Coolant Maintenance

[TravisR100]

I've got an SMM2 with a 24 gallon capacity coolant sump. The machine doesn't run much. Sometimes it may go several weeks without being run. Because of this I don't lose much coolant with chips or splashing. What I do get however is evaporation. When creating makeup coolant to replace the evaporated water I've read to never simply add straight water. Always make up weak coolant to replace it.

The problem with that is that when it evaporates, only the water is evaporating from the coolant mixture, not the coolant. So If I replenish it with anything but straight water I'm slowly but surely increasing the concentration every time I add replacement coolant. What is the solution to this? Drain some of the existing coolant each time?

I've read to use a "weak" coolant mixture to replace evaporated coolant. How weak is acceptable? 1%? .1%?

[Geof]

Not adding straight water is new to me, I do it frequently. But you do have to be careful, don't just pour a bucket of water over the machine table and then just leave it; that is a guaranteed way to get rust. Pour the water in the coolant tank with the pump running and circulate everything to thoroughly mix it. I had mentioned elsewhere that a good way to keep the coolant oxygenated is to take the wash down hose and just put it in the coolant tank and let the pump run for an hour or so every few days to circulate the coolant.

On the topic of coolant maintenance I recently bought a coolant cleaner to try it out. I also leave my machine untouched for weeks at a time and sometimes the coolant gets very rank. In addition the fancy separator thing that is supposed to discharge waste oil into a little bottle and send coolant back into the tank has never worked on my machine so I have a considerable tramp oil accumulation. The cleaner has been in operation for about five weeks now and it works. My coolant was a yellowish brown with tramp oil and had a bad odour. It now is slightly off-white with just a normal coolant odor and the cleaner has accumulated about a quart of tramp oil in the settling tank. Not a cheap solution though; I paid $1600 for the cleaner used and the new price is twice that.

[TravisR100]

Well good to know someone else does it anyway! No, I certainly wouldn't poor it over the machine table. I'd add it directly to the sump. Going to give it a try since my concentration is steadily climbing.

I have a coalescer on mine. See this post:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91672

I let it run 24x7 although I'm thinking about putting it on a timer. It constantly circulates, aerates, and filters the coolant. IIRC it was about $700. Coolant still looks like the day I mixed it and put it in fresh. Kind of nice since the intake for the system pulls the coolant off the surface like a pool skimmer.

[Delw]

Another great way is to put a aquarium pump with a small aquarium stone in the tank. leave it running 24/7 this wont hurt anything and will reduce the stagnet smell from letting coolant set. they have a stone that is heavy about a 4" diameter ring and it sets ring on the bottom.

Unlike Geof I have been told the same thing about not adding straight water but I dont listen and do it all the time, lol LIKE Geof make sure you add it either into the tank and run the pumps. however I pour the bucket into the machine and then run a 4" face mill for a while.

if it makes you feel better just add a cup of coolant to 5 gals of water you still need to mix it after you pour it in.

Remember one thing the water will evaporate the coolant will not , the coolant is lost usually through chips then they are taken out and dumped.

a oil skimmer is a must on most machines, the haas has me a bit baffled as I dont have oil in my coolant yet. my fadal is like a well.
also that aquarium air pump will keep the coolant moving so the oil will get collected

[TravisR100]

The coalescer I have has an airstone and aquarium pump with it for that very purpose.

[behindpropeller]

Geof-

What filter do you have?

I'm thinking about putting one of these strainers inline with the output of my coolant pump:





And then one of the more coarse filters like you find in a home water system.

The zebra one that Travis has looks interesting but its not in the budget yet.

Tim

[TravisR100]

behind, check this post:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91280

It has a picture of the filter I put on the output of my coolant pump. Took me about 20 minutes to put it on. Got it at Lowes. Took out the fine micron filter it had in it and put in a coarse filter. The other nice thing about it is that it has a bypass valve should it get clogged in the middle of something and you want to bypass it without having to stop to change the filter.

[behindpropeller]

Originally Posted by TravisR100 behind, check this post: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91280 It has a picture of the filter I put on the output of my coolant pump. Took me about 20 minutes to put it on. Got it at Lowes. Took out the fine micron filter it had in it and put in a coarse filter. The other nice thing about it is that it has a bypass valve should it get clogged in the middle of something and you want to bypass it without having to stop to change the filter.

My thought was to put the coarse filter shown above in and then the one you have after it. Mainly because I can clean out the coarse filter pretty easy.

Tim

[TravisR100]

I'm probably not as qualified as some to respond but the one I got seems pretty easy to change and I haven't managed to clog it up yet. You'll also notice in the post I mentioned that I put a bit of coarse filter material before the metal screen on the coolant pump. That seems to help considerably as well. Traps the larger stuff so the pump and filter never see it.

[behindpropeller]

Originally Posted by TravisR100 I'm probably not as qualified as some to respond but the one I got seems pretty easy to change and I haven't managed to clog it up yet. You'll also notice in the post I mentioned that I put a bit of coarse filter material before the metal screen on the coolant pump. That seems to help considerably as well. Traps the larger stuff so the pump and filter never see it.

I will have to get some pics of the TM series pump. It looks different than your SMM2 setup. I'm sure Geof can tell the difference since he has both.

Another thing I need to do soon is increase the size of the coolant tank. By the time the table is full of coolant and everything is running down the tank is empty and dribbling out of the nozzle at the tool. I understand HAAS trys to build affordable machines but this is a simple thing that might cost another $30 in production to fix.

Tim

[Delw]

travis and behind
have you guys noticed those inline filters grabbing the coolant as well as oils?
It would seem a paper filter will grab the coolant. I like that Idea you gys have, and especially the part of a bypass incase the filter clogs while running. I think it would also get rid of the Fines that go past the screens in the tank as well.


where did you get your inline filter system at and what was the cost of them?


Delw

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Travis,

I purchased a water treatment filter system from Lowes that had a clear acrylic bowl on it. In a matter of a few months I had two of them crack and had to have them replaced. I finally took it off and now have a filter like Tim has shown in his picture.

It looks like your filter housing is constructed of a different material.

Do you have a brand and part number for the filter you are using?

Also, do you have a brand and part number for the coarse filter element you put in your filter housing?

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John