What kind of coolant do you use?

I'm looking for a good water soluable coolant that will not cause my machine to rust up.

I've used Dasco Super Soluable oil. It worked ok, but had a tendency to corrode my machine and it didn't mix very well.

I'm using Trim 206 now and it works good, not much corrosion, long sump life, and it was actually cleaning some stubborn hard water stains off my machine left by it's previous owner.

I'm happy with Trim, but if there's anything better I'd definitly like to know.

Thanks
Ed

I run Castrol Clearedge 6519. It is a light blue color, reduces about 1:20, about $1000 per 55 gallon drum. Generally you can just adjust concentration and keep right on going unless you contaminate by cutting renboard or something.......

We used to use Trim Sol, but it went rancid too quickly.
Now we use 'I.Q. 8000'
It keeps the rust away, lasts a long time without going rancid, but stings the sh*t out of your hands.
Heh Heh.....Good stuff.

I'm partial to Valcool Turntech and VNT-800. We have no problems at all with it. You can buy it for about $55 a pail from MSC when it is on sale (not bad).

Take Care

ARB

I use Hangsterfers S-506. I've used many different coolants. This one has not ate the paint off my Haas. In six years I have never had it get stinky. It keeps the machine clean (no brown build up). The parts don't feel too slimey. Smells pretty good too. I'm not sensitive to skin irritation, but I don't think it would cause any. One more very important thing. The way oils that get in the coolant always come to the surface to be skimmed off. Some coolants just mix it all together and the coolant becomes a mess.

I highly recommend Hangsterfers.

It can be purchased through MSC, but I get mine through Western Cutting Tool.

I am going to throw a wrench into this issue.
We have been searching for a replacement coolant lately and have been leaning towards semi-synthetics. History and problems. Have been using Hangersterfers S-500 for several years which is a water soluable oil. We have gone through several 55 gal drums plus 5 gallon pails b-4 that. It has corroded machines especially if they sit for a couple of days. We get rust and stains under our vises and the saddle of our lathes. Plus the parts and machines tend to get a "sticky" residue and cleaning them is a pain. the coolant is kept fresh at proper concentrations per our calibrated refractometer. Had the factory rep in who used his refractometer and everything checked OK. He said the staining and corrosion was due to galvanic corrosion and we would have to electrically ground all the tables, which we won't do. The sticky residue is just the nature of water soluble oil. tool life, surface finish and tramp oil separation is great. We have tried 5 gal of Valenite vnt-700 and Zurn oil s-1500. Both semi- ssynthetics in some of our equipment. Cleanliness of parts and machines has improved greatly. Tool life doesn't seem to be negatively impacted. Staining is disappearing. we also tried some water soluble zurn oil in one machine with results similar to hangsterfers s-500. It is about time to place an order for a drum of coolant. Any body else have much experience with the semi-sythetics over the water solubles? If so which ones and what were your results? We are pretty sure that the synthetics are the way to go for us, but not sure which one and what the long term results may be. I forgot to state that we are a short and medium run job shop. At times a machine may run for days ( one to 1 1/2 shifts} then sit for days. All types of materials and metals.

Thanks for all the replies.

The Coolant I'm currently using trim e206 is a semi sinthetic Water soluable oil. So far I've had good luck with it. Works great, mixes good, coolant tank doesn't have any sludge. and I haven't noticed any corrosion. Sometimes I get lazy and let the machine sit without blowing the coolant of the vises etc. It leaves a sticky film but hasn't corroded anything so far. It hasn't eaten the paint of anything so far, but we've only been using it for a few months.

How are the Rustlick brand coolants?

I would sacrafice some performance for a coolant that was designed to protect the machine from corrosion.

Thanks again for all the replys.

I just tried some Trim EP water soluable oil in my cold saw. In the MSC catalog it is described as the ultimate sawing coolant. I have to say it works very well, it's just as good as the Trim 206 I was using in there. It's also clear with a light brown tint, so you can see your scribe lines. It stays pretty clean, and it smells like pinesol.

I've used the Rustlic in the past and it worked well in the performance area and hadnt' noticed corrision in the machine. However, it seemed to do little to ward off fungus growth in the collant tank and required changing and cleaning the tank to keep the screens and filters from build-up. I've switched to Blaser, which is a little more pricey, but the bateria in it does an excellent job of preventing the fungus build up. The down side is that it has a high tendency to foam up, requiring the addition of calcium acetate. They may be more of a hard water condition and would depend on the water in your area.