2 gallon Flood type coolant system from Harbor Fre

[millman5]

Has anyone tried one of these units???? Catalog # 45333-1JKA Just looking for feedback.... On the pump mainly......

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... ion=Search

[Roy]

Its mediocre using water soluable coolant at best. I bought one and tried some ATF in it, and it barely would pump the stuff, and auto transmission fluid is pretty thin. The pump itself has a oddball thread to it as well. I cleaned it up and returned it to Harbor Freight.

IMHO if you do not mind makingone yourself and it just takes a little bit of tinkering around Harbor Freight sells what is supposed to be a clear water 1" pump which is often on sale for under $25.00 or so. It states inthe instruction sheet that its for clear water only. I have been using one on my mill now for over a year and a half, and one on my lathe for close to two years. I do have a chip basket (simple kitchen type collander to catch the big stuff) and a baffle in a container so solids etc have a chance to settle out. I made a mount on top of a 5 gal metal container, and set the pump on top, along with a valve at the discharge port. This is to throttle down the volume it puts out, as it produces more than you really need, but if your after flood coolant it works like a charm even with the petroleum based coolants like Omicron and Gamma. The seals still have not developed any leaks, and working against head pressure (Throttling valve) has not caused any problems either. Was thinkin on adding a pressure relief or bypass valve but so far it has not been necessary. Those small fountain type submersible pumps seem to be better suited to very thin fluids or water, but then again if your going with water soluable it may be satisfactory for your needs. I personally like a bit more volume as fluids do not get so concentrated as quick with solids and it gives the fluid a chance to settle out the solid particles

[JimMoser]

I think they work just fine, I ran it overnight when I first got it, it was running quiet and cool in the morning. It is set up now on a surface grinder with water base flood coolant and seems to have plenty of flow and works fine but I havn't put a lot of hours on it so ? Jim

[millman5]

I am using water soluable oils... Thanks guys.... I had been buying a pump from Wholesale tool about 29.00 & that's all you get is the pump...... They are ok at best I have 7 machines I have flood coolant on...... These pumps run daily whether machine is in use or not. ( I have found that circulating the fluid daily helps to keep it from becoming septic ) But it seems the next step above these cheepies runs into the 100.00+ dollar range......... any other ideas appreciated.....

[OMcG]

Roy....I looked at one of those $25.00 1" pumps some time ago. Couldn't tell....are they self priming or not? Myapplication would have the pump on top of the tank and I couldn't decide if it would start or not.

OMcG

[tphaake]

I am using the Harbor Freight pump mentioned earlier. They run from $25 to $30 depending on sales. It has been the power behind my parts wash for about 3-4 years. I run Stoddard fluid through it and it works great.

I was needing to get a pump for my 12X16 horizontal bandsaw. When I got it the previous owner had removed the pump to install it on his newer bandsaw. I will get the same pump again since it has worked out so well and for so long on my home made parts wash.

Tim

[millman5]

I am using water soluable oils... Thanks guys.... I had been buying a pump from Wholesale tool about 29.00 & that's all you get is the pump...... They are ok at best I have 7 machines I have flood coolant on...... These pumps run daily whether machine is in use or not. ( I have found that circulating the fluid daily helps to keep it from becoming septic ) But it seems the next step above these cheepies runs into the 100.00+ dollar range......... any other ideas appreciated.....

Here is a link to the pump Wholesale Tool has to offer in the "cheap" price range They seem to work pretty good as long as the head isn't over 3-4' more than that & the volume really begins to suffer..

http://wttool.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv ... 66190020p0

[Roy]

My pump draws up the coolant about 12 or 14 inches. It also sets on top of the coolant tank. After the initial prime it has never needed to be primed again. But I did add a bend in the tube that is the suction line. It is nothing more than a couple of elbows screwed together, so that instead of the suction line going straight up and making a right angle bend into the end of the pump it goes up about 4 inches higher, makes a right turn, and then another turn (2 elbows) then back down and turns into the pumps end. This keeps sufficient fluid in the pump so it self primes. It may work without it, but I had some extra elbows and decided to try it and see. IIRC those pumps are rated at 450 or 500 GPH, plenty for a flood coolant system in lots of shops. I have been considering eliminating all my other pumps and using one centrally located coolant tank, and just run a flexible line to the various machines I use coolant on.

[gmacoffline]

Are you referring to the clear water pump or the coolant system pump (45333-1JKA ). Stoddard solvent is what we used to buy as Varsol, closely related to what we later used for the same ( parts cleaner) application as mineral spirits. this is available in low-odor types now. Im wondering if this will work OK on the clear-water pump in a parts-washer application. is it called a clear-water pump because of the I/O valving sensitivity to particles ( reed valves?), or the susceptibility of the materials to chemical degradation from the other materials in the water.

[Roy]

HF's clear water pump has no valves of any type in it. It is referred to as a clear water pump mainly because its not designed to handle debris as would be found in mud hloes etc where you would normally use a trash type pump. Also clear water is generally associated with water that has no suspended solids etc in it. In the pumps manual it states not to pump anything other than clear water, and not to pump flammable liquids etc. It states the seals may deteriorate and or the impeller may be damaged if other than clear water is pumped. I know my coolant is not free of suspended solids but lots of it is filtered out either by the filter basket, or just by settling out in the resivoir. I also have a automatic transmission filter adapted to the pickup tube to further filter any small particals out of if. The automatic tranny filter is a typical in the pan type filter and it works well. My pump has yet to leak in all this time. I don;t know what base Gamma coolant or Omicron is, or even ATF, but those are what I normally use, and I imagine they are all petro based, but may not be as potent as Stoddard solvent may be. I guess one day I will find out when I get around to making my parts washer,as I intend to try on e of these clear water pumps with it as well. I like the pressure and volume they put out, but most of all the price.

The impeller on these pumps appears to be bronze or brass on some of them and some look like they may be a plastic of some sort. I guess it depends on when they were made.

[MikeMachinist]

I have one that I use on both my 3-in 1 machine and on my metal-cutting bandsaw. I use soluble oil diluted about 15 to 1 with distilled water and it works fine once it is primed. I think it is hard to beat for the money. Before I found this unit, I put one together and wound up spending about $75 for something that was shaky, at best. For the price, you can afford to replace the HF units several times for the price of the lowest priced units elsewhere. I am attaching a picture of the pump set up on my Grizzly 9729 "3-in-1" machine.

[Marty_Escarcega]

I've used a good quality swamp cooler pump from Home Depot and a 5 gallon pail on my Surface grinder. All of about $25 plus some fittings....pump goes out toss it and buy another......just another option to consider.