Also, if you are using straight water stop by a pool supply house and pick up some algaecide and add about 1 ounce to your water, this will stop algae growth, especially if your water input is exposed to open air. I run a sealed OmTech CW-5202 chiller and still add the algaecide just to be safe. Once algae has started in the laser tube is is extremely difficult to remove.
My 5202 chiller holds about 6L I believe, I put one drop of algecide from the local fish store in it and it didnât grown anything. The two tubes going to the chiller are clear, so it gets enough light to grow things.
I have switched to OMTech coolant, so itâs not an issue anymore.
Been running Distilled water in my CW-5200 for 3 years and the chiller stays on 24/7. I change the water about every 3 to 4 months depending on how much I am using my machine.
Itâs in a closed system, why change it out?
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Because it is good to change it in order to prevent mold and junk in it. The cost is about $5 in distilled water (1-1/2 gallons).
I know itâs cheap⊠I was just curious about why.
Itâs a closed system, so I canât see how junk could get into it. I put one drop of algecide from the fish store, seems to have fixed that issue.
Before the algecide drop, I used to get some growth in the tubes, where the sunshine gets to itâŠ
Thanks.
ahhh, I donât know. I just always have. I use to shut my chiller off and we get hot summers here and I was just in the habit of doing it. Now that I keep it on 24/7, I probably wouldnât. I do put a capful of bleech in.
I use distilled water with a teaspoon of household bleach in it. Its actually quite difficult to get distilled water in the UK - everyone seems to think that de-ionised water is the same but it isnât. My laser has been filled for 3 years and is still perfectly clear.
My only problem is worrying about freezing in the winter - I try and keep the workshop above freezing of course, with a chinese diesel heater which I run for 30 minutes in the evening to warm the place up to around 10Âșc if it looks like the ambient is going to fall below freezing, and a couple of tubular greenhouse heaters, one under the tube and one under the chiller, left on overnight when it is very cold.
Thatâs strange, in the US you can find distilled water everywhere, but the de-ionized water is more expensive and much harder to locate.
That is strange. I had to buy my distilled water from a wholesale tattoists supplier 200 miles away via the internet, whereas I can go to my local car parts supplier round the corner for de-ionised!
I live in a small town and the only grocery store has a lot of it in the beverage isle. When I lived near Phoenix, it was also in all the grocery stores⊠
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I use distilled water in a 40w CO2 laser with two pumps. One pump is located in the distilled water bin while the other pump is located within the housing of the laser.
I have had the same laser for over eight years. I guess it is use case here but flowing distilled water in the interior of the laser for cooling was recommended to me from the manufacturer.
I always just used it without incident.
Have herd of Spotless water? Its like going to the petrol station, you get a key fob and can pump as much pure water as you want for pence. If you have window cleaners in yiur area your bound to find one of these.
Winter issue is simple, get a an aquarium heater in your filler cap on your chiller and use a small pump inbetween a line, let thay bad boy run all winter and save you loads on using the heaters etc, i get a photo of my setup when i get a chance