Ignoramus334 fired this volley in
:

I noticed that the coolant flow is not quite what it used to be.

Do you think that the strainer on the pump needs periodic cleaning?



I deliberately do NOT have a strainer on the inlet of my pump. There was
a wire "sock" around it, which I removed, for the reason that it's a
several-minutes procedure to undo all the mounting screws and lift the
pump out of the sump to clean it.

Instead, I have a "catch basket" over the main drain into the sump pan,
along with coarser screens ON the table at the two drain ramps (your
should have those ramp-like screen-mounting platforms and screw holes on
your table, too).

I use a wet/dry vacuum to clean off the screens, which sucks out the crap
from the side it went into the wire with, and gets them very clean
between parts.

I do find, from time to time, that a small chip will lodge in the little
quarter-turn valve I use to regulate the coolant flow. As soon as it
picks up one chip, it tends to collect more of them quickly, and rapidly
diminishes the flow. Simply opening it full-bore clears it out.

LLoyd