Shop rinse water evaporator?

You have two problems, here.

First, the amount of heat it would take to get rid of five gallons a day is considerable (heat of vaporization of water is something over 900 BTU per pound). Second, if there is oil mixed with the water, it will float on top and inhibit evaporation.

I would suggest a solar evaporator to reduce the volume to something you could pour off into a can and dispose of elsewhere now and then...

I'm thinking of a device made of a large steel plate (20 - 30 sq. ft.) set at a slight angle facing south. The plate should be dark, so don't use galvanized... A 1/4 in. plate left rusty should last for years.. A trough along the bottom would drain what didn't evaporate into the sump. A small pump (like what they sell for garden fountains) would pump the water to the top of the plate and it would be heated by the plate and evaporate as it runs down. Since the pump would draw from the bottom, any oil would tend to float on the top of the sump where you could easily remove it.

You would, of course, have to shut the system down and throw some sort of diverter valve when it rains...

You might even be able to put the evaporator in the shop roof...

On second thought, a black plastic plate would probably work better than steel, if you can mount it so it stays reasonably flat...

Jerry

You could rig a small seperator tank or sand filter that would contain any grease or debris and allow relatively clean water to drain to the yard. You would eventually need to dispose of the filter material.

For smaller volumes I would drain to a 5 or 7 gallon water container (Wal-mart camping section) and simply haul it home for disposal.

perhaps you could use a regular parts cleaner?

I have available in So. California, a heater unit to remove water from oil or other substances. The tank is aproximately 250 gallons, uses gas to fire the boiler, with transfer pumps etc etc

A customer no longer needs it and is taking up space in his shop. The price will be quite reasonable for someone interested. Includes stack purge fan and so forth.

Gunner

"The importance of morality is that people behave themselves even if nobody's watching. There are not enough cops and laws to replace personal morality as a means to produce a civilized society. Indeed, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Unfortunately, too many of us see police, laws and the criminal justice system as society's first line of defense." --Walter Williams