[takewhatyoulike]

This afternoon the coolant system clogged up right in the middle of a job. This is the second time this has happened. The cause was the same as before: the stock paint in the tray and coolant tank had dissolved and formed a plastic like film which clogs the pump. The paint on the stock steel coolant tank and tray are really crap. This time I am scraping what loose paint I can get off and have applied Strypeeze a paint remover to the inside of the coolant tank and inside of tray. I would rather leave the steel bare than have that crap paint that’s on it. The idea that has been shown on this list of using a plastic coolant tank is looking very appealing right now.

Don Clement

[SCzEngrgGroup]

The coolant system on both of my machines is an $8 14 gallon Rubbermaid storage container, a $30 Harbor-Freight 1000 GPH sump pump, and a pair of 1/4" LocLine nozzles. This combination works FAR better than the two "professional" coolant systems (one of which cost almost $400 from MSC) - FAR more flow, and FAR more pressure. I just removed the entire "factory" coolant system from my new mill, and replaced it with the above - a HUGE improvement in all respects, for barely $50 total cost.

Regards,
Ray L.

[takewhatyoulike]

The coolant system on both of my machines is an $8 14 gallon Rubbermaid storage container, a $30 Harbor-Freight 1000 GPH sump pump, and a pair of 1/4" LocLine nozzles. This combination works FAR better than the two "professional" coolant systems (one of which cost almost $400 from MSC) - FAR more flow, and FAR more pressure. I just removed the entire "factory" coolant system from my new mill, and replaced it with the above - a HUGE improvement in all respects, for barely $50 total cost.

Regards,
Ray L.

Thanks Ray. I am now seriously considering the Rubbermaid approach with the larger capacity PLASTIC tub. The stock pump has worked OK for six years; however more pressure can’t hurt either. In addition I would house the Rubbermaid tub beside my Tormach and could easily see the coolant level. Do you know the P/N for the HF 1K GPH pump? I still have a pair of 1/4" LocLine nozzles that I had tried on my Tormach but went back to the stock single nozzle because the stock pump wasn't powerful enough.

Don Clement

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Everything you need is here:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/novako..._upgrades.html

Regards,
Ray L.

[takewhatyoulike]

Ray,

Looks good. Thanks

Don Clement

[BAMCNC.COM]

What coolant is dissolving the paint?

[takewhatyoulike]

What coolant is dissolving the paint?

The two coolants I have used are Mobilmet S122 and ValCool VP650. BTW the paint on my Kurt D688 vise that has been exposed to the same coolant shows no effect.

BTW I just got the HF pump and CLEAR (so I can see the coolant level without level gage)Rubbermaid 66 quart. http://tinyurl.com/c2uvu3b Will try them out tomorrow.

Don Clement

[takewhatyoulike]

I finished installing the new external transparent 16.5 gallon coolant tank with HF submersible pump on my Tormach. Works great! Thanks Ray.

No real modifications (e.g. drilling holes) to the Tormach were necessary. The minor modifications I did were to remove the door (shown against the wall), remove the stock tank and pump, cut the wiring to the stock pump and wire a 120VAC receptacle (shown above the door), add a rubber elbow to the drain and even reused the stock clear plastic drain tube at the end of the rubber elbow. Total cost was less than $50. The 120VAC receptacle and the rubber elbow were from my plumbing and electrical scrap pile. BTW Harbor Freight was not stocking these 1200 GPH submersible pumps on the shelf but had five units in the back.

Some really nice things about this set up are: transparent tank makes it easy to see coolant level, easy access for skimming tramp oil, no paint on the plastic tank, and just plain easy access.

Don Clement

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Don,

Looks good. Now look at my thread on the Novakon forum, to see what I did today to improve return flow, and chip separation.

Regards,
Ray L.

[takewhatyoulike]

I never have had any trouble with return flow or chip filtering with my Tormach. In fact there was no need to modify the Tormach for that in any way.The main issue for me on the Tormach was the bad paint inside the stock coolant tank. IMO Tormach did a good job with their original drain filter.

Don Clement

[takewhatyoulike]

Speaking of the Tormach chip filter, I noticed today that the fine mesh screen had pulled away from the screws that clamped it in place. I disassembled the chip filter and removed the fine mesh screen. I determined that the six M5 screws holding the fine mesh screen had loosened in six years of use. I replaced the six M5 screws and added six more using #10 SHCSs. I also added lock washers and #10 nuts (the original M5 screws were just in tapped holes in the sheet metal) so that I could really torque down the twelve #10 SHCSs to hold the fine mesh screen much better than the original. I also reused the original fine mesh screen which held up well after six years of use only needed to be reclamped.
Note the appearance of the paint which is the same as the coolant tank and tray. I wire brushed the loose paint but did not repaint as coolant solution keeps the bare metal from rusting. The fine mesh screen appears to SS.

Don Clement

[zephyr9900]

I silicone-caulked my chip filter frame in place in the drip tray in June 2007 and have had no problem with it. At the same time I installed a piece of welded wire cloth to mechanically back it up. Most of the time I just scoop chips off it with a plastic putty knife, and every once in a while I vacuum the smallest dust out of the pores with the shop vac.

Randy

[nitewatchman]

I like the hardware cloth, doing it today.

nitewatchman

[takewhatyoulike]

Randy,

I do the same thing in not removing the chip tray and use a vacuum to remove the chips. So I will probably RTV the chip tray in like you did. When I disassembled the chip tray, the fine mesh wire screen itself looked pretty tough in not ripping from six years of using the vacuum to remove chips. The thing was that there were only six M5 Philips-head screws in shallow tapped holes into the sheet metal to hold the fine meshed screen. What I observed was that the fine meshed screen was not held adequately enough by the six M5 Philips-head screws. I drilled six more holes in between the existing six holes, replaced the six M5 Philips-head screws with #10 SHCSs and added six more #10 SHCSs for a total of twelve. BTW M5 and #10 screws are pretty close in size however there were plenty of #10 SHCSs on hand so that’s what was used. I then added lock washers and #10 nuts to each #10 SHCS so that adequate torque could be applied in order that the fine mesh screen would be firmly held in place and not pull away when vacuuming out the chips. Looks good so far but then time and usage will prove if I got it right.

Once again the Tormach basic design is excellent.

Don Clement

[MFchief]

I like Randy's hardware cloth idea, I once had a clamp support block tumble off the table, it pulled the mesh screen loose from the clamping screws. Luckily, it didn't tear and I was able to re-clamp it.

Terry

[eltejano]

Probably what i will do when i get mine. Dont like the whole coolant under the cabinet thing. Plus as stated above, i would really like the easy access for skimming.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

What does the Tormach have for a drain filter?

Regards,
Ray L.

[takewhatyoulike]

The Tormach has a fine mesh screen kind of like a ’63 VW bug oil filter. The ’63 bug air filter used motor oil similar to K&N. My Dyson vacuum uses a vortex to separate out particles from air.

Don Clement

[GJeff]

The tormach has a pretty nice drain filter, removable rectangular metal mesh. Probably 2"x5-6" or so. If only I had modified the table to divert all the water to that lovely drain before putting a giant machine on it.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

That's interesting. I would've thought a fine mesh would clog up quickly. I'm always amazed at how easily chips can form a surprisingly effective "dam", and seriously restrict flow. What is the area of the filter? Is is fairly large?

Regards,
Ray L.