Best general purpose coolant

White Feather · May 12, 2018

What in your opinion is the best general purpose coolant in a job shop atmosphere where you would be cutting every type of material imaginable?

We cut everything from basic aluminum all the way up to exotics... tantalum, super duplex, nitronic, Inconel, you name it at some point we cut it.

norb · May 12, 2018

White Feather said:
What in your opinion is the best general purpose coolant in a job shop atmosphere where you would be cutting every type of material imaginable?

We cut everything from basic aluminum all the way up to exotics... tantalum, super duplex, nitronic, Inconel, you name it at some point we cut it.

I tried many types of coolant over the years and for me the winner is Trim Microsol 585XT.

Vancbiker · May 12, 2018

There will be differences with water that will affect the coolant performance for different folks.

The coolant I'm using sucked at first because it separated out a heavy oil and made a mess of the tank. I was about ready to change and called the rep to discuss another option. Turns out that my shop's well water has too much iron and manganese which was causing the separation. Put in an RO treatment system for the water used for coolant and now things are much better.

Ianagos · May 12, 2018

I’ve been wondering the same thing right now I’m using rustlick ws-5050. Seems to work fine but will rust the vises and machine if I don’t wipe it completely off and coat with an oil or something. Once I locate a supplier local I want to try qualichem 251c.

Bobw · May 12, 2018

That's like asking who makes the best tacos..

My "opinion", buy something that has support, preferably local.. If there is a problem
you need to know that somebody has your back..

The only thing I can effectively get locally is Blaser through my local Mazak dealership..
I know they have my back, and I've only ever talked to one guy who actually works for Blaser,
and I'm 99% sure they would have my back... I've never had a problem(foaming once), but its
comforting knowing that if I do, I won't be trying to figure it out alone.

Is it the best? I dunno, but I've been very happy with it.. And gives the Mazak guy an excuse to drop by.

Mud · May 12, 2018

Ianagos said:
I’ve been wondering the same thing right now I’m using rustlick ws-5050. Seems to work fine but will rust the vises and machine if I don’t wipe it completely off and coat with an oil or something. Once I locate a supplier local I want to try qualichem 251c.

Vancbiker said:
There will be differences with water that will affect the coolant performance for different folks.

The coolant I'm using sucked at first because it separated out a heavy oil and made a mess of the tank. I was about ready to change and called the rep to discuss another option. Turns out that my shop's well water has too much iron and manganese which was causing the separation. Put in an RO treatment system for the water used for coolant and now things are much better.

This ^^^^^^We've used a bunch of coolants over the last 40 years+ Found out that the water is critical to coolant performance rust-wise, and for preventing separation. Even adding rust inhibitors won't help if the water is wrong.

BTW, big fans here of Zurn Aquasol DX-1000.

TDegenhart · May 12, 2018

Agree with lanagos about rustlick 5050. Switched to Trim E206, rust problem disappeared.

Tom

Ianagos · May 12, 2018

TDegenhart said:
Agree with lanagos about rustlick 5050. Switched to Trim E206, rust problem disappeared.

Tom

How is that trim? I’ve heard some people say it’s good. I’ve never used anything but the Ws-5050 so I don’t have any comparison points. The rustlick works great for everything like rigid tapping, no smell, rejects tramp oil, minimal foam, but the rust thing is a really pain because I can’t leave fixtures on the table and I don’t even like leaving my vises there for long.

TDegenhart · May 13, 2018

Ianagos said:
How is that trim? I’ve heard some people say it’s good. I’ve never used anything but the Ws-5050 so I don’t have any comparison points. The rustlick works great for everything like rigid tapping, no smell, rejects tramp oil, minimal foam, but the rust thing is a really pain because I can’t leave fixtures on the table and I don’t even like leaving my vises there for long.

I use it for everything except the HLV-H clone which is oil. No smell ever, no foam, seems to coexist with lub oils, no rust under vices, tooling. I do use a heavy mix, ~7-8%. Leaves a heavy oil on surfaces when it drys. My shop is a job shop, so machines may sit for weeks and not be used. I don't try to separate the oils from the coolant. The main machine is a 12CK Monarch with the original coolant sump. I know when the coolant is low when a heavy mix of oil and coolant comes out.

I have thought about a separate coolant tank with a oil separator, other than not having a large reservoir, its no problem.

Tpm

SND · May 13, 2018

I'm still happy with Trim Microsol 690XT. Its the high pressure version of the 585XT. You can form tap and such with the 690.
Tool life improved a lot, machine looks new again super clean, no rust issues anymore and doesn't seem to varnish, great sump life so far too, almost 2yrs on this tank I think.

Ianagos · May 13, 2018

SND said:
I'm still happy with Trim Microsol 690XT. Its the high pressure version of the 585XT. You can form tap and such with the 690.
Tool life improved a lot, machine looks new again super clean, no rust issues anymore and doesn't seem to varnish, great sump life so far too, almost 2yrs on this tank I think.

Do you have any issues with paint peeling because it is synthetic?

TDegenhart · May 13, 2018

^Factory paint, no. Self applied, yes.

Tom

Ianagos · May 13, 2018

TDegenhart said:
^Factory paint, no. Self applied, yes.

Tom

My factory fadal paint ain’t doing so well but I think that’s mostly due to chips being flung against the walls.

SND · May 14, 2018

Ianagos said:
Do you have any issues with paint peeling because it is synthetic?

No issues at all, and isn't 690XT a semi-synthetic? I think so anyway. Paint looks brand new, cleanest its ever been, and its not even good fancy paint its just whatever they spray inside cheap taiwan made cnc's. The cimcool Qualstar I was running before didn't hurt paint either but it had lots of other issues.

Gobo · May 15, 2018

White Feather said:
What in your opinion is the best general purpose coolant in a job shop atmosphere where you would be cutting every type of material imaginable?

We cut everything from basic aluminum all the way up to exotics... tantalum, super duplex, nitronic, Inconel, you name it at some point we cut it.

Agree with everything already said about the water being critical. Alabama- the south is not known for stellar quality groundwater. You did not mention cutting titanium. Titanium presents additional issues as it tends to demulsify or "break" the coolant.

AARONT · May 15, 2018

We switched to an RO water system so we don't have to worry about water and use Trim Microsol 685. Been using it for 6 years with no issues and we machine everything.

IanSathornCorp · May 22, 2018

We were using Blaser oil based for over 20 years. Switched to qualichem but the price was too high. We have extremely bad water as well. The water treatment company who was selling us Reverse Osmosis tanks typically got 1200 gallons out of a tank. The water is so bad that we were only getting about 400 gallons out of a tank. We stopped using RO water because it was insanely expensive. We switched from qualichem to CIMCOOL, had a ton of foaming issues at first, switched to a different kind, had issues with ridgid tapping, we switched AGAIN to a different blend and that finally seems to be working. So we went from CIMPULSE 51MP to CIMSTAR 10-3950. The 10-3950 is the blend that seems to be working. We machine mostly stainless and aluminum and occasionally titanium. I'm sure having better water would yield better results but it is less expensive to dump machines once a year than to go through 4 RO tanks per month.

Hope this helps.

Ian.

gkoenig · May 22, 2018

All you guys running RO water, what sorta systems are you installing for it?

Some of the car wash guys have $400 setups on carts that spit out ~3gpm hooked up to your garden hose faucet. It's apparently 1200 gallons before you need to recharge the filters, which would probably last me a couple of years. It's only about $80 to recharge the thing. Wondering if that would do the trick.

SND · May 22, 2018

I use the water that comes out of the tap. I'm on a well, with a softener and coal filter.

If a coolant is so picky that it needs distilled or RO water, what the heck happens the first time you put a piece of material in there that has some dirt/mud on it? as much as I try to prewash some of the material I get, I can't get it all, and most people/shops skip that step entirely, just throw it in there with the mud and oil/grease on it.
I guess similarly if your water is so bad its screwing up your coolant, hopefully you're not drinking it...

Hey G · May 22, 2018

I am using Trim MicroSol 690XT, semi-synthetic, machining mostly aluminum and steel. We use it in the grinder and saws too. Seems to last a good while in the machines. Leaves a mild film that seems to slowdown the rust here in humid Charleston.

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