# Nice spray mist system for the mill / lathe



## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

Hi everyone,

I thought I would make my first post about a recent success I had with a makeshift spray mist system that I cobbled together. To start, I used to use flood coolant (water mostly) to cool aluminum when I wanted to run a higher feed rate on my mill. All was well with the idea except that I found my flood coolant system required more maintenance than what I was expecting. Also, my shop is not insulated, so the winters present freezing issues. For a short time I used WD-40 as my coolant, but quickly found out that it could produce a lot of smoke once the feed rates went up. 

After this, I thought about spray mist coolant and wondered if a system like that could provide enough cooling for my aluminum and also create less mess. I looked at my options and decided that I would go with those import spray mist lines. I purchased two of them from eBay and they shipped from the Chinese motherland. About two weeks later they came in the mail and I was eager to put them to use and see if they would do the job. 

My setup consisted of a 1/3hp scientific vacuum pump, air lines and the all important water lines from a Tupperware style container that made their way to the spray mist lines. Now, these lines were the kind that did not have two adjustable needles (one for the air and one for the water) but rather only one ball valve the air in. I also found those mist lines needed more air than what my vacuum pump could deliver and trying to adjust air pressure to meter the water flow was close to impossible. After a couple of days of tinkering with the setup, I decided that it was just not reliable enough to put my end mills on the line and hope that they would receive the cooling that they required. 

I went back on eBay and looked at some more options and came across a different kind of spray mist line. This one seemed to have two needle valves on it and I suspected that perhaps this type would work for my application. I went ahead and ordered those two from the Chinese motherland and they came in a couple of weeks. Once they came in I installed them on the mill and set everything up as I had done previously. I turned on my vacuum pump and I immediately saw that the gauge jumped to over 25psi and started to load up the motor. I adjusted the pressure bleed valve and toned down the pressure to about 15psi. I checked the mist nozzles and they were both blowing a nice amount of air along with a fair amount of water being drawn out. At this point, I worked the water adjustment needles and I was able to get them to where one could just barely make out a faint trace of water leaving the nozzles.

Needless to say I was very pleased with the result. Not long after I went ahead and loaded up a 3/8" end mill, popped a hunk of aluminum in the vice and fired up the spindle for a test. I took a 0.150" width of cut with a 0.300" depth of cut at 3000rpm and 24ipm. The performance of the cut showed no issues with overheating and I was free to use the full power of the mill without concern of aluminum getting soft and clogging the end mill.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 27, 2017)

Jake2465 said:


> I went ahead and ordered those two from the Chinese motherland and they came in a couple of weeks.


Could you share with us which ones you purchased?


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## ttabbal (Dec 27, 2017)

I just got one like those for my future lathe. What did you use for air line? It didn't come with anything for that.


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## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

Sure, Bob. Give me a minute and I will upload a picture of the actual listing.

ttabbal, I just use those clear rubber / plastic lines that can be had at the hardware store. I believe they are called vinyl lines.


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## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

Here is the listing I used for the purchase.


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## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

This kind failed to work for me.


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## kd4gij (Dec 27, 2017)

Can you post a link can't make it out in the small pic.


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## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

This should be a working link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Lathe-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649


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## Bob Korves (Dec 27, 2017)

Jake2465 said:


> This should be a working link:
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Lathe-Milling-Drill-Machine-Mist-Coolant-Lubrication-Spray-Sprayer-System/142265346587?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649


I ordered one.  The mister I have been using has been flaky, it is old and well used, so I will try the one you ordered and see how it works out.  Thanks for the good review of the mister, Jake.


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## Mitch Alsup (Dec 27, 2017)

Thanks for the writeup.


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## kd4gij (Dec 27, 2017)

That works Thanks.


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## Jake2465 (Dec 27, 2017)

No problem, glad to help .


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## Downwindtracker2 (Dec 28, 2017)

Thanks, I ordered one for my surface grinder. It just a Delta Toolmaker with no dust extraction.


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## KMoffett (Dec 28, 2017)

I ordered one. I've been using a KOOL-MIST one for quite a while, but it was always a pain to get the air and water adjusted just right. Then you had to screw the air valve in and out to start and stop it.  I realized that my mill had a front panel button and M7/M9 code for mist control that was an unpurchased hardware option. So now I'm in the process of installing a control relay and solenoid valve to take advantage of the new mister.

Ken


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## Silverbullet (Dec 28, 2017)

Hi and thanks , future buy ill be betting . Unable now tho


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## woodchucker (Dec 28, 2017)

Jake2465 said:


> This kind failed to work for me.


why did it fail? Always good to know what works, and what doesn't, but why it doesn't is just as important.

Thanks.


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## KMoffett (Dec 28, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> why did it fail? Always good to know what works, and what doesn't, but why it doesn't is just as important.
> 
> Thanks.


Two problems:

1. The water flow adjustment at the tip was very inconsistent. You have to screw down the air screw to stop the flow.  Getting it back to the proper water flow after you turn it back on was a repeated, time consuming, trial and error. Part of this was also due to the lack of a backflow check valve. And with a large diameter water tube, as soon as the air is off the water empties back into the reservoir.  It takes quite a while to reestablish water flow to the tip.

2. The LOC-LINE connection to the brass ball fitting at the body has a very limited range of motion before it pops off. A real pain to try and push it back on. Bought a pair of Loc-Line pliers to do that, but that didn't keep it from popping off when trying to position it by moving the tip.  Loc-Line sells a bag of four clamps to tightly fasten one segment to another, or to the ball fitting. That worked for the pop off problem.

The new mister's Loc-Line seems a lot stiffer than the one on the Kool-Mist unit.  I hope this is not a problem.  I have yet to test it, as I'm still working on the control. I'll keep you posted.

Ken


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## Jake2465 (Dec 28, 2017)

Those ball valve type air misters seem to require a lot of air to get them to work properly. My vacuum pump was allowed to move enough air to drop under 12psi running just one mist line due to the larger orifice openings of the mist line. I found that they would need at least 15psi of air to start drawing water. But, this pressure was also dependent on the height of the water tank in relation to the mist line. 

Say you have water in the tank and you run the pump to get air going through the mister. You can probably picture that the water tank will need to be lower than the mist line so a syphon effect does not dump all the water. So, here we are waiting for the water to make it through the line to the nozzle and the water is having too much difficulty making it into the mist line. At this point, one option would be to just grab the tank and lift it up a bit to help the water flow. It makes it into the mister and goes from nothing to way too much. One option would be to drop the pressure a little bit and try to lower the differential in the system so water stops flowing to much. The issue is that balancing this rate is pretty sensitive and the pressure would need to be adjusted in fine amounts. Very hard to achieve using a ball valve. Also, restricting flow would mean that once the pump is shut off, then it beings all over again because the next time the pump is turned on there will be far too little pressure to draw water back through the line.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 28, 2017)

Jake, with the interest you have generated and the orders that have been sent in, you should be asking the seller for a commission!


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## Jake2465 (Dec 28, 2017)

No joke! Guess I was not the only one. The struggle is real, lol.


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## middle.road (Dec 29, 2017)

Picked up an 'orange' body one a while back. hooked it up to a large juice bottle of Boelube.
Wish I'd gotten the 'black' body one instead of the orange one. Also need to score a smaller air generating source.
Silly user story: after I first set mine up I hadn't put a shut-off on the line. Generated a nice siphon and I had a puddle
in the slots of the mill table.


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## woodchucker (Dec 29, 2017)

Have you guys considered putting a separate regulator on that line. That way you can dial the pressure back from a larger compressor. Even though I have a dental vac that can run continuously I plan on using my large compressor and just using a cheap HF diaphragm regulator to control the pressure and flow.


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## Boswell (Dec 29, 2017)

Jake2465 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I thought I would make my first post about a recent success I had with a makeshift spray mist system that I cobbled together.




Welcome to the forum Jake.  Cooling systems seem to always be a big PIA and of general interest here.  Looking forward to seeing more from you shop.


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## KMoffett (Dec 29, 2017)

OK. I got the new mister system running, though the solenoid valve is not under system control yet. That's the next step. 
Wow! It has so much better air and fluid control than the Kool Mist mister. With the solenoid valve in the air line, when it's off, there's no more drain down of the fluid line because of the fluid line check valve. So the mist is there as soon as the solenoid valve opens. By the way I'm running it off of a 70psi air supply.  The maximum air blowing force, with or without fluid, doesn't seem as powerful as the Kool Mist unit. 

Ken


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## 7milesup (Dec 29, 2017)

Just ordered one too.  LOL


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## gonzo (Dec 30, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> Have you guys considered putting a separate regulator on that line. That way you can dial the pressure back from a larger compressor. Even though I have a dental vac that can run continuously I plan on using my large compressor and just using a cheap HF diaphragm regulator to control the pressure and flow.


A possible problem with the regulator is that they are made to regulate higher discharge pressures than those needed on a misting system. You might find it difficult to precisely adjust it to your pressures. Norgren makes a good low pressure regulator but I am thinking that it may be too pricey for your application.


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## woodchucker (Dec 30, 2017)

gonzo said:


> A possible problem with the regulator is that they are made to regulate higher discharge pressures than those needed on a misting system. You might find it difficult to precisely adjust it to your pressures. Norgren makes a good low pressure regulator but I am thinking that it may be too pricey for your application.


Even to get the pressure down to say 10 psi?
What about a restricter after the regulator.


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## ttabbal (Dec 30, 2017)

I took mine to Lowes to get tubing for the air line. It's 5/16 OD, 3/16 ID that fits the push connect fitting. They also had a 3/16 hose barb to 1/4 NPT fitting to adapt to the common air fittings. I'll test it with water today. If it looks good I'll probably pick up a valve and regulator for it.


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## kd4gij (Dec 30, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> Even to get the pressure down to say 10 psi?
> What about a restricter after the regulator.




 My compressor is set at 90psi. I use a HF regulator down to 15psi with out any problems. Can go lower if needed.


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## 7milesup (Dec 30, 2017)

I agree. You can buy regulators for airbrushes too that go quite low. I put a reg on my compressor that goes quite low, 10psi I think.


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## ttabbal (Dec 31, 2017)

I like the spray pattern these make. I ran at 30psi for testing with water and it worked great. I can't test it on a machine as my lathe isn't here yet, but it seems like a good option with a wide range of adjustment.


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## Wireaddict (Dec 31, 2017)

If you meant to send an image nothing showed up here.  Also, I wouldn't use pure water as a coolant because it'd cause rust problems.  (You may already be planning to use a non-corrosive coolant, if so, disregard my last comment!)   Enjoy your new lathe!


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## Jake2465 (Dec 31, 2017)

If regulated air pressure is provided to the mist system, then the next thing needed is a needle valve for the water in. That is a very important part of the system because it needs fine adjustments. Before I purchased those twin needle sprayers, I considered getting a inline needle valve form a OS Max engine because they could adjust flow rates pretty well. I ended up not doing that because those things are in the neighborhood of around $40 each. But, if you already have enough air flow for the system to draw water, then the only thing left is something to finely regulate that water flow and that's pretty much it.


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## KMoffett (Dec 31, 2017)

Jake,
 Having the fluid needle valve in the block is another reason I got the two-valve unit.  Trying to adjust the fluid/air mix at the mister tip was always a pain.  Especially if I needed to adjust it while a CNC program was running...too close to a spinning bit. 

Ken


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## woodchucker (Dec 31, 2017)

Jake2465 said:


> If regulated air pressure is provided to the mist system, then the next thing needed is a needle valve for the water in. That is a very important part of the system because it needs fine adjustments. Before I purchased those twin needle sprayers, I considered getting a inline needle valve form a OS Max engine because they could adjust flow rates pretty well. I ended up not doing that because those things are in the neighborhood of around $40 each. But, if you already have enough air flow for the system to draw water, then the only thing left is something to finely regulate that water flow and that's pretty much it.


So my thinking was both regulated and the 2 valve. The same way a conversion HVLP sprayer has regulated air, plus a air adjustment screw to fine tune the volume, seems like you can take high pressure dial it in close, and adjust it even finer. A ball valve for on and off seems like a good idea too.


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## kd4gij (Dec 31, 2017)

This system will be ideal to use on a fog buster/ micro drops system.
http://fogbuster.com/
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/no-fog-coolant-mister.19957/


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## Jake2465 (Dec 31, 2017)

woodchucker said:


> So my thinking was both regulated and the 2 valve. The same way a conversion HVLP sprayer has regulated air, plus a air adjustment screw to fine tune the volume, seems like you can take high pressure dial it in close, and adjust it even finer. A ball valve for on and off seems like a good idea too.



I agree .  The only reason I did not run a regulator was because my air supply came from that scientific vacuum pump and not a shop compressor. It's cfm was low enough that a regulator was not needed, so I just happened to have a piece of equipment that worked out. 

The ball valve would be good if the compressor would always be pressurized and the ball valve could act like the on/off switch.


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## KMoffett (Dec 31, 2017)

Just picked up a $10 air regulator at Harbor Feight, but woun't have a chance to intall and test 'til Tuesday. I'll swap out the 0-150 PSI gauge with one of a lower range.

Ken


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## Bob Korves (Jan 1, 2018)

This YouTube video from Tom Lipton (Oxtoolco) from 2013 shows an interesting way of setting up a mist coolant system.  Relevant part starts at about 9:22 and goes to 19:30.  Pressurizing the coolant side is the way to make these things less fussy.  The siphon system works, but is less than ideal.  Personally, I would leave the air side of the system alone, using the liquid needle valve just like it is, and then just try for creating low and adjustable pressure so it is no longer a siphon system, but rather is just coolant under low pressure to the mister unit.  The plastic two liter soda bottles are cheap, will not explode under any reasonable shop pressure, are easy to see the remaining coolant level, hold a good amount of coolant, and are quick to change out as required.


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## kd4gij (Jan 1, 2018)

I did the same thing but used a whole house filter tank like the fogbuster  that I picked up at a flea market for a couple bucks.


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## Boswell (Jan 1, 2018)

While I did not make any part of these things. I started with a Cool-Mist system (Siphon) and changed out to a Fog Buster (pressure coolant delivery). It was one of the best choices I have made in the shop. The Siphon system was temperamental and I was always having to fiddle with it to get the siphon started and maintain the right amount of fluid in the final output. The Fog-Buster system has none of these problems. I have a little pneumatic switch and when I turn it on, it works. Every time and right away.


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## MikeWi (Jan 1, 2018)

Boswell said:


> While I did not make any part of these things. I started with a Cool-Mist system (Siphon) and changed out to a Fog Buster (pressure coolant delivery). It was one of the best choices I have made in the shop. The Siphon system was temperamental and I was always having to fiddle with it to get the siphon started and maintain the right amount of fluid in the final output. The Fog-Buster system has none of these problems. I have a little pneumatic switch and when I turn it on, it works. Every time and right away.


I did the same thing. I used the Cool-Mist body, and replaced the hose (the spray end) with a Fog-Buster style brass tube, and modified a water filter for the coolant similar to how the Fog-Buster is done.  Works great, with very little coolant.


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## Subwayrocket (Jan 2, 2018)

Jake2465 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I thought I would make my first post about a recent success I had with a makeshift spray mist system that I cobbled together.
> ~~~~~~~~~
> Needless to say I was very pleased with the result. Not long after I went ahead and loaded up a 3/8" end mill, popped a hunk of aluminum in the vice and fired up the spindle for a test. I took a 0.150" width of cut with a 0.300" depth of cut at 3000rpm and 24ipm. The performance of the cut showed no issues with overheating and I was free to use the full power of the mill without concern of aluminum getting soft and clogging the end mill.



Thanks for sharing Jake . Great first post !


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## KMoffett (Jan 2, 2018)

Installed the Harbor Freight pressure regulator in the air line today.  Swapped the 0-169psi gauge for a 0-60psi with a 70psi air supply.  For me, 40psi seems to give me a good range of balance for chip clearing and cooling/lubricating.

Ken


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## KMoffett (Jan 3, 2018)

Installations attached.  The positioning of the regulator and solenoid valve was to make use of existing mounting screws on the mill.  I have another, longer mounting rod for the mister block, if I need to run with the quill more fully extended.   "Jarom", the one eyed sucker, serves well for both chip and over mist evacuation.

Ken


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## Jake2465 (Jan 3, 2018)

KMoffett said:


> "Jarom", the one eyed sucker



Does Jarom have one of those flippity floppity eye balls ??


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## kvt (Jan 3, 2018)

KMoffett  where did you get the electric shutoff valve


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## KMoffett (Jan 3, 2018)

Jake,

Yes, Jarom does have those flippity floppity eye balls. Though he does concentrate when he's working.    The name came from a student...and it stuck. The tennis ball on the quill encoder guard also has the eyes.  Too many pokes on the head.

KVT,

The valve came from mt junk box.  That exact Skinner valve is obsolete. But it was a standard, 150 PSI, 3-way, 24VDC, 1/8th NPT ports and which should have an equivalent from many manufactures.. The 3-way valve dumps the mister side to ambient when shut off. This immediately stops the spray, so it doesn't just slowly decrease the spray.

Ken


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## kvt (Jan 4, 2018)

Thank I will have to look for one.


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## KMoffett (Jan 6, 2018)

kvt,

What voltage would work for you? If 12VDC, than this would be a inexpensive option:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-Solid-...272335306885?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10
There are also other NPT port sizes and voltages.

Ken


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## Bob Korves (Jan 6, 2018)

KMoffett said:


> kvt,
> 
> What voltage would work for you? If 12VDC, than this would be a inexpensive option:
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-Solid-...272335306885?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10
> ...


There are also 1/8" pipe thread versions for about $8.  They should be more than big enough for a mister system.  I wonder if they will be OK with water in them long term?  I know pneumatic valves and cylinders work with oil for low flows, but I wonder about corrosion and sticking plungers with aqueous solutions.  Does anybody have experience using water based solutions in solenoid air valves long term?


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## KMoffett (Jan 6, 2018)

Bob,

The valve is only in the air supply line.  Now, if your air supply is a potential source of "wet" air, you would want to add a coalescing filter upstream of the valve, and regulator (if used).

Ken


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## Bob Korves (Jan 6, 2018)

Thanks, Ken.  I am thinking about a system that has low pressure feed for the coolant, not siphon.  It will need a shutoff, which could be the existing needle valve.


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## FLguy (May 25, 2018)

Jake2465 said:


> Here is the listing I used for the purchase.


  Thank you for that post. I've bought 3 and use Green Cut by Lube Corp. in Canada. Great combo!!


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## killswitch505 (May 27, 2018)

Well I had to order 2 lol


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