preventing coolant evaporation

Hi all, one of the small issues I'm facing now is the coolant water is evaporating overtime, that is I guess to the design of my machine which has an open top tank under the t-slot table, that is to allow the coolant to collect from all sides of the table because its smaller than the tank and there are gaps.

anyway if anyone seen these before https://www.google.com.bh/search?q=a...w=1436&bih=782
I thought of using a similar concept, if it works will it be ok to use plastic balls in the coolant or will it react? or if anyone has any other suggestion please let me know, thanks!

The only issue would be if the plastic reacts with the coolant, however the worst that's likely to happen is the plastic becomes brittle/discoloured.

Is the evaporation really a problem worth solving though?
I just top up my machines when needed.

They use plastic beads for oil based coolants because there's nothing else you can float on top but if you are using water you could use an oil to prevent evaporation, take your pick!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by m_c

The only issue would be if the plastic reacts with the coolant, however the worst that's likely to happen is the plastic becomes brittle/discoloured.

Is the evaporation really a problem worth solving though?
I just top up my machines when needed.

---

not a big deal, but nice to solve it anyhow

I am damn glad my coolant evaporates, but only when it goes all over the floor. I can understand that it is a problem in Bahrain though. As it is water loss, then top it up, otherwise a loose lid will help.

The balls tend to be used on water located in direct sunlight as they would be wetted by water draining from above this would give a larger area to evaporate from during use, I can see little advantage in this case for using them simply covering tank when not in use should be far more beneficial.