Problem- COOLANT

[littlerob]

HI guys, I am wondering, I have chips seriously stuck to the table on my VMC, any time I need to move vices it's out with the putty knife and scotch brite. I use the swiss coolant, and have alot of tramp oil in the tank, I read about 9 with the refracto. Any help would be nice, thanks Robert

[Donkey Hotey]

I don't know which coolant you're talking about but that ain't right. I'm running Vasco 1000 and distilled water. The machine is cleaner after a run than when I started. It's 4 years old and I only run it a few times a month. No sticky residue, no clumps of chips, no smells, no complaints (well...one complaint...it makes my hands itch if I spend much time soaking in it).

[littlerob]

The coolant is Blaser swiss lube, the mill is the primary mill in the shop IE it runs all day. It's weird because I don't go through alot of way lube, but there is alot of tramp oil, I guess just get a skimmer for that, but the chips sticking bugs me, Thanks

[Donkey Hotey]

Blaser Swisslube is a brand (I don't think there is a specific coolant with that name). Blaser makes my Vasco 1000. You need to find out which of their coolants you actually have in the machine.

Your best bet would be to call them directly. They were very helpful when I talked to them at Westec.

[Geof]

The coolant we use, not Blaser, does the same thing. Methanol, (methyl hydrate) you can buy at The Home Depot should soften it fairly quickly so you can wipe things off.

[littlerob]

Originally Posted by Geof The coolant we use, not Blaser, does the same thing. Methanol, (methyl hydrate) you can buy at The Home Depot should soften it fairly quickly so you can wipe things off.

This I already know the answer to, but i'll put it out there anyway. I am assuming you do not put the methanol in the with the coolant and use it just to clean up. I would like to find a solution to the stickiness it gives me kind of an eiree feeling.

Greg it is Blasocut 2000

[Geof]

We just have spray bottles around the shop to spray on and wipe off. Getting methanol in the coolant is no big deal, it simply acts as a defoamer but evaporates away very rapidly.

The following is based on my experience with our coolant and the Blaser guy I had round when I was considering switching said Blaser would not be much different.

The residue occurs because the water evaporates away from the film of coolant on everything leaving behind the oil portion. Plain water, hot or cold, or coolant spray does not rapidly re-dissolve the residue; it will re-dissolve slowly and if you spray the inside of the machine down with coolant before shutting it down over a period of many days eventually all the noticeable residue wil be gone. You can of course spray things down with plain water and eventually you will wash off all the residue and start finding rust spots on everything. This coolant residue is your friend because it forms a protective film on bare metal.

[littlerob]

Thanks Geof, I'll get the methanol in bottles. Robert

[automizer]

methanol works really well but I find if you don't let it get that point its much simpler. If you keep the concentration right it keeps it cleaner. It sounds to me like you have it thick, if you keep it thinner your more likely to clean the machine while its running.
These clumps you have seem odd if the machine is running all day, are you in a place that promotes water evaporation? I work in a shop with a shop wide mist collector and loss of water from the coolant is pretty high. I end up adding more water then I do new coolant.
Just a thought for you

[littlerob]

Originally Posted by automizer methanol works really well but I find if you don't let it get that point its much simpler. If you keep the concentration right it keeps it cleaner. It sounds to me like you have it thick, if you keep it thinner your more likely to clean the machine while its running. These clumps you have seem odd if the machine is running all day, are you in a place that promotes water evaporation? I work in a shop with a shop wide mist collector and loss of water from the coolant is pretty high. I end up adding more water then I do new coolant. Just a thought for you

The shop doesn't necessarily promote evaporation. But I run hard, I think that is where my water is going. I find myself putting alot of water in also. You think 8% is too much for the concentration? Thanks, Robert

[Geof]

Originally Posted by littlerob .... You think 8% is too much for the concentration? Thanks, Robert

In my experience 8% is on the low side. Some people run at 5% as recommended by the coolant manufacturer but this can allow rust spots to develop because the oily residue left behind when the water evaporates is too thin. I run at 10% or sometimes higher. whic also helps with tapping anyway..

[littlerob]

Geof you don't have issues with tramp oil, or do you use a skimmer? Robert