about using B100 biodiesel made from soy.The cheapest mineral spirits I could find was $7 a gallon , I needed 15 gallons. I couldn't find B100 here in Michigan but I did find it in Pittsburgh for $2.65 a gallon. I was going there so I picked some up. So far so good. It doesn't smell too bad & it's easy on your hands. As far as cleaning it works pretty good. I need to find something really cruddy to give it a tougher test. The washer has some crud stuck to the inside that regular diesel would not remove & the B100 is dissolving it. Here's a link to a nationwide biodiesel locator map,if anyone is interested. See ya!Mark

Evening Mark, thanks for the comment. I'm needing some pretty soon myself.
I did a search for my area and it seems there are 3 SPINX gas stations here have what they call B20.
Does anyone know if that is even comparable to the B100 you have mentioned ???

Edit: it may just be the climatic location as you are in the "cold country".
http://biodiesel.org/using-biodiesel/guide-to-buying-biodiesel

After trying many water based, eco friendly options and having the most god awful messes you can imagine I gave up. Good ole kerosene (or old fashioned varsol/mineral spirits) are hard to beat. I get kerosene at Home Depot for about $4/gallon in a 5 gal can and use 20 gals. I would think it would be a lot cheaper up North where you guys use so much for winter heating. My washer has a lid on it, so I can close it when not in use, so without that may be a little different. I got a great little pump as advised from Deve, and wrapped multiple layers of an a/c filter around the inlet to keep from recycling the junk. I wired the pump to a switch mounted on the side of the tank. Use some conduit and wired a flood light also on the same switch, because I can never see good enough when trying to clean parts. After a big job, let the junk settle for a week, pump the clean stuff off the top, then when you get to the gunk at the bottom, pull the drain plug, clean out, refill and back in business. After settling, the clean stuff at the top of the tank looks almost like new. I plan to recycle for a long time. The original fill did cost almost as much as the tank ! You may be on to something, so keep us updated if it works out.

Hey Alvin, I hope all is well. The owner at the place where I bought the B100 told me that the # in the B20 would mean 20% bio & 80% regular diesel. I could only find the B20 up here as well. The posts I read said the B100 worked the best so I figured I'd give it a try. I can always dump it in the Kubota if it doesn't do the trick , but so far so good. See ya! Mark

Alvin, It looks like Winnsboro SC may have the B100. If you haven't done so try the link with the interactive map. That may be to far to travel. See ya! Mark

yeah, I took a look and came up with some places fairly close but they all only offered the B20. Winnsboro is not that far.... when I go see my sister. In the meantime I may just give the B20 a try with a couple gallons.
I like the Varsol and use to get it when my brother ran his machine shop. But his shop is closed and its expensive around here and most want you to buy it from them, let them service it by draining and refilling on a schedule. No thanks!

you know i just went thru a' washer solvent " buying problem a couple yrs ago ! what a headache! seems like all is overpriced ! soo what i did is fabbed me up a new tank for my washer to set on/ BUT only made to hold about 1 to 2 gallons of cleaner ! when i cleaned something really dirty i took it to a power washer /car wash/ then cleaned it in my solvent tank ,so using up a few gallons was no big deal! that way i would not get all the extra fluid dirty !! ?? my two cents mike

Just an update on the Bio-diesel as a solvent. I cleaned a bellhousing the other day & it was pretty cruddy. I scraped off the heavy stuff & the Bio worked realiy well. 1/3 the cost of of mineral spirits , doesn't smell as bad & works great. Mark

The old school: After air needler, wire wheel and a screw driver I use gas in a squirt bottle ($2 a gal), over a container. Pour left over on the weeds. Then finish with media blast if necessary. I haven't blown up or grown a third ear yet and my parts are clean. Love the smell of gas, always have.
I use simple green and water as a final clean.

Thanks for the update Mark.

I don't think I've seen Purple Power mentioned here. The local parts store runs it on special in the 2 1/2 gallon jugs, which is what I buy to wash nasty engines in vehicles!

I know it'll eat the "oil" of your skin and make you shed but does anyone like or use the stuff. For the price it's pretty good. I keep a jug under the work bench but thinking about dumping it in the wash tank.

I have also used Simple Green which is OK but its to pricey and around here I've seen it only in gallon jugs.

I use to use simple green, started using it on my aluminum trailer (1951 Royal Spartanette) then was told by a bunch of trailer enthusiasts, that it will corrode the aluminum and to use the purple power instead. I also use gasoline as a solvent and then use it as weed killer when done. I follow up with the purple power after that.

an old trick to keep the solvent clean is have the bottom pick up two inches above the bottom and have the bottom inch be water, the dirt and junk stay in the water and the solvent will stay clean....
stainless steel tank highly recommended....