Rust & Odor Brain Buster

1. You could always pull a sample and send to you metalworking Lab but you will do yourself and your customer a better service by asking questions to solve the problem immediately.

 

1. What material are they machining …?                          Cast Iron

 

1. What is the reading on the refractometer …?               1.0

 

1. What should the reading be for a 5% solution …?       2.9

 

1. What is the coolant concentration …?                            1.72%

 

1. What is the pH …?                                                             8.77

 

1. What should the pH be …?                                               9.00 – 9.50

 

Conclusions:

 

• Cast Iron can deteriorate a coolant quicker than other metals and also be very hard on the fungicide and biocide additives in a coolant.  We recommend they run at slightly elevated concentration levels to prevent this problem.

(7% rather than the normal 5%)

 

• The Concentration is too low to give adequate rust protection.

 

• Over time a source of bacteria has entered the coolant system. There are not enough biocide additives available to effectively eliminate the “bug” due to a low concentration level. Bacteria will grow exponentially i.e. double in population every 8 – 12 min. if not eliminated.

 

Recommendations:

 

1. Shock the system with 2% – 4% BacBuster to kill bacteria and raise pH.

 

1. Increase concentration to 7% for machining cast iron.

 

1. Monitor with follow up lab report (within a couple of days)