[zerodegreec]

I mostly mill 6061, Some Mild steel and Brass. As a hobby I don't imagine I will use copious quantity's. A local supplier has Oemeta and recommended the Novamet 900 But at $155 CDN for a 5gal pail it seems very spendy! Especially when considering it will have a "shelf life" of ~1yr and the quantity that 5gal of concentrate will make at 5%!

SO what are my options? What is a good brand to check out? Should I stay away from anything with Boron in it (illegal in allot of places already from what I understand).

Thanks in advance.

[gd.marsh]

I've been using Tormach's 'Premier 600' for a while and am really liking it. I did finally purchase an inexpensive refractometer to maintain the proper mix ratio & it is paying for itself in saved coolant. I was in the habit of mixing up another batch of coolant to top off the tank as it evaporated down, but with the refractometer I've discovered the only thing that seems to evaporate is the water. Now as the tank gets low I can usually just add more water to bring the level of total liquid & the mix ratio right back to where it needs to be.

[Stigoe]

If you look at Hoss' webpage, you will find that he is using Syn-Kool and has been very happy with it for years.

[hoss2006]

I was just about to say that, thanks Stig.
It's really good stuff, no odor at all, very safe and effective.
http://www.hossmachine.info/Shop_Info.html#msds
I've had skin reactions with other types over the years at work but no problems with Syn-kool.
Hoss

[zerodegreec]

What concentration do you mix for flood coolant Hoss? How do you maintain the %? Refractometer or Ph tests?

[hoss2006]

I run about 4-5% with my cheap Shars refractometer.
I should grab my hottub test strips to see what the ph is, they recommend 8.4 for 10%.
Hoss