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cleaning coolant and tanks

EyeEmTrash

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 24, 2023
Im not sure if I am posting in the right place but I have some questions about cleaning coolant tanks. Recently I cleaned 2 tanks at my job. They were neglected for decades. Tons of mold and bacteria. Anyways I cleaned both the same way. I took out the coolant, cleaned the tank, ran cleanall through the system and then put fresh coolant in. Well it appears I didnt do a good enough job on one of them as there is black film on top of the coolant. I dont want to go through the whole process again so is there an easier way to do it? Even if its just temporary. I plan on getting oil absorbent paper towels and skimming the nasty stuff off of the top but does anyone have any suggestions for some type of additive I can put in the coolant to help keep it clean? Any other ideas that arent time consuming?
 
With tanks that are neglected that long, you'll have mold growing in every tiny crevice and weld.
My advice would be to skim the tank regularly, and run a bubbler to provide oxygenation which will kill the bacteria.
 
It will take a few complete cleanings and flushings to rid a machine of decades of neclegt. There is a product called Renoclean. We add it to our tanks a couple of days ahead of a cleaning. Run the machine just like you would in production. It does a pretty good job of busting up some of the old shit. On our lathes, we put some tall jaws on the chuck, aim of stream of coolant at it, crank the chuck up and let it run for a couple of hours. All the spray it produces washes down the inside of the machine and gets into a lot of the little nooks and crannies.
 
Cleaning tanks is a messy job but worth it in the long run. Try using a shop vac to remove the "tramp" oil on top weekly. Hold your shop vac about 1 inch above the surface; works great for getting to remove the tramp oil. Another recommendation is to consult with your coolant supplier, if you haven't already, as they may have additive recommendations based on your current coolant.
 








 
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