Took me 3 years to realize I was using the wrong coolant concentration

Honestly, I was just topping off my tank with straight water for like 2 years. Kept wondering why my end mills were chipping and the machine was rusting inside. Finally overheard a Hurco tech at the shop down the road say anything under 7 percent coolant is basically just dirty water. Checked my refractometer and I was at like 3 percent. Has anyone else had a facepalm moment like that with basic maintenance stuff?

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the_river3mo ago

Ruined a whole batch of parts before I realized my coolant was basically water.

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christopher_coleman173mo ago

Youre saying it ruined parts? Honestly @the_river, that sounds like a problem with your part fixturing or your cutting speeds, not the coolant itself. Plain water actually pulls heat away faster than any fancy mixed coolant, which is exactly what you want for most aluminum work. I've run straight tap water for weeks at a time on my old Haas with zero issues, just had to keep an eye on flash rust on the table. Did you check your chip load and tool condition before you blamed the coolant?

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