Water pump for spindle cooling

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

Has anyone got a recommendation for a water pump suitable for cooling a 2.2kW spindle? So far I’ve tried two, but both seem to struggle with pushing water through 6mm tubing – one (an auxiliary heater circulation pump for an Audi) just sits there doing nothing except make a noise, and the other one (a cheapish diaphragm pump bought from eBay) makes an effort but the 100w power supply protests and cuts out after a second or two.

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

I may be talking abslute rubbish, but maybe the pumps used in water cooling for computers could be suitable?

For example these – no connection with the company, just searched "liquid cooling".

Rob

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Have you looked at the spindle suppliers, seems they do ones made for the job.

Make sure it is low enough to stop cavitation

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

Have you worked out how much water you need to pass through to achieve a required temperature, Rather than look for ideas a few calculations may be more useful.

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

 

I have read that computer coolers are not man enough, as they are designed to cool around 60watts. I was also hoping for a 12volt pump rather than the 240v submersible that cnc4you supply (something I should have mentioned to start with).

edit – I’ve ignored my misgivings about putting a 230v appliance made in China into a bucket of water and ordered the one that cnc4you supply, as linked to by Jason.

Edited By Steve Pavey on 14/01/2021 15:23:46

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

A quick update – the pump from CNC4You arrived the day after ordering, along with some PU tubing. Very prompt service, although the pump itself turns out to be exactly the same as many that are offered on eBay. It comes with the necessary hosetail adaptor, which is useful, but with a Chinese 2 pin plug, not so useful.

I stuck it in a plastic Stanley FatMax power tool box, fitted with three cable glands for the cable and coolant tubes, and filled with 15 litres of deionised water and a couple of litres of antifreeze. All working fine – manually switched at the moment, though I could switch it on and off with the controller and a relay I guess.

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

It comes with the necessary hosetail adaptor, which is useful, but with a Chinese 2 pin plug, not so useful.

Not just "not so useful", but breaking the law :

The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 requires that domestic mains powered appliances are fitted with a standard plug conforming to BS 1363. This requirement is often ignored by on-line sellers and many products are sold with European (and sometimes American) mains plugs instead of UK standard plugs.

A UK supplier (or a supplier who supplies into the UK) should be aware of the legal requirements for the equipment he is supplying. I bought a diesel space heater from a German supplier just before Xmas – it was supplied with a German Schuco 2 pin plug, but also had an adapter that the Schuco plug was secured into to safely convert it to a UK 3 pin plug.

At a miniumum, CNC4You should have included something similar – these adapters are readily available & are not expensive – you might choose to remind CNC4You of this.

Nigel B.

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

I bought a cheap Whale caravan water pump from eBay – cost me about a tenner 5-6 years back. Been sitting in a bucket of water that gets changed from time to time, although I live in a soft water area that doesn't give me limescale issues. Never used a radiator or anything of the sort; just the length of tubing seems to be enough.

Main point, though, is that is a nominal 12V pump but I have always run it on 5V which gives enough flow to keep the spindle cool. Never had a problem. However, as a hobby user, I probably don't run my machine hard enough to really work the spindle. Does suggest that looking for enormous flow rates isn't always necessary. though.

[Matt HarringtonParticipant @mattharrington87221]

Out of interest, do you use any form of coolant additive to the water?

Matt

Edited By Matt Harrington on 19/01/2021 10:42:24

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

Personally, no, I don't add anything to the water. It sits in a translucent bucket under the router where it is almost always out of any significant daylight, so green growth does not seem to be a particular problem, and it is in a garage-converted-to-workshop integral with the house so never gets cold enough to freeze. I admit that I do tend to forget it – it just works! – but this is a reminder that maybe I should replace the water before my next job!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I did hear from a fellow woodworker some years back who had a water cooled spindle in a gantry router that after a long weekend he returned to the workshop to find a crack in the spindle housing where the workshop had dropped below freezing while empty. So if you have a cold workshop anti-freeze would be a good idea.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Antifreeze also contains inhibitors which will reduce, if not entirely eliminate, corrosion, so will be a benefit on two fronts.

Howard.

[Matt HarringtonParticipant @mattharrington87221]

Howard, that is what I am led to believe and it surely can do no harm….

Matt

[Steve PaveyParticipant @stevepavey65865]

Posted by JasonB on 19/01/2021 12:16:52:

I did hear from a fellow woodworker some years back who had a water cooled spindle in a gantry router that after a long weekend he returned to the workshop to find a crack in the spindle housing where the workshop had dropped below freezing while empty. So if you have a cold workshop anti-freeze would be a good idea.

Ah yes, I think I know who you mean! Which is why I opted to use antifreeze (though I think it also helps to reduce the chances of anything nasty growing in the tank).

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

I put a standard 12v submersible caravan water pump into a diesel delivery system for a workshop heater for a friend 15 years ago and it is still working well. The pump was pushing diesel along a 1/4" bore copper tube. The burner system has a return to tank similar to a car diesel engine system. I did put a tee in the line just after the pump to bleed off some of the flow as it was far more than needed. Once set it has worked perfectly. There is a relay and power supply activated by the heater control system for the pump. Maybe somethinglike that could help you out.

regards

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