exploring options for coolant care/maint.

wheelieking71 · Jul 11, 2017

I am trying to figure out my best plan of attack to take better care of my coolant.
I have been having issues for a few years now (QC Extreme cut 250C). The coolant itself was garbage for a while.
QC has fixed it somewhat. Still not as good as it was. But, its better.
regardless, I need to do something. I am running skimmers. But, I need something that does a more thorough job.
The skimmers (belt type) just don't do a very good job.

This thing: The Coolant Saver CNC Machine Oil Skimmer Coalescer System Haas Fadal Makino | eBay
Caught my eye the other night. Anybody use it? or something like it? That actually works?

My issues are:
250C still gets a gray film on top even as soon as sitting over night.
Obviously, way-lube needs removed.
And, I have a dust problem. There have been a couple days since I put the machines in the new shop, that I did not run the machines.
The next day, I could see the dust floating on top of the coolant.

All bad things.

See the nasty gray film on the right side?

That was taken just now, 4 hours after being shut down after a 12hr shift where the machine ran all day, and the skimmer was on for most of that time.
If you look real close (and/or know what you are looking at) you can see the dust in the film.
I want to clean this shit up. It can't be good for anything, parts, tooling, pump, machine. I want my coolant clean once and for all.
But, its going to be expensive. I can't be a guinea pig. I want to buy something to do the job that works, yet doesn't break the bank.
I already broke the dang bank.

ManualEd · Jul 11, 2017

Is all the floating stuff that looks like flour the dust, or bubbles? If its dust (holy cow!) first thing I'd do is throw a filter in line after your gusher pump.
A centrifugal pump shouldn't care about a little dust, but the ways and tools might.

DavidScott · Jul 11, 2017

I use a similar skimmer plus areator and 5 micron bag filter. They are all important parts of the solution. Skimmer and areator run 15 minutes every 6 hours but not when I am running the machine. All coolant comming out of the mill runs through the bag filter before going to the sump.

wheelieking71 · Jul 11, 2017

ManualEd said:
Is all the floating stuff that looks like flour the dust, or bubbles? If its dust (holy cow!) first thing I'd do is throw a filter in line after your gusher pump.
A centrifugal pump shouldn't care about a little dust, but the ways and tools might.

Yes, my thinking exactly.

wheelieking71 · Jul 11, 2017

DavidScott said:
I use a similar skimmer plus areator and 5 micron bag filter. They are all important parts of the solution. Skimmer and areator run 15 minutes every 6 hours but not when I am running the machine. All coolant comming out of the mill runs through the bag filter before going to the sump.

Bag filter?

gregormarwick · Jul 12, 2017

We have an Abanaki coalescer that *looks* very similar to the one you linked. I don't know if the one on ebay is a knockoff, or has the same internals and quality, or not. The drum is not empty on the abanaki - it contains an inner cylinder full of moulded plastic mesh balls (kinda) that supposedly help separation somehow. The Abanaki also has a separate aerator/bubbler.

Ours lives on a largish gantry mill that mainly machines heavy plate profiles so the coolant is exposed to rust, oxy-gas scale and way oil in pretty large quantities. The Abanaki handles it all in it's stride and the coolant in the tank stays immaculate.

The Abanaki one works extremely well, if it's the same I don't think you'll regret spending the money. Ours has been in operation for about 5 years now, we've had to replace the flexible hose between the intake and the submersible pump a couple of times as it goes hard eventually and prevents the intake from floating properly. Other than that it has never missed a beat.

One thing to note though, it needs a largish area of clear tank to operate in - you'll want about a square foot of uncluttered surface area for the intake, with about 2 feet of clear length at the bottom of the tank for the pump>hose>intake to sit in without interference.

lonestar1224 · Jul 12, 2017

These things are amazing... we have one on each of our lathes. My coolants like 6 months old and almost as good as day I put it in. Work good on solid particles up to 1/4 they say, so would help with the dust issue.

C-Thru Separator

Red James · Jul 12, 2017

While the machine is running the oil/dust won't rise to the surface to be removed with a skimmer. The skimmer needs to run when the machine does not.

Shop Supply Guru · Jul 12, 2017

Get Oemeta coolant & their brand way oil. It will eliminate 99% tramp oil.

riabma77 · Jul 12, 2017

I had a similar problem using Blaser 2000. It was leaving an oily film in the top, and eventually bubbling.
The problem wasn't the coolant. It was my water, with a high level of chloride, that was separating the concentrate.
I switched to the new formula (BC940) and no issues so far. It lasts about 4-5 months, which is acceptable for me.
Blaser also recommended the C-Thru Separator mentioned above.

WILLEO6709 · Jul 12, 2017

Shop Supply Guru said:
Get Oemeta coolant & their brand way oil. It will eliminate 99% tramp oil.

disguise it maybe.... your way lube goes somewhere if its liquid.
I bought an abanaki oil boss - seems to work ok but if your cabinet is bent ( big vmc, ran way too many parts longer than table) the magnetic mount thing ain't real great.... on a flat cabinet its fine.
for coolant I have been using tower safe t cool 461. No residue on the glass seems as good as anything else I have run for lubricity and rust prevention.

wheelieking71 · Jul 12, 2017

WILLEO6709 said:
disguise it maybe.... your way lube goes somewhere if its liquid.

The Oemeta way lube is soluable, and actually just makes more coolant.

This thread isn't about what coolant i am, or should, be using. It is about coolant care/maintenance.

wheelieking71 · Jul 12, 2017

Thanks for the input fellas.
I was not aware Abanaki had basically the exact same unit that I linked to on ebay. I bet Abanaki was first.
I think I like the floating pick-up on the ebay unit better. They both seem like they would do exactly what I need something to do.
I am going to have to purchase three units, so i want to make sure whatever I do end up buying, is going to do the job, before I buy it.

DDoug · Jul 12, 2017

1. Don't spit in it.
2. Don't pee in it......

Philabuster · Jul 12, 2017

wheelieking71 said:
This thread isn't about what coolant i am, or should, be using. It is about coolant care/maintenance.

Something that cannot be overlooked when dealing with coolant maintenance is the water quality you are using in the coolant and also the method used to mix the water with coolant. Both factors do play a huge role in the resultant coolant quality over its lifespan.

WILLEO6709 · Jul 12, 2017

the abanaki has the floating pickup as well. Hard to get floating oil with a bottom pickup. I move mine between machines. skim one a few days, move it to the next.

Ox · Jul 12, 2017

I recently bought an Abanaki Oil Boss like Leo's.
It is $100 cheaper if bought direct from Abanaki than to buy from Amazon. ($500)

I toss'ed the magnets before I ever got started, and just bolted it fast.
I know that it will stay for sure!

Seems to work pretty good at pulling the oil out, but what's better is that it is always recirculating.
These work best when setting idle anyway.

I would buy another.

It is hidden on their site.
Oil Boss(R) Oil Skimmer | Abanaki Corporation

You may need to add a filter for the dust tho.
If so - I would go with a big bag so that you get lots of surface area, as I'd guess that you would need a small micron bag that would plug up quickly. With enough surface area, it may let enough volume through to keep you going w/o changing too frequently.

Machine not ran in a cpl weeks.
I think that I need to adjust my floats down a bit yet.

--------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Mike1974 · Jul 12, 2017

Philabuster said:
Something that cannot be overlooked when dealing with coolant maintenance is the water quality you are using in the coolant and also the method used to mix the water with coolant. Both factors do play a huge role in the resultant coolant quality over its lifespan.

Last place we used DEI water to top up, AND mixed in a 5 gallon pail each time (not dump in 3 gals of coolant, and run the hose until it's full). That coolant had no smell, no slimy feel, and minimal 'gunk' after about 2 years (cutting aluminum) Hysol MB50.

wheelieking71 · Jul 12, 2017

The Abanaki Oil Boss looks pretty slick. Definitely more convenient than those drum based units. Space is a premium over here.

kevin66 · Jul 12, 2017

Ive got an oil boss type skimmer on my mill turn from NexJen. It works like a charm most of the time doing a great job of taking the oil off the top of the coolant. What wreaks havoc on its efficiency is when there is a thin layer of foam in the tank when using high pressure coolant or when milling any plastic as is seems to float on the top and eventually plug the inlet hose.

exploring options for coolant care/maint.

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Plastic

Stainless

Hot Rolled

Hot Rolled

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Aluminum

Similar threads