Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Coolant (Cocktail) for water cooled spindles

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
    Posts
    1,719

    Coolant (Cocktail) for water cooled spindles

    Just wondering what kind of fluid, for those of you with liquid cooled spindles, are using.

    And also for the tubing, do you have a favorite.

    I noticed my fluid flow (distilled water) was slowing down and then noticed a kind of clear algae forming in my 5 gallon bucket. I checked the pump and that has plenty of pump/flow.

    I'm sure this growth/build up is clogging my water lines and probably the guts of my spindle.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Marquette, MI USA
    Posts
    519
    A couple recommendations:
    Ditch the bucket for a closed system. There are hundreds of PC cooling options and many of them pretty cheap, albeit not quite as cheap as a bucket.

    Use distilled water and a racing coolant, not antifreeze. The coolants allow better heat transfer and are made to reduce the effects of dissimilar metals in the system.
    Gary Campbell
    CNC Replacement & Upgrade Controllers
    Custom 9012 Centroid ATC

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
    Posts
    1,719
    Water Wetter + distilled water? I ran that in my Ducati's as antifreeze was not allowed on race tracks.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
    Posts
    4,515
    I run RV antifreeze in my laser that sits in my unheated shop

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Tucson, Arizona
    Posts
    1,204
    My bucket has a sealed lid with feedthroughs in the lid for the pressure and return lines. So I consider this a "sealed system". I am using distilled water with a small amount of ethylene glycol added to the water. It seems to work fine and the spindle never gets hot. I also have one of those cheap flow indicator wheels inline mounted at the top of the spindle so that I know the coolant is flowing.

    David

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Millstone, NJ
    Posts
    1,590
    I would buy an inhibiter If it risks freezing(garage?) get 30-40% propylene glycol with inhibitor premixed. What is your volume of liquid? 5 gal bucket with the pump that came with spindle?

    Im running corsair PC cooling fluid. It has an inhibiter to prevent the algae or any other growth. It is pretty expensive if your going to run 4-5 gallons but im on a closed loop system all PC cooling parts. So I only needed a quart.

    If you find the inhibitor I would dump and clean your bucket and run fresh water through your system for a few minutes to clean out spindle. Then get another new bucket and once full add your inhibitor. let it run for 10 minutes to mix in.

    https://www.supplyhouse.com/Hercules...hoCSYcQAvD_BwE

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •