Engine Cleaner (exterior)

[Comstock-Friend]

From Johnson Supply website: "DuPont Prep-Sol Cleaning Solvent 3919S - A 6.4 VOC cleaning solvent specifically designed to remove wax, grease, silicone, dirt, tar, insect remnants, road film and pinstripe adhesives from the surface." Looks like you don't want to get it top sides if you have vinyl lettering...

[Harold_V]

Work outside. Don't put anything up on a table (especially containers full of gasoline): work on the ground. Keep your large [snip]

In other words, hold on to scat by the clean end?

Stuff labeled "Stoddard Solvent" seems to run about $25/qt. "Mineral oil", which is the same thing, is $12/gal. at Walmart.

How much does a stay in a hospital cost when less than wise practice is employed and you catch fire? For that matter, what's the going rate for a funeral these days?

Stoddard solvent (or common paint thinner) is a bargain, and the chance of fire is lessened tremendously. I buy it in 2½ gallon containers from a nearby paint store for about $22. Fumes from those products don't go looking for ignition sources, while the fumes from gasoline do, if you get my drift.

There is no "safe way" to clean with gasoline. If you think there is, you're kidding yourself. The use of products that offer a lower risk of ignition is always the best policy.

As a matter of safety, speaking from my position as a moderator for this fine board, for me to pretend that the use of gasoline for cleaning is acceptable isn't going to happen. If I don't speak against it, it is much the same as an endorsement. I don't use gasoline myself, and I don't endorse its use by others.

DON'T USE GASOLINE FOR CLEANING. If you choose to ignore that advice, please DO NOT RECOMMEND IT TO OTHERS ON THIS BOARD. We are not here to help others harm themselves.

H

[curtis cutter]

OK, I feel bad here because I have used gasoline to clean parts in the past. Harold is correct in his assessment of the use of this volatile liquid. If you compare the flash points of various "solvents", you will find that gasoline is putting off flammable vapors at about -45 F. The Stoddard Solvent is slightly over 100 F. Harold chewed me out a couple years ago on that......

Basically, any place humans can be, gasoline is ready to burn. Diesel, Stoddard Solvent and other combustible liquids must be warmed unless you are working in direct sunlight on a hot metal surface.

The above being said, my experience as a 50 year firefighter is that the majority of shop fires are caused by bad housekeeping and carelessness. People leaving combustible debris on the floor and then welding nearby. Fuel containers that emit flammable vapors (picture a gasoline can in a shop with a wood burning stove, the stove warms the shop as well as the gas can, the gas can puts out flammable vapors and the next call is 911).

Sawdust on the floor, rags laying about, these are all warning signs to me. People who keep their shop area clean will most likely avoid fires. This is probably a result of a combination of factors, one being those who are concerned about their safety tend to keep neater shops. I do not recall responding to very many fires in clean shops. Welding/torch cutting in woodworking shops or those with stored flammable fuels, ya been there done that a lot.

A couple things to consider when building a shop. ALWAYS have two ways out and place your fire extinguisher near the exit door (get to the exit, THEN consider if you can fight the fire).

[Greg_Lewis]

Years ago I was working with an angle grinder. Just as I was heading in for lunch I glanced around and saw a little bit of smoke coming out of a cardboard box that had been about 15 feet away from where I was working. Out in the country where I live, all the fire department can do is cool off the rubble when they finally get here. Close call.

A couple things to consider when building a shop. ALWAYS have two ways out and place your fire extinguisher near the exit door (get to the exit, THEN consider if you can fight the fire).

A couple of months ago I realized that my fire extinguishers were about 30 years old. For about $35 each I got new ones at Costco. It wasn't worth having the originals serviced. One is in the shop, one is in the truck. Cheap insurance.

[NP317]

I witnessed a transplanted Russian mechanic in Washington State cleaning a motorcycle with a spray bottle filled with gasoline!!!!!
I backed off just as the bike burst into flames.
Fortunately he learned a lesson non-fatally. But still had to replace the customer's motorcycle.
~RN

[John Hasler]

Delete the message if it offends you. I did not mean to recommend the use of gasoline for cleaning, just to describe some safety precautions should one choose to do so.

BTW I didn't intend to say that mineral spirits were excessively expensive, just to note that there is no point in paying an exorbitant price for mineral spirits labeled "Stoddard Solvent".

[Harold_V]

Delete the message if it offends you.

Nope! Don't want it deleted, as it provides a means for readers to refresh their memories, or to educate those who use gasoline without thinking and don't see anything wrong with the idea, in spite of the fact that it is akin to fishing with dynamite. Your message serves some good, at least for those with common sense.

H

[Harold_V]

OK, I feel bad here because I have used gasoline to clean parts in the past. Harold is correct in his assessment of the use of this volatile liquid. If you compare the flash points of various "solvents", you will find that gasoline is putting off flammable vapors at about -45 F. The Stoddard Solvent is slightly over 100 F. Harold chewed me out a couple years ago on that......

The worst part of using gasoline is the propagation rate. I don't know what it is, but I know it can't be outrun, and it travels great distances. People tend to get a false notion of safety because they're working a considerable distance from an ignition source, but ignition sources have a way of occurring naturally. The fumes are so easy to ignite that I'm surprised that there's not more fires.

What keeps running through my head is how a person might think after having lived through a gasoline fire. "If only I had not used gasoline, I wouldn't be in this fix today". A life time to regret something that could have easily been avoided.

H

[curtis cutter]

Specific gravity is something to be considered as well. Propane and natural gas act very differently when they leak.

Here is a chart showing the SG of different gasses: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/spec ... d_334.html

When a business has a propane leak, you can open the doors and it will flow out provided the building is not in a bowl itself. When a business has a natural gas leak with a 30' ceiling and 10' doors it creates a considerably different situation to remove the vapors.

[Kimball McGinley]

So, does that mean Propane will run along the floor, and Natural Gas will head for the ceiling?

[curtis cutter]

So, does that mean Propane will run along the floor, and Natural Gas will head for the ceiling?

Yes.

[duckman903]

I've reread all the replies and not once does it use the word gasoline as a cleaner it says "diesel" which has a very high flash point unlike gasoline.