PCB cleaning water consumption is usually settled after the machine is installed, when the first water bill or the first drain question arrives. Buyers size a washer by board envelope and cycle time; the inlet and the outlet get read afterwards. Fix that by turning the published rates into a weekly volume before the order.
We read all 22 CHUANGQI product pages on 6 November 2026. Twenty-one carry a specification table, two publish a water flow rate, eight publish a tank volume, and none publishes a pH value for the spent bath. Those numbers are the whole basis of this article: the inlet side is specified to a figure, the outlet side is not specified at all.
Key takeaways
- 2 of 22 product pages publish a water flow rate; 8 publish a tank volume.
- No CHUANGQI product page publishes a pH value for the spent bath.
- A 1.0 m³/h inlet cap is 16.7 L/min, just above the 16 L/min top of the draw.
- One 8-hour shift on the inline washer draws 4.8–7.7 m³ of DI water.
- Ask for rinse mode and drain filtration before you compare inlet pressure.
What the 22 Pages Actually Publish About Water
Method and scope. The audit covered every page in the product catalogue on 6 November 2026, reading specification tables only and ignoring navigation and footer text. A page counted as publishing a water rate when a labelled row carried a numeric water value with a unit (L/min or m³/h). Rows labelled air consumption or detergent flow were counted separately, because they describe different circuits.
The result splits cleanly. Two pages publish a water rate, and both are wet washers: the CQ-C9610 inline machine lists 10–16 L/min of DI water consumption and a 1.0 m³/h inflow, while the CQ-C743 batch machine lists a 0.5 m³/h inflow. Four pages publish compressed-air rates instead (280 NL/min on the two nozzle cleaners, 400–600 L/min on the two pneumatic stencil cleaners), and one publishes a detergent flow of 50–1500 ml/min. Eight pages publish a tank volume, running from 20 L on the CQ-C758 to 60 L on the CQ-C756 pallet washer, with the dual-frame stencil machines listing 2 × 42 L wash and rinse tanks.
No page publishes a pH value, and only three mention the drain at all: the two nozzle cleaners list a ⌀6 drain pipe beside a ⌀8 air line, and the CQ-C743 specifies 0.45 µm drain filtration that it says holds back solder paste, rosin and flux. That is a plumbing and filtration statement, not a discharge specification. The gap is the point of this article: inlet, tank volume and filtration are documented; what the water is allowed to contain when it leaves is not.
| Model | Published water field | Value | What the figure settles |
|---|---|---|---|
| CQ-C9610 inline | DI water consumption | 10–16 L/min | Rinse draw while boards are moving |
| CQ-C9610 inline | DI water inflow | 1.0 m³/h | Feed pipe and DI plant sizing |
| CQ-C743 batch | DI water inflow | 0.5 m³/h | Half the inline draw on batch duty |
| CQ-C758 | Tank capacity | max. 20 L | Bath volume per fill, and what you drain |
| CQ-C743 batch | Drain filtration | 0.45 µm | What is stopped before the drain line |
Source: CHUANGQI product specifications, chuangqitech.com, read 6 November 2026.
Converting a Flow Rate Into a Week of Water
Consumption multiplied by running time gives the volume, and the volume tells you whether the building can supply the machine. Ten litres a minute over a 480-minute shift is 4,800 litres, or 4.8 m³. Sixteen litres a minute over the same shift is 7,680 litres, or 7.7 m³. The tank figure runs the other way: 8 of 22 pages publish one, and the smallest, 20 L on the CQ-C758, is the volume you prepare and eventually replace rather than the volume you draw.
The inlet is where the arithmetic turns interesting. The CQ-C9610 lists a 1.0 m³/h inflow, which is 16.7 L/min — just above the 16 L/min top of its own consumption band, not a comfortable margin over it. A plant that also draws DI water for another consumer is sizing two loads against one pipe, and the DI plant’s reject stream is a third load that no datasheet mentions.
| Published rate | Per 8-hour shift | Per 5-shift week |
|---|---|---|
| 10 L/min (low end) | 4.8 m³ | 24 m³ |
| 16 L/min (high end) | 7.7 m³ | 38.4 m³ |
| 1.0 m³/h inlet cap | 8.0 m³ | 40 m³ |
Derived from the CQ-C9610 published figures. Basis: one 8-hour shift per day, five days per week, once-through rinse, no recovery loop, no allowance for idle time or for the DI plant’s own reject stream.
The same method handles a batch machine: at 0.5 m³/h the CQ-C743 draws half of what the inline unit takes over an hour of running.
These figures assume a once-through rinse and a single shift (the basis above). They are not suitable for a plant running a closed recovery loop, a two- or three-shift pattern, or a rinse stage that reuses water between boards — in each of those cases the draw is lower and has to be measured on site. If your shift pattern is anything other than one shift, send it with the board data through the application form and we will redo the arithmetic for your case.
What Leaves With the Water
Water that enters a rinse stage leaves carrying detergent, dissolved flux, suspended solder paste and fine particles. The CQ-C743 stops particles at 0.45 µm before the drain line, which tells you what the filter is expected to hold back — not what the local authority will accept.
So the outlet question has three parts, and only the first is answered on a datasheet. What is in the water: detergent residues, ionic flux activators, and the metals that came off the boards. What concentration: unpublished, because it depends on your boards, your bath age and your filtration state. What the drain is allowed to take: a local decision, set by the authority that issues your discharge permit.
A limit set for one municipality does not transfer to another, which is why we publish the inlet figures and the filtration rating and stop there. A buyer who needs a number for a permit application should ask the permitting authority first, then ask the machine supplier what the drain stream contains — in that order. Bath-life management, which decides how often that stream is generated at all, is covered in the bath-change signals.
Four Questions to Put to Any Supplier
Ask these before the purchase order, not after commissioning. Each one changes the water budget, and each has an answer a supplier can be held to.
- Is the published consumption measured at the nozzle or at the inlet? A 10–16 L/min band read at the inlet hides pressure losses in your own pipework (read at the nozzle, it does not).
- Is the rinse once-through or recirculating? A recirculating stage cuts the weekly volume and raises the ionic load in the rinse tank (which changes your testing frequency).
- What sits between the rinse tank and the drain? A 0.45 µm filter on the CQ-C743 is a particle barrier, not a treatment stage (know which one you are buying).
- How many fills per shift, and how is the tank emptied? A 20 L tank on the CQ-C758 is 20 L per fill — 100 L in a five-shift week at one bath change per shift.
Air demand, exhaust and drain height follow the same rule: each is specified per machine, and the connections checklist is in the plant air and water planning guide. Writing the numbers down moves the conversation from “the machine needs water” to “this machine needs 4.8 to 7.7 cubic metres per shift from a feed line rated 1.0 cubic metres per hour”.
FAQ
How much water does a PCB cleaning machine use per shift?
The CQ-C9610 inline washer draws 10–16 L/min, which is 4.8–7.7 m³ over an 8-hour shift on a once-through rinse. Batch machines draw less: the CQ-C743 is rated 0.5 m³/h at the inlet.
Is the rinse water once-through or recirculated?
It depends on the configuration you order, and it is the first question to settle because it changes both the weekly volume and the ionic load in the rinse tank. Ask for the answer in writing on the quotation.
What is in the water that leaves the machine?
Detergent residue, dissolved flux activators and particles above the filter rating — 0.45 µm on the CQ-C743. The concentration depends on your boards and bath age, and no CHUANGQI datasheet states it.
Can I get a discharge figure for a permit application?
No. Discharge limits are set locally, so a supplier who quotes one is quoting another jurisdiction’s rule. What a machine supplier can give you is the composition and the flow of the drain stream.
Does a bigger tank mean more water down the drain?
Not directly. Tank volume sets the bath you prepare and eventually replace; consumption per shift sets the rinse draw. The CQ-C758 holds 20 litres, and its detergent flow is published separately.
Send your board mix, shift pattern and drain arrangement through the cleaning application form — review and receive a quote within 24 hours.