Flood coolant dermatitis
I've been using the Tormach synthetic coolant (Premier 600) as a flood coolant, for quite a while. It performs well as advertised. I've added an air bubbler to the tank to keep anaerobic bacteria in check and use pillows to reduce the tramp oil contamination. I don't have a ATC on my machine, so my hands often get wet with coolant. I dry them and wash often with water, but I have developed some kind of dermatitis, (rash) on the back of my hands. Small itchy blisters. I think I will be using latex gloves from now on, and see if the rash goes away. My question is: have others had similar experiences, and if so, what was your remedy, did you switch coolant or wear gloves?
Similar Threads:
Years ago when I worked in machine shops a few people seemed just alergic to coolant. They ended up with what you have. I always use Mobilmet S-126 it is a water soluble cutting oil. The synthetic coolant always seem to make my hands a little ichy. I have used the this Mobil oil for 22 years. I am not saying it is the best but others noticed this coolant did not bother them.
I don't use anything but Blazo-Cut 2000 Universal. I have been using it for close to 15 years with no reaction to it at all.
It's not cheap. I pay about $153.00 including tax per pail and a pail will last me about 8 months, so I guess it's not too expensive. It works out to a little over $19.00 per month. Not too bad, and I run the crap out of my machine. I run it 40 to 70 hours per week, depending on my mood.
Steve
You can buy GOOD PARTS or you can buy CHEAP PARTS, but you can't buy GOOD CHEAP PARTS.
I have a friend whose reaction got so bad he had to change jobs. Even with gloves the little bit he got on himself meant his hands and forearms would never heal.
Warning: DIY CNC may cause extreme hair loss due to you pulling your hair out.
I have seen this before. Seems more of a personal allergy problem than a general health problem. Worked in a smaller shop with 7 people. Only one of them ever showed these symptoms. We did switch coolants which seemed to help him.
I'm not a fan of wearing gloves around my machine tools, but I guess on a cnc it probably isn't as big a deal! Especially latex gloves that would rip easily if they happen to get caught in something. Still I'd try a different coolant first!
That doesn't sound like fun at all :/
I had a similar problem at work once, for years never had a problem with the cutting fluid we used then the entire outer layer of skin on both hands died and slowly peeled away.
Looked gross for about a week. Happened a couple times over a few months.
Didn't bother anyone else in the shop so I started wearing rubber gloves when I had to handle parts.
Hoss
Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here. - Roy Batty -- [URL]http://www.g0704.com[/URL]
I had this particularly bad on my forearm a few years ago, my sleeve got soaked while running a small batch off on a lathe. The Doctor called it 'contact dermatitis' & it cleared up rapidly with the cream he prescribed.
As well as an aquarium air pump, I put a small amount of disinfectant in the tank.
Every 'old hand' I have ever mentioned this to has told me stories of how colleagues would pee in the tanks of new starters for a giggle
More common than you think.
We use Blaser as well, with no complaints of upwards of 100 guys.
I use Rustlick WS 5050 soluble oil in a manual lathe, which when diluted with water turns a milky blue. I have used it for many years, got soaked with it often and never developed any allergies, but it is very messy, and I wonder if the Tormach could even handle it. It has the disadvantage of hiding the cutting action in a soak of blue mess, whereas the Tormach coolant is almost clear and transparent. Any ideas?
By the way, hopefully not a completely stupid question, but are you sure you're not washing and drying your hands TOO much? Wondering if your hands might just be really dry.. Especially in the winter, dry skin can be itchy and painful. But then again I guess it'd be mostly around the joints.
Alan,Originally Posted by KrausMotor
I had the little white blister itching problem years ago, mine was caused by Clorine, everytime I worked on one of the pumps I would get these blisters a couple days later, itched like crazy as well.
Have you made any progress with the collet pull down switch arrangement yet?
I would sure like to have one of those for that and also a kill switch that could plug into the usb port.
mike sr
You paid too much. I got my coolant for free.
Blazer has a program where they'll give you enough coolant to fill your sump, and write it off as advertising. I told the rep,"If you give me this, I probably won't be back to buy any for a couple of years." He was OK with that.
I had skin issues with other coolants. I ran Liquid Ice for a while, which is very easy on the skin. But it's terrible at preventing rust, since the rust preventative is suspended instead of dissolved. This means that if the coolant sits, the rust preventative settles out and the machine rusts.
Reading the MSD's on Tormach's coolant, I decided not to ever try it. Blazer's coolant has been good to me. Even after 6 months of sitting idle in the tank, it still smells like almonds. I've tried that with other coolants, and the smell was horrific.
Frederic
I know this is radical in this industry, but the health concern as such a big factor for me I tried to experiment with running straight water. I cut 6061 all day long, and it has been nothing but a pleasant experience. The table will rust when you stop the coolant and it starts to evaporate. I simply take a rag, rub off the table, and give it a quick mist of WD40. No rust for 1 minute of cleanup each evening. Water works wonderfully for cutting, no issues there. And I just replace the water regularly to prevent bacterial growth. I've been doing this now for about 10 months, and I'd never go back to chemicals.
And you know what? Even if it did rust, I'd much rather my table rust than my lungs. It's just steel.
But just my experience, your milage may vary.
I use Koolmist as flood coolant. It works well and Ive never had any issues with it. Its very mild stuff if you read the MSDS. Ive never used a bubbler and the stuff has never gotten stinky.
David
Re: Flood coolant dermatitis
I would be interested to hear an update on this. Are you still doing this and how is the machine hanging in?
Re: Flood coolant dermatitis
A product called Dermashield (or something similar) might help you. I used to get a mild rash from WD-40, and Dermashield helped prevent that. I use Qualichem Extremecut 250C on the mill and haven't had any skin irritation, although it gives me a sore throat so I wear a respirator.
Re: Flood coolant dermatitis
It went well. I've moved onto a fogbuster, using koolmist. Just much better than flood coolant. And koolmist is great for minimum quantity lubricant.
But if I was running flood, I'd still use water.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Flood coolant dermatitis
I use Picocool 100% all the time for everything. I will never go back to that white crap that gums up everything. I have sensitive skin and have no reaction with picocool. No stink. No sticky residue. No reaction with my hands even if I have a cut. Best stuff I ever used.
NO. I do not work for picocool and have no endorsement from picocool.
Re: Flood coolant dermatitis
If you wash your hands very often, it could be the soap you use, seen that many time.
Jeff
Reply with Quote
