Cooling setup help

[Michael Lieb]

New to the forum.I ordered one of the 50 watt China lasers and am looking for some advise on a few things,.
I've been reading a lot about cooling and I am still up in the air about what to do. Water or RV antifreeze?
What I would like to do is use a heater core that I have from a car,Mount a fan, Fill it with RV Antifreeze and make a closed system.
( of coarse I would have to make certain that everything was super clean)
Question What should I be looking for as far as the fan(C,F.M, how big ....)
Is the RV Antifreeze a good idea?
What kind of pump should I use and where can I find it?
Am I just Wrong even thinking this craziness?
I would also like to monitor the Fluid temp with a gauge. Again Where can I find one?
Should I have a flow gauge?
As you can probably guess I`m a bit out of the loop here. I just want to make this thing as reliable as I can with out spending a lot.
Thanks for any help.

[Bert Kemp]

I think a lot would depend on how much your going to use it. and are you engraving or cutting and if cutting what are you cutting. These are all factors you need to know to decide on the best cooling . Most here would probably recommend a 5000 chiller they cost around 6 or 700 bucks. and if your cutting 1/4 inch plywood all day I would recommend that also. If your engraving and thats all you do you might not need that. I do a bit of both and run my 60 watt less then 5 hr at a time I just use a bucket of water with Ice jugs in it. My water stays between 58 and 65 degree's if it gets over 65 I put in a new jug of ice. waters always cool. I use distilled water with a table spoon of bleach and have no algae problems. I bought a digital heat gun to check my water temp works great

[Keith Winter]

cw-5000 chiller should be perfect for your use case

[Phill Barnes]

Does anyone here use an aquarium chiller to cool their tube?

Considering it myself for a efr ZS-1250 80 watt tube. Would buy cw5000 but they are not available off the shelf in Australia and china wants over 300 bucks for shipping one.
Makes it a little unaffordable.

[Michael Lieb]

I really can`t swing buying a chiller. I guess what I`m looking for is more advise on how to build cooling system myself. I could do the Ice bucket thing I guess but would rather find a better solution as it would be kind of a pain for me to go that way. As for how much I`m going to be using it? Quite a bit I hope. I would like to start a Business eventually. Does anyone know if it`s a good idea or not using the RV antifreeze?

[Bert Kemp]

I think people use the RV antifreeze, I don't know what the real advantage is in using it unless your working in a very cold place and need to keep it from freezing. Your idea of a radiator with a fan is not really going to cool the water more then ambient temp. if your water gets over 75 or more it will have an effect on the tubes power. If you can keep your water below 75 and below 70 would be better you should be ok. Just remember the cooler the water the better your laser will preform. One thing to watch out for tho is condensation on the tube. So that has to be taken into consideration if you live in a high humidity area.

[Jerome Stanek]

I really can`t swing buying a chiller. I guess what I`m looking for is more advise on how to build cooling system myself. I could do the Ice bucket thing I guess but would rather find a better solution as it would be kind of a pain for me to go that way. As for how much I`m going to be using it? Quite a bit I hope. I would like to start a Business eventually. Does anyone know if it`s a good idea or not using the RV antifreeze?

I have been using RV antifreeze for over 2 years with no problem

[Keith Winter]

Does anyone here use an aquarium chiller to cool their tube?

Considering it myself for a efr ZS-1250 80 watt tube. Would buy cw5000 but they are not available off the shelf in Australia and china wants over 300 bucks for shipping one.
Makes it a little unaffordable.

A number of people do, that setup Bert was describing is similar to a aquarium chiller. Problem will be keeping the water cool, for that Bert suggested ice jugs in it if you re-read his post above. If you have your laser in an unconditioned space you will be fighting the heat from the laser and also the room, not impossible, but harder to do without a proper chiller. Phill for your 80w I'd consider the CW 5200. CW 5000 would do ok, but might overheat if the room temperature got too hot. Buy more than you think you'll need when it comes to a chiller, no fun to be down because your water got too hot.

[Michael Lieb]

Thanks much. Yes Condensation may be a problem. I will be keeping the machine in my basement where it stays a bit cool and damp in the summer.I will be running a dehumidifier but now you got me wondering what steps I should take to keep that issue at bay.

[Andrew Holloway]

When I got my first laser (40W glass tube) I had a 40L (10 gallon) water tub with a small aquarium pump and had 6 or 8 2Litre (half gallon) bottles that I kept in the freezer and just swapped over as the water temp rose throughout the day. I probably only used the laser up to 4 hours a day back then and found it was not really a pain at all. I could keep the temp within about a 2 degrees Celsius range which was great for keeping the laser power consistent. I don't remember the temps I aimed for, but I think it was 18-20 degrees Celsius.
If you are just starting out and will not be running the laser all day every day from day 1, I'd recommend this as a simple, cheap setup to get you started. As business picks up and you are finding it inconvenient, you will hopefully have made some cash and won't think twice about picking up a CW 5000 (or CW 5200).
Just my 2c

[Bill Carruthers]

When I got my first laser (40W glass tube) I had a 40L (10 gallon) water tub with a small aquarium pump and had 6 or 8 2Litre (half gallon) bottles that I kept in the freezer and just swapped over as the water temp rose throughout the day. I probably only used the laser up to 4 hours a day back then and found it was not really a pain at all. I could keep the temp within about a 2 degrees Celsius range which was great for keeping the laser power consistent. I don't remember the temps I aimed for, but I think it was 18-20 degrees Celsius.
If you are just starting out and will not be running the laser all day every day from day 1, I'd recommend this as a simple, cheap setup to get you started. As business picks up and you are finding it inconvenient, you will hopefully have made some cash and won't think twice about picking up a CW 5000 (or CW 5200).
Just my 2c

I second that Andrew - for intermittent use I still use a similar system for my 60 watt machine - I don't see much power degradation till the coolant water gets over 24 or 25 C.

[Bert Kemp]

One other thing after re reading your 1st post. You said you ordered a 50 watt Chinese laser. Be aware that this is not really a 50 watt laser but most likely an over driven 40 watt tube that might maybe run at 35 watts . If you try running your laser at full power you'll kill your tube in no time. I would suggest putting an amp meter on the machine if it doesn't come with one and monitoring your power.

[Michael Lieb]

Well I guess I`ll go with the Ice then. seems to be the best way to go for now. I did order a amp meter. I will install that before I fire it up.
Been reading a lot about water flow and Flow sensor issues. Thoughts on that whole thing?

[Rich Harman]

I know someone that uses a barrel of water for cooling. They have the tap running continuously into it at a trickle to keep the water cool and fresh. Very cheap and reliable if you have a cheap source of cold water.

[Michael Lieb]

Thanks everybody for all the great advise.