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Cleaning the coolant sump 10EE

Yes it sure is a dirty job, and the smell gagged the shop, in my case. I put a tray by the pump inlet to catch the last bits washed out, then paper rags the rest. Kero or Jet A far to flammable IMHO. Your looking for trouble there. How many times have you had sparks come off dull tools, or an extra heavy cut with red streamers. No way.

Long time ago a teacher demonstrated how Flour burns, put a propane torch to a handful of Flour, turns black smells like bread, stuffed some or it into a straw, and blew it at the torch, nice 2' fireball. That how that Sugar plant blew up last week.

Kero vaporizing off hot metal, and then a spark. Toast.
 
Kerosene is often used in EDM machines as the working fluid. Once in a great while you get a fire.....usually because the fluid level is too low and the electrode is working at the air/kerosene interface. Its always gets really exciting when that happens. IMHO I would stick to something a lot harder to get lit. I am not sure if the pump seals would put up with kerosene either.
Steve
 
Mine had a couple of inches of rusted and hardened chips in the tray. It took a couple of hours with a needle scaler to get it all out with the rusted cast iron.
 
I don't know if kero is the right fluid but I am looking for something that will stay in the sump long term without a fuss. I remember Harry saying he was using a Rustlick product but he never said how it worked out in the long run. A light oil or even antifreeze with no water added may be more inert. Has anybody used polypropylene as a coolant in a machine?

Regarding the sump itself, it is about empty and I am taking a breather. This had some kind of mineral based oil with sulfur. It looks like the coolant pump and plumbing was redone when they re powered the drive. It is fresh looking with new paint and conduit.

Steve
 
I'm using Rustlick 370R in all my machines except the J&L turret lathe which is filled with Rustlick 5050. I work mostly steel and SS, with a bit of aluminum. Each coolant works very well. I do have to watch for staining on the mill tables under the vises, but it cleans up easily. I tempted to switch over to the 5050, I think it lasts longer.
Don't hold me to this, but both coolants seem be paint safe, unlike the full synthetics which really work on the paint, IME.
Harry
 
I know that Ethylene Glycol will for sure stain paint, mixed with water it changes, and is much less damaging to paint. Straight antifreeze will burn, mixture will not. The smell of Hot antifreeze is awful. At the price per gallon wouldn't proper coolant be cheaper as well.
 
I am going to try Rustlick, I don't know if I should get 370 or start with 5050? The coolant is marginally less expensive but I am going to use a gallon of whatever it is and the total is just not that much. I have some Jet-A sitting in the sump now and I am waiting for the cap to arrive to flush out the remainder of the mystery muck. I had to pull 220 from the big transformer for power, the coolant leads just ran to a terminal strip from the motor. While I was running the power I thought about starting using the single pole switch. I didn't like that idea so, I have a DPDT relay that is controled by the coolant switch and two fuses lines going to the motor now. I should have the coolant system up and running in the next few days.

Preparing the system for Rustlick is the next step, and a splash guard should finish off the coolant system.

Steve
 
"I didn't like that idea so, I have a DPDT relay that is controled by the coolant switch and two fuses lines going to the motor now. I should have the coolant system up and running in the next few days."

In the pre-Modular machines ... 1930s to the 1960s ... the B-phase was not switched, only the A- and C-phases were switched.

Also, on the M-G, the coolant motor had no overload protection ... the overloads were used to protect the M-G, while on the WiaD the overloads were used for the coolant motor as the WiaD had its own overload protector (on the DC Panel).
 
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Well I feel better using the relay and fuses, the sum total for these tidbits was 4 dollars and change at All Electronics. The control voltage comes right off the lamp next to the switch and the fuses are in the lower headstock cabinet door for access. I do think a mag starter would be overkill for a 1/10th HP motor.

Steve
 
Old Murphy and his law;

I waited all week for a cap to arrive for the coolant pump, I get the cap and connect it, no go. Wrestle the pump out of the black hole and rewire it to low voltage, put everything back together and still no joy. Take the cap I had sitting around that I tried a week ago with the motor now wired for 240 and, she purrs.

I sure wish I had thought about the motor wiring last week, everything else is wired low voltage and I made that ASSumption that the pump was too!

Steve
 








 
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