The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Carb cleaners/dips

I'm rebuilding my first carb today. In preparation, I had bought the carb cleaner in a pail with the basket. When I opened it to put the small parts in there, I noticed the color of the liquid was very dark. Almost like used engine oil. I didn't think much about it, 'cause I figured that was the color it's supposed to be.

Yesterday, I picked up some more cleaner (from a different store). This time I got the stuff in the pour can. When I poured it into the metal bucket with the larger pieces, I noticed that it was a bright yellowish color.

What gives?? ... I'm wondering if I actually bought a "used" can the first go around. It makes me even more suspicious that THAT store was where I bought the faulty timing light I had to return. Don't think I'll be going back there.

I've spent close to 50 years using dip cleaners on carburetors, and dark color usually indicates lots of suspended dirt. Try pouring the cleaner from one container into another and strain it through an old t-shirt or something similar. If you get a bunch of sediment, that's not a good sign! The commercial-type cleaner in the 5-gallon bucket usually has a layer of water a couple of inches deep on top, to keep the cleaner from evaporating. The difference in specific gravity and chemical content keeps the water and the cleaner from mixing.

One precaution- - - -carb cleaner is highly toxic, and it will dehydrate flesh alomst instantly. Do not get it on your hands! One of my students got carb cleaner on his hands, and went to the restroom to wash it off, but he decided to take care of some personal business first. Bad idea! Carb cleaner on "sensitive" skin gets painful, instantly! He had to go home and shower, RIGHT NOW!
Jerry

Thanks. I will try to strain it. I can tell the dark stuff didn't clean near as well as the other stuff in the other pail.

And I bet that student doesn't EVER do that again! lol I have big chemical resistant gloves I've been using. I don't have any dexterity with them, but they work until I get the parts rinsed well.

I just bought and used a can of Berrymans on my rebuild and it was dark as well. I assumed that was normal and it seemed to clean the parts good...but now you have me wondering...

Well, the odds of us both buying cans of "bad or used" Berryman's is real slim. So, maybe it's just supposed to be that color. The other stuff I bought was also Berryman's but it was in a gallon pourable can - no basket. It was bright yellowish-green. Maybe it's the plastic basket....

Glad to know yours worked well. good luck!

I'm not familiar with Berryman's, always used other brands, and a minimum of 5 gallon containers. It's possible they just used a dark-colored liquid. Have fun!
Jerry

I just got a 5-gallon bucket of carb dip. Haven't opened it yet. But when I do, if I find the couple of inches of water, do I skim that off or leave it? Thanks! And I plan on having FUN, of sorts at any rate. lol

Most of the carb cleaner in 5 gal cans has a second chemical that floats on the top to slow down the evaporation of the solvent that stay to the bottom.

Don't skim it off or the solvent chemicals will go bye bye, since the lids on the cans do not reseal that good.

thanks! see, it's always good to ask.

Draw it out with a cheap turkey baster.

my can of berrymans was dark as well. it worked good, just not really fast. I left my stuff in for a week, as I have no time during the week to do any extracuricular (this is spelled wrong ?) activities. I had to do a bit of brushing and scrubbing to get the parts shiny(er) but it worked fine

Man, five gallons of carburetor cleaner, whatca doing, going into business???
Now I don't know bout the lids on your cans guys, but I've got three or four of the gallon cans of Gunk carburetor cleaner, a couple of which I've had for twenty or more years and it still cleans good and taint evaporated out one bit yet. Water?? I don't have an inch of water on top of mine mostly cuz if I did it wouldn‘t be carburetor cleaner, at least not Gunk carb cleaner which mixes with water immediately to form a milky white solution.
I have decanted the old stuff thru a paint filter and added a little new stuff to it a couple of times to top off the level in the cans for what was lost thru numerous carburetor cleanings.
The old Gunk Laboratories carburetor cleaner was very dark and thicker than the new stuff. Not sure when they changed the formula, I think it was when they relabeled it Solder-Seal-Gunk but it’s somewhat clear and thinner, smells a little different also, somewhat like DDT or some insecticide.
Me pop and brother were grease monkeys also so I've been using Gunk carb and engine cleaners since the 50's. We used to get the Gunk carb cleaner in a quart can as a concentrate that you mixed, I don’t remember now with what, might have been kerosene but I haven't seen that in decades. I suppose some bean counter at Radiator Specialty Company realized you could thin it out with cheap mineral spirits and charge the same price for it.
I would really like to find a reasonably priced decent ultrasonic cleaner that was big enough to hold a carburetor and fill it with Gunk carb cleaner. But the good ones are off the chart price wise. A while back I wasted my allowance on the two sizes that Harbor Freight sells because the transducer in them is way underpowered. They're little more than a soaking tank and I might as well be using an old dish pan for all the good they do.
Dang it, you guys would have to start talking about carb cleaners, I just went out to check the level in a couple of cans to make sure I wasn’t full of it in my belief and got ONE drop on my finger. Been at the sink with a jug of Goop for 10 minutes now trying to get the stink off!
DG

I always make sure and pre-clean my carbs before put them in the can. By getting all the dirt and stuff off the outside it makes a big difference how long your solution will last.
I've got a can of Justice Brothers carb dip and had it for many years.
I also keep mine up off the concrete floor on a couple of 2 x 4's. I've seen them sit on the floor and all of a sudden spring a leak because of the bottom of the can rusted thru.
When taking the basket out I always use some good hot water to wash things up, then get the blow gun out and dry things up.
Don

I just figured with three older trucks, I'd have enough opportunity to use 5 gallons. Have to admit, though, it is quite a bit. lol

Storing it on blocks... good idea... copy that.

Now how about temperature. The can sat outside last night, and believe it or not, it got down to 40 degrees. It's 44 degrees now and rising. How warm should it be before I use it, or won't it matter? (It will probably get into the mid 80s today.)

Denny - I don't think "good" and "reasonably priced" belong in the same sentence when referring to ultrasonic cleaners!

Ours is 8 inches wide, 12 inches long, and 10 inches deep; and will hold any carb part I want to clean.

Made in USA, and approximately $4,000. but it WORKS!!!!! Easily paid for itself in about 6 months.

Before this, I tried one of the cheap ($800. is cheap?) import units from Ebay (packaged in USA, made in PRC). Yes, it did work, for about 6 hours - and no warranty! The way it worked was the impetus to buy a good American made one.

We for the most part used Dawn dishwater soap in ours. Very little need to use the expensive stuff.

Jon.

I've used the stuff from the mid-40's to over 100 degrees temperature-wise, with no noticeable difference in performance. Leave the top layer of liquid there- - - -it prevents the solvent underneath from evaporating quickly. One of my acquisitions over the years was an agitator top that clamps onto the bucket. It oscillates the dip basket back and forth with an adjustable-speed air motor, like a washing machine, and really speeds up the cleaning time. Just be careful that the tiny parts don't get bent or damaged, or find their way through the holes in the basket. I lost a set of electronic Quadrajet metering rods that way once, finally found them in the sludge at the bottom of the bucket when I changed the solvent months later. Fortunately, I had a junk carb under the workbench to scavenge some replacements.
Jerry

Copy that about little parts. Here's my solution for the little buggers. The checker at Wally World looked at me kinda funny when I bought all of their tea baskets, but the darn things are working out great! The metering rods I threaded onto paperclips and hung 'em up that way.

Thanks for the tip on the hot water. That is working out much better. Funny that they don't list that on the can. Guess they figure everybody knows....

Just what I said Jon, "I wasted my spending money on that cheap HF junk."
A couple of grand is a bunch to spend on an occasional carb cleaning, I'm not in the business of rebuilding carbs like you. I've seen used ones like I used to use at the lab where I worked but even those are still up there out of reach for home use.
since I've got several buckets of carb cleaner I soak the big ones in one and the small parts in another. I've had this bucket made up from an old plastic instant coffee container for years: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/136595810
And I usuall leave it over night in the cleaner then a good rince under the hot water using a pipe cleaners while any resedue that is left is still soft.
DG

DG

Success! My first carb rebuild went without a hitch. Thanks for all the help!! Denny, I like the looks of the basket ... very handy.

That yellow-green Berryman's might be the ECO friendly version???
I used to sell it, but have never used it. Customers said it was good stuff. Got a carb to rebuild now, and am planning to try it.