Stinky coolant

[Scruffy887]

Copper sulphate will kill the stink and all bacteria.

 

[Scruffy887]

Bubbler will contaminate all equipment and lungs near it. Watch it in action! You will see a fog appearing above it. OK if you can vent that crap outside, not near a door or window.

 

[James H Clark]

Mtndew had it right. We used to take 1/4" copper tubbing and drill 1/32" holes about a foot apart, pinch off one end and feed them with low pressure air (air from regulator) bubbling very slowly. An aquarium pump would work. The tubing lay in the bottom of tank about 2/3 around the tank. We also would place a fold of cotton rags in a coolant return chute. The cotton will absorb oil and the coolant will go right on thru (no synthetics) and change in a few days.
JH

 

[Mr. Atoz]

We had the same problem here with just one machine. I saw the Bozo operator spit in the machine. He was a chewing tobacco user. He was made to understand that was not acceptable and the problem went away.

 

[Crimi Giuseppe]

An oil film forms on the refrigerant, blocking the oxygenation of the refrigerant. In this situation, anaerobic bacteria proliferate, which emit that annoying smell. The cure is to remove the superficial layer of oil, the techniques are different, from a plastic disc which, by rotating, carries the layer of oil upwards, then scraped off by a rule, to a rotating rubber belt which also removes the oil layer, to a spillway tube which eliminates the upper layer of oil.. by removing the oil you can go on for a year, just by increasing the liquid level.
On my milling machine I have the cooling tank separate from the base of the milling machine, this prevents the oil from the guides from polluting the cooling liquid and does not smell.

 

[Mr. Atoz]

The fewer contaminants in your coolant, the less food for the nasty little microbial zoo, = less smell and problems. Pneumocystis is a real concern with poorly maintained coolant.

 

[DDoug]

We had the same problem here with just one machine. I saw the Bozo operator spit in the machine. He was a chewing tobacco user. He was made to understand that was not acceptable and the problem went away.

Make him drink the coolant tank next time....

 

[Mr. Atoz]

Copper sulphate will kill the stink and all bacteria.

I would be careful about adding sulfur in any form to coolant. Many types of bacteria found in coolant are sulfur reducers. In other words, they "eat" sulfur, converting it to energy which they use to reproduce.