Plasma Quench Recipe for Water Table Use

[plasmadreaming]

Plasma quench is new to me and I was wondering how effective is a water table with plasma quench at reducing smoke and dirt. Keeping the shop and air clean is a concern. Some questions: Is ventilation still needed when using a water table? Will the flow from the plasma torch cause the water to splash? And how high is the water in relation to the part?
Thank you for your opinion.

[plain ol Bill]

I have a water table on my plasma table and love it. Mine is great at keeping the black smog out of the air. About all I see while cutting is a little water vapor rising. I raise the water level to about a 1/4" below the plate. Water will splash around some while you are cutting but that is not a problem really. The water really helps with the material distorting from heat while cutting. Personally I would not own a table without the water table option myself.

[jlbfab]

Im new to this site but would like to add a water table is the only way to go!!!! no soot or bad smoke I added a product called plasma quench that stops rust. Every customer to come to your shop will ask what the neon green stuff is in your tank. It was expensive but worth every penny. It doesnt wear out either just keep adding water when needed.

[plain ol Bill]

I have Plasma Quench in my water table. But with that said - I will never purchase from them again. They have to be the most non-responsive company I have ever dealt with. I will buy my chemicals from Ebay and make my own after I have to dump this out some day.

[plasmadreaming]

Just wondering, what chemicals are needed to make your own solution. Also should I try to make my own water table or find a manufacture who has one as an option?

[plain ol Bill]

Here is a recipe for home cooked "Plasma Quench".

Here's the recipe for home-made PlasmaQuench
1/4 pound of sodium nitrite powder ($15/pound) "anti-rust additive" NOTE: nitrite NOT nitrate!
1 teaspoon of Physan 20 ($8/8oz bottle) "antibacterial/antifungal additive"
1 oz Ultramarine blue food-grade dye ($5/oz.) "color added so folks won't drink out of it!"
Mix well, treats 75 gallons of water.
All prices include tax and/or shipping.

FLEA BAY!
I made my own water table and anyone with a little metal working experience should be able to do it. You can follow the build of my table at http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63124 If I can do it, anyone can.

[CPK_Jim]

Thanks guys, Ive been wondering about the water table for a while. I made up a little one quick to test the theory. Its awesome!! No smoke!! No warpage, even on 20ga crs sheet. And to top it all off, A much cleaner cut!! I will be building a full size water table soon, and definately adding that to the design for the bigger table I will be building.

And thanks for the recipe for the plasma juice.

Jim

[CPK_Jim]

Great build thread BTW!!!!! I found a few ideas i am going to borrow for my 5x10 build next yr.

Thanks,

Jim

[jlbfab]

I wanted to say thanks for the recipe, I purchased 2- 30 gallon kegs from them(koal industries) very hard to deal with!!!! couldnt give me an exact shipping price said FED EX c.o.d. hazardous material charges bla bla bla .....when it was all said and done it cost over $400 in shipping for a grand total of like $700. They told me I needed 2 kegs one was more than enough alot gets drug out on parts almost everyday,I just keep adding water .

[CPK_Jim]

It works awesome!!! I should have done this long ago!! The hardest part of the whole project was getting the pan sealed up so that is didnt leak, LOL.

Jim

[Traneman]

Has anyone actually tested the home brew plasma quench,what are your thoughts about it

[CPK_Jim]

Has anyone actually tested the home brew plasma quench,what are your thoughts about it

Yes, i am currently using it, but have only been using it a short while. It does a pretty good job although I really dont have anything to compare it to other than straight water. And my water is from my well and is kinda briny. The home brew is def better than straight water and so far i havent noticed any corrosion in the tank and only slight corrosion on slats. Ive thought about adding more sodium nitrite to the mix due to the added corrosive properties of my water but havent tried that yet. Overall seems to work great so far, for the price of the chemicals....

Jim

[plain ol Bill]

My table has had the home recipe in it for about six months or longer now. I put a couple of pieces of sand blasted steel in the bottom of my table and look at them every couple of months. They have gotten darker but still no rust on them. I use well water and my PH is low so the water is on the acidic side. Acidic water will rust metal in a heartbeat but not in the table!

[Complete_Loser]

For the love of God! Can this site get any more helpful!

We were just kicking around the idea of a water pan for our table tonight. And we all (newbies) ruled it out because we figured the water vapor would increase oxidation of the slats and projects.

Then this thread sets me straight.

If i came to this site before our meetings, i would look like a genius!

[plain ol Bill]

Putting a water pan under your plasma makes breathing a lot easier! And the water helps you control warpage a LOT. Try to get the water level up to the top of your grate system and then the plasma dust is about 99% gone. I have a 2" slope from end to end of my 10 ft. long table and I thought I might get parts and dust might go to the deep end when I drop water level to get parts out. But the dust and parts just settle down and don't seem to migrate.

[RJ Fab]

OK, so I'm looking to make some Plaxmaquench and have a question on the Sodium Nitrite. Does it have to be "powder" or can it be "grannular"? Or better yet, does someone have a good source other than ebay?

[jimmyrig]

Yes where do you buy this stuff.....I feel like I am now on the FBI watch list....

[rock4xfab]

just finished building my table.. And knowing the KOAL WAS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS, I found anther place that sells it, but was still very interested in alternative water table treatment knowing there had to other ways. So while making an inquiry on cnczone a gentleman chimed in with soda ash ( sodium bicarbonate) ARM AND HAMMER so i did some research and ended up mixing it up. Formula is .5 pound for 20 gallons of water. So I added some food grade green die also to make it look good too.
there you have it also for those wanting to know how much water your table my hold here is the formula for that.
W" x L" x H" /231= gallons

[Complete_Loser]

DI water, or just tap water?

[rock4xfab]

DI water, or just tap water?

I just used water from the sink.. I have to take the table down next month and I may invest in DI then.. Although I think it is a mute point. You are going to get the minerals from the water or the corrosion of the metal in the tank..

[Complete_Loser]

DI water, or just tap water?

I just used water from the sink.. I have to take the table down next month and I may invest in DI then.. Although I think it is a mute point. You are going to get the minerals from the water or the corrosion of the metal in the tank..

I was kinda thinking the same thing. But not being Bill Nye, I didnt want to assume too much.

[Metal Lee]

It is easy to check the ph of your water, most town water is more on the basic side to reduce corosion in the distribution system and some will treat for corosion with an inhibitor of some kind. You can get pool strips to test the water in your tank if need be. I used an old oil tank and welded it together and I have had it in service for two years now with no additive and no problem, I have fished some parts out that have been in there for a year and not much rust. I am on town water and I know it comes from wells and they do use a corrosion inhibiter.
You can even talk to the water operator in your area and they will tell you the ph of the water, he or she may even hook you up with some soda ash if the use it for ph adjustment in the plant.

Just my two cents.

[cbrokenspur]

does anyone have any pics of a water table under a plasma cam ??? i have been thinking of building my own but hoping to avoid any mistakes

[rock4xfab]

I dont think there is a wrong way. Most of us have roughly 4" depth and some way of metering the water heigh via some sort of bladder. Just fashion a tank in the grate area....

[cbrokenspur]

how close to the cut material does the water need to be ??