make small hot tank

[Tom Goldman]

Coleydog got it with the Red Devil lye ….cheap and effective.
I've been using it for years since machine shops have been getting rid of their old caustic hot tanks.
I use a large heavy duty 23 gallon storage tub with a bung installed on the side with an old oil pan heater element I had laying around in it .
I try to keep the temp around 175-80 and I have a tube thru the cover that I can hook up to the air hose to aerate the mix and keep it cleaning.
What ever you use for a container, if it's plastic make sure it will crush and deform , not crack .

[outlaw]

Lye to water ratio?

[House of Darts]

Call a chemical supplier. Guessing on a concentration is not good. You are talking some real chemistry here. Over concentrated solutions are a pain to remove. Its not just a water rinse. You can force caustic salts into the pore of the metal and it will leach out over time, like into your cooling system or oil. Knowing the capacity of your tank and what you want to accomplish, i.e. degreasing, will allow the supplier to give you the concentrations and other tips. Depending upon how much you have in the tank, you may want a lid and an exhaust fan The warm mist travels thru the shop and contaminates everything Not being an alarmist, but good knowledge and safety goes a long way. Its simple when you get to know the works.SAFETY FIRST!

[Coleydog]

All my tanks are outside, covered. My shop is to valuable to lose.
Get online, good help from people on how to set up any type you need, a lot of do's and dont's

[curtis reed]

A good safe biodegradable cleaner is Oakite brand cleaners. We had a hot tank with their cleaner years ago. When we needed to change to fresh chemical we would mix it with soda ash to render it inert. Here is a list I found online of what they offer.



https://www.chemetallna.com/products...eralmaint.aspx

[kansas stocker]

The oakite products that I have used were all alkaline. I don't think soda ash, also an alkaline, would neutralize them. All I have ever used is the old powder. Probably have something new I'm not aware of.
Pete

[Dan Lattimore]

Just for the home shop and the inconvenience of dragging everything but the 50 year old seriously gooood up stuff to the machine shop --- I cut a house heating oil drum in two and shortened the legs , bolted two pieces of angle iron to the back, cut a piece of 3/4 " plywood for a cover and hinged it to the angle iron. Placed an old fireplace grate in the bottom , drilled a bunch of holes in a piece of 3/8 brake line with a valve and laid it under the grate for aeration . welded a bung in each end and screwed in two heating elements and the thermostat set at 180 from an old hot water heater. Used nothing but ( Tide ) . Took a little longer but smelled great. ------ Put it outside on the concrete pad and used the engine hoist for blocks. As they say " it worked for me"