Which Flood Coolant?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

In a few days, I will have my knee mill completely enclosed, so I can start using flood coolant when running "production". But what fluid to use? Recommendations?

Regards,
Ray L.

[dertsap]

I lean toward cimcool synthetic , its good coolant , works well with low concentrates for general machining , lasts for a ridiculous amount of time , and my favorite feature is it doesn't go skanky .
I always suggest to avoid fuchs like the plague , i've had more trouble with their coolants than what they are worth

.

[ninefinger]

Dertsap

I went to the Cimcool website and looked at a bunch of different synthetic coolants. Which one do you use or recommend for general purpose use (as in I machine aluminum, steel and cast iron.

From my very quick read it seems that the Cimtech 3XX are the ones to use in my case. (ie Cimtech 304MA)

Also - where / who do you buy from in Canada (small volume for home machine shop)?

Thanks,

Mike

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Hmmmmm..... Cimcool has a dizzying array of different fluids! In looking at the Enco and MSC catalogs, I came across TRIM C320 fluid, which is a synthetic claimed to be as good as soluble oils, and with high biological resistance. Sounds like pretty good stuff, and it's about 30% cheaper than what I'm seeing for Cimcool fluids, at $98 for a 5 gallon drum (which makes 50+ gallons when diluted).

Anyone have experience with this stuff?

Regards,
Ray L.

[dertsap]

been a while since ive used it , i'm only a worker so i dont have any say in the choice of coolants that I work with , at a previous company we used the cimcool 350( if i recall properly) but they've since changed the numbers , i believe the 304 is the same stuff . I've been searching thru their site a few months ago and had tried to convince my current employer to do the cross over from what we are currently using , the stuff initially costs more but the savings are in the longevity of it's life cycle .
you should be able to contact them on their site to find a dealer who is within your area

[MichaelHenry]

Hangsterfer S-500 has been working well for me in a home shop. No significant odors, very little rust, paint on the mill is still intact nearly 5 years after 1st installation.

The biggest problem I have with it is getting rid of the tramp oil.

Mike

[rwskinner]

I'm running CoolMist 77 for Flood coolant with a 4 oz to 1 gallon water mix. It hasn't ever gone rank and does a good job but I have noticed it makes all my plastic parts (Limit switch covers) very brittle. I called tech support and they claim they have never heard of that issue. All I can say is I never had an issue until I started using it. I will be converting the limit switches over to an aluminum housing to stop this. Everything else has been fine.

I have no rust issues and I mainly machine aluminum. Every once in awhile I machine steel or cast iron and really hadn't had any issues with those either.

Richard

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I'm running CoolMist 77 for Flood coolant with a 4 oz to 1 gallon water mix. It hasn't ever gone rank and does a good job but I have noticed it makes all my plastic parts (Limit switch covers) very brittle. I called tech support and they claim they have never heard of that issue. All I can say is I never had an issue until I started using it. I will be converting the limit switches over to an aluminum housing to stop this. Everything else has been fine.

I have no rust issues and I mainly machine aluminum. Every once in awhile I machine steel or cast iron and really hadn't had any issues with those either.

Richard

Now that's interesting.... I've been using KoolMist as a mist coolant for years, with no problems. I was wondering if it could be used as flood as well. Though I suspect soluble oil coolant might provide better lubrication, as KoolMist, I believe, is pretty much strictly a coolant, and not a lubricant.

Regards,
Ray L.

[HawkJET]

In a few days, I will have my knee mill completely enclosed

Ray, be sure to post pictures, etc. I am interested in what you have done! I'm planning on doing something similar.

[Kid1000]

Lahega Syntocool 900 is my choice, absolutely NO smell, I machine aluminum all the day, nice light green color, sometimes I do escape for 2 weeks and then back o machine, no problem at all.

[LeeWay]

I use Koolmist 77 as well. It does work fine and is relatively inexpensive. It does not leave a film on parts. It will if you leave it sit on there, but an air blast works and then I can powder coat. Thats provided the stock was relatively clean to start with.
That is the main reason I stuck with it. Oh and no odor.

It does make plastic parts brittle though. It will change polycarbonate from almost bullet proof to a sheet you can snap with your fingers. Koolmist folks have obviously not done any testing. They say it is inert and cannot effect anything like that. It's mixed only with water. It ain't the water making polycarbonate brittle.

[TXFred]

I've been using Liquid Ice HPX. It smells pleasant when new, doesn't become stinky, and doesn't eat the paint on my Tormach mill.

The one downside is that it causes copper and brass to turn green. You can use it to machine copper and brass, but you need to clean up the mill afterward, or the green will bleed off of the chips onto your mill. And you need to thoroughly rinse your completed copper and brass parts.

It's non-toxic, and feels slippery on skin, similar to antifreeze.

Frederic