Coolant system upgrades

In preparation for switching coolant from Kool-Mist 77 to Qualichem Xtreme cut 251C I cleaned out the old system and installed some upgrades while it was out.

Here is 1yr. of accumulated chips in the tank that made it past my screens. I think the pump is sucking up these chips and spitting them at my endmills causing them to be recut and chipping the flutes.
Attachment 259002

I have been using the Kroger flour sifter to great effect but there are still fine chips that make it through. I drove some self-tapping screws into the circumference of the sifters frame to hold some even finer mesh paint screen bags. I pulled the elastic off of the nearest screw to see it better. I also installed an aluminum cross beam to serve as a handle but also to better center and secure the sifter under the chip drain. This should also help keep the pinholes in the chip tray from clogging although I haven't had any problems with that after I started using the sifter.
Attachment 259004

I installed both a drain valve to empty the tank through the 1/4" ID tubing going off to the left and a remote coolant level sight gauge going off the the right. It turns out that the little dome shaped replacement faucet screens fit perfectly right over a 1/4 nut due to the big rubber ring around it. This should help keep chips out of the line. I drilled a 1/2" hole near the bottom right corner of the tan, ran my fittings though with washers, and silicone sealed it. I did that after unsuccessfully trying to compress a rubber gasket in there (it would just squish and pop out from under the washer.
Attachment 259006

Here is a better view of the coolant level sight gauge calibrated and marked from 1gal to the maximum 6gal. in 1/2gal. increments. This can be easily viewed right inside the front left door. I also ran an in-line whole house filter with 50 micron filters to keep the coolant sprayed at the tool clean and chip free. I'm just waiting on the before and after pressure gauges to get here so I can install them and finish it.
Attachment 259008

That looks nice! I have some aquarium filter media in the top pan which has increased my flow immensely. When I swapped the pump out to a 1/2 hp it would run the bin dry before more fluid could get in there because the holes were clogged up. By cleaning up the chip tray and putting in the filter media (and drilling a few 1/2" holes in the tray) I have increased the flow rate from the tray to the tub. Adding a filter would be a good idea for me, as I could use a bit more reduction in flow at this point!

The filter won't reduce it much. My pressure in is 7.5psi and pressure out is 7.4psi with the 50 micron filter.

Is anybody else in this forum any more?!

Doesn't seem like it.

Quote:

---

My pressure in is 7.5psi and pressure out is 7.4psi with the 50 micron filter.

---

Give it a few weeks(depends how often you machine stuff). The pressure will drop significantly once the filter starts trapping a lot of fine metal particles.

But otherwise, good job. This should serve well to keep the coolant free of recirculating metal particles and your pump will thank you for it with a much longer life.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mcphill

Is anybody else in this forum any more?!

---

I'm still around. Since re-working the mill and making it my own, I have been busy making chips. About the only exciting thing to happen with my mill is that I'm changing coolant from Rustlick Symcool to Castrol Syntilo 9913 in the next week or so :)

Cool let us know how it goes Pete. So far I'm impressed with the xtreme cut 251c. It kind of smells faintly like latex paint. Very pleasant compared to the smell that Kool-Mist takes on. Why are you switching coolants?

Jim, To be honest, I've really have no issues with Symcool. When mixed correctly it did it's job. All my machining is in aluminum and I heard good things about Syntilo 9913...so I figured lets give it a shot :)

Just an updated pic with everything hooked up and working great so far.

Attachment 259678

Here is the video of the upgrades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8pn-HC0ukM

I still poke my head in here on occasion. My Mikini has been idle for a couple of years with the usual failures of anything electrical. I'm about to pull the trigger on a full MachMotion retrofit kit and gut the Mikini junk. It's a good chunk of change but it would get me everything needed once and for all so I can play around with it over the winter. My machine paid for itself on the job I purchased it for so, for now, it's just for hobby purposes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SWATH

Just an updated pic with everything hooked up and working great so far.

Attachment 259678

---

Jim, How is that filter working out for you????? I just switched to Castrol Syntelo 9913 and saw a remarkable difference in the finish of the parts I make (all my work is in aluminum). I think that it's mainly due to the fact that I cleaned and purged all the old stuff out of the mill and introduced fresh clean coolant :) and I would really like to keep it that way...

I am also installing an oil skimmer...bought one used and an air bubbler ..both will be put on a timer. The jury is still out on the Syntelo, I want to see how the stuff works at preventing rust and how it reacts to paint. But so far it looks promising :)

Hey Pete,
So far it's working great. There are a lot of chips in the filter canister now but it still flows fine. I bought a large neodymium magnet to put in the coolant tank to further reduce this even though it had not really been a problem. The coolant itself is great too. This pic has more to do with the different endmill than anything but the coolant I'm sure helped.