Yeah I was wondering about the use of RV antifreeze for spindle coolant. From my use of RV antifreeze (in an RV) it’s mostly just ethanol alcohol. I live in a cold climate but I don’t worry about my shop getting down to much less than about 60*F. I don’t yet have a liquid cooled spindle but I’m not planning on using anything more than distilled water and maybe a Humidifier Bacteriostat to prevent mold or other flora growth. Interesting topic…
I did change it out and looks good, but after reading the above, I am going to find something different
Found a really helpful article on coolant liquids here:
I think I go with purified water only.
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I’ve got a newly setup system and I’m using RO water. Wondering though if I need any additives in it for anti-algae, etc. It’s a closed loop system in the dark except for a couple inches of tubing at the spindle, so I don’t know if anything would grow in it.
I found a CW3000 for under EUR 200 and I ordered one.
Adding up single components with flow control and temperature alarm would cost me more and now I have all in a single housing. - Cool!
But when arrived I thought to do some slight modifications:
- The pump sit loose in piece of metal - that needs to be noise isolated
- The flow sensor is in the water outlet - needs to go in the inlet
- Connectors changed to Festo push-ins
- The two cooling pipes were in parallel - needs to be in serial
- Cooling pipes are fixed to the fan with a single cable tie - was adding some armaflex to get rid of vibrations
For me optimal now.
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It would be great to show a pic or two of your mods, as I plan to do a few myself once I am back in a house later this spring.
Sure! Here you are:
On the back side I replaced the connectors with FESTO plug-ins.
The motor has grooves, into each I put a piece of silicone hose to avoid vibrations.
In the original, the two cooling coils are parallel. I have connected them in series.
Armaflex was glued between the cooling coils and the fan so that the vibrations of the fan are not transmitted.
The flow sensor is now in the return line so that leaks in the cooling circuit can be detected before the water tank has been pumped empty. 
Attention: The flow sensor is position-dependent. Please test whether it works before screwing everything back together.
The Y-branch, which was previously installed on the cooling coils, is now in the return to connect the outlet valve.
All cable ties have been replaced with wire spring clips to apply constant pressure to the hose connections; cable ties wear out.
The cooling water tank is filled with distilled water. Although I don’t have any paint in the hoses, I don’t have to worry about toxicity or the possibility of car coolants attacking the plastic of the unit.
(Coolants such as glycol are used for frost protection or corrosion protection in cars, but reduce the cooling capacity of the water).
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For a slightly different view, my research indicates plastic in cooling systems is affected by heat and not automotive coolants. If we are concerned about that level of heat in these systems, one should buy the CW5000 or CW5200. My experience with my spindle is that the CW3000 is fine for this service and may even be overkill with the fan running all the time. I wish the fan were thermostatically controlled so it runs only when needed.
The loss of heat transfer due to automotive coolant is minimal.
.
My biggest concern for using the automotive coolant is the toxicity risk to our pets.
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You can put a thermal control switch in these if you want to. I’ve considered doing it myself but I have dust extractor nearby that drowns out the noise of the cooler fan. I guess from a pump longevity it may make sense though.
Automotive coolant toxicity risk to pets is the #1 reason I’m not using it. Rather replace the cooler some day than my cat. Also, if there is a leak, water is easier to clean up.
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Do you have a link to the replacement plug ins? Is it complicated to do? Any additional parts needed to make it work with a 5mm ID hose?
Which size connectors did you buy? Specifically the threaded portion of the connector that attaches to the chiller. Thank you
I just used the ones that came with it.
So did you just use a reducer to get it down to the 5mm ID hose?
Ah, now I see why you asked about the connector. I did 10mm hose to the top of my boom arm, then a 10-6mm reducer to 6mm ID hose to the spindle. Figured that way I’d keep the flow as high as possible while having the most flexible hose where it needed to be.
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Hey Jussi,
On the images you can see above, I was using Festo PUN-H-8X1,25-NT (197378) Outside:8mm Inside:5,7mm
and
Festo QSSF-3/8-8-B (153167) for the connectors.
The 8 mm / 5,7 mm hose was fitting directly to my spindle.
Best,
Andreas
Thank you. Do the connectors thread on directly or did you have to do any modifications on the cooler to make them work?
…hmm - not 100 % sure.
The flow sensor moved from the outlet to the inlet - think no additional part was necessary. The nozzle in the outlet in between hose and Festo connector is also new / replaced.
I replaced also the internal hoses and got rid od the cable ties.
As I said: Even with spending some extra bugs, this solution is not that expensive than buying all the sensors, parts and the display separately.
Usually not buying cheap import stuff - but there is nothing comparable I found.
Hi Andreas. Can you tell me the name and part number to the fitting that connects to the push fitting. I circled it in blue in the pic. I would search for it myself but I’m not sure what they’re called. Thank you
Hey Jussi,
I’m afraid “Gewindetülle Gewinde NPT 3/8” - 9 mm, 16 bar Edelstahl" is not the answer you’re looking for. 
But with the link below, you might be better able to identify what you need to buy.
BTW: I also removed the internal hoses by this one:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B09FDMMHRQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Best,
Andreas
PS: The links are not affiliate links, of course!
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