Read a comment about not quenching in dirty water and it stuck with me

I was scrolling through a forum the other day and someone mentioned how they ruined a blade because there was oil floating on top of their quench tank. I've been using the same 5 gallon bucket of water for like 8 months now and never thought about it. I change my oil in the other tank pretty often but just top off the water when it gets low. Has anyone else had issues from contaminants in their water quench?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole_mitchell5714d ago

Chucked a half-finished blade into my water bucket last week and realized I'd been quenching in what looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Definitely learned that lesson the hard way.

emma_ramirez14d ago

And what exactly was growing in there? I gotta hear the details on what color it was and if it made any weird smells when you dipped the hot steel in. I swear some of the nastiest quench setups I've seen come from people just letting buckets sit for months without changing the water. Was it straight up rusty sludge or did you have actual floaties in there?