SMALL SHOP SWITCHES WATER-BASED SYSTEM
Longer Bath Life Lowers Cost
Chris Ngo worked as a mechanic at a Honda dealership for many years. He bought UR#1, a Honda Acura service facility located in Garden Grove, California, in 1993. He and three full-time employees do all the servicing and repair work at the full service shop. The shop personnel work on as many as 15 cars each day.
UR#1 had leased a mineral spirits sink-on-a-drum parts cleaner from a large national service company for many years. This parts cleaner was used to clean all the parts that required cleaning during repair and service. IRTA arranged for the shop to test a variety of alternative systems to determine which was most suitable for their cleaning needs. Two different enzyme systems and two sink-on-a-drum water-based cleaning systems were tested over a several month period.
According to Chris Ngo, "one of the units stood out as the best. It cleaned the best of all the units we tested." Mr. Ngo ended up purchasing a used system supplied by Mirachem. "We clean transmission valve bodies and CV joints and the Mirachem solution really cuts the grease and oil," says Mr. Ngo. "It cleans better than the solvent and it's good for the workers and the environment."
The cost of the solvent system used at UR#1 amounted to nearly $2,000 per year. Because of the extended bath life of the water-based cleaning system, the cost of the new cleaning system is lower, at about $1,700 per year. "We're a small shop and we like the savings from the water cleaning unit," says Mr. Ngo.
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