Thread: Need some electrical help

I'm adding a coolant pump to my mill.

I have a bilge pump that would be perfect for it. The pump is 12v and draws about 2-3 amps.
I want to be able to run it off the 110 in my shop. I have a 9v converter and an 18.5v converter. Could I use either of these without burning up the motor? I don't care if the pump runs a little slower than its designed to.

I'll buy a 12v converter if I have to, but I'd rather use something I have laying around.

Originally Posted by HNSB

I'm adding a coolant pump to my mill.

I have a bilge pump that would be perfect for it. The pump is 12v and draws about 2-3 amps.
I want to be able to run it off the 110 in my shop. I have a 9v converter and an 18.5v converter. Could I use either of these without burning up the motor? I don't care if the pump runs a little slower than its designed to.

I'll buy a 12v converter if I have to, but I'd rather use something I have laying around.

First, I'm no electrician however you can't go lower. Higher is OK. if you go lower the motor will try and draw more power and might burn out.

110 V aqaurium pumps work great for water based coolants,they are also cheap.have also used pond pumps found and any nursury.

If I have to buy a pump, I'll get an actual coolant pump.
Since I already have the bilge pump I thought I'd try to get it to work.

Originally Posted by HNSB

If I have to buy a pump, I'll get an actual coolant pump.
Since I already have the bilge pump I thought I'd try to get it to work.

Good luck with it.

I think roughkype could tell you for sure based on this thread here ..........

I'd be curious what the gallons per minute output on your bilge pump is. I have no idea what you are looking for in gpm but I know that the bilge pump I have is too much water for a tile saw.

It's 500 gph, which is more than I need for a direct coolant spray.

I'm going to do a base flood on the table to flush chips as well. I built an enclosure around the table that will flush out to one side, into a pan with a wire mesh to collect chips and return the coolant to the reservoir.

You might not need to buy a 12v converter if you had an old PC laying around - just use the power supply that is in there and it would work. If you need a smaller pump, I think I've got an old water pump I used when my PC was watercooled, unless my brother ran off with it.

Well, I ended up using a 12v gel cell battery.
It's 7.5 amp hours; for the amount I use the mill a charge should last me all day.

Here's a couple of pics:



It's ugly as hell, but functional...
I think I'm going to redo the enclosure with aluminum corners and a better height adjustment for the rear. For now though, I'm just happy to have it working.
The pump isn't pushing nearly as much as I thought it would, so no base flood for now.