What's new
What's new

Coolant that can sit unused for weeks without going bad?

pMetal

Aluminum
Joined
Jul 14, 2014
Location
United States
I have a machine (a dedicated punch tool grinder) with flood coolant, which sometimes sits unused for weeks at a time.

Currently we are using the same water-soluble coolant that we use on our CNC machines (Hocut 795B), but I find that it breaks down if let to sit for too long, and then we have rust issues in the machine.

I'm afraid to use straight oil, because the grinding process creates sparks so I am concerned that straight oil could catch on fire.

Does anybody have a suggestion for a water-soluble coolant that can sit unused for weeks without breaking down? Or a straight-oil that is non-flammable?
 
I pump it into another machine that is beong used and when I need to that one again I pump it back from another that has the day off. Mine all have a garden hose on them that can reach to another and I can swap the coolant while I warm up the spindle.
 
I use Hangsterfer's 5080. Made with DI water it can sit for a very long time and still be good. I use it in my 1000 PSI TSC machine that makes Ti bone plates, and also in the surface grinder that I use once every few months. Never a problem.
 
Not sure if it's available over there or if it'll be ideal but I use Fuchs Ecocool Ultralife A+, one of my lathes has had it in for over 5 years without any full changes, mixed with plain old tap water, topped up when needed and frequently sat unused for weeks to over a month.

No issues with it breaking down, no dodgy smells, no rust but it has been filtered to remove fines a couple of times.
 
Oemeta Novamet 110 would be a good water soluble coolant. Oemeta also makes a straight oil that has a flash point about 100 degree higher than most common options on the market. Reach out to me if you need a distributor.
 
Keeping the coolant circulating helps a lot, something like a Nexjen separator works well.
It picks up coolant continuously and returns it to the tank.
You could make your own loop with a garden pump easily.

Having good coolant to begin with also goes a long way, but it all requires maintenance of some kind.
We are using QualiChem 251C currently.
 
I moved to Utah 2 months ago from CA and I left my machines back home.

Came back this week after the machine sat idle for those 2 months and the qualichem was still great despite some tramp on the top of it.
 
In any rusty or dirty system where bacteria will grow will make it go bad eventually. We would start a idle machine up every couple of days and turn the coolant on to circulate.

Getting the whole system flushed out and cleaned on a regular schedule works good magic. As a member mentioned a bubble rock will do wonders.

Coolant is just a mess anyway. It takes time to keep it up. Most of the time it goes undone until someone feels like throwing up after getting splashed.:)
 
Using qualichem 251c it will last months untouched for me.

Ditto - my tools don't get used much and the 251c has lasted well over a year in both a small mill and small lathe. The Hangsterfer S-500 that I used previously lasted just as well. No odor or rust with either. I use DI water for dilution, which might have helped some.
 
Qualichem 251C or Trim 690XT.

I’ve been thinking about trying trim 690xt

It’s a lot cheaper than the qualichem for me but I’m afraid to try anything else and I probably have enough 251c for another year...

I’ve had very bad experiences with some cheaper coolants
 
Using qualichem 251c it will last months untouched for me.

+1 for the qualichem. I was worried about leaving our Haas TM-1P idle over the summer (in a high school classroom). So I did the aquarium bubbler thing, and that machine sat idle over the 1+ year of covid, with no stink. I don't remember the concentration when it came back to life, but it needed a lot of water.
 








 
Back
Top