[eficonnection]

I've been having problems with the PCNC 1100 coolant pump since purchased new several months ago. If I don't run the coolant pump every few days, the shaft sticks. The pump must be removed, the shaft manually rotated (using pliers), and then reinstalled for use. I thought maybe the coolant:water ratio was off, but I followed the recommendations on the bottle.

Is anyone else having problems like this with the coolant pump?

[thefu]

wonder if switching coolant would be a good idea?

[eficonnection]

I'll try that next. Thanks

[shred]

My elderly pump does that and it's pretty annoying. I just pull it partway out of the tank and give it a twist.

[Jeff E.]

I've had the same problem. You can actually access the shaft without removing the pump - you can get a pair of pliers on the shaft just below the motor. It appears that I may have finally solved this problem by coating the bottom of the impeller with anti seize lub. 5 months and counting - worth a try.

[MetalShavings]

The coolant pump on my 770 finally gave up the ghost after several weeks of displaying those very symptoms.

Since I didn't have the spare change to buy another pump I went down to my local Home Depot and bought a sixteen-dollar Evaporative-Cooler-Pump to get me by.

I cut the legs and impeller shaft in half and added enough length to the plastic legs to reach down to the bottom of my coolant tank and extended the length of the shaft to do the same.

To keep the impeller spinning true I milled and installed a micro-ball-bearing holder near the bottom of the impeller shaft.

I've been using it on-and-off for three weeks now with absolutely no problems.

I used some aluminum flat bar to lengthen the plastic legs on the pump housing. For the impeller shaft I used a short length of 3/16" metal rod. I happened to have that metal laying around so it didn't cost me anything.

I think the hole project cost me under twenty-bucks and a couple of hours to fit it all together.

In the end I got a reliable and inexpensive new coolant pump.

Incidentally; my coolant Tank is a large Tupperware style plastic container.

When I first went about looking to buy a coolant setup the cheapest one I could find at the time was about $175.00 plus shipping. With that in mind, I think I did pretty good. That twenty-bucks went a long way.

MetalShavings

[SCzEngrgGroup]

An inexpensive sump pump, available from any hardware store or home center, also makes a perfectly good coolant pump. I've got two that cost me under $50 each.

Regards,
Ray L.

[Dsmed]

I've been having problems with the PCNC 1100 coolant pump since purchased new several months ago. If I don't run the coolant pump every few days, the shaft sticks. The pump must be removed, the shaft manually rotated (using pliers), and then reinstalled for use. I thought maybe the coolant:water ratio was off, but I followed the recommendations on the bottle.

Is anyone else having problems like this with the coolant pump?

My pump stated having the same issues. Machine is about 3 months old now. If I dont run the pump for about 4 days it won't run unless I take it out and give it a spin with some pliers. Gonna give Tormach a call tomorrow and see what they say about it.

[tbaker2500]

Yea, it's a common problem.
Recently, my pump had a bearing fail for the second time. (When cleaning out the coolant box, don't leave the pump upside down. Coolant runs down the shaft into the bearings.)

I've never been happy with the lack of power on the coolant pump. Went to Menards, bought a $50 1/4HP sump pump designed for continuous operation. WOW does that thing have power!!!! I love it. No more recutting chips, even on deep pockets. I'm really putting that shower curtain to good use.

[B-RAD]

A simple capacitor on the pump will fix the issue.... But if bearings are your issue, then better bearings or better coolant is your fix...

[sperman]

Add 1 more to the list of users. With this problem. My machine was purchased in the spring, which seems to be a common variable.

[Jeff E.]

I've had the same problem. You can actually access the shaft without removing the pump - you can get a pair of pliers on the shaft just below the motor. It appears that I may have finally solved this problem by coating the bottom of the impeller with anti seize lub. 5 months and counting - worth a try.

Just to clarify my statement. My problem has never been bearing related - but was always a sludge build up under the impeller - the longer the machine sat idle the more the sludge adhered to the bottom of impeller and would stall the pump from starting up. I would spin it with a pair of pliers and it would work for a day or so - I would disassemble the pump clean out the sludge and away it would go for a longer period but would always reoccur. By coating the bottom of the impeller with standard automotive anti seize lub the problem has not reoccurred.

[zephyr9900]

Went to Menards, bought a $50 1/4HP sump pump designed for continuous operation.

Which one is that, Tom? I don't see anything on the Menards website that quite matches your description. (The nearest Menards is the better part of 400 miles north of here...)

Thank you,

Randy

[sperman]

I coated mine with Anti-Sieze yesterday. It had been sitting for a few weeks and was locked up with a crystaline type sludge. We'll see how it does.

[tbaker2500]

Which one is that, Tom? I don't see anything on the Menards website that quite matches your description. (The nearest Menards is the better part of 400 miles north of here...)

Thank you,

Randy

I just glanced at their website, and it's not there. Must've been an in-store special. I can look up the exact model if you want when I get back into work.
It's a multi-purpose pump, rated for waterfalls etc. No float switch. But honestly I would go with something a little smaller. That puts out a LOT of water. Even with two nozzles the flow had to be cut down.
I'll look up and see how many GPH it is.

[zephyr9900]

I can look up the exact model if you want when I get back into work.

Thank you, Tom. I appreciate it. My stock pump shaft doesn't freeze, but the pump goes through periods of not pumping when I turn it on. Repeated on-off cycling will usually get it to "prime" but by then my cut has been going flushless for a while.

(Assuming that your pump is a submersible) I'd rather go with a pump that is proven to work down in the coolant and tramp oil glop and all that accumulates in the sump than to just pick something out of a catalog and hope.

Randy

[tbaker2500]

It's made by Decko Products. It's called a Barracuda Submersible Utility Pump, model 91250. It's 1/4 HP, Continuous Duty. It'll handle solids up to 1/8".
At 0' rise, it will do 25GPM. 5', 22GPM.

I throttle it back to about half power. If you run the standard coolant collection tray and box, it will have trouble keeping up with this throughput. I've modified my setup so the water dumps out of a slot I cut in the side of the tray, down a ramp into a bigger collant tank (storage box). So much easier to clean and maintain.

[zephyr9900]

Thank you for the information, Tom. It turns out that Menards does show it on their website. I use a homemade sump (there's a picture in this post) that holds about 11 gallons. The strainer usually sits on the return sub-tank, which pokes up through a hole in the removable half of the sump lid.

Randy

[gjvander]

I throttle it back to about half power. If you run the standard coolant collection tray and box, it will have trouble keeping up with this throughput. I've modified my setup so the water dumps out of a slot I cut in the side of the tray, down a ramp into a bigger collant tank (storage box). So much easier to clean and maintain.

Would you mind posting a picture of your coolant tank setup? I am keen on 'easier'...

Geo

[tbaker2500]

My setup ain't nearly so nice. Any small chips that make it through the main screen just get re-pumped. I'll post pics/video of flow rate in a few days.