Recommendations for pumping table water back and forth

[magpie_lark]

Hi, long time listener, first time caller. My work just got an Arc Pro 9600 with the router attachment. In order to switch back and forth between the router and torch, we need to be able to pump out the table water. I was thinking of just pumping back and forth between the table and plastic 55 gallon drums with a pony pump.

Would this work? Would the pump survive an entire cycle, or more than a few cycles without failing, or would the particulate crap kill it immediately? We're going to be cutting mostly aluminum with the plasma torch.

Alternatively, I could hook up a vacuum pump/compressed air to the drum and let the pressure push/pull the fluid, so the crap in the water doesn't shred up a pump's moving bits.... What are y'alls experiences? Any recommendations?

[lockeyone]

Me, I would just drain fluids into barrels with some kind of screen to catch debris. Then you can pump it up to fill water pan or lift barrels with forklift and drain back into pan. Just a thought.

[acourtjester]

There have been post here showing a method for using air pressure and gravity for moving the water up and down. The used PVC tube and valves I think about 1.5" or 2" PVC. It used about 5 PSI to push the water out of the tank then shut the valve. Then open the valve to drain back into the tank. I think you need 2 valves on the tank, the second is to let the air out of the tank when the water drains back as it would take to long for water and air to transfer with one valve. Also they had a cover over the water tube in the water table to keep the water from being a geyser
Some had a sump at one end of the water table for the water to collect and drain from.

[WyoGreen]

What jester said. I have a plastic drum under my table, that I pressurize with about 5 psi to push the water up into the table via the table drain hole. When the table is full or the drum runs out of water, I close the table drain valve. When it's time to drain the table, I open the drain valve and the drum air valve to gravity drain the water back into the drum. I used 3/4" piping and it works fine, takes about 5 mins to fill or drain the table. I have a piece of screen on the drain pipe to keep the big chunks out of the drum. I have found that if I wait a bit after cutting to let the crud settle to the bottom of the water tray I will get a lot less crud into the tank. The fill/drain hose goes into the bottom bung on the drum, and the air goes into the top bung (the drum lays on its side on a carriage with casters so it's easy to put under or pull out from under the table.)

Hope that helps, Steve

[2015cmax]

I have a 4X8 table and have been using a small 115v electric pump to drain it. I cannot remember exactly how many gallon capacity it is, but it a lot more than what a 55 gal will hold. I pump it after the table sets over night and any floating debris has settled. When the pump begins to cavitate due to lack of water, I turn it off and disconnect the hose from the bottom of the table pan. It is at that point I put a bucket under the drain hole and use a plastic scraper to push the remaining water and small debris to the drain. I have drained it five times now, two times I replaced the water mixture ( I am on the 3rd mix change, but have to do some maintenance due to rust before I refill it this time). I don't let any large debris to go into the pump and do not worry to much about what might be floating in the water.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I used a keg you will need a 6 pack for your volume

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Make sure you get the correct handles installed

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[plasmanewbie]

I used a keg you will need a 6 pack for your volume

IMG_0358.jpg

Make sure you get the correct handles installed

P6081046.JPG

Made my day