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looking for a coolant recommendation for a garage shop

Stang Bladeworks

Aluminum
Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Hi,

I am looking for a coolant recommendation. The machine is a Haas mini mill and it is in my garage shop. I normally work out of town so it will often be sitting for a week or more while I am working. It is a fairly rural location so anything that can be mixed with tap water is preferable. As far as I know my water is pretty good. I get it hauled so it's not well water.

I am wondering what other small or part time guys do. I am willing to use RO or distilled water but there needs to be a justifiable benefit. I am looking for something that is relatively long lasting. I would certainly be willing to pay more to change it less often.

Any tips or tricks to keep it fresh while I'm away working?

Any input is greatly appreciated.
 
When I was part time, I used a synthetic for a while, then a semi-synthetic. Both gave long sump life. Most of the big names can do you right. I'm preferential right now to water soluble but that could change - again. Has your Haas HFO made any recommendations? Much of this depends on personal preference too. You may want to go to your tool house and see what they have. I would avoid no name brands. "Al's Coolant" could give you real headaches, in more ways than one. So Trim, Castrol, Mobil, Hangsterfers, etc., are the way to go.
 
Trim 585xt works good for me. I'm in a similar situation, mill in the garage and it can sometimes sit for a week or two without running. I've been running the same batch for about a year and haven't had a problem and my garage gets pretty warm being in AZ. I run a skimmer for about 30 min when I first fire up the machine to keep the oil layer to a minimum. Works great on aluminum and mild steel, not sure about other stuff. I do keep the concentration pretty high, around 10%, mixed with tap water. Machine stays very clean, no sludge buildup, staining, or problems with paint.

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We've used synthetic for about 12 years now. I used to be in a shop where we used water soluble for about 10 years.
I would stay with synthetic due to the almost complete lack of maintenance it needs.

If you use water soluble and your machine sits idle for a while, be prepared for some work and probably a big stink.
 
I have been using Green Cut (GreenCut Cutting Fluid / Misting Fluid - LubeCorp) in my garage shop for about 3 years now with very few complaints. I mix it with well water (occasionally RO when I have it available....) and have been doing fine. It really benefits from agitation when not in use (recirc. pump and aquarium bubbler on a timer to run 30 minutes a day). You need to keep the concentration topped up as it becomes "consumed" during use as it breaks down the tramp oil. I also use oil absorbent pads to help remove tramp oil.

I go through about one 5 gal bucket a year for my small VMC (~Mini Mill size).

I have only had to change the sump once in the early days when I didn't take the agitation/aeration requirements seriously...

I mostly cut hardened steel and aluminum.
 
Trim 585xt works good for me. I'm in a similar situation, mill in the garage and it can sometimes sit for a week or two without running. I've been running the same batch for about a year and haven't had a problem and my garage gets pretty warm being in AZ. I run a skimmer for about 30 min when I first fire up the machine to keep the oil layer to a minimum. Works great on aluminum and mild steel, not sure about other stuff. I do keep the concentration pretty high, around 10%, mixed with tap water. Machine stays very clean, no sludge buildup, staining, or problems with paint.
I have the same results with Trim 690xt.

What skimmer are you guys using?
 
QualiChem Extreme Cut 250C here. Used it to replace Hangsterfer's water soluble in the bigger shop I use to work for and stayed with it when I started my smaller shop 4 year ago. We are in a rural area with very good (not hard) well water.

Use it in both my Haas machines as well as a bandsaw. Depending on job load, one machine can sit for a week and there are no problems with the 250C just sitting there. Bandsaw coolant gets ignored and never mixed correctly and things stay clean in there too. We cut aluminum, tool steels and stainless. No coolant issues for materials.
 
I am looking for a coolant recommendation. The machine is a Haas mini mill and it is in my garage shop. I normally work out of town so it will often be sitting for a week or more while I am working. It is a fairly rural location so anything that can be mixed with tap water is preferable. As far as I know my water is pretty good. I get it hauled so it's not well water.

I have had good experiences with both Trim 690XT and Qualichem 251C in intermittent use. As others have said, try to keep the coolant recirculated and aerated. I just use tap water, but water composition varies widely so it might be different where you are. I easily get a year+ out of a batch of coolant aside from evap loss.
 
Hi,

I am looking for a coolant recommendation. The machine is a Haas mini mill and it is in my garage shop. I normally work out of town so it will often be sitting for a week or more while I am working. It is a fairly rural location so anything that can be mixed with tap water is preferable. As far as I know my water is pretty good. I get it hauled so it's not well water.

I am wondering what other small or part time guys do. I am willing to use RO or distilled water but there needs to be a justifiable benefit. I am looking for something that is relatively long lasting. I would certainly be willing to pay more to change it less often.

Any tips or tricks to keep it fresh while I'm away working?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Since your in Canada try and track down a source for this stuff: Metal Cutting/Removal | creativechemistry

I've used a bunch of different coolants over the years but nothing comes close to this stuff. Its a little expensive but lasts forever, never seems to go bad even when sitting for a long time, even with a layer of way oil over it. Great stuff.
 
Another vote for Qualichem 250C or 251C. I had two years of sump life with highly intermittent use, and if I had taken better care of it I'm sure it would have lasted longer (actually I was still using it when I sold the machine, but it was getting a little ripe if it sat for a few days at that point). Basically if you fire it up once every few weeks and circulate it for a while to keep it oxygenated and well emulsified.
 
I've been using Hangstefers S787D for five years. First couple years I'd swap it once a year. The current batch has been in the machine for almost two years just topping up, and sat for a few weeks this spring with no ill effects. Didn't stink a bit when I came in and turned it on.
 
585XT would work well, especially if your not constantly using the machine

I aerate 2 hours or so everyday, I have an aerator on a timer.

The only issue I've had is small form taps (M3 specifically) picking up parent material (6061) when form tapping with a 7% concentration. Larger sizes it's not a problem.
 
I have used Trim, Castrol, Cimcool, Hangstefers, just about every one has an odor, but mix it with 100% DI Water and you will be amazed at the longevity and odor control of the product you choose. I like Oemeta Products, I have 5-machines that have been idle for a month, 1/2 full tanks of coolant, and there is not an odor.
 
I too use Qualichem 250C with no issues. I probably do the worst of anyone about usage...sometimes I don't turn on a machine for 4+ months. What I think makes my coolant last is I have a Zebra Coalescer on each of my two CNC's. This strips off the tramp oils and keeps my coolant nice and clean. Never a smell in the shop in over 10 years, except once in 2012. I've managed to average more than three years on a coolant change. I do have to go out to the shop occasionally to top off coolant due to evaporation. In 2012 I was gone for about two months during the summer and when I got back the coolant had evaporated off enough that the coalescer pickup couldn't skim the coolant and then it went bad.
 








 
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