Why you should flush new radiators...

D

DaMaDo

Gawd
Joined
May 31, 2001
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681
I don't know if I just had bad luck with this XSPC RX360, but I'm on my 6th flush with hot distilled water and it's still coming out full of particles. The pic below was from the first time and all others (except one that came out almost clear) have been similar, just slightly less.
xspc.jpg


The HWLabs SR-1 140.1 was a lot easier. It took just 4 flushes to come out clean. This was the first flush:
hwlabs.jpg

Not sure why one is aqua and the other is black...I guess different types of flux.
I read somewhere that this stuff accumulates in the pump and leads to failure so I wanna make sure the XSPC gets as clean as the HWLabs
 
Just a guess here, but the blue would indicate to me some copper deposits which have oxidized.

Has the RAD been used in a loop previousy with mixed metals?

Note I am by no means an expert on WC so I may be talking out of my arse, but that blus can't be flux...
 
I ordered the RX360 from jab-tech.com and have never used it...unless they sent me a return...
Is there a better way to clean it? So far I've been boiling distilled water and shaking it/turning it for 5-10 mins at a time then dumping it out.
 
Not sure what it is, but your doing it right. It's possible it's just sediments.
 
I noticed after the 4th flush there was no more flux/flakey substance but there was some murky residue in there, dunno what it was from but the water was very murky and left an oily/sparkly film on anything it touched. I recommend not running it on a pump until the water is nice and clear because my first XSPC pump died after 12 hours. (Now I am not sure if it was just a defective pump or the murky water that killed it but it died fast)

Just full up the rad with some water, let is sit for about 12 hours, shake vigorously and then dump. Check to see if your rad has the same thing, if it's clear then you're good to go.
 
NickJames said:
I noticed after the 4th flush there was no more flux/flakey substance but there was some murky residue in there, dunno what it was from but the water was very murky and left an oily/sparkly film on anything it touched. I recommend not running it on a pump until the water is nice and clear because my first XSPC pump died after 12 hours. (Now I am not sure if it was just a defective pump or the murky water that killed it but it died fast)

Just full up the rad with some water, let is sit for about 12 hours, shake vigorously and then dump. Check to see if your rad has the same thing, if it's clear then you're good to go.
Click to expand...

Many thanks, I'll do that tonight.
 
Best way to clean a radiator out imo is to buy some cheap tubing, run a loop (pump, rad, and all your blocks) in your bathroom tub/sink for a day, then drain it. I did this method with 1 thermochill radiator the first time, and had crystal clear water for a year. Then I added another thermochill to my loop. and just did boiling water like 5 times, and it apparently didnt get clean enough. So I had to drain my loop out, and fill it again because it was still dirty.
 
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sok0 said:
Best way to clean a radiator out imo is to buy some cheap tubing, run a loop (pump, rad, and all your blocks) in your bathroom tub/sink for a day, then drain it. I did this method with 1 thermochill radiator the first time, and had crystal clear water for a year. Then I added another thermochill to my loop. and just did boiling water like 5 times, and it apparently didnt get clean enough. So I had to drain my loop out, and fill it again because it was still dirty.
Click to expand...

Some people like this method but I myself wouldn't recommend it. If your radiator has alot of gunk like this one it could cause damage to the pump. Mine left my pump dead and an oily film in all the components of the loop.
 
OMG I didn't know I was supposed to flush my radiators before using them - seriously, that sucks knowing this NOW as opposed to before I got "Frank" up and running.

This may explain why all of a sudden my Swiftech MCP355 died on me 2 weeks later. It started sounding like the bearings were falling out or there was a piece of something in the blades and I kept hearing the "tick tick tick" sounds as it hit, then I walked away from the PC one day, had lunch, laid down for a nap, forgot the PC was on - came back 3 hours later to find the pump had DIED and was no longer pumping. Thankfully only the motherboard fried that round and not the 975 Extreme CPU.

But still OMG this should be printed on all rad's in big bold red letter - FLUSH THE RAD

Oh the things you learn by trial and error and then reading the forums after the fact - got to love it.
 
I do a few flushes with hot distilled water first, and then:

One flushing technique:

Loop Order : pump --> Radiator ---> cheap filter ----> reservoir

I actually just pump the water through the radiator, and have that water fall onto a very finely meshed screen-filter, and then into an open reservoir (plumbed bucket for me).

I make sure the filter gets most of the sediment, and a lot of what it misses may settle at the bottom of the reservoir anyway.

Run it for a while, clean the filter and check the reservoir for sediment + run it again... done...
 
sushiwarrior said:
Do you people recommend vinegar? Or is a mixture of isopropyl alchohol/water better?
Click to expand...

Good question!

I use isopropyl alcohol, and it works fine.

Refer to this thread: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54331 - scroll down a bit... past #9 and #10 and the conclusion, and on to PART 2.

There is a radiator flushing guide right there, and it's right-on in my experience. They even suggest using an in-line filter, but I've successfully cleaned setups with just a fine-mesh (which can be very effective depending upon how good the mesh filter is).
 
Late to the party.

I ran over a garden hose with the mower years ago and kept the end that fits the outside faucet and 2 feet of hose (and got a new repair faucet end for the rest of the hose cause I am cheap). Put that short length on the faucet, clamp the hose end to the rad and water the grass for a hour. You can find the hose ends at HD or Lowe's with barb ends in the plumbing section (all brass and pricey) to fit your existing hose id if you have a length of WCing hose left over or cheap plastic ones for $1.99 in the garden shop that will fit 1/2 ID garden hose . You can also find adapters that will fit where the aerator on a regular home faucet goes and flush one with a continuous stream of water in a sink.

(rinse well with distilled afterward).

This is likely not really any better than any other method but if you have the hardware, its a pretty easy way to flush it out pretty good without having to mess with it much.
 
With Thermochill radiators, I have resorted to having them cleaned ultrasonically...
 
I went with feser for my rad and didn't find any debris in mine at all, was actually very surprised.
But to flush mine initially I hooked my pump up to my rad and had one hose in a pot of water in the sink and the one coming out of the rad going initially into another bowl to see what came out, but just let that go down the drain. Let the hot water continually fill the pot and let it run that way for a few hours.
Then I hooked everything from my loop up and filled it what white vinegar water and let that run for 24 hours to clean/test for leaks before I put it into my system.
6 months and all is well
 
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