Crock Pot

Just tried my first crockpot - used 50% antifreeze for 24 hours to clean up a FP 25. Took the goo off alright but there is some dark staining in places and the fins have gone very dark and the polish has gone off the side of the head which now looks dull and stained. Is this to be expected or did I do something wrong?

Wait for an expert reply. I bought a $14 crock pot just for this and have no luck at all. Cleans a little for me, but not what I thought it would from reading. Kind of same problem you've experienced. I think I'm doing it wrong. Of course, I was probably expecting a magical clean that doesn't exist in this world.

After coming out of the pot I rinse with water and brush with a medium soft bristle brush and the shine comes back. Dry completly!
RO

50/50 is the way to go. ALWAYS cook on 'low' or discoloration is possible. I use lacquer thinner and a soft brush for a 'second step' after the crockpot. This works GREAT for me!

I use undiluted antifreeze.....low heat is very important. And most critical is to thoroughly wash and brush the parts in soapy water and rinse well. Takes 12-24 hours.....I've never had an OS or Fox that didn't clean up yet.

Tried all the "miracle" solvents.....anti-freeze is the only method that I've been satisfied with.

Please tell me. Just what is a "crock pot"? I have cleaned engines using all sorts of cleaning products from acetone to transmission fluid and soaked them in an ordinary glass jar. All these things worked well. So is there something "magic" about a crock pot?

You know those little ceramic-lined electric cooking pots from Wal-Mart or the like? Meant for slow cooking stews and soup and stuff. The heat gets the soaking time for an engine down to a reasonable number. Just don't ever cook in one that has had anti-freeze in it.

So, OK. We know that a bit of heat accelerates any chemical process. So room temperature will still do the job. (Just what is "room temperature"? Isn't the room always at 'room temperature'?) So it takes a bit longer without added heat. We are in no big hurry.

Floyd the Crock

What we have here is, "Failure To Communicate" Paul- The sultan of solvent

Forget the Crock Pots ..... go to your local Automotive Discount Store and buy the product shown in photo. You simply spray it on, wait about an hour, then wash off with water. Try it, you'll like it!

>So, OK. We know that a bit of heat accelerates any chemical
>process. So room temperature will still do the job. (Just
>what is "room temperature"? Isn't the room always at 'room
>temperature'?) So it takes a bit longer without added heat.
> We are in no big hurry.
>
>Floyd the Crock

Floyd,
I soaked a Fox 40 for 3 months in cold antifreeze to see if it worked cold...nothing happened. An overnight cook in the crockpot on low temp took all the burnt castor off.
BillP

Well, as I understand it, in Great Britain, room temperature is 67 degree F. A warm beer temp! .

The purpose of the crock pot is to get the antifreeze mixture hot enough to dissolve varnish from castor oil, carbon deposits and dried out castor. This is for the entire engine, inside and outside. Also helps to release parts corroded together, but not always. The type of antifreeze, the temperature it is set at, time in the solution and degree of crud will be only a few of the variables. Once nothing worked. Next week it worked like a charm (different engine). And so it goes.

This picture shows the results after putting an OS .40 FP muffler in a $7 Walmart crock pot (so cheap it only has one heat setting - about 215°F). The crock pot is filled with a mixture of 50% antifreeze and 50% water. After sitting in the hot crock pot liquid for 24 hours the muffler was removed. Then the muffler was put under a running water faucet and an old tooth brush was used to brush off the carbon buildup. I have used this method now on about a dozen engines and it works great. Many thanks to whoever first came up with this idea.
DennisV

I have tried both diluted and straight antifreeze and the 100 proof works the best. I heard that some types cause the finish to darken but so far using Peak I have had no problems.

>I have tried both diluted and straight antifreeze and the
>100 proof works the best. I heard that some types cause the
>finish to darken but so far using Peak I have had no
>problems.
>
>Todd.

Ron B.
F4Fguy

FYI:100 Proof=50/50 to the Revenooers.But seriously,the darkening may have more to do with mixing with tap water than it has to do with the ethylene glycol.You'd be amazed at the different aluminum unfreindly chemicals and minerals in common tap waters around the country.If you dilute,use distilled or deionized water.Also,the anti corrosion packages in anti-freezes(including Peak) are depleted with use,so don't expect it to continue to work for large numbers of very dirty parts.

Lots of good advice here. I think I am getting it right now, I have lowered the temperature.
I thought that I would include the piston of the FP20 to remove the carbon but left the wrist pin and rod attached. Mistake, anyone know whwre I can get some new plastic end pads for the wrist pin!
( I had to buy a new pin - cost me £4 ($7))

>Lots of good advice here. I think I am getting it right
>now, I have lowered the temperature.
>I thought that I would include the piston of the FP20 to
>remove the carbon but left the wrist pin and rod attached.
>Mistake, anyone know whwre I can get some new plastic end
>pads for the wrist pin!
>( I had to buy a new pin - cost me £4 ($7))

Yeah, that seems to be the lesson to learn. NOTHING plastic in the crock pot. That means get the back plate off your McCoy's and get the plastic crank pin retainer out. Keith Trostle kindly replaced the throttle arm for my OS 25...

I DON'T cook the piston/sleeve EVER! If you are a 'castor buff' as I am then you know that over time a protective coating is built up on these parts. If you cook these parts in the anti-freeze bath that coating gets cooked away...not a good thing IMO. Cook everything else, just not the piston/sleeve.

Has anyone tried Castrol SuperClean? A friend of mine uses it on painted motorcycle engines without harm but once he went without gloves and his hands were screwed up for a week. The active ingredient wasn't Methelyne chloride(zip strip), but something similar sounding. Don

Whoa! Any solvent is a potential"people eater." Read and heed precautions on the label / MSDS sheets.