Attempt at a coolant mister

[Shopgeezer]

I wanted to try a coolant mister so I bought one from Ebay for $19.95 (free shipping, how does China do that?). I ordered some misting coolant from KBC. It said “safe for people, machines and the environment” on the label. However there was also a big sticker on the back that said “irritates eyes and skin”. I found this out when I got some in a cut on my hand.

I also bought a great whacking magnet from Princess Auto to hold the mister on the backsplash of the lathe. Diluted out a gallon of coolant, hooked up the air and gave it a try. You have to open the mister full bore to get the coolant to draw from the reservoir and then you can turn it down to a whisper. I got it running and turned some steel. Even at the lowest setting, in 5 minutes I was soaked in coolant. The lathe was dripping everywhere. Even the wall beside me was dripping. The mister was working great. But I am very unimpressed. Not for me. It took an hour to clean everything up. Yes I am fussy.

I used WD 40 for aluminum and Tap Magic for steel and I will return to doing that. The Tap Magic sticks to the work and doesn’t fling all over. Oh well, worth the try I guess.

 

[RonGinger]

Clearly you have way to much flow. A proper mister will take several second to collect a few drops of liquid in your hand. Most of the cooling froms from the air blast, the coolant just adds a tiny bit of lubricant.

 

[Shopgeezer]

My assessment as well but it would be necessary to make a new nozzle to restrict flow. And maybe pressurize the reservoir so that you didn’t need full air pressure to start the flow. Maybe I will look at it again but other projects loom larger.

 

[mcostello]

I bought a similar design. I can not get it to throttle down. The small plastic hose goes all the way through the flex tube and can be adjusted by shortening or lengthening it. Nothing I tried had any effect. I made a small adapter bushing to go in the end of the brass nozzle to duplicate the size on a well known brand of mister. No success at all. I am now making one from scratch with plans from the Internet.

 

[XD351]

I gave up on mine and set it up as a drip feed for parting off , it plugs into a pump preserve spray bottle and i set it so i get about two drops a second out of the nozzle .

 

[deverett]

John Bogs described his spray mist coolant system here:
https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/swarf-control.6714/#post-82564
Unfortunately, all the pictures have been removed, but I do have them if anyone wants/needs them.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[BIGTREV]

I've bought one, but not used it yet, what air pressure are you set at?
Thanks

 

[mu38&Bg#]

View attachment 112489 I wanted to try a coolant mister so I bought one from Ebay for $19.95 (free shipping, how does China do that?).

How do they do it? The Chinese gov subsidizes outgoing costs, then due to agreements in the Universal Postal Union, the receiving country covers costs once it reaches the border. So basically, we all pay for it. This will change starting next year and free shipping from China will be gone forever.

 

[Shopgeezer]

I've bought one, but not used it yet, what air pressure are you set at?
Thanks

I set between 10 and 20 pounds which was enough to start the coolant flow when the control valve was fully open and then back it off to a whisper. It doesn’t need much pressure. Need a way to control the coolant flow as well.

 

[BIGTREV]

The one I've bought has and air control valve, and a coolant control valve(alledgerley) ...it remains to be seen if it works though

 

[Preston Engebretson]

I tried those and could not get them to work.

Thus, I made a pressurized container for the coolant with a control regulator for it and a seperate
one for the air flow. Made from PVC tube fittings and tubes.

Pressurizing the coolant with 1-2 psi and 5-10 psi for the air and it provides coolant/lubrication and air
for chip removal.

Best Regards,

Preston

 

[blighty]

got one of these a few years back, never could get the thing to work well. worked better with the coolant tank level with the nozzle. seemed it didn't like sucking up the coolant from any height. if it was higher than the nozzle it would siphon out the coolant. plus when it did work it would fill the shed up with a mist of coolant that you could taste in the air.

in the end i took the valves and made it into a fog buster. works a lot better with no misting up the shed.

 

[xpylonracer]

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View attachment 112495 View attachment 112496 View attachment 112495 View attachment 112496

I only use 20lbs pressure and adjust the fluid flow needle to minimum amount with steady rate of mist, used mainly to stop material build up on flutes, sometimes just use the air flow to keep chips clear.

 

[BIGTREV]

What type of coolant, are people using?
Cheers

 

[blighty]

for Aluminium WD40. steels, normal coolant...... the white stuff.

 

[BIGTREV]

"normal coolant...... the white stuff.".....Diluted at the normal rate?
Thanks

 

[Ropetangler]

An interesting lot of posts on this topic on the Australian Metalworking Forum, a nice friendly forum too which I can recommend to all members here. Here is a linkhttps://metalworkforums.com/f65/t201883-mist-coolant-systems?highlight=coolant+mister

 

[BIGTREV]

An interesting lot of posts on this topic on the Australian Metalworking Forum, a nice friendly forum too which I can recommend to all members here. Here is a linkhttps://metalworkforums.com/f65/t201883-mist-coolant-systems?highlight=coolant+mister

 

[BIGTREV]

Some interesting stuff of that Australian Metalworking Forum ..Cheers

 

[David Shealey]

For mist coolant I am using this, as it does not cause rust on the machine, but will leave some light discoloration if left on for a long time, but easily removed. I use it on my lathe and mill.
https://www.masterfluidsolutions.com/na/en-us/data-sheet/di.php?pid=MIST