Question concerning water table

[jeff76]

So i have another question for everyone. I do not even have a cnc table yet but am thinking about it lol. I know most of the tables I see have water tables so I wanted to ask this question. My usage would be very sporadic. I might go months without cutting anything. I would prefer not to deal with the water if possible. Would it be ok to run without putting any water in the water table? I know the fumes will be bad but my plan is to have this in a room that I use for my welding and I do have a good sized exhaust fan in the wall that I could run while in use. Just dont really like the idea of dealing with the water and the evaporation. I tried running water based coolant on my saw and it ends up evaporating away and leaving a mess of the leftover concentrate behind. I also most likely wont be cutting much of any thin material so hopefully the warpage wont be an issue. Just wanted to get some thoughts on this matter from the experts ahead of time.

Jeff

[Deezl Smoke]

As a water table owner, I'd say run with your idea. You have an exhaust fan for welding, so should be good to go.
You can run without water in a water table. Then you'd have that option down the line should the need arise. But if you just cut heavier stuff and can set your machine right, your only real issue would be dross, and water tables can have that too. IMO.

[acourtjester]

There are tables with storage tanks under the table and water is just transfer in and out of the water table. Without water in the table you will build up ejected metal in the water table which would be harder to clean out. Those that run a smoke exhaust system have it closer to the table for better removal then a wall mounted fan. IMHO

[weldguy]

Ditch the water pan/table and run open air under the cutting deck. Use your existing exhaust fan and if it becomes not sufficient to get the smoke out of the shop fast enough then you can install a dedicated fan under the table to do a downdraft type setup. I personally would add a downdraft fan right away but sometimes budgets don't allow for everything all at once I realize.

[Dirtmotor]

Not a big fan of the smoke and fumes , Really like my water table , I clean my consumables after every long cut and only notice only a small decrease in consumable life . If you don't use your table very often maybe you should remove the water table . Or use sterling cool in pan and cover with a tarp when not in use it will slow down the evaporation .

[cutnweld]

I have run my table out away from the wall and away from my downdraft fan (was cutting 24 ft long sheets so I had to move it out for clearance). My exhaust fan overhead along with my airvac air purifier, was not nearly able to keep up and the shop was a brown haze. I would strongly recommend either a downdraft or water setup,the oil left behind in your bandsaw is different stuff than a water table uses. You will spend a lot more time cleaning fine dust off of everything than it would take you to dump in a pail of water now and then. My $.02 (with inflation my 2 cents is worth around $2,000,000,000,000)

[SegoMan DeSigns]

We get down to -40* F winter temps where I live in CO. so a water table / tank combo is a must to keep the heat in the shop. I'm a fan of the wet set-up as it helps prevent warping of the plate being cut. You can run a sealed system W/ air pressure or a pump to fill the water tray then gravity back to the tank. A covered tank cuts down on evaporation, I loose maybe 20 gal / month to evaporation in 90*+ temps with my tank / tray system. There is many recipes posted on the forum for cheap anti-rust additives.

[jeff76]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies. I appreciate everyones 2 cents worth ( glad I'm not paying for cutnwelds 2 cents worth with inflation lol). Really havent decided yet- lots to think about.

Jeff