Anti corrosive for water table

[little blue choo]

With the first year behind me it's time to clean out my water table. I started out using the Arm and Hammer CRAP but want to change. I know a lot of you use it and it has served me well but I just can't put up with all the white deposits on everything. If I don't use the table for a week it starts to look like a science project. That stuff reminds me of the old Grow Rocks when I was a kid. My question is what are the alternatives? What do you use?

Rick

[rons]

Same boat as you but I use pool PH UP and fountain algaecide its works good but don't like the white stuff either

[Capstone]

I pretty much gave up on anything but just plain water. It's the cheapest there is. I've added some anti-rust liquid in the past, but it didn't seem to help much.

[redheadfred]

Sharp cool premium synthetic fastenal part # 3265774 is what Ive been using , works awesome. Its like $200 for 5 gal shipped but its worth it to me

[little blue choo]

Thanks redheadfred. That is what they were using at arclight when I went out for training last year and I wish I had listened to their recommendation. How much of it do you put in your table and what size table do you have?

Rick

[little blue choo]

Has anyone used GreenCut for their water table and if so where do you purchase it.

[redheadfred]

I tried to get greencut , heard it was pretty awesome but its pretty pricey as it comes from canada . I have a 4800 arclight table , i used about 3.5 gallons , they recommend 1.5% so Im a little heavy . Very low fumes , im pretty happy with it so far

[rons]

sounds like its made for machining how did you find out about using it for plasma cutting

[_Ogre]

not sure what your issue is with washing soda, how much are you washing soda are you using?
there is a little white build up after while mostly due to evaporation
you can see a little white on each piece from evaporation of the water off parts
it wipes of very easy, our painter never has an issue, wipes off easier than rust

we use 2/3 of a box in a 4x8, 3'' deep table and this is our table after 3 years

[little blue choo]

-ogre it's not a problem unless I let the table sit for a week or so and then it looks like snow growing all over the slats and anywhere the water has touched. I used whole box in my 4x8 table but that's been 1 year ago and its still doing it. I get the little white film on my parts like you are picturing but it's the growth that takes place when the table is not in use that bothers me.

Rick

[redheadfred]

You spent the money on the table and equipment , the extra money on the cutting fluid is a no brainer for me . I can leave a sheet on my table for a week and dont have to worry about rust . Your not too far away , your welcome to come by and check it out sometime .

[little blue choo]

Yea my thoughts also redheadfred. I have no problems with rust just that white stuff. Where are you neighbor?

Rick

[redheadfred]

Im in concord , not too far from the charlotte motor speedway .

[cspauldini]

redheadfred, I sent a PM and would be interested in checking out your setup.

Chris

[jimcolt]

As always......I do not recommend home brew chemicals to control rust, corrosion, algea, etc. in your plasma cutting water table unless it was designed and tested by a chemical engineer. The plasma temperature, the electrical discharge, as well as the cutting of different metals with different chemical contents can create gas outputs that could be very dangerous.

Over my 38+ years I have seen machine operators that were affected (healthwise) by the fumes....and I have seen a couple of cases where the water table caught fire....and destroyed the cutting machine. Stick with commercially available products!

I recommend googling "plasma cutting water table additives", then reviewing the many listings for commercially available additives that are generally designed, tested and sold by chemical companies.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[Capstone]

As always......I do not recommend home brew chemicals to control rust, corrosion, algea, etc. in your plasma cutting water table unless it was designed and tested by a chemical engineer. The plasma temperature, the electrical discharge, as well as the cutting of different metals with different chemical contents can create gas outputs that could be very dangerous.

Over my 38+ years I have seen machine operators that were affected (healthwise) by the fumes....and I have seen a couple of cases where the water table caught fire....and destroyed the cutting machine. Stick with commercially available products!

I recommend googling "plasma cutting water table additives", then reviewing the many listings for commercially available additives that are generally designed, tested and sold by chemical companies.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

Jim, while I don't disagree with what you're saying as far as safety, you can't, after 38+ years of working from Hypertherm, just tell us "don't do this" and then not share with us a named product that actually works? I can't believe that Hypertherm doesn't already use something in house. Instead you're just sending us all out to the interwebs to simply sort through a bunch of product hype from everyone that claims their additive is the best.

[Hillbilly Stills]

Ross at RC Enterprises ( TruCut ) suggested I use Plasma Quench. I think it was like $180.00 for 5 gallon. My Table is 5' x 10' and I think I used 1.5 Gallon. They manufacture suggest to use 1.5 to 2% of what my table holds. I am a newbie but I left a piece of Mild Steel on the table for about 4 days and no rust what so ever.

[Hillbilly Stills]

http://stevensonoil.com/plasma-quench/

[DesertFabworks]

I have been using GreenCut for a few years now and I'm very happy. I compared and tried everything out there and found GreenCut to be the best and safest option. It does a great job with taking care of and preventing rust. I have never grown any algae or had any problems with odors. I'm in AZ and its hot. So I evaporate about 20 or more gallons a day the way green cut is designed it stays in the table and the water evaporates. It clings to the metal and I just have to add water back to the table and watch the PH to make sure it stays within the limits and add GreenCut when the ph starts to change. I do a full table clean out drain/clean/refill once a year. For me I wanted a product that was actually designed for plasma cutting and was safe. GreenCut is the only one out there that meets both of those. Read the MSDS on the stuff from Fastenal and you most likely will not be using it anymore. A lot of the chemicals that are "adapted" for plasma cutting are never tested for the changes that take place with high UV exposure the heat and atimization that takes place during plasma cutting. You also have to consider that your going to get it on your skin from time to time, fishing out parts, splashes, ect. I do not want to find out that I have cancer ten years from now because of what I used in my table. One of the other big things for me is GreenCut has never caused a problem with painting or powder coating of my parts which is critical to me, some of the other chemicals I have tried in the past I had to do extra rinsing or cleaning prior to paint or powder. I get my green cut from my local Praxair distributor. Praxair has a weird computer system and until an individual store brings a product into there store they can not always see all the products that they carry or can get. So you have to be persistent with them the first time and assure them that they can get it and it takes some digging on there part to pull it into their stores system the first time. It is not cheap I will agree with that but I only do a fill once a year and just add a little a month to maintain PH. I mix 20% green cut to 80% water on the initial fill.

[jimcolt]

Sorry, I cannot recommend products that we (as a company) have not tested. We have probably 20 cnc machines with plasma , laser and waterjet at our various facilities in New Hampshire, most of them (17) use downdraft tables (best cut quality.....hands down). Of course the waterjet has a water table, however there is no additive. We have a couple of plasma machines with water tables, again, no additive.

Probably the best place to ask for detailed info about water table additives would be the companies that produce water tables. Many of the cnc plasma system manufacturers offer either downdraft or water table solutions for fume control....and likely have a good sized installed base with water tables....they would have the best recommendations.

My home table that is currently in use is strictly downdraft. The hybrid tables I have built in the past use a water tray about 8" below the slats (no splash) so the parts do not get wet. Because of all this....I don't claim to have the experience to recommend a specific brand of additive.

Jim Colt Hypertherm


Jim, while I don't disagree with what you're saying as far as safety, you can't, after 38+ years of working from Hypertherm, just tell us "don't do this" and then not share with us a named product that actually works? I can't believe that Hypertherm doesn't already use something in house. Instead you're just sending us all out to the interwebs to simply sort through a bunch of product hype from everyone that claims their additive is the best.[/quote]

[redheadfred]

Been running Sharp Cool for about 6 months now with no problems . Hard to get Greencut here in the states , heard it was great but not trying to spend a fortune to get it here . Sorry for the late reply guys been super busy .

[Capstone]

Been running Sharp Cool for about 6 months now with no problems . Hard to get Greencut here in the states , heard it was great but not trying to spend a fortune to get it here . Sorry for the late reply guys been super busy .

I went to Fastenal and Fast Cool has a bunch of different formulas. Which one are you using?

Seems like most of the FastCool stuff is specifically made for CNC Milling machines, not plasma.

[cutting$burning]

This thread has been around for a while so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I use Rustlick B which is what the mfg (B & B Systems, can't say enough good about these guys) installed when they set up my table. I can't compare it to other products because it's all I've used so I'm no help there but in 2 1/2 years my table and slats are rust free. If you read the product label it's a pretty impressive additive. It's not cheap by any means especially compared to Baking Soda. The one thing I have noticed is that it doesn't seem to evaporate with the water so when I replace the water I don't need to add more additive only water. I learned this after adding more with the replacement water and things started to get syrup-like. Hope this is informative and usefull as I have learned so much on this forum and appreciate all the info on this site. Thanks D

https://www.zoro.com/rustlick-corrosion ... lsrc=aw.ds

[DesertFabworks]

We looked into the Rustlick B when we first started but the manufacture does not recommend using when it will encounter temperatures over 212 F and it is hazardous for skin contact and poses respiratory problems when atomized and, threw decomposition and exposure to nitrites it will form carcinogenic compounds. So we said no to this product.

[redheadfred]

Sorry for the late reply , I can get you the part # for the sharp cool , have no complaints about it so far . I actually have scrap metal in my bin outside that has been there for weeks with no rust at all from being coated in 6 month old coolant from my table