[R.DesJardin]

I am getting leaking/dripping between the lid and the tank, coolant splashing from the pump onto the lid then dripping down the side making a big mess on the floor. Has anyone else had this trouble. I am planning on making an internal splash shield for now, I can't think of anything else to do.

[Doubleoh9]

Mine did the same thing. I put silicon on the rim...no leaks now.

Jim

[dkaustin]

I used 3/8" neoprene weather stripping from the hardware store. Makes it easier to get the lid off if I need to get into the tank.

[zephyr9900]

Guys, how is your pump splashing the lid? I don't even bolt my lid on any more, just set it in place (I installed the lid screws up from underneath the flange to act as alignment studs). I have the tank sitting on an old cake sheet pan as a precaution, but there is never any coolant in the pan. Now, leaking from the Tormach stand is another matter for me and something I've never been able to conquer. :violin:

Best regards,

Randy

[vlmarshall]

Is the coolant pump a centrifugal type, with a bolt-on bottom cover? I've seen coolant pumps (on other machines) blow the bottom seal, (or cover, or bolts) holding it on, and the pump's 'backpressure' will create a huge amount of turbulence in the tank, and throw coolant everywhere.

Just a thought.

[dkaustin]

vlmarshall-- Your post made the little light go on. On the motor shaft of the Tormach coolant pump there's a little conical plastic washer, and my guess is that it's there as a "splash deflector." Make sure it's pressed down against the top of the impeller housing, and tank turbulence should be greatly reduced.

zephyr-- I also used the hardware store weatherstripping when assembling my stand. Again, the thinking was it would make life easier if I ever needed to disassemble the stand. I did have to replace the supplied hex head screws with longer ones to accommodate the thickness of the stripping, but I have had no leaks from the stand.

[zephyr9900]

dkaustin, I went the whole route and used GE Silicone II caulking when assembling the coolant trays to the stand, the backsplashes to the trays, and even caulked in the chip screen. It was a lot of trouble to remove the backsplashes when I built the new enclosure (coming up in another thread...) so your weatherstripping idea might have been wiser. I used neoprene-faced washers under the chip tray screwheads, so I too replaced the screws with longer ones.

Based on the lack of quality of some of the other welds on my stand (one of the front door hinges fell off and several others are just "sneeze welded") I am suspecting a leak in one of the stand welds itself...

Best regards,

Randy

[JTulley]

I was advised to add more coolant to the resorvoir, and this did actually work.

[_swede]

I seem to remember measuring the tank to be about 7 US Gallons. I added 6 Gal and didn't pay too much attention to sealing the lid.

I did however use GE Silicone II in every mating surface of the stand assembly.

No leaks to this date.. Which is a big deal because my machine is sitting on some pretty expensive Pergo-type laminate wood flooring in our walk-in basement.

I agree with the surprisingly poor welding efforts. Ah c'est la vie. At least the machine castings are quality.

[kevperro]

dkaustin, I went the whole route and used GE Silicone II caulking when assembling the coolant trays to the stand, the backsplashes to the trays, and even caulked in the chip screen. It was a lot of trouble to remove the backsplashes when I built the new enclosure (coming up in another thread...) so your weatherstripping idea might have been wiser. I used neoprene-faced washers under the chip tray screwheads, so I too replaced the screws with longer ones.

Based on the lack of quality of some of the other welds on my stand (one of the front door hinges fell off and several others are just "sneeze welded") I am suspecting a leak in one of the stand welds itself...

Best regards,

Randy

I'm building my own so if it leaks or has cheap build quality, I can only blame myself. ;-)

My machine shows up tomorrow but I'm not going to have time to mess with it for another couple weeks. I'm just going to buy the 10 gallon Enco coolant system and be done with it.

[justgary]

I also had leaks (more like splashing) from the tank lid. The coolant would wind up running along the frame of the stand and drip from the front left corner.

I pulled the pump and noticed that the two slingers were near the middle of the pump shaft. I moved them to the ends of the shaft where they belong, but still had leaks.

I then cut cork strips from sheet cork and put them under the lid. The original screws were long enough to hold. I still notice that the tank side has tiny drips on it, but nothing gushing out like before. Also, the front corner has quit dripping, so it really was the tank, not the stand.

The next time I have to pull the tank I'm going to slightly bend the cover so that it touches in the middle first, and maybe even add more screws so it compresses the cork better all the way around.

Tormach does not state the capacity of the tank (that I have found, anyway). When I asked them in an email, I got no reply. I keep adding coolant, mainly because it all ends up trapped in the table and stand and quits pumping. I'm pretty close to enough now, but it would be nice to know how much I'm *supposed* to have in the tank.


Regards,

- Just Gary

[300sniper]

the only time i get any type of a leak from my tormach coolant system is when the reservoir is low. when it is low, coolant splashes out and makes it's way to the floor. i hose the entire machine off with a hose made for cleaning a shower hooked up to the coolant system after each use. even with that, i still don't have any leaks from the chip trays.

[zephyr9900]

My leak isn't from the chip trays either, Robert. The leak is somewhere in the top of the base itself that I haven't been able to track down. Coolant doesn't appear on the floor for 20-30 minutes into a run, and it has to be traveling inside the base because the puddle is sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right of the rear of the base... It's maddening. I keep a mop and bucket by the machine. If I had the time and motivation (and space in the now more crowded garage) I'd take the machine off, have the base hot-tanked and sandblasted and powdercoated and then seal the top surface with urethane or epoxy. As it is, I don't think anything would stick to the current paint now that it's all been soaked into by the coolant.

I like your sprayer hose. I just plumbed in a branch to my coolant "manifold" to add a hose like yours.

Best regards,

Randy

[kevperro]

Hey... look at just what showed up! A brand new CNC mill. ;-)


I better get that coolant system ordered and get the stand built. Any general recommendations for those who have built a stand I'm all ears.

[HMB3000]

Any general recommendations for those who have built a stand I'm all ears.

I would recommend that If your all ears...find someone good with thier hands

[300sniper]

My leak isn't from the chip trays either, Robert. The leak is somewhere in the top of the base itself that I haven't been able to track down. Coolant doesn't appear on the floor for 20-30 minutes into a run, and it has to be traveling inside the base because the puddle is sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right of the rear of the base... It's maddening. I keep a mop and bucket by the machine. If I had the time and motivation (and space in the now more crowded garage) I'd take the machine off, have the base hot-tanked and sandblasted and powdercoated and then seal the top surface with urethane or epoxy. As it is, I don't think anything would stick to the current paint now that it's all been soaked into by the coolant.

I like your sprayer hose. I just plumbed in a branch to my coolant "manifold" to add a hose like yours.

Best regards,

Randy

i have built fuel tanks for vehicles and coated the inside with por15 sealer and never had any leaks. i'd like to think my welds are flawless but i know that's not true. this is the first thing that comes to mind if i had to seal a hard to find pin hole leak in something: http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=TS&dept=12. it goes on pretty thick and i think it would be perfect for the inside of the tormach base. it has been a couple years since i used it but i think it was a silver color that wouldn't look too out of place.

the sprayer hose i used was made for a shower (i mistakenly said it was for a sink in my last post) and has a quick release valve. i don't need to turn any valves, just plug in the hose and it automatically diverts the coolant to the hose. it is very simple to use and great for washing swarf off of the machine.

[capsteve]

i had a similar experience. i noticed when the tank was less then half full, it would leak from the seam where the lid sits on the tank. it turns out that the coolant sprays up the shaft and splashes around the top of the tank causing the leak. if you look at the pump there is a rubber collar, mine was midway up the shaft. i simply slid the collar down to the bottom, near the pickup and no more leaks. it keeps the coolant from spraying up from the pump assy.

steve

[justgary]

I'll have to look out for that shower sprayer. I have tried to hose off the way covers with the coolant nozzle, but it just won't reach right. Thanks for the tip!

- Just Gary

[MichaelHenry]

300sniper - that spray hose looks really handy. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Mike

[_swede]

Hi again guys,

Yeah that sprayer hose is a great idea! I'll probably do that this weekend...

And as for leaking tank lid, I stand corrected: just got some leakage for the first time tonight. It's because I was using a heavier flow of coolant than usual, and a lot of the coolant was backing up into the table/pan. Thus the level must have been a couple inches lower in the reservoir. Oh well!

I'm going to pull it out and silicone the whole lid when I'm through running this batch tomorrow.