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cleaning gummed up vegetable oil off of plastic?

9K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  Jena 
#1 ·
Which forum??? should this be in?

I've got to clean up a lot of gummy vegetable oil off of a plastic cement mixer drum. I've used the cement mixer (Big Red/red lion) for about a year and a half, and have had to replace two of the plastic (yea... plastic :flame: )worm drives. I spent three days looking for the extra wormdrive in the barns, cause the new one's are ~20$ + 20$ shipping. Instead of just using the same ol veggie oil for the gear drive, I'm gonna try some spray on superlube... trouble is, the oil accumulation on the cement drum is married to it. I've scraped with pocket knives most of the gunk out of the hundred or so teeth, but there's still a lot... and the sticky stuff picks up lots of grit... (like there wouldn't be any abrasives close to a cement mixer...)

One of these days I'll buy another mixer, but I still have to get my money outta this one! and I like to squeeze my pennies (I still pick up pennies :rolleyes: )

Anyone have any idea's on how to remove this gunk? Tried boiling water, soap, and scrubbing. If it were metal pans I'd know what to do.

I don't have many cleaning 'genes'...
 
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#4 ·
i agree with the wd-40 idea. another idea may be to use ammonia. coat it and bag the machine with a garbage bag. let it steep over-night and then work it with water. a last resort could be to use a lye and water solution. i don't think i need to tell you to be very careful with lye as you are a smart guy. gloves and goggles would be approriate.
 
#5 ·
You use a cement mixer to wash veggies? Interesing idea. I never tried that.
I always just wash them in a big tub manually outside, hose them down before bringing them inside.
 
#6 ·
Texican,

Try Pressure washer.

I also know toluol will cut thru just about any grease known to mankind. Your drum is probably quite resistant, but I would test it in a small spot to make sure it doesn't melt the plastic. Toluol is a solvent that is sold by the gallon in some hardware stores and people who paint cars use it. I use it to degrease auto parts. It dries extremely fast.

RF
 
#8 ·
If the oven cleaner is too strong, try bathroom cleaner, like "scrubbing bubbles" not as strong as the oven cleaner, but still harsh. I use it to get the grease off the plastic lid and handles of my electric skillet. i still wouldn't leave it on too long, just in case....
 
#9 ·
Texican,

Another possibility...you might be able to use a small buffing wheel chucked in a drill to sling off the excess goo. I don't think a buffing pad would be as good because it would probably clog up.

RF
 
#10 ·
moonwolf said:
You use a cement mixer to wash veggies? Interesing idea. I never tried that.
I always just wash them in a big tub manually outside, hose them down before bringing them inside.
lol... no, I don't wash my veggies in the cement mixer... I like a little grit in my diet, it's good for my gizzard...

The cement mixer has a little reservoir (1/4 cup) with a pipe wick thingie feeding vegetable oil onto the gear rings of the mixing bucket. Yep, it uses veggie oil for lubrication. Alas, the system only last about 50 cycles of cement mixing, before the plastic worm drive disintegrates... I'm looking to clean off all the gummed up veg oil, and get everything superslick, and use an aerosol lubricant, or something thin, like air tool oil... can't be worse than grit collecting veg oil...

thanks for all the idea's... you can't imagine how difficult it is going through life without any concepts of cleaning skills... my youngest sister got ALL of the cleaning 'genes'... :rolleyes:
 
#12 ·
What about some kind of solvent like rubbing alcohol?

If not I would try a stiff brush with hot soapy water and eye protection.
 
#13 ·
You use a cement mixer to wash veggies? Interesing idea. I never tried that. I always just wash them in a big tub manually outside, hose them down before bringing them inside.
I assume you're joking, but just in case i will tell you that vegetable oil is indeed the manufacturer recommended lubricant for this machine... and yes, uses a nylon worm gear. What could ever go wrong? :rolleyes:
 
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