Discarded Commercial Coffee Makers - Put To Good Use!

[rbattelle]

Last week at work I was walking through the halls when I came upon a trash bag that contained a large commercial coffee maker. I immediately asked whether it was trash, and if I could help myself. Naturally, there were no objections to me taking this "junk".

WOW! What a find! At first I just wanted to salvage the aluminum to melt into blocks, but then it dawned on me what something like this is perfect for - a parts cleaning tank!

The only thing wrong with the unit I got is a tiny leak at the heating element, easily fixed with a little silicone sealant. It heats water to 180°F and holds it there automatically. The little red light (which reads "serve" :-laf ) comes on when it reaches temperature (which takes about 30 minutes for a full tank). Total capacity is about 2 or 2. 5 gallons.

On the right you see the "parts basket" where the coffee would normally go. I plan to attach a handle from a 5-gallon bucket to it. I'll also buy a pack of coffee filters (cheap!) to place in the bottom and capture the junk that comes off of parts. Once you remove the brewing tube, the basket will slide all the way to the bottom of the tank. Just like those Gunk Carb & Parts cleaning cans have in them!

On the left is the lid, which locks into place very nicely. Keeps odors and fumes pretty well contained.

These things also come with a nice sight glass which would be very expensive to buy new. I've removed it and I'm sure some day I'll find a use for it.

So my advice is, if you ever see one of these things bound for the land fill, grab it up! Even without a functioning heating element it still makes a fine solvent tank. With money being tight these days, I'm looking out more than ever for "stuff that can be used as other stuff".

The only thing I need to figure out is what to use as a degreasing agent at 180°F. Simple Green says not to heat their stuff. I'm thinking of trying dishwasher detergent, but the problem with that is I doubt it will remove paint.

Anyone have any suggestions for a hot-tank degreaser agent?

Ryan

 

[PToombs]

How about... ... coffee? I know it cleans me right up! :-laf

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Actually, for greasy stuff, dishwasher detergent does quite well. Also consider installing some form of liquid agitation or stirring, such as a paint stirrer, to keep the liquid in motion. You could make up a decent grid at the bottom to hold parts up, run a rod thru the top cover and down below the grid with a mixer/propeller, and use a small motor to keep it spinning.

 

[GHarman]

Anyone have any suggestions for a hot-tank degreaser agent?



Ryan

Ryan, I would think Dawn Dish washing liquid would be a reasonable degreaser. I use it at home. Another degreaser that I have used is Oakite. We used it to, Hot Tank degrease firearms prior to the Immersion Blueing Process. GregH

 

[Mad Bomber]

I've been delivering coffee in Seattle for the last 3 years. To clean the coffee pots we use Disenfecting bleach. People freak when you tell them that, but it works great on the oils of coffee.

 

[rbattelle]

I agree with all of you that some sort of diswashing agent would work really well for removing grease. Actually, plain old water at 180°F might do quite nicely removing grease!

But I was hoping to find more of a solvent that would also remove old paint. Simple green will do it, but like I said you're not supposed to heat it up. [I suppose I could just use Simple Green cold, but I was hoping some sort of hot concoction would give me "miracle" results!]

Bleach... now that might be a very interesting experiment. MB, do you actually "brew" the bleach through them?

Greg's post lead me to this site, which lists a few solvents, including Oakite. Need to find a source for this stuff...

Ryan

 

[DCreed]

the makers of POR 15 use "marine clean" for a degreasing solvent and it says to use "hot". if you could find a sonic/vibrational agitator like a jewlery cleaner.

 

[Mad Bomber]

Bleach... now that might be a very interesting experiment. MB, do you actually "brew" the bleach through them?



Ryan

No need to brew it though just hot tap water and fill it up. That disenfecting bleach(not bleach for laundry it's what the resteraunt industry uses) starts cleaning even before you add the water. Only problem is eats cloths if spilled on, counters,floors, but on cement floors no problems. As long as you rince the pots well works great. This use of bleach is SOP as far as cleaning pots EVERYDAY. Some places I'd evn take a small bottle into a account to clean the pots if too many to replace on site. (Of course in a differant bottle and not really let the customer see it)

 

[Excessive Force]

Actually, for greasy stuff, dishwasher detergent does quite well. Also consider installing some form of liquid agitation or stirring, such as a paint stirrer, to keep the liquid in motion. You could make up a decent grid at the bottom to hold parts up, run a rod thru the top cover and down below the grid with a mixer/propeller, and use a small motor to keep it spinning.

Maybe you could use an old blender... .

 

[whogan]

Last week at work I was walking through the halls when I came upon a trash bag that contained a large commercial coffee maker. I immediately asked whether it was trash, and if I could help myself. Naturally, there were no objections to me taking this "junk".



WOW! What a find! At first I just wanted to salvage the aluminum to melt into blocks, but then it dawned on me what something like this is perfect for - a parts cleaning tank!



The only thing wrong with the unit I got is a tiny leak at the heating element, easily fixed with a little silicone sealant. It heats water to 180°F and holds it there automatically. The little red light (which reads "serve" :-laf ) comes on when it reaches temperature (which takes about 30 minutes for a full tank). Total capacity is about 2 or 2. 5 gallons.



On the right you see the "parts basket" where the coffee would normally go. I plan to attach a handle from a 5-gallon bucket to it. I'll also buy a pack of coffee filters (cheap!) to place in the bottom and capture the junk that comes off of parts. Once you remove the brewing tube, the basket will slide all the way to the bottom of the tank. Just like those Gunk Carb & Parts cleaning cans have in them!



On the left is the lid, which locks into place very nicely. Keeps odors and fumes pretty well contained.



These things also come with a nice sight glass which would be very expensive to buy new. I've removed it and I'm sure some day I'll find a use for it.



So my advice is, if you ever see one of these things bound for the land fill, grab it up! Even without a functioning heating element it still makes a fine solvent tank. With money being tight these days, I'm looking out more than ever for "stuff that can be used as other stuff".



The only thing I need to figure out is what to use as a degreasing agent at 180°F. Simple Green says not to heat their stuff. I'm thinking of trying dishwasher detergent, but the problem with that is I doubt it will remove paint.



Anyone have any suggestions for a hot-tank degreaser agent?



Ryan

If you have firefighter buddy (structural type) ask him/her if they will help you get a small amount of "wetting agent". Its a water additive used to break the surface tension of water so that water will penetrate better. Be careful though, some brands are more corrosive than others. But if you don't leave the parts in soak excessively long it will work wonders. Please do not use any liquid with a petroleum or flammable liquid content.

 

[Misenheimer]

I used Simple Green in a heated sonic cleaner and the result was all the aluminum turned black. (Phospates) It smelled and fumed, made the shop hard to be in as it irritated skin and nose. Dawn worked as good as anything else but usually took two trips to get clean.

I did use heated Simple Green to black some aluminum machined parts that I made for a mercedes, looked nice.

 

[rbattelle]

I used Simple Green in a heated sonic cleaner and the result was all the aluminum turned black.

Yeah, I checked Simple Green's website awhile back and it specifically recommended against heating it.



I've been using it cold, although I did run some parts through one hot cycle using automatic dishwasher detergent (Electrasol). That actually managed to partially strip paint, and had some effect on the grease, but not as good as traditional degreasers. I should've tried it a second time.



As we speak I have a small geared shaft sitting in it with some degreaser. Should be shiny within 24 hours.



Ryan

 

[fest3er]

"Greased Lightning" is a low sudsing and very good cleaner/degreaser. About $8/ga. at Sam's.

As to circulating, use an old electric fuel pump. Use the power supply from a discarded computer to run it; 5VDC should be enough to circulate, and 12VDC should provide enough flow for a 'power' wash. Put a simple filter on the gazinta and aim the outlet right and you should have plenty of circulation.

 

[p-Bar]

If all else fails you could make meth in there and trade it for diesel fuel

 

[willyslover]

so why not try and leave the tube in it and "perk" the parts, the filter will grab up the junk before it gets to the main body of water

 

[icman95]

What temp do you have to heat bleach to before it starts to evaporate and become toxic chlorine gas? Just be careful when chosing a solvent that you're going to heat.

 

[rbattelle]

So far the only thing I've heated in it is dishwasher detergent. I haven't found a hot degreaser agent yet.

Willy, I thought about doing exactly that, but haven't tried it yet.

Ryan

 

[MAleshire]

How about a product called Oil Eater. It is used for cleaning/dissolving oil from cement surfaces. I think it's bio-degradable and is not a petroleum base.



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