Removal of stinky coolant

Due neglect and mismanagement, the coolant in my lathe finally went bad after several months in the sump. I have to add here that I have all ingredients for setting up both the skimmer, as well as aerator, to run on two timers, something that I plan on doing soon. But as of now, I want to make sure that I properly remove old coolant.

As far as I understand, I should try to really get rid of the harmful bacterias that live in the present coolant. I have a easy to use water pump that I can use for this purpose.

So my plan was, pump out the coolant, rince the sump a couple of times with just hot water with some Simple Green, then put water with bleach for an hour, and rinse some more. Would that seem to be a good plan?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31261
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Exactly what I did. After I learned my lesson, never had trouble again. FWIW, I run the skimmer and aerator just 1/2 hour a day when not in use.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

There are antibacterial additives available to kiil off the existing bacteria in your coolant. I would recommend you call the manufacturer of the coolant and see what they recommend.

John

Reply to
john

Exactly my plan. First run skimmer for 1/2 hour, then aerator for 1/2 hour.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31261

You really need to wash off the machine to, because you could have bacteria laying in pockets of the machine waiting for fresh coolant to revive them. At work they clean all the machine surfaces with disinfectant before adding new coolant.

Richard W.

Reply to
Richard W.

I would just pour in a couple of buckets of doluted bleach and can run the pump for a few minutes with it. Would that work?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31261

Bacteria that live on bleach are not uncommon. You really ought to use both a anti-bacterial agent and fungicide inside and out. Antibacterial soap is everywhere. Check a pool supplu house for the fungicide. They will have something and DO wash the entire machine and then rinse it well.

JC

Reply to
John R. Carroll

Can't you get synthetic coolant for that and avoid the problem all together? When I set up my surface grinder several years ago, I went to an industrial lubricant and solvent company and they sold me some stuff that never goes "bad". It cost $135 for a 5 gallon pail 10 or 15 years ago) and I dilute it 32:1, using a 15 gallon tank.

My brother worked at Gardner Machine for many years and he used to tell about how bad the place smelled every Monday morning, and I didn't want that in my shop.

Pete Stanaitis

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Ignoramus31261 wrote:

Reply to
spaco

Or you could run cutting oil and be done with the hassle, as I advised a few months ago. I made the same mistake many years ago, switched and haven't regretted it since. The fact is that as a hobby machine, we simply don't use the machine enough to prevent this from occurring with soluable oil. If you do not have a drain petcock on the bottom of the tank, you should install one once the machine is cleaned. Steve

Reply to
Steve Lusardi

I will call some places to find out where I can buy it. It would be great indeed.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus31261

I would say Steve, maybe I will learn a thing or two from using soluble coolant, plus the splash from it on the floor is not as bad as it would be with straight oil.

That said, I remain open to changing my mind.

Would hydraulic fluid, perhaps, be a suitable substitute? I have two sealed buckets of it at the moment, hence the question.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus31261

The coolant can get splashed all over while cutting. So if you just run the pump you may not get into all the nooks and crannies on your machine. At work they have a specially built pump and wand to spray the disinfectant around and scrub the really dirty spots. Then they rinse everything out.

Richard W.

Reply to
Richard W.

Reply to
Steve Lusardi

Nothing wrong with cleaning, but everybody is just scaring you. These guys are anaerobic, won't live long in an O2 rich area like a machine surface. Keep the oil film off the top of the sump and give the coolant a bit of O2 daily, you won't have trouble again.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

Igor,

I've been using Hangsterfer S500 for a couple of years now and the first batch is still odor free and I've never aerated it. It's sitting in a bucket, gradually evaporating the water off before disposal. I use it at

5% - I can give you a sample if you need enough to make up 5-gal or so of diluted coolant. The stuff costs around $125 for 5 gallons so it's a good idea to make sure you like it before you buy.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Henry

Mike, I am just about done pumping out the coolant, rinsing, rinsing with Clorox, rinsing several times more etc. After another hour or so, the lathe would be clean and totally dry inside and out.

So I am interested in getting something that would hold up for a few years. I do not really mind paying a fair price for a gallon of concentrate if it really is as good. Let me know and I can stop by with some cash in hand to get that Hangsterfer stuff, a gallon or however much you can sell.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus11970

Be sure to rinse well; chlorine bleach causes rust.

Reply to
whit3rd

It would've been far less effort to accept that home shop machines don't need coolant systems, when some others were advising you earlier.

If you're destroying an excessive number of cutting tools because of cutting heat problems, then you might need a coolant system.

If you're experiencing part dimension tolerance problems due to heat generated in the workpieces, then you might need a coolant system.

Instead, you probably want a coolant system just because you want your lathe to look like a real industrial machine (might be worth more at resale if the uninformed buyer thinks he needs a coolant system). Any sensible prospective buyer should be more interested in how the machine has been lubricated during it's past usage.

Actually, all you're doing is wasting your time. Any brush-on or dribble method of cutting tool lubricant (not coolant) would be adequate for any normal lathe operation, for most home shop machines.

If you had read any of the related posts WRT the purpose of coolant systems, and posts concerning what lathe owners do as far as applying cutting tool lubricant (not coolant), you might be able to realize how useless a coolant system is on a home shop lathe.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

True indeed. Run a fish pump an hour or day with a decent stone on it and ou will be golden.

Gunner, machine tool mechanic. "Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water,in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn't worry about what workout to do--- his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn't care 'how hard it is'; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn't go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the 'Cause.' Now, who wants to quit?"

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates

Reply to
Gunner Asch

Wild Bill, I tried cutting identical 12L14 steel rods with and without coolant. The finish quality was much better with coolant.

I also bored a pulley, something I coubt I could do without coolant due to a tiny cutting tool tip that would otherwise overheat.

The coolant also does a superb job at not letting the lathe rust in garage conditions.

I do want my lathe to look like an industrial machine and I do not feel that it is wrong. I had this coolant in the lathe since January and it lasted pretty much until now despite some neglect.

The question of what cutting fluid to use is a very good one and I do not make any claims about what is best. But as of now I have no doubts that the ability to use coolant is very helpful.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus11970

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