Cheap Brake Cleaner

[Guest jwts]

Hi,

 

My local Pound Shop does brake cleaner for £1 a large spray can and it works OK but I was wondering what the solvent in it is?

 

I thought it was related to cellulose thinners but after comparing them I don't think it is. Could it be carbon tetrachloride?

 

Regards,

 

John.

[Guest piddy]

[

I thought it was related to cellulose thinners but after comparing them I don't think it is. Could it be carbon tetrachloride?

 

Regards,

 

John.

 

Does it not say on the tin? should it say on the tin?

[Grim]

i'm pretty sure it's ether

[Guest TerryBarry]

It's probably not carbon tetrachloride or similar chlorinated solvent.

A lot of these things are petroleum based and contain light naptha together with a small level of acetone and possibly isopropyl alcohol.

All of these ingredients are flammable ( or highly flammable)

If you can find a manufacturer's web site - then try search for a MSDS listing = Material Safety Data Sheet , this will list hazards and should give you a ingredient listing

HERE is a sample MSDS from one manufacturer

[Guest yokel]

Hi,

Spelling doubtful but here goes, Trichloroethane is the main part of brake cleaner, since it was changed from Trichloroethylene some fifteen years ago, the reason for change? second most carcinogenic substance known to man! Second to what?... used petrol engine oil!!! so wear your gloves!

 

Tony

[Guest TerryBarry]

I doubt that anyone is using 1,1,1-trichloroethane in products these days.

From a UK Govenment website LINK here

"1,1,1–trichloroethane is an acknowledged ozone depleting chemical. Under the Montreal Protocol and EC Regulation No 3093/94, a complete production ban was in place in Western countries by January 1996".

[Guest Jaffer]

The cleaning solvent we use, which is marketed as brake cleaner, is 'Low Boiling Point Naptha'. Works quite well, but no where near as good as Tric 1.1.1 used to be. As a result we end up having to use 2-3 times as much and have to blow parts dry with the airline to speed up the evaporation... [it does evaporate, but we can't stand around waiting for that to happen!!]

 

G.

[NeilD]

It's probably Austrian Wine ( the one that makes you blind! )

[Guest TerryBarry]

No, No, No, my friend

You are confusing brake cleaner with antifreeze

Our Austrian friends added ethylene glycol to their wine to improve the "beading" of the wine in the glass.

However I shudder to think how many bottles of their plonk I tucked away during those years

[geoff shep]

Maybe this? - http://www.uk.manitou.com/publicservlet/Do...local-17632.pdf

[Guest yokel]

I doubt that anyone is using 1,1,1-trichloroethane in products these days.

From a UK Govenment website LINK here

"1,1,1–trichloroethane is an acknowledged ozone depleting chemical. Under the Montreal Protocol and EC Regulation No 3093/94, a complete production ban was in place in Western countries by January 1996".

 

 

I stand corrected, said the man in the orthopedic shoes!

 

Tony

[Guest jwts]

It's probably not carbon tetrachloride or similar chlorinated solvent.

A lot of these things are petroleum based and contain light naptha together with a small level of acetone and possibly isopropyl alcohol.

All of these ingredients are flammable ( or highly flammable)

If you can find a manufacturer's web site - then try search for a MSDS listing = Material Safety Data Sheet , this will list hazards and should give you a ingredient listing

HERE is a sample MSDS from one manufacturer

 

Hi,

 

That data sheet does match the warnings on the tin. Not very nice stuff but it did clean my brakes .

 

Regards,

 

John (jwts)

[Guest TerryBarry]

The Montreal Protocol provided me with six or more years of gainful employment whilst we reformulated loads of products

However now there is building resistance against the use of volatile organic compounds (VOC's)

Just look at the number of water based paints and adhesives on the market

Of course naptha is a VOC - therefore we will be reduced ( in the not too distant future) to washing brakes down with water based detergents solutions.

Why wait - just hose them off now