Can I add bleach to my coolant?

[ImanCarrot]

I've heard others say they use bleach in their coolant. Is this a viable option or will it damage my mill please?

I'm machining plastics, aluminium and stainless and using a water soluable coolant (10% mix) cutting using a 1/2" 2 flute end mill.

My problem is that the sump stinks- like when you leave your clothes in the washing machine too long- that horrible "damp" smell.

Will bleach be ok to add?

[highspeedmazak]

Ther is a chemical made just for your problem. Try another type of coolant. I use syncool and have no problems at all and my machine may sit for days before I get back to run it.

[Geof]

I am dubious about adding bleach. I know it has been mentioned in other threads, and it will probably work, but I worry about causing corrosion. Theoretically if you are using the correct dilution, keep out tramp oil and keep the mix aerated there should be no problem with bad odours. Theory doesn't work for us and we use an old fashioned disinfectant called Creolin.

[ImanCarrot]

Thanks guys, corrosion was my niggling worry Geof. Mazak, thanks for the advice. I'll change coolant, wondered why mine was so cheap and now I know the answer

My problem is I don't use the mill for like two weeks, most of the stuff I do is diamond machining on a different beast, so my mill can be sat there for like two weeks with the coolant suppurating. I can't justify running an aerator 8 hours a day electricity wise (electric bills have just hiked about 30% here in the UK).

I'm sat here 30 feet away from the mill in a different room and I can still smell the bloody stuff. It's one of them horrible damp smells that really annoys you. Can't concentrate on the maths I need to do because of it.

I won't add bleach. I was worried about corossion and if you, Geof, are worried too then that's good enough for me. I'll change the coolant as per Mazak's suggestion.

Thanks again chaps!

[Geof]

Originally Posted by ImanCarrot ..... I can't justify running an aerator 8 hours a day electricity wise (electric bills have just hiked about 30% here in the UK)....

Go on, a little aquarium pump should not cost more per week than the price of a pint; drink less and enjoy a less smelly environment. Probably good for your health all round; no more noxious fumes and your liver gets a respite.

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

Let it stink, drink a few more pints and you will not notice or care. lol

Dick Z

[ImanCarrot]

True enough Geof, it's gotta be cheaper to run an aerator than replace the coolant every month. I'll have a go at that instead of the bleach.

Zastrow, ROFL I can just see my Governor's face as I present a Purchase Requisition for:

Item 1. Qtty: 01 off Aquarium Aerator.
Item 2. Qtty: 24 off. Cans of Stella Artois Lager.
Item 3. Qtty: 1 off. Macallans Whisky, 10 year old, 75 cl bottle.
Item 4. Qtty: Many please, Co-Codamol/ Paracetamol for hangovers
Note: Goods In Inspection shall be caried out on a 100% batch basis *glug* lol.

Incidentaly, I subscribe to the Darwinian Theory of drinking... Brain Cells start dieing off about 6 months after you're born, now consider that throughout nature the strongest survive and the weakest die... therefore drinking of alchohol accellerates the death rate of weak brain cells. Ergo: Drinking alcohol makes you cleaverer. Erm...... gotta be a flaw there somewhere

[DareBee]

when changing coolant brands it is VERY important to clean extremely thoroughly with bactericide.
I wasn't really having problems with my coolant but supply chain was bad so I switched brands.
Machines stank so bad in 1 week that I was retching just walking by them. I was pissy with the rep that sold me the new "super" coolant. I had major work stripping and cleaning with their special bactericide and of course dumped all my tanks.
Turns out that if I would have run the bactericide in the old coolant for a week FIRST (doing lots of machine hose downs) it theoretically would never have happened (so I am told).
Now I have aeration on timers and can go a month between uses without it getting bad.

[HuFlungDung]

I've been using Houghton Hocut 795 since I got my Haas mill (used) about 4 years ago. I have never changed all the coolant in this machine yet.

I might also not run the coolant for a week or two sometimes, but I do have a skimmer running daily for an hour. After a long sit, the coolant does have a mild 'stinky socks odor' when it is used again. But, the smell dissipates once the whole tank has been aerated (through use) and is quite satisfactory to continue to use.

I've used other coolants in the past, and experienced poorer results and would have to replace the coolant. But this Houghton stuff seems to be pretty good and does not grow a skin. I do not use a bacteriacide, as I don't want that stuff soaking into my skin when I'm working with wet parts or chips or washing down the machine and getting splashed on. I don't like to use bleach except in a clean-up stage when redoing a machine. I don't know if one can trust that the bleach only makes it bad for bacteria, for it may react with coolant as well.

The stuff that the skimmer picks up, I wick the oil off the top of that with absorbant paper towels. Then, what remains gets used up in the saw, or for drilling manual on the drill press, places where I normally do not keep a tank of coolant on the go.

[judleroy]

I use Trim sol c320 chemical coolant concentrate. In 6 years I have
never had a moldy smell no matter how long the machine sits.No
aerator or and additives.The coolant mixes at about 3% on the refractometer. That means 3 gallons of concentrate makes 100 gallons of coolant. They may no longer carry c320 as they are always making improvements but if you talk to a sales rep. they will recommend the newest formula for you. At about 80 U.S. dollars for five gallons its not to hard on the wallet. Also they will tell you that all you need to do as the coolant evaporates is ad water and check with a refractometor adding coolant as needed to keep the right concentration ratio. I mix with a stir as I add more water. No signs off rust and it does'nt gum up. Just my 2 cents.
Judleroy

[mori_1]

DO NOT ADD BLEACH!!! I had a repair guy in a few years back that said the bleach will cause everything internal to rust. he told me he's had to flame cut out ball screws that have rusted solid to the linear bearings due to bleach. A good tip is to fully clean your tank when changing coolants and go get a "little giant" pump ($100 or so) and set it up to pump in buy your coolant pumps and run a garden hose to the opposite end of your tank. Run it 24/7. This constant circulation will make your coolant last longer. It has worked miracles for us in our Mori SVL5020's which have 180 gallon coolant tanks. We change coolant once a year if that. No smells, no mold, just gotta clean out some chips from time to time. Adding any chemicals to your coolant will only make the matter worse in the long run.

[dertsap]

bleach works quite well if common sense is used
you can use chlorine bleach in the coolant tank just the same as you can use bleach to turn a bucket of pond water into drinking water . the majority of us mix chlorinated water (tapwater)with the consentrate then add that to the machine , chlorine disipates into the air quite rapidly so its not as though it sits in the tank forever , a bucket of tapwater for example looses the chlorine within 24 hrs
i think the corrision issues are due to people diluting the coolant with too much bleach , a capfull is plenty for a large sized tank