Thread: Replacement submersible oil pump for EDM sinker

Originally Posted by j.ashburn

Used a 12v bilge pump for years to pump out vehicle servicing pit pit was 6 ft deep and 20 ft long would make 1 ft water 24 hrs. used to pump out in about half an hour. good volume raising 6ft not much pressure and was about 50 dollars from memory i rented that shop.the landlord near peed his pants when he saw it cos they used to get down there in gum boots and fill buckets with a large square mouth shovel. Stuff That.He was there 47 yrs before me. just jack hammered a small sump 1 end put an ice cream cont and sat pump in. it lasted over 6 yrs bought a second pump but left the garage not long after. 0.02 worth.

I thought of one of these but you did not like the idea of 12 volts LOL. Good luck and hope it works okay.

Dean

Maybe the ex Ballarat Potteries unit is not really an EDM machine. They are also "Metal Destructors" which are specially made for removing broken drills and taps etc. I'm not sure what the difference is, I imagine the "destructor" is higher power with simplified controls. An EDM die sinker is often used for tap removal, but that's not its primary purpose.

I've seen "destructors" used on Youtube (look for "tap removal"), what I've seen looks like an EDM head mounted in a radial arm drill like device. Big enough to take big castings, engine blocks and so on, but with precise x,y positioning, good enough so you can remove the tap body leaving the flutes to be picked out by hand.

Re electrolye - The destructors seem to use a water based electrolyte, cheaper I guess, and not so big a problem if you lose a bit. EDM sinkers generally use a petroleum based electrolyte, a hard to ignite oil, originally kero was used, but that has been replaced by friendler, safer oils (now synthetic oils too) - kero is still used in the third world apparently, it works well, is cheap, but stinks, can be unfriendly to the operator and is more likely to catch fire is the fluid level gets too low

There's a bit of info online (Google EDM Technologies Inc. as a starting point)

Originally Posted by Oldneweng

I thought of one of these but you did not like the idea of 12 volts LOL. Good luck and hope it works okay.

Dean

In those days 240 v submersible pumps were astronomic in price why I went with the 12v and safety.240 units thanks to the far east imports have made them cheaper.

The round to it plate was a celebratory product made by Bendigo Pottery as am sure was their centenary. The plate of course being round is inscribed ''a round to it'' all one word.My sister thought it was an appropriate gift as I always have some thing here to do when I get round to it