Need suggestion for flood coolants

[Mirage_Man]

I'm getting ready to get my coolant system going on my mill. I'm also going to break down and start using the coolant system on my lathe. In the past I used Trim E206 on my South Bend in a flood set up. I still have that system and plan on using it with the mill. I guess what I'm really asking is does anyone have recommendations for coolants that work with aluminum as well as titanium and that are good rust inhibitors? Is the Trim E206 as good as any or are there better choices?

 

[precisionworks]

A phone call (during the week) to J&L or MSC will get you in contact with Tech Services. If they get stumped, they'll get a coolant manufacturer on the phone with you. The tech people at the coolant companies live & breathe this stuff, and know it inside out. My guess is that they may suggest different products for Ti and for Al, and the two metals have such vastly different properties ... but they may have one coolant that's suitable for both.

I prefer synthetics, because they never go rancid. But some full synthetics don't transfer heat quite as well as other combinations, and heat transfer is a major issue in machining Ti . The factory will know what you need.

 

[Mirage_Man]

A phone call (during the week) to J&L or MSC will get you in contact with Tech Services. If they get stumped, they'll get a coolant manufacturer on the phone with you. The tech people at the coolant companies live & breathe this stuff, and know it inside out. My guess is that they may suggest different products for Ti and for Al, and the two metals have such vastly different properties ... but they may have one coolant that's suitable for both.

I prefer synthetics, because they never go rancid. But some full synthetics don't transfer heat quite as well as other combinations, and heat transfer is a major issue in machining Ti . The factory will know what you need.

Back when I originally set up the flood on the South Bend I spoke with a tech at Master Chemical. He was the one that recommended E206 for ti and aluminum. I was just curious what else might work and if there were better alternatives.

 

[Rothrandir]

I cut both aluminum and titanium (and just about everything else) with E206 in a production setting and am very pleased with it all around. I suppose this doesn't answer your question of what is "best", but it is another nod towards the stuff.

Trim, Blaser, and Hangsterfers(sp?) are 3 brands of coolants that seemed to come pretty highly recommended when I was doing the research a while back. You probably couldn't go wrong with any of them.

 

[LEDobsession]

I work in a large machine shop in Logan, Utah and we use a brand called "Hocut". We cut aluminum, titanium, steel, stainless, al-bronze, brass, inkonel, many different plastics, and many others I cant think of off the top of my head on a daily basis, and use Hocut for all of them with awesome cooling and lubrication. I dont like it when its old because it smells funky but it sure cuts good.

 

[LukeA]

I work in a large machine shop in Logan, Utah and we use a brand called "Hocut". We cut aluminum, titanium, steel, stainless, al-bronze, brass, inkonel, many different plastics, and many others I cant think of off the top of my head on a daily basis, and use Hocut for all of them with awesome cooling and lubrication. I dont like it when its old because it smells funky but it sure cuts good.

Needs aerated.

 

[Rothrandir]

Needs aerated.

I've got a fish bubbler hidden in the back cavity of my lathe, and the tubing runs down and into the coolant tank. It really does work wonders.

 

[Mirage_Man]

I've got a fish bubbler hidden in the back cavity of my lathe, and the tubing runs down and into the coolant tank. It really does work wonders.

Yeah, I was reading about that. My new lathe has a trough the coolant sits in on the back side of the lathe near the floor. It's top is wide open which I thought was sorta strange. I wonder if I should make some sort of lid to cover it up? I'm not worried about chips but it seems like evaproration might be a problem?

Here's a few pics... When I took the first pic I noticed there was still a good amount of cosmoline down in there, yuck!

So I busted out the WD-40 and a few rags and ended up with this.

I must admit it was a little unnerving to crawl back there to clean it out. The machine sits up on 4x 4.5" tall and 4.5" diameter steel blocks. I couldn't help but think how dead I'd be if it were to fall on me.

 

[Rothrandir]

Yeah, I was reading about that. My new lathe has a trough the coolant sits in on the back side of the lathe near the floor. It's top is wide open which I thought was sorta strange. I wonder if I should make some sort of lid to cover it up? I'm not worried about chips but it seems like evaproration might be a problem?

I wouldn't be too worried about evaporation, but a cover would definitely be a good idea. Any foreign material in the coolant (especially particulate like dust and small chips) can be a great breeding ground for bacteria. The less foreign material in your coolant the better off you'll be.

 

[65535]

Not to mention smalls chips can ruin a pump.

 

[precisionworks]

it seems like evaproration might be a problem?

Full synthetics evaporate much quicker than water soluble oils, but they never go rancid. The water soluble oils get really stinky awfully fast.

Way back when, at a time when machinists had a warped sense of humor, some would spit their chewing tobacco into a newbie's coolant sump. If no one was looking, other liquids could be quickly added They say that some of those odors were pretty ripe.

 

[smokin_arkie]

We used Hangsterfer's coolant in my shop and it worked well and lasted a long time before going bad. It was also easy on the hands which isn't true with a lot of other cheaper coolants.

Haven't had much experience with others but I was happy with Hangsterfers.

Smokin_arkie

 

[LukeA]

Not to mention smalls chips can ruin a pump.

or at least clog the filter faster.

 

[cmacclel]

Not to mention smalls chips can ruin a pump.

Small chips are unavoidable. My screen has 1/8th holes so I'm sure there are tons of little chips in the tank.

The E206 I'm using still smells like the day I mixed it up and it only gets used once every couple of weeks. Today I actually has to add a couple gallons due to evaporation.

BTW I hate coolant Freeking mess. Take me 30 minutes to wipe the machine down afterwards and it's no fun climbing in either Ya Ya I know I'm ANAL!

I mix the E206 at 8-10% as I'm scared of rust! thanks to TB!

Mac