BenchtopPRO Parts Washer Review – a Safe, Green Alternative

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Image courtesy BenchtopPRO

Image courtesy BenchtopPRO

Machines fascinate a great deal of us and many love to “get your hands dirty” by tinkering and performing our own repair and maintenance work. For decades this meant utilizing some form of hazardous fluid for cleaning and parts washing.

ChemFree Corporation offers a safe and “green” alternative with its new BenchtopPRO bioremediating bench-top parts washing system that is designed for the home garage or small repair shop.

The BenchtopPRO system utilizes a pH neutral mixture of emulsifiers and surfactants to offers a safe and healthy approach to parts cleaning. It contains none of the solvents mechanics have come to use over the years and therefore poses no flammable or environmental risk.

BT5 Degreasing Solution is designed for ambient parts cleaning in the BenchtopPRO, the first and only bioremediating bench-top parts washer.

  • Non-Hazardous
  • Non-Flammable
  • Non-Polluting
  • Non-Toxic
Image by Author

Image by Author

I received a test unit and proceeded to march across the street with it to my neighbor, who is in the process of rebuilding the smallblock Chevy V-8 engine in his modified 1930 Ford Coupe.

“Hey Larry, I’ve got this new parts washing system I want to check out. It contains no solvents, so your buddies that smoke won’t even have to put out their cigs when working around it.”

My neighbor, along with a couple of his “wrench” buddies, was skeptical at first. How could anything not containing some form of highly refined petrochemical with a flammability rating less than 4 cut grease and grime?

“There’s a harmonic balancer layin’ over there that we just pulled off,” he tells me. “It needs a good cleaning if you want something to get started on.”

Image by Author

Image by Author

No problem. The unit is fairly portable (weighs about 28 pounds and can be carried upright), and I set it up near an outlet by his garage door (works on household 110V current with the included power adaptor).

The top of the unit flips over and has a folding metal support to make for a small drying rack and the entire unit is made of durable plastic. The brush handle has a small button trigger for the fluid to flow from the pump through the attached tubing. I spent a few minutes working on the harmonic balancer, and one of Larry’s buddies came over with a rag and dipped it in the cleaning solution to wipe down a grimy area of the firewall in a further test of the bioremediating solution’s cleaning power.

Image by Author

Image by Author

One thing we discovered is the BT5 degreasing solution takes a minute or two to begin really working. One of the guys, who is used to running his dirty hands under the solvent nozzle, rubbed some of the BT5 on his grimy hands and immediately exclaimed it didn’t work. He rubbed a little bit longer and the grease and grime began clearing, enough so for him to give it a “thumbs up.”

These are the perfect demographic consumers for the new BenchtopPRO system, those who would use it occasionally for weekend projects or for fixing the lawn mowers and small gas engines of their neighbors. They all love to get grease under their fingernails but worry about storing hazardous and flammable chemicals in their garages. Hmm, I wonder if their insurance agents will give them a break if they switch to the BenchtopPRO system over the solvents?

We all agreed we really liked the portability and safe, green nature of the BenchtopPRO system, and a couple said they would truly consider replacing their solvent-based home units with it in the future. The unit price of $385 did not cause them any concern either as they were used to paying in that range for a good home unit.

Image courtesy BenchtopPRO

Image courtesy BenchtopPRO

The BenchtopPRO system is the first of its kind, and it offers a safe and green alternative to the home and small shop mechanic. The unit is completely self-stowing and portable, and it only requires the addition of a microbial treatment pack (four packs included) once a month.

Interestingly, the microbes used are the same “friendly, naturally-occurring” microbes used to clean up the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and after the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska.

The BenchtopPRO can be ordered at www.thebenchtoppro.com, and shipping is free. The unit features a five-year warranty on all parts including the pump and brush.

Image by Author

Image by Author

MSRP: $385 USD

What I Like: Safe, non-toxic alternative to hazardous chemical units; portable; self-contained.

What Needs Improvement: Takes a few minutes for the microbes to begin working their “magic.”

Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit

 

How to win your own BenchtopPRO

Would you like to win your own BenchtopPRO? There are multiple ways to enter, and you can enter more than once by doing as many of the following as you’d like:

1. Follow BenchtopPRO on Twitter  for one entry; leave a comment here with your Twitter name so we can verify

2. Like The BenchtopPRO on Facebook for one entry; leave a comment here with your Facebook name so we can verify

3. Leave a comment here telling us about your ‘favorite car of all time’ for one entry.

We will choose one winner from all entry sources, and the BenchtopPRO will only be shipped to an address in the US.

We will announce the winner in this week’s newsletter (Saturday, Dec 22 issue), so be sure to subscribe (if you haven’t already) by clicking, here.

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About the Author

David Goodspeed
David was editor of AutoworldToday at Today Newspapers in the Dallas suburbs until its closing in 2009. He was also webmaster and photographer/videographer. He got started doing photography for the newspaper while working as a firefighter/paramedic in one of his towns, and began working for the newspaper group full-time in 1992. David entered automotive journalism in 1998 and became AutoworldToday editor in 2002. On the average, he drives some 100 new vehicles each year. He enjoys the great outdoors and as an avid fly fisherman, as is his spouse Tish. He especially enjoys nature photography and is inspired by the works of Ansel Adams.

10 Comments on "BenchtopPRO Parts Washer Review – a Safe, Green Alternative"

  1. Twitter Follower
    @curtislu

  2. Facebook Fan
    Curtis Lu

  3. Fave car: ’77 Ford Mustang

  4. Follow BenchtopPro on Twitter @Austieb7

  5. Liked the BenchtopPro on Facebook as Austin Baroudi.

  6. Style wise, I would say the Mazda RX-8 would be my first choice but the lack of performance (excluding the handling which is extremely good!) and the constant upkeep it demands makes me a little reluctant to choose it as my favorite. With that being said, I’m going to have to say that my favorite car would be the Mazdaspeed 6! It looks sharp, has plenty of room, out performs any car within it’s price range, and is extremely affordable. I’m hoping to own one within the next year or so.

  7. favorite car: ’63 split window corvette

  8. I like BenchtopPro on Facebook as Rust Hawk.

  9. I follow BenchtopPro on twitter @rusthawk.

  10. Twitter Follower – @bosoxnuge

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