Thread: El cheapo coolant removal pump

Can you seal the coolant tanks to be air tight ?

If so a length of hose and compressed air might be a cheap and quick alternative to a pump.

Hi

A portable boat bilge pump might work , they run off 12 volts . They sit on the floor of small boats .

A boat place will sell them .

I found one at the op shop for 5 bucks . I've never used it .

Mike

Originally Posted by BobL

Can you seal the coolant tanks to be air tight ?

No Bob, the lathe coolant pump sits in a recess of the casting that forms the leg/base unit. Its in a damm inconvenient spot accessed by removing a plate.Its too open to seal.

I wanted to avoid air and suction as the students when unsupervised for a nano-second will blow it all over the place.

I can pump most of the coolant with the lathe pump and the rest is about 5 litres in volume.

No one before me has thought about replacing coolant and one lathe burnt out the pump as it got too thick to pump.

The kids don't give a stuff about the coolant and just keep topping it up.the coolant has lost its biocide by dilution,age and evaporation and needs replacement..

Grahame

Would an aquarium syphon pump work - see photo and cost under $3 including postage

I have an external tank that sits on the floor so I can't syphon it all out. Too lazy to disconnect all the pumbing and drain upside down so I fill the tank with water a couple of times to dilute what is in there and use the coolant pump to drain it. Not perfect but is better than nothing.

You could also look at the cheap submersible pond pumps if the opening is large enough to lower one in.

Grahame,
I've seen one like this LION PRODUCTS DRILL POWERED SIPHON PUMP | eBay used before a similar application. This seems to be the only cheap one in aus on ebay, but i'm sure i've seen them somewhere else, maybe Bunnings or Supercheap Auto?

Ewan

The cheap pond pumps work good and if they get stopped by something they don't burn out. You can pick them up from about $10 up depending on the flow and head hight, but just a cheap one should do your job. If it's to thick you could just fill it with water while your siphoning it out to help.
Also they are small so once you put a piece of tubing on it you could just throw it in and it will be close to the bottom of the tank to get almost all of it out.

If you do happen to find the siphon pump made from a car oil pump, I would also be interested in it.

Dave

Talk to your local karting shop. They should sell a pump designed to extract the old fuel from the kart tank, it's battery powered with a leg about 1.5' long. The pump pickup is at the base of the leg and the outlet is at the top, it fits through a fuel filler that's about 1.25" diameter.

This would give you access into the base of the coolant area.

I can post a photo later today if interested.

Rgds - Gavin

Thanks guys for the suggestions I shall follow them up.
The problem revolves around access as the sump is below floor level and the access between the lathe coolant pump and the sides of the sump are around the 1.5" mark.I had already tried a drum pump I picked up at the recyclers but its not totally effective as the height is quite low and does not allow the angle to pump all the coolant out.

The siphon pump is probably the most cost effective.

The squeeze hand pump I know cost almost nix but these kids can break industrial strength equipment, so unfortunately the the little hand pump wouldn't last long in their hands.

When I come up with the finished product,I shall post it

Grahame

What about a car power steering pump i have used those with success to pump water it wont last for ever but they can be had reasonably cheaply.

What would suit this type of application is an air vacumn pump,will suck most anything out of sumps.

how much coolant is the to remove. bail it out.

just get a 59 dollar wet and dry shed vac suck it out in seconds thats all i do
bunnings sell em

What would suit this type of application is an air vacumn pump,will suck most anything out of sumps.

Recon Pipeclay has it sussed. This type of pump is used to suck gunk outta people. The only time I have seen have any trouble is if the numbty administrating the suction lets the canister overfill, which of course sends the crap thru the vanes of the pump itself.

This of course could well be terminal with bitsa of metal going thru the pump. With the former it was usually a case of rock/paper/scissors to see who the poor bugger was who had to drain the oil and check out the pump.