Coolant issues

[Racer X]

Coolant has been an issue that I have fought with many times over the years. It is becoming a major problem for us again. About 6 years ago we were using Hangsterfers and had pretty good luck other than the staining that eventually started happening. When we bought our Multus, the Okuma folks strongly recommended Blaser Vasco 1000. I used Blaser years ago so I decided to give it a go. We had great luck with it. It is expensive to buy and even more so to dispose of. But, it worked well. Now we can't get the 1000 any longer and they changed us to 5000. The 5000 has been a real problem. Staining parts, eating the paint off of machines, etc. It also seems to separate quite bad. No matter what I have tried, it keeps separating. We are running water softeners since Idaho water is notoriously hard. That didn't help the separation issues. Several other shops in the area are having the same problems.

 

Now we have the supply house, which so strongly recommended Hangsterfers all those years ago, telling us that the vasco is garbage... everyone has issues with it... blah blah blah. They also now are recommending Quali-Chem. They stopped carrying Hangsterfers a few years back because they said it was junk. However, at the time they were carrying it, they claimed it was the best. Hard to trust a coolant salesman. Anyway, we were given a free sample of Quali-chem and charged one of our mills with it. It seemed to work well. But, the smell was terrible. It gave most of us headaches. They claim that smell will dissipate after a few days. We ran it for about 2 weeks until we couldn't take the smell any longer. Supposedly, the smell issue is fixed. At least thats what they say. Not sure about trusting them on that. We won't know for sure until we put it in service.

 

So, Im looking for advice from folks here. We have 2 turning centers, 3 vmc's, and 2 Multus'. We machine steel and aluminum. Any thoughts or recommendations on a good coolant?

 

Thanks in advance.

[moldman7n]

Hocut 795..................you'll be glad that you did. It's the best coolant that I've tried BY FAR.............the stuff refuses to go rancid. Amazing coolant. Our local supplier is Sandri oil. We tried some real garbage in the past, was happy with Blaso...........got talked into trying this anyway and I would never go back or try anything else. Seriously.

[3R!< W3NG3R]

Ometa is really good too. It doesn't seem to go rancid either.

After a couple of weeks it uses less oil as most of what goes is the water and not the oil.

Good for sensitive skin also.

[Robert Ouellette]

we had a bad coolant problem also 3yrs ago too. we switched to Trim Microsol and we love it. they have many formulas made just for hard water too. i think the one we are using is the 685. the b210 was what i used at another shop but it was for soft water.

[J Coulston]

Best thing you could do is install a DI water system. We have a very high dissolved solids content in our well water. We used run Blasocut 2000 Universal and would get a raggy layer that looked like a shredded paper towel mixed with the way oil in the coolant tank. We installed a DI water system and now run Blasocut BC40. Coolant lasts almost indefinitely, just keep topping off adding 2% to keep the concentration level from getting to high.

 

I was told by our Blaser rep to never use softened water as you are exchanging the calcium ion for the chloride ion from the salt that is used to soften the water. Blasser will do a free water analysis of your water and tell you what is exactly in it. One on of my computers I have a very detailed PDF on coolant use in machine tools, I will look for it when I have a moment.

 

After running a DI water system I will never use any other type of water to mix machine coolant with.

[MIL-TFP-41]

I've been down this road MANY times. Everyone seems to like Blaser....I hate the stuff. Leaves a film on parts, the film builds inside a machine so you wind up with a goo thats like something out of a science fiction movie that you have to scrape off once a month. Trim-sol is the same way. Like moldman said, Ho-cut is the way to go. Minimal film, & as long as you take care of it (skimming off the way lube or whatever once a week) the stuff will last forever & not smell like a 2 bit wh0re .<---wow...the language police REALLY have this place locked down...not being able to post WH0RE

[jeff]

Hocut 795..................you'll be glad that you did. It's the best coolant that I've tried BY FAR

 

We use Hocut 787-B.

Very good stuff.

Doesn't stink, hasn't gone rancid in the 1 year that we've been using it.

We machine mostly steel and aluminum with a little bit of copper and other stuff here and there.

[MACHINEMASTERG]

Kool Rite 2290 last long with no smell issues

[iowajim62]

Add a T to the air line for the machine.

Attach an adjustable valve and air hose and drop it in the coolant tank.

Don't need massive amount of air just enough for it to bubble.

Helps alot at keeping the coolant fresh.

jm2c

[Racer X]

I have done a bit of calling around local shops I know and quizzing them on their coolant. 2 places I spoke with were running the Ho-Cut until recently. They claimed they had guys developing skin rashes from it. Any of you that run it have these issues.

 

The water softener was recommended by our Blaser guy, John. However, what you say makes more sense to me than his claims.

 

We run pretty much around the clock so our coolant doesn't sit idle very long. Even when we are shut down our filtration/aeration systems stay on.

 

Running around to a few shops today to test the coolants they are using and gonna chat with the guys that are up to their elbows in it daily. Hopefully, can get some good feedback. Also, chatting with Leupold Stevens. They just switched out their entire plant a few months ago to this Quali-chem. So far they all have good reports. Might have to run over there also.

 

Thank you all for your input. I will let you know what I found out.

[jeff]

I have done a bit of calling around local shops I know and quizzing them on their coolant. 2 places I spoke with were running the Ho-Cut until recently. They claimed they had guys developing skin rashes from it. Any of you that run it have these issues.

 

No skin rashes that I've heard of from the Hocut.

My hands get soaked in it everyday, and I haven't had any issues.

[jagg2499]

We also use Hocut 795 and the stuff works great and no skin rashes at all. Maybe they have it mixed way too strong or something.

 

 

[Racer X]

A follow up:

 

So after all of our time and effort of asking questions, looking over specs, researching, etc. We settled on Extreme Cut 290 from Quali-Chem. Never would I have thought that I should shout out praise about coolant. But... This stuff rocks. In the past two months I have gained cycle time, reduced cutter usage, and get MUCH better finishes.

 

If any of you are looking to switch coolants, give these guys a shot. 25 years cutting chips and I have not been this amazed by too many things. But, this stuff does what they claim it does.

 

By the way, I am NOT a paid spokesperson. Just an amazed customer.

 

Cheers,

[cunder]

We have installed Smart Skim a few years ago for recycling. Does a good job removing oils.

 

http://www.smartskim.com/