I recently bought a 3 gallon stainless steel coffee percolator($5.00 at a flea market)one of those big ones like you see in meeting/waiting rooms,and made a neat little parts washer from it.
I put 1/4 cup of Purple Power degreaser and 2 and 1/2 gallons of water in along with a bunch of greasey,oily,muddy parts and plug it in with the power on the lowest setting.The basket that normally holds the coffee is a good place to put small washers and little parts that you dont want missplaced,the percolating action along with the boiling water/degreaser and five minutes later you have some nice clean parts.
I didnt put anything in with rubber or gaskets because the heat would distort them.
I played around with this thing outside until I was sure it was safe to move indoors.Now on rainy days I have something I can do.
Clean up is a snap,just remove the parts(be careful because they will be HOT)wipe the parts down and remove any remaining crude,pour the water out and wipe the container out. Hobert
Hey Dan, I guess that might be the reason the pots are so cheap!! I have yet to hear of anyone that likes the taste of coffee from them. Come to think of it, the coffee looks about the same as the oily,greasey water thats left after cleaning the parts. Hobert
Sounds like a good use for one of those things. Simply as a function of the design, they make awful coffee. There is no way to improve it, it's just the nature of the beast.
Another look at a 13 year old thread. Stuff posted here is always pertinent no matter how old it is.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Hmmmm- - - - -I'll bet something about the size of a turkey fryer with a home-brewed percolator stem made of a dog dish hubcap and a piece of 1/2" stainless tubing might work for bigger parts. Just make sure the lid fits well and give it a couple of vent holes! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
My '50 Chevy 3100 5 window, '62-235cu, 3:55 rear My truck ....... Respect The Rust If I'm not working on my truck, '65 m00stang or VW camper, I'm fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.
Yes, do not dump oil in your yard! A friend of mine had a leaky heating oil tank. The government ordered her to dig up her front yard to remove the contaminated soil. Total cost after bringing in clean soil and redoing the landscaping was about $80K.
You can do the same thing by going to the dollar store and purchasing a 1.5 or 2 gallon pan. Mine is aluminum and very well worn now. I've attached an image for you. Or if you have room, you can get a 3 gallon stainless one at WalMart for about $10 (http://tinyurl.com/y2mrwtje). Mexican supermarkets sell them as tamale warmers but they charge more because those come with a wire basket. You can use Dawn detergent and water, Fabuloso, Simple Green...any of the popular concentrated cleaning compounds. Hint: try to pick one which doesn't make too many suds. 409 is one which doesn't suds too much and Simple Green and Fabuloso don't either. Put your parts in first so you will know how much water to add (about 2 inches from the top works for me) Set the pot on your gas grill, turn on both burners, close the lid and watch the temp. When it gets to around 275, adjust your burners so it stays there and leave it for 10 minutes or so. It will be boiling in there and you don't want it boiling over. Be careful not to use too much cleaner...that's key to keeping it from over-foaming. You can clean all sorts of things, but obviously nothing electric. When you're finished, let the water cool and pour it on your lawn. It won't hurt your grass at all and if you live in an area of heavy clay soil it may actually help that little area by altering the surface tension of the water so it penetrates better.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
What's wrong with this? Where do people think oil comes from? Its black gold when it is discovered in the ground, but toxic waste if a little gets spilled in the yard. Now don't get all up in arms with me. I am simply illustrating comedic irony. Save the whales (but not the sea lions, as they annoy me).
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
after reading this thread i was thinking of getting a used percolator next time i'm at the thrift store, but after getting an ultrasonic cleaner on amazon for about $80 and using it on high heat with evaporust i think i won't need the percolator anymore i tried it out on a fuel pump and i like how it worked, first pass was the whole unit so that i could pull it apart easier, then i did all the individual bits, some needed 2 cycles at 20 minutes, but in the end i like how it did
An old Crock Pot with soapy water and set on high works pretty well. Leave it alone for 8-10 hours except for a lite stir now and then.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Yes but what surprised me was that with the action of the ultrasonic cleaner, you get 24hrs of evaporust cleaning action in only 20 minutes! No more waiting -s
The Tennessee state vocational/technical school where I taught auto mechanics for several years had a gravel-filled sump about 10 X 20 feet 10 feet deep with a small shed built over it where they disposed of drain oil. When it finally got so saturated it wouldn't accept any more they finally fixed it- - - -with a 6" thick concrete slab poured on top! A couple of disgruntled students tried to report that to the EPA, but the director of the school called in a few favors and the investigation just quietly went away! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
