Fax: 01444 414813
Email: info@airstream.co.uk
by Peter Brett - July/August 2008
For more information call Christine
01444 440188
01444 440188
The Kärcher PC 100 Bio parts cleaner is aimed at the professional market or dedicated amateurs who spend most weekends under or around new and vintage cars and racing cars. It uses the principle of microbial action to literally eat up and therefore dispose of oily waste. Some readers might know about the use made of microbes to dispose of oil slicks after accidents at sea for example. I guess this technology just keeps the microbes closer to home- in a nice warm tank in reality.
The Kärcher PC 100 Bio is a very simple machine. Essentially it consists of a large undertank that is heated by an electrical element with a sort of basin/sink in which the washing of the parts takes place held in place above it. An electrically driven pump allows the heated solution to be played over the parts needing cleaning via the connected hose options. As the solution flows over the parts being cleaned, it drains through a filter mat back to the tank to be reheated, carrying the oily waste with it.
The tank has to be filled initially with a specially formulated, water-based solution and brought to a constant 38 degrees C before it becomes most effective, but it has a very long active life, as long as certain precautions are taken to ensure that the bacteria that live in it are fed and kept warm.
The few moving parts of the Kärcher system are in the base of the solution tank. The industrial-strength heating element keeps the temperature up and a float level and sensor ensure that the solution stays at a correct level. A pump at the bottom of the tank recirculates the solution via the hoses, one with the cleaning brush on it or via the flexible cleaning pipe that can be positioned where the operator wants it.
The switch box on the right hand side of the tank body shows when the solution is at the correct temperature and provides a warning light should the cleaning solution level fall below requirements.
The special microbe filter mat that fits under the washing “sink” is a very important part of the microbial process as it traps larger dirt particles and provides new microbes to add to the solution.
The solution decomposes oils and grease into carbon dioxide and water by using microbes that effectively eat the oil products.
There are a number of benefits that flow from this process. First of all safety:- since the solution is free of acids and solvents and is pH neutral it will not irritate skin in the way that most common solvents do. It is neither toxic nor inflammable and will therefore not require the customary “well ventilated space” to protect the operator’s health. Since no solvents are used rubber gaskets or seals will not be dissolved nor are there any hazardous waste disposal problems with this system.
However, there are a few things potential users need to take into account. This parts cleaner is not an oil disposal system - it is a parts cleaner and can therefore cope with soiled and greasy parts. A large lump of engine block with ingrained oil should be washed off first. On the other hand, the sort of cleaning required when working in a professional car workshop, for example cleaning off small and medium sized engine components is perfectly suited for the capabilities of the Kärcher machine.
I am not a great car enthusiast - for me cars should be filled as infrequently as possible with petrol, less regularly with oil and water and serviced once a year by someone reassuring, so I wondered how I would find a space and opportunity to test the Kärcher. Fortunately my neighbour is a keen amateur mechanic and ex- BA technician who is trying slowly to resurrect a famous Austin Healey “Bug-Eye” Sprite.
He also had a good space into which we could move the surprising light but rigid plastic body of the Kärcher Bio cleaner before we filled it with solution. The instructions are contained in a fat booklet but are clearly written and easy to follow.
We both had a good try at cleaning an array of parts. Firstly, it is really noticeable how effective the cleaning power of the solution is, even though it feels just like a soapy warm water. Secondly, it is really inoffensive, I didn’t use gloves and my skin did not suffer any effects from the solution, nor did it feel greasy or unpleasant in any way.
My neighbour tried cleaning off a very large magnesium wheel that was encrusted with grease and road dirt, and pronounced that the wheel was cleaner, quicker than with any other cleaner he had ever used on it. It was then also that he told me he thought that the cleaner brush should be slightly longer as he couldn’t quite get it round the back of the wheel as he was cleaning it.
I was sent the simpler version of the Kärcher machine to try out. There is also the PC 100 M2 Bio that has a two “sinks” and a higher operating height and weighs in at 44Kg, 10 Kgs heavier than its sibling.
Spare parts and accessories are also available including an angled head cleaning brush, new microbial mats, a trolley for moving the machines around easily and microbe reactivating solution for when the solution has been left for a while or is becoming less effective.
Because of its green credentials this machine could be an important part of an attempt by a small garage, for example, to cut its reliance on dangerous and unhealthy solvent-based cleaners. The downside for some users is that heavily soiled parts will still need to be cleaned with solvents, so there may be less incentive to invest in a machine that won’t “do it all”. However, since it can be kept inside a workshop and has obvious safety benefits for users it is a good way of cleaning normally greasy and oily small components safely and cost effectively. Normal running costs should include only the electricity needed to heat the solution, the occasional new microbial mat and very occasionally some new solution.
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Airstream Communications