Coolant Filtering

[BrianP.]

As with most small shops I have worked in the coolant does not get changed often enough because of cost of getting rid of it. I was wondering what other shops do as far as keeping their coolant clean. One place I worked had a filtering system to pump out the coolant and then reuse it after going through a filter. Are there some out there that are better than others? Costs?

 

Thanks.

[within a thou]

I just went to a seminar that had Blaser Swisslube do a demo. They have offices in Utah and I believe NJ if I remember correctly. I would contact them. I am moving my shop next month and they offered to fill all my coolant tanks after I move the machines to try so I haven't been able to do a time study on tool life.

 

They were talking about how their product is a Ester based oil as opposed to most of the mineral oil based that are around. It was a neat litle presentation especially when they hooked up a high speed camerra under a microscope to show chip forming on a endmill.

[Joe788]

This Exair chip trapper looks like it work work very nicely. I've never used on though:

 

[Pilot Plant Supervisor]

We have a Zebra Coalescer on our Haas EC-1600 horizontal. Previously we had a belt skimmer to try to get rid of all the tramp oil, but it wasn't very effective because of all the baffles in the sump. I thought the Coalescer would do better by constantly re-circulating the coolant. The sump seems cleaner, and there is no layer of tramp oil on top anymore, but the coalescer never seems to trap much oil. Where it goes is a mystery

[crazy^millman]

Those Exair things are loud and be ready for the drum to pop and make all types of noise. Seemed to do a good job though.

[rgollar]

Well I just purchased one of these Exair 55 gallon drums. I knew I should not have watch the video. I am a sucker for tooling lol. Should be here in the next 2 days.

[rgollar]

Well I got the Exair chip trapper today and tried it out. Worked as advertised so I would give it my endorsement. Other than the price tag is a little steep but in the long run it will pay for its self.

[Joe788]

Nice. How much did the shipping set you back?

[Scott Lundin Shopware Inc.]

The stink is caused by bacteria. Bacteria eats tramp oil for breakfast and the stink you smell is their waste product. Keep the oil out and they have nothing to eat. Also if the oil is turbulent it slows down their reproduction. The Zebra coalescer mentioned in an earlier thread works great if you know how to use them properly. On week nights I would let the Zebra run all night while the machines were not running. On weekends I had an air regulator with a perforated hose/pipe that I would slip into the coolant tank and let low air pressure bubble the coolant to keep it moving. I was able to keep the same coolant in the tank for over a year this way. Of course you have to add some as it gets low. Do not use bleach or anti-stink chemicals, this = backyard chemist.

[Scott Lundin Shopware Inc.]

Also if the coolant is already saturated with oil nothing will bring it back. Its best to start out by cleaning out the tank with a proper sump cleaning agent from a coolant vendor and putting in a fresh charge of coolant. Then maintain a good oil removal process on a daily basis to keep most of the tramp way oil out.

[rgollar]

Joe788 wrote

Nice. How much did the shipping set you back?

 

Shipping from Ohio to Michigan was $203.00 dollars. Got it the very next day from ups.