Gunco Forums banner

Home built flood coolant for bench top mills

13K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  moleman 
#1 ·
Ok here is my homemade coolant flood system. Its cheap and makes a simply amazing difference in feed rates and tool life.
This is on the head. Initially I just used one of those gray barb fittings from lowes but upgraded to the flexie stuff. Both work great. You can also see my DIY DRO for the z axis, ($9)
the vinyl tube ($2) runs down behind the mill to the pump in the bucket.








.

Heres the cheapo boat bulkhead barb ($5) through the HVAC pan. ($18)







this is looking under the table at the coolant return through the bulkhead fitting, a short section of vinyl is attached to minimize splashing ($1)


This is looking into the 5 gallon bucket that houses a magnet laying on the bottom ($1) to attract small metal pieces.
Also you can see the pumps tube coming up, just suspend the pump 1/3 of the way up to keep the metal frags away from the inlet. I used a spare aquarium pump. The cheapest at walmart will do ($12)
Scummy looking huh anyone thirsty? I ran the power cord up to a power strip that turns the pump on or off. When on you cannot see the tool cutting but the chips FLOAT up and away, fall into the pan where they sink onto the bottom of the pan. From there periodically I collect them with a magnet and dispose of them.



I hope this is clearer than my verbal explainations have been.
 
See less See more
4
#2 ·
I like this. A lot. I have all sorts of those 5-gallon buckets from my wife's work, so I could do a bucket drop like that no problem.

Is the $5 HVAC tray larger, or smaller, than a washing machine tray?
 
#3 ·
The hvac pan was $18 and is much larger than a washing machine pan. They were out of stock on the biggest so mine is mid sized. Run the table all the way to one side, add 10-12" then run all the way the opposite and add 10-12" this is how wide you need. Conversly I have seen kennel trays at walmart that are about this big but the lip is kinda small.
 
#5 ·
how did a spammer get 105 posts? he must have been super busy....

but this thread is a great example of how to make your own fluid cooling system.
 
#7 ·
I have the same mill as VZ58. I drilled and tapped the left pocket on the table for a drain tube that goes into the bucket. I still don't have a tray under the mill, but not much coolant makes it off of the vise or table. What does can be cleaned up with a shop rag when I'm done. I plan on hooking the other end of the table up with a drain tube and putting a catch tray under it for easier cleanup. Having the flood coolant has really helped with end mill life. I wish I would of done this sooner.
 
#8 ·
Doesn't flow :( I set mine up using the aquarium pump I got from Home Depot a while back. Whatever they cost - I want to say it was $15?

I'm using antifreeze for now because frankly that's what I had available in the shop. Now if I hold the bucket up closer it seems that it wants to pull the liquid up but I am talking "right under" the tray, and then only a trickle. Am I simply using the wrong liquid or is my pump not up the challenge?

I'm wondering about the tube size, which to me seems rather large. Thinking the pump may not be able to move that amount of liquid. It IS using the correct ID tubing for the pump... since the tubing kind of presses on there doesn't seem to be a good way to change the tubing size. Perhaps there's a way to reduce the size of the tube? Some sort of reducing sleeve perhaps? I think perhaps that a smaller ID tube would work better.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Pookie, I first started out with a smaller $10 unit from HF. It would only pump the fluid up about 3 foot. So that's where I had the bucket. I recently switched it for a larger $25 home depot pond pump. I had to put in a "T" section with a valve to bleed off some fluid and lower the pressure as I had already set the pump on minimum. With the bucket on the floor the pump is lifting the coolant up about 4 1/2 to 5 feet and it is rated for 6 foot. The coolant I'm using is about 3/5 water so I'd think the weights would be in the ballpark. I also wrapped the pump up in a red shop rag and zip tied it in place. That, along with a big magnet should help keep most of the chips out of the pump.
 
#10 ·
The large diameter of the tube is not important. It could be a swimming pool above it. The only thing that matters is "Head Pressure" that is the height of the surface of the collection buckets fluid and the outlet of the tubes height. (yes you have to consider the highest point of the tube but only until the fluid passes it and then that portion is in effect a siphon).

Get a bugger pump.
 
#11 · (Edited)
What are you guys using in the winter to prevent freezing of the coolant? My unheated barn stays about 10 degrees warmer than outside, but for the most part it is still below 32 degrees in there most of the winter.


I ended up getting some of the Sierra brand pet safe antifreeze. So far except for a greenish hue to the coolant it seems to act the same as just the coolant/water mix. I'll have to wait till it's below zero to see how it reacts or if the oils separate or not.
 
#12 ·
I do ok with synthetic oil in it until about 28*f. Last winter I used a metal pail and the smallest aquarium heater they had at wally world. If I was going to be in the shop for a few days work I would leave the cheapo heater on. If not I would pull it fearing the ice would crush it.
sometimes my problem was slush in the impeller. Generally once you get to machining the heat pulled from the operation warms the coolant right up.
 
#13 ·
I do have an aquarium heater that I could use, but I figured if I just heated the coolant a little that it could still freeze on the machine if it was cold enough. When it's much colder than 15* (in the barn) you have to run the machines a while to let them warm up otherwise you lose quite a bit of power/speed. Your breath will also condense on the machine as frost. I really need to wall off my shop and heat it even if only to 45 degrees or so. Thanks VZ58 for all your help with my drill/mill over the years.
 
#14 ·
Just an update on the flood coolant. The Sierra pet safe antifreeze works great, and as a side benefit it keeps the coolant from getting funky from stuff growing in it. I had to add more antifreeze when it was below zero this winter but I'm still running the same coolant (add water from time to time due to evaporation) for almost 2 years now. Still not stinky, although it has a layer of oil in the sump and it looks darker than when it was new. I'll probably change it out this summer.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top