carb soaking fluid

[oldlineman 1,450]

Hi guys just wondering if acetone or paint thinner would make a good carb soaking cleaning fluid. Thanks for your shareing of your knowledge as always. Bob

[953 nut 51,656]

I always use Lacquer Thinner, keep it on hand for cleaning spray guns so it is handy and works well. Don't think paint thinner would do the trick.

[oldlineman 1,450]

Thanks 953 nut would acetone be the same as lacqure thinner, I am not real familiar with these products. Thanks

[953 nut 51,656]

The only thing I have used acetone for is cleaning up after doing fiberglass work. I think it is a lot more volatile evaporates real fast) and don't know if it would be any better, but I do know it cost about four times what lacquer thinner does.

[JPWH 5,308]

I have tried acetone when I ran out of lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner is much better.

[Achto 26,548]

I use Berryman's carb cleaner, about $20 per gallon, can be bought at Wal-Mart. This stuff will clean every thing off of an old carb. An important note: Make sure that you do not leave any thing that is not made of metal on the carb, it will be gone after soaking your carb.

[JPWH 5,308]

Is the Berryman better than the Gunk? I haven't used either one.

[Achto 26,548]

1 minute ago, JPWH said:

Is the Berryman better than the Gunk? I haven't used either one.

 

Both are about the same, I've used both. I've also used these products to remove paint build up on a spray guns. Like I said, if it's not metal it will be gone. I finish up by spraying parts down with brake cleaner & drying off with a blow gun.

[Shynon 7,435]

54 minutes ago, Achto said:

I use Berryman's carb cleaner, about $20 per gallon, can be bought at Wal-Mart. This stuff will clean every thing off of an old carb. An important note: Make sure that you do not leave any thing that is not made of metal on the carb, it will be gone after soaking your carb.

[oldlineman 1,450]

Thanks all, I think there is some great information here and I think I will try Berrymans or lacquar thinner. 

[joel_400 59]

I use an ultra sonic cleaner with water and a bit of cheap simple green knock off. Have had great luck with that. Then a bit of brake clean and air to blow it out and dry off. I've even had seized up carbs and throttle bodes free up after running a few cycles. Not sure how much they cost any more but mine was free and almost fits a four barrel. Just have to flip it over to get both sides of larger parts. 

[WHX?? 46,739]

1 hour ago, Shynon said:

I'll third that

[tims tractors 119]

I,ve used Berrymans for 30 years good stuff. If using on a carb rinse with hot soapy water rinse again clean water an blow out all passages.

[r356c 375]

A flea market or garage sale crock-pot makes a good hot tank for Berrymans or Gunk.

 

The flash point of thinners would be too low for me to use them around heating elements.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by r356c
Safety concern.

[6bg6ga 271]

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

The only thing I have used acetone for is cleaning up after doing fiberglass work. I think it is a lot more volatile evaporates real fast) and don't know if it would be any better, but I do know it cost about four times what lacquer thinner does.

 

Lacquer thinner in my opinion works better than carb cleaner does. Acetone works as an octane booster in street cars. Ultra sonic is probably the best. Use with a little lemon shine and clean out with brake cleaner. Only draw back is the cost unless you have a 1/2 dozen carbs to clean. 

[ohiofarmer 3,157]

 Most of what is in carb cleaner IS lacquer thinner.  Berrymans may have a little MEK thrown in to make it hotter.I start out with straight gasoline to dissolve all the oil and grease away. the reason for this is to just leave the stubborn stuff for the expensive carb cleaner. No sense in wasting the cleaning power of the more expensive stuff by dissolving grease and oil into your soak bath

 

 Lacquer thinner will dissolve non-ethanol gum and varnish better than the grey crap left behind by the ethanol gasoline. Motorcycle carbs are notorious for small passages internal to the type.By accident, i discovered that this stuff will work, albeit very slowly to soften things up. You can actually see bubbles coming out of the passages for a half hour or so when it is working. http://www.crcindustries.com/products/freeze-off-174-super-penetrant-11-5-wt-oz-05002.html

 

 Years ago, the carb cleaner you bought was as hot as fire and worked much better than what we have today..I almost forgot, this stuff probably does the best job of all, but it is really messy to work with. I think it would go better for me now as i have much more experience with carbs. Read the reviews and note how many are five star.

 

  https://www.amazon.com/Yamalube-Carburetor-Cleaner-Dip-oz/dp/B002GU4SPA

[WHX?? 46,739]

2 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

carb cleaner you bought was as hot as fire and worked much better than what we have today..

We had this discussion before where Berrymans had to take some of the VOC's out of their product to make it more "environmentally friendly" but it reduced it's effectiveness. Still is works good for me and a can lasts a long time.

[Tim.0 37]

I use the gallon carb cleaner with the metal basket. Not sure what brand it is and have had it for a long time. Preclean, disassemble, let sit over night, clean with brake clean, and blow out.

[dcrage 621]

Acetone is a 'polar' molecule (similar to water) making a good solvent for similarly polar molecules. Acetone is a GREAT solvent for removing water residue (i.e. drying something that was washed with water). This makes acetone not suitable for dissolving gunk left in carburetors which are mostly large organic non polar hydrocarbons. 

[ohiofarmer 3,157]

On 5/17/2017 at 10:07 AM, WHX11 said:

We had this discussion before where Berrymans had to take some of the VOC's out of their product to make it more "environmentally friendly" but it reduced it's effectiveness. Still is works good for me and a can lasts a long time.

Not really disagreeing with you about Berrymans being a good product. Actually, I just used it as a gasoline additive in the trusty CB750 that had an overflowing carb due to a sticking needle and seat valve. It cleared up without need for disassembly.

[buckrancher 2,675]

Berrymans is great stuff if you actually don't need to clean anything

 

brian

[tunahead72 2,340]

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 8:13 AM, ohiofarmer said:

Not really disagreeing with you about Berrymans being a good product. Actually, I just used it as a gasoline additive in the trusty CB750 that had an overflowing carb due to a sticking needle and seat valve. It cleared up without need for disassembly.

 

Man, I wish you'd told me this earlier.  My '81 CB750K is currently undergoing a partial carburetor overhaul to solve the same problem.  Oh well, live and learn.

[wh500special 2,053]

On May 18, 2017 at 5:23 PM, dcrage said:

Acetone is a 'polar' molecule (similar to water) making a good solvent for similarly polar molecules. Acetone is a GREAT solvent for removing water residue (i.e. drying something that was washed with water). This makes acetone not suitable for dissolving gunk left in carburetors which are mostly large organic non polar hydrocarbons. 

The methyl groups on the one end do offer some solubility for non polar molecules...not great, but still somewhat universally functional as a general purpose solvent.  

 

I'd imagine the old cleaners were chlorinated solvents, as are some brake cleaners too.  Nasty stuff and unequivocally harmful to your health.  Always use sparingly and follow the labels. 

 

Steve