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That time a coolant line clog turned into a three hour treasure hunt
Had a job last week on the old VF-2 where the coolant just stopped hitting the tool. Figured it was a simple clog, maybe a chip in the line. I spent the first hour checking all the usual spots, the filter, the pump screen, even the nozzle itself. Nothing. My boss walks by and says, 'You're still on that?' which was great. Finally, I'm laying on the floor with a flashlight and I see it. A tiny piece of blue shop towel, the kind we use for wiping parts, had gotten sucked up through the pump and was wedged in a 90 degree elbow deep in the cabinet. It must have fallen in days ago. Three hours total for a two inch scrap of rag. Has anyone else found a truly ridiculous thing blocking their coolant flow?
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wesley_fox9213d ago
Honestly, that three hour hunt sounds like a solid use of time to me. Finding that rag means you fixed the real problem instead of just a symptom. If you had just cleared a simple clog, that towel could have moved and caused a worse failure later. Your boss might not get it, but that kind of deep look saves a ton of headache down the road. I'd call that a win, not a waste.
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kaiblack13d agoTop Commenter
My old boss would have called that three hours wasted too. Hearing you explain it, I finally get why finding the root cause matters so much. That changed how I see troubleshooting now.
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