Thread: Need ideas for a separate coolant system

Hi Retromilling below is a picture I picked up on the net somewhere. I am making my coolant tray for the mill and lathe out of some thin sheet aluminium I picked up for free. That way I can pick up the metal chips off the tray with my magnetic pickup tool. The standard coolant storage/set up on these mills is not very good expecially for cleaning. I think other than a fine screen before the pump you are asking for trouble as in blockages. When you decide on design of a tray you are welcome to use my 4ft folder to make it. There are plenty of different plastic containers around to use for the main tank also I found that a fish tank air pump worked well for keeping the coolant from going off and it cost next to nothing to run.
Dave

I have a few ideas in my head because Ive been thinking about a coolant set up for my mill .
I have two submersible pumps from ice making machines one is completely submersible and the other is very similar to the type in the picture shown in the other post .The motor is above the tank lid and the impeller is on an exteded shaft submerged in the tank.
I also have a fish pond pump which maybe ok.
The plan is to get one of those plastic boxes from the two dollar shop and use that for a tank .I recall seeing some with castor wheels in the bottoms.
I have to make a tray for under my milling vice so the coolant stays up on the machine table and will drain down the tee slots to the ends of the table where there is a coolant catch tray.I plan to drill and tap the bottom of these trays to attach a drain hose back to the tank.
I use soluble oil ,so I'm not sure if that will affect the plastic of the box and the pumps.
A small relief valve can be made with a brass tee piece , a ball bearing and a spring for draining off the excess coolant if the tap is partially closed. The pumps I have are not fully closed around the impellers so I think that closing the valve down to restrict the flow will not cause any problems.

On my power hacksaw I have a bronze gear pump for the coolant and I close the valve down to restrict the coolant on small jobs and I haven't noticed any excess pressure or leaks.But the gears in the pump are fairly worn so it probably by passes to some extent.
I made a strainer to filter out the swarf on my power hacksaw ,from a 3/4 brass fitting and some fine stainless mesh (maybe too fine as the coolant takes a bit of time to drain from the tray to the tank underneath ) .The coolant tank of the hacksaw has a weir set up in the side that the coolant drains into so swarf can get into the side where the pump draws from.

Kev.

Originally Posted by Woodlee

The plan is to get one of those plastic boxes from the two dollar shop and use that for a tank .I recall seeing some with castor wheels in the bottoms.
Kev.

Kev
I was thinking on similar lines but a suggestion I'd make is make a frame with casters from angle for the tank to sit on. I have a few different plastic tubs etc and the cheap ones are exactly that. cheap. I don't think the ones with wheels would be strong enough to take the weight of the coolant on the casters.

bollie7

I havent checked the boxes out at the two dollar shop , but at work we have heavy duty plastic boxes ,similar to a butchers meat box .
I have used one for a tank for removing paint with caustic soda and the box is still good ,but holds about 40-45 litres ,which is a bit bigger than I wanted as space is getting short.
Ill keep looking for a box of around 20 litres or maybe one of those white plastic 25 litre buckets.

Kev.

Theres some good ideas here , thanks for the kind offer Dave I might get you to help me a bit later with a new catch tray . I want a system that the pump runs continually while you need coolant and as a result you can use a higher pressure pump than a normal coolant pump . This gives the ability to filter the coolant in the constant cycIe and you just tap off the amount you want to the cutting process. It also airates by having the outlet of the pump above the coolant level so some splashing goes on.
A closeable vent well above the coolant level allows new air in and can be sealed when not in use. Was thinking this motor and pump setup from ebay might do, what do you think?
Have looked at some plastic drums but nothing grabs me yet. I was thinking a drum with a clip on band type lid so it can be removed for cleaning the drum while pipes are attached. A 20 liter paint drum might work but I think its a bit small.

My back got jack of lifting a drum of coolant onto the mill head and removed the coolant pump and tank from the lathe . Then wired it to the cable of the mills coolant pump and hey presto it works fine. Both motors are a similar wattage so its no big deal. Did some creative plumbing and my back is much happier now.
This gives me an idea. I could wire both coolant pump cables to a plug on each machine and that would make the pump I have portable. Might do for a while until I get a new tank system.

I used a Holden Gemini fuel pump wired to a Dick Smith transformer: ample pressure and will run all day long if needed.

You will need a bypass tap to slow down the flow when required, the bypass tap also aerates the oil.