[R-390] Simple Green from the Dark Side

[Tisha Hayes]

Quote: "I was just out on the Simple Green website.  Per the site they
distribute through W.W. Grainger, Fastenal, and Sherwin Williams paint
outlets as well as McMaster Carr (if you don't mind paying shipping) to
mention just a few common sources.  Available in a variety of sizes up to,
and including, 55 gallon drums.  They even recommend it for engine cleaning
which is kind of interesting to me since I also restore cars."

Back in the old days when I worked in the oil industry the mechanics used to
use Simple Green and run it through the "Steam Gennie". It would cut through
the worst grease (and paint and primer....) The Steam Gennie was supposed to
burn #2 heating oil and had an AC blower fan and a continuous feed of fresh
water from an outdoor faucet. They had a blending tank to mix the Simple
Green with the feed water.

One day they "ran out" of #2 heating oil and since we were a pipeline
operation they pulled a batch of turbine fuel from one of the sample taps
(turbine fuel just happened to be going through the station at the time). It
was quite a fiasco, the steam gennie no longer made the nice humming sound,
as it heated the water coils and made a fairly low pressure steam. Instead
that thing howled (you could hear it everywhere) as it gulped in large
quantities of water and Simple Green. The discharge pressure was so high
that they kept blowing up steam hoses (you know, the kind with the 90 degree
twist lock). They used a drill to bore out the nozzle (thinking it was
plugged or something) and finally the steam gennie would howl away while
very high pressure steam and Simple Green was blasted everywhere. (it took
two people to control the cleaning wand, the pressure was that high).

It would cut through the oil, the caked on grease, stripped off the white,
lead based paint and even tore into the red lead primer paint, leaving
behind bare steel. The live steam, combined with Simple Green was a wicked
combination.

After a half day of them playing with the jet fuel powered steam gennie the
coils finally ruptured in the machine. Boy, that place was spotless. We had
to have the painters come in the following week to repaint the steel.

Being funny (or maybe just misinformed) they also whipped the steam gennie
wand across the area manager's car to give it a good cleaning. It stripped
off the wax finish and left a permanent foggy, etched look to all of the
windows.

For that day it should have been called "Mean Green". Safe for the
environment, lethal on human flesh.

BTW, to rupture a 250 PSI hose means that the steam temperature was at least
400 F

-- 
Ms. Tisha Hayes/ AA4HA
----------------
"I'll be a diode, cathode, electrode
Overload, generator, oscillator
Make a circuit with me." -- The Polecats