Haas VF Coolant Pump Really Loud

[Tamer MX]

We just purchased in March of 2022, a Haas VF-2SS. Added the high pressure coolant option. We are a small shop (3200 sq. ft), 1 machine, that produces our own parts for our own product line. No outside machine work, no job shop. The shop is very organized and clean.

1 - The pump is a different pump than the regular coolant pump. The high pressure pump is gear driven. It is so loud, you have a headache by noon. When coolant kicks on, you can't hear the radio, the guy who does assembly is about to go insane from the noise. If my door is closed on my office and I am on the phone, it is hard to hear the phone call when the pump kicks on.

2 - We have to add a 5 gallon coolant bucket every other day, sometimes every day. The tank has to be 85% full in order for the high pressure coolant pump to work. Anything less and the pump gravitates, sucks air and then the coolant starts foaming up. Shop is closed up most of day and the air isn't foggy or misty, but assume it is being misted out.

I like the machine, but seriously considering selling it and switching brands due to the coolant pump issues.

I have seen other threads about this same discussion, but it seems like most don't understand that the standard pump is quiet and the high pressure pump is not. There is a difference in pumps. different manufacturers.

The other VF-1 we owned had standard coolant and we added coolant to it every couple of weeks, not daily.

Any help would be awesome.

 

[MaxPrairie]

Have you contacted Haas on it? You pump may be sitting too high and causing the gravitation coolant may not be getting back to the tank fast enough.

 

[BT Fabrication]

We just purchased in March of 2022, a Haas VF-2SS. Added the high pressure coolant option. We are a small shop (3200 sq. ft), 1 machine, that produces our own parts for our own product line. No outside machine work, no job shop. The shop is very organized and clean.

1 - The pump is a different pump than the regular coolant pump. The high pressure pump is gear driven. It is so loud, you have a headache by noon. When coolant kicks on, you can't hear the radio, the guy who does assembly is about to go insane from the noise. If my door is closed on my office and I am on the phone, it is hard to hear the phone call when the pump kicks on.

2 - We have to add a 5 gallon coolant bucket every other day, sometimes every day. The tank has to be 85% full in order for the high pressure coolant pump to work. Anything less and the pump gravitates, sucks air and then the coolant starts foaming up. Shop is closed up most of day and the air isn't foggy or misty, but assume it is being misted out.

I like the machine, but seriously considering selling it and switching brands due to the coolant pump issues.

I have seen other threads about this same discussion, but it seems like most don't understand that the standard pump is quiet and the high pressure pump is not. There is a difference in pumps. different manufacturers.

The other VF-1 we owned had standard coolant and we added coolant to it every couple of weeks, not daily.

Any help would be awesome.

1 - yes pumps of anything can be noisy,most of the coolant noise is the pump and it spraying all over.

2 - depends on your use. more rpms = more evapouration due to surface area of coolant and more high pressure use is ususally more coolant use. as pumping it also produces heat which has to go somewhere. you might get a mist collector to help with any mist you cant see.

as the pump sucking air, pull the pump and check the depth. most are an inch or 2 from the bottom of the tank.

 

[BT Fabrication]

We just purchased in March of 2022, a Haas VF-2SS. Added the high pressure coolant option. We are a small shop (3200 sq. ft), 1 machine, that produces our own parts for our own product line. No outside machine work, no job shop. The shop is very organized and clean.

1 - The pump is a different pump than the regular coolant pump. The high pressure pump is gear driven. It is so loud, you have a headache by noon. When coolant kicks on, you can't hear the radio, the guy who does assembly is about to go insane from the noise. If my door is closed on my office and I am on the phone, it is hard to hear the phone call when the pump kicks on.

2 - We have to add a 5 gallon coolant bucket every other day, sometimes every day. The tank has to be 85% full in order for the high pressure coolant pump to work. Anything less and the pump gravitates, sucks air and then the coolant starts foaming up. Shop is closed up most of day and the air isn't foggy or misty, but assume it is being misted out.

I like the machine, but seriously considering selling it and switching brands due to the coolant pump issues.

I have seen other threads about this same discussion, but it seems like most don't understand that the standard pump is quiet and the high pressure pump is not. There is a difference in pumps. different manufacturers.

The other VF-1 we owned had standard coolant and we added coolant to it every couple of weeks, not daily.

Any help would be awesome.

1 - yes pumps of anything can be noisy,most of the coolant noise is the pump and it spraying all over.

2 - depends on your use. more rpms = more evapouration due to surface area of coolant and more high pressure use is ususally more coolant use. as pumping it also produces heat which has to go somewhere. you might get a mist collector to help with any mist you cant see.

as the pump sucking air, pull the pump and check the depth. most are an inch or 2 from the bottom of the tank.

 

[Mike1974]

Actually the regular Haas pump almost sits directly on the bottom. It has a cap on the bottom so it's sucking in from the sides, and the pump is in a baffled chamber of the tank. We haven't had any problems so far, other than rebuilding an old one which is like $20 in bearings (usually)...

 

[IninefingersI]

Getting rid of a machine because the pump is noisy seems kind of like throwing out the baby with the bath water.

 

[Tamer MX]

Yes, the Haas Factory Outlet was out and did all the tests, they say it is normal and loud. I was trying to quiet it down, was looking for a solution, but sounds like there isn't one.

 

[Tamer MX]

You are correct, seems excessive, but the headaches and missed phone calls and noise while on a phone call are not good for business either. The desk for programming and the 3D printer was located next to the machine, but can't do that with this VF-2SS. I have to build an enclosed office in order to be effective. $10k in today's world. Not to mention the loss of floor space. Maybe not real excessive, to get rid of a machine due to the coolant pump noise. I am not sure I am being clear on the noise level. With machine running, no coolant pump, the Dba is 77 and you can have a conversation, be on the phone whatever. Coolant pump kicks on and the Dba goes to 101 Dba, and the coolant pump is at the back of the machine. 101 Dba drowns out the mower when they are mowing the shop grass. 101 Dba is loud. It was suggested by the Haas techs that the operator wear ear plugs while at the machine. In a 3200 sq. ft shop, everyone would have to wear ear plugs. Not willing to do that for a coolant pump.

 

[wmpy]

Can you build a little "sound booth" for the pump? With some plywood and some sound-deadening foam, I imagine you could easily make a cover that would help a good deal with the noise. You would probably have to watch the temp on the pump, though.

Or maybe look for another brand of pump you can swap out for what you have.

 

[MaxPrairie]

Something isn’t adding up. Is it a Grundfos pump? Haas said the noise is normal? Have you not developed machinist ear yet?

 

[Billy_C]

More than likely your in-tank filter screen is packed and the pump is sucking tons of air. There is also the possibility the hoses for the TSC are rattling off of some sheet metal somewhere. Haas factory option 300PSI TSC is pretty trash. Don't get rid of the machine because of it though. If you have a lot of operations that need continuous TSC, you should explore a more production grade solution like a chip blaster setup. If you don't have the cash or floorspace for a system like that, a good option would be modifying the existing Haas system. Putting a bag filter inline with the pump's suction loop line and converting the mesh in the tank to a coarser screen would probably help. We have a machine creating lots of aluminum fines right now. The TSC mesh would clog in just a few cycles and the sound was insane (1000PSI). Beefing up the filtration capacity and getting rid of that absurd mesh in the tank seemed to solve it. It's been going for months now and haven't had to touch it.

 

[GENERALDISARRAY]

can we see a picture of the pump in question? there are a couple of different pumps as options.

 

[Blaser Swisslube]

The average coolant loss rate per day can be as high as 10% per tank volume; running the coolant tank low will cause foaming which causes possible tool life issues and higher evaporation.

 

[TrollTuner]

Does the application require full time TSC use? We mainly use it for a couple tools per job.

 

[PegroProX440]

I would be looking at an aftermarket option first. Is it pressure or volume you need? Is it for carbide drills? Our two brands are Knoll and MP Systems and they both work great.

 

[boosted]

Make sure there isn't an issue with "cavitation", and then just replace the damn pump.

There are plenty of options out there that won't be appreciably louder than the spindle. You should be able to easily have a conversation standing next to a regular Grundfos multi stage pump while it's running.

 

[Orange Vise]

A lot of TSC pumps are loud.

Whether your pump is abnormally loud or not, we have no idea. Get a $20 decibel meter from Amazon, take a few readings from different positions and report back.

A few other folks here are bound to have dB meters too and can compare notes.

 

[Orange Vise]

2 - We have to add a 5 gallon coolant bucket every other day, sometimes every day.

Shop is closed up most of day and the air isn't foggy or misty, but assume it is being misted out.

Mist and chip carryoff.

5 gallons is nothing. One of our horizontals loses a 55 gallon drum daily on a 300 gallon sump.

 

[Houdini16]

Check the NOTE on their site-> Haas HPC Website
5 Gallons per day on a VF2 is correct, up to 10 gallons easy.
Also the VF2 HPC pump, pumps a large volume of coolant quickly into the machine, if you don't have your auger on almost constantly
the chips will quickly cover up the return screen at the left side of the machine, not allowing the coolant to return to the sump,
and your machine will fill with coolant emptying your sump fairly quickly,
causing your coolant pump to suck air and foam the coolant.
I have a 2 month old VF2SS with HPC pump also.

 

[kustomizer]

I had something similar on one of my machines, it is gone now, all the ones I have left don't have the high pressure and I don't miss it. Anyhow I cut out the top of the coolant tank an inch or so larger than where the pump mounted to the tank and mounted the pump to the tank via a piece of 3/8 thick conveyer rubber to minimize the noise amplification of the tank. It helped a lot but is not a cure and in the end we quit using it, with the parts we made it didn't really do much anyhow.

I add a minimum of 5 gallons to each machine I run every day