If you're not in a hurry, soaking parts for a couple of days in a bucket of
water with a couple scoops of Tide in it works wonders. Heating the water
speeds up the process. For cleaning steel and iron parts, you can also make
your own hot-tank outside with an old tub full of water and some lye over a
propane heater. Just don't ever put aluminum in the hottank. If you've ever
seen Draino in action, that's the same stuff - lye and aluminum in water.

At 02:06 PM 9/1/00 -0700, George Lyle wrote:
>On Fri, 1 Sep 2000, Carlos Del Rio wrote:
>
>> What's recommended for cleaning the engine: parts, tins, et al.?
>> I read kerosene, gasoline, "solvent" (too generic a term).  And how does
one
>> go about eliminating the waste?
>
>Gasoline is too volitile, but I have to admit to using it for small jobs.
>Not a good thing, though.
>
>Kerosene works well, but is pretty flammable too.
>
>I use spray degreaser, wich is probably a kerosene/diesel-like mix in a
>spray can.  IT doesn't work miracles.  You still need to use a fair amount
>of elbow grease to loosen the layers of oil and dirt.
>
>I then rinse the parts with water over a large pan.  The degreaser and oil
>float and can be skimmed off for disposal with your waste oil.
>
>There are
>supposedly biodegradable degreasers out there, but they don't seem to be
>much friendlier than the petroleum solvents, since they carry the grease
>away with them.  I prefer the better-acting petroleum solvents.
>
>One good idea is to hook your garden hose up to a hot-water source.  Hot
>water blasts the munge off easier than cold!
>
>George Lyle
>