How long have your W/C'ed system been runnin trouble free?

I

Igg

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 4, 2002
Messages
1,337
This is for all the doubters out there that W/C system are prone to leaks and what not.

I built this system last July and it it's been running 24/7 for more then a year now!
Had to shut down maybe twice to top up some water but that's about it.


How about the rest of you? I'm curious to see how long you guys go w/o tinkering.
11.jpg
 
I go a year at a time completely maintenance free, my t line is rather long and does not require any top offs after the system is bled.

I flush the coolant / clean parts / replace tubing every year.
 
3months this round. 6months last round.

Only reason I change the water is to change components...
 
chris.c said:
I go a year at a time completely maintenance free, my t line is rather long and does not require any top offs after the system is bled.

I flush the coolant / clean parts / replace tubing every year.
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my first and only wc system was all ghetto, and it ran 24/7 for almost a year. Took the system down becuase I upgraded. I even had Al and Cu parts mixed, and despite all those cries of "It'll MELT! CORRODE! GAVANIC!!!!!" upon clean I found NO sign of it :rolleyes:

that with just distilled water and 20% antifreeze, no fluid changes the whole 11 months. :rolleyes:
 
Well what happens when your watercooling system stops working? I mean.. do you just wait for it to leak all over your components so you can spend a few days cleaning it up.. or what?

Seriously, I'm asking this as I'm looking to get into watercooling.
 
ive been watercooling for 4 months...how long until i should change the fluid? I really dont want to unless i have to.
 
I ran mine for 8 months trouble free, then I sold the computer. Looking to reincarnate the WC'ing setup soonish.
 
8 months running..... the first 3 months i changed also monthly because i kept changing hardware and cooling more with water....

i have had 2 leaks and they were from my TDX When i changed my cpu i guess the moving of the block loosened the clamps alittle... and a week later there was a puddle on my video card.. :eek:

but i use PC ICE and i know some people say it isnt technically non-conductive but tell that to my video card that is still running today.... :)
 
Mine never stays together very long at all, it's always being taken apart to test new parts........ :D
 
Two years, with one tubing change. No corrosion, thought it was all copper.
 
topcat989 said:
my first and only wc system was all ghetto, and it ran 24/7 for almost a year. Took the system down becuase I upgraded. I even had Al and Cu parts mixed, and despite all those cries of "It'll MELT! CORRODE! GAVANIC!!!!!" upon clean I found NO sign of it :rolleyes:

that with just distilled water and 20% antifreeze, no fluid changes the whole 11 months. :rolleyes:
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I'm not surprised you didn't see any corrosion with a 20% mixture, that is a huge amount. That is a richer mixture than I run in my motorcycle.
 
been watercooling for six years and only have one leak which was my fault to begin with.
I flushevery few months.
 
One year today!!!!!!

Haven't had to do anything except top it off once in a while.

I plan sometime in the next 6 months to flush it, and rerun better hose, never happy with the Primoflex or clearflex.
 
Last incarnation was like 1 month but I tore it down to migrate it to a new system. Before that it was 5 months but there again, I tore it down to migrate cases. Before that it was roughly 18 months with one coolant change in that time and I didn't tear it down for that, just uncapped my res and tilted the case around until the system was empty. No leaks except during leak testing on the first setup and one on the second setup also during leak testing. Those wewre easy fixes and I don't leak test with my hardware in my case, thus no cleaning.
 
bradyapba said:
One year today!!!!!!

Haven't had to do anything except top it off once in a while.

I plan sometime in the next 6 months to flush it, and rerun better hose, never happy with the Primoflex or clearflex.
Click to expand...

a few months ago its been my 1 year on my game server running 24/7 and ever leaked and heck it was a kit lol. i flush it a few days ago, watercooling is getting better :D
 
chris.c said:
I'm not surprised you didn't see any corrosion with a 20% mixture, that is a huge amount. That is a richer mixture than I run in my motorcycle.
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"Check your owner's manual for antifreeze usage specifications. Antifreeze, when mixed at a 50/50 ratio with water, provides excellent anti-freeze, anti-boil, and anti-corrosive properties. In extremely cold environments, the ratio for standard ethylene glycol can go as high as 70% antifreeze, 30% water. With DEX-COOL®, the maximum ratio of antifreeze to water is 60/40"

"Antifreeze should be kept at approximately a 60:40 coolant-to-water ratio."

"Typically, an antifreeze is mixed with water at a 50/50 ratio. This ratio effectively prevents freezing during cold temperatures and boil-off in high temperatures."

this from a quick google search. Keep in mind these were manufacter recommendations, not some random guy posting in a forum.

I don't know why you run the ratio you do, but for WC a computer about 20%-25% antifreeze to distilled water cools very well, and inhibits corrosion. ;)
 
topcat989 said:
"Check your owner's manual for antifreeze usage specifications. Antifreeze, when mixed at a 50/50 ratio with water, provides excellent anti-freeze, anti-boil, and anti-corrosive properties. In extremely cold environments, the ratio for standard ethylene glycol can go as high as 70% antifreeze, 30% water. With DEX-COOL®, the maximum ratio of antifreeze to water is 60/40"

"Antifreeze should be kept at approximately a 60:40 coolant-to-water ratio."

"Typically, an antifreeze is mixed with water at a 50/50 ratio. This ratio effectively prevents freezing during cold temperatures and boil-off in high temperatures."

this from a quick google search. Keep in mind these were manufacter recommendations, not some random guy posting in a forum.

I don't know why you run the ratio you do, but for WC a computer about 20%-25% antifreeze to distilled water cools very well, and inhibits corrosion. ;)
Click to expand...

Well, you seem to have everything figured out. Enjoy :)
 
2 years, same water, same tubing. I never shut my computer off either. the tubing looks fogged, but the water still looks like it did on day 1.
 
I've been running my system for 15 months with only a fluid top-off.
 
chris.c said:
I go a year at a time completely maintenance free, my t line is rather long and does not require any top offs after the system is bled.

I flush the coolant / clean parts / replace tubing every year.
Click to expand...

qft
 
topcat989 said:
"Check your owner's manual for antifreeze usage specifications. Antifreeze, when mixed at a 50/50 ratio with water, provides excellent anti-freeze, anti-boil, and anti-corrosive properties. In extremely cold environments, the ratio for standard ethylene glycol can go as high as 70% antifreeze, 30% water. With DEX-COOL®, the maximum ratio of antifreeze to water is 60/40"

"Antifreeze should be kept at approximately a 60:40 coolant-to-water ratio."

"Typically, an antifreeze is mixed with water at a 50/50 ratio. This ratio effectively prevents freezing during cold temperatures and boil-off in high temperatures."

this from a quick google search. Keep in mind these were manufacter recommendations, not some random guy posting in a forum.

I don't know why you run the ratio you do, but for WC a computer about 20%-25% antifreeze to distilled water cools very well, and inhibits corrosion. ;)
Click to expand...

Antifreeze has a higher viscosity index than water and is not as adept at transfering heat. If you're not superchilling your water and don't have mixed metals you don't need more than 8-10% mix. Don't consider that as some random jackass in a forum recommending it either, Petra's recommends 8-9 parts water to 1 part antifreeze as does Swiftech. 50/50 is for cars which have iron blocks, aluminum rads and copper heatercores and are subject to being out in god knows what conditions.
 
madmat said:
Antifreeze has a higher viscosity index than water and is not as adept at transfering heat. If you're not superchilling your water and don't have mixed metals you don't need more than 8-10% mix. Don't consider that as some random jackass in a forum recommending it either, Petra's recommends 8-9 parts water to 1 part antifreeze as does Swiftech. 50/50 is for cars which have iron blocks, aluminum rads and copper heatercores and are subject to being out in god knows what conditions.
Click to expand...

I was running mixed metals, and the difference in cooling ability on a 10% vs. 30% mix is INSIGNIFIGANT. I WC for quiet, and so always have the WC system more then adaquate thermal overhead. Thermal conductivity of a couple or few degrees in my fluid is more then offset by the overall WC system capability. (large effecient rads, etc)
 
topcat989 said:
Thermal conductivity of a couple or few degrees in my fluid is more then offset by the overall WC system capability. (large effecient rads, etc)
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It's nice to see you spent good money on quality WC components for those "couple or few degrees", and then basically threw them away by running an absurd amount of anti-freeze in your loop.

But hey, if you just

topcat989 said:
WC for quiet
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then more power to you. I bid you and your syrup cooled computer farewell.
 
I used to run with 10% antifreeze.

Now I run 3%... And without remounting any of my blocks (I JUST changed water) my temperatures dropped 3 (THREE) degrees celcius.
 
People don't realize that on a non mixed metals loop that there is no need for coolant aside from controlling the flora and fauna.
 
chris.c said:
It's nice to see you spent good money on quality WC components for those "couple or few degrees", and then basically threw them away by running an absurd amount of anti-freeze in your loop.

But hey, if you just



then more power to you. I bid you and your syrup cooled computer farewell.
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whatever. It lasted 11 months with no problems, performed perfectly, and was taken offline only becuase of system upgrade.

I guess becuase I don't give a shit about a few degrees difference to ensure no problems it doesn't make me as "elite" in your eyes. :rolleyes:
 
In 4 years of WCing I've had 2 leaks, 1 from a hose barb that wasn't tightened enough, and one because I dropped a CD drive on a PVC res and cracked it. 0 total $ worth of lost parts due to leakage. Change water every 6-12 months depending on laziness, only take it apart when I upgrade parts (more often then I should. :D)
 
Been running slight variations of the same setup for about 6 years, change water every 9-15 months or so. Only had a leak once and that was in the first year, only corroded a soundblasterelive a little bit. Cleaned her up and off she went. No problem.

With some of the high powered aircooling available today, i have considered packing in the water works, but it just works so well!!!!
It does drive the wife nuts though, she keeps asking when something is "gonna blow up".
:D
 
1 year for my latest rig. I went from a SC K8, to a DC K8 and now a Conroe with the same setup and fluid...and obviously with one board change as well from 939 --> 775. I just picked up a 680i board yesterday, so I decided to flush the system and check for blockage in the Storm while I have all the components out. Took it apart last night and it was squeaky clean. I'm running a 90/10 mix of distilled water and DexCool. My only beef with the DexCool is that the odor seeps through the tubing and I can smell it coming from the case exhaust. This is with ClearFlex...not sure if it's any better with Tygon. I might try a different mix or a pre-packaged fluid for this fill...



Tom
 
First put together my P4C 2.6ghz, 9800XT WC system in the Winter of 2003. It then broke consistently every 2-3 months since then, and I've had to RMA almost every part in the computer. Finally dismantled it in the Summer of 2006 as I had built a new watercooled rig, which I quickly switched to air-cooling as It suffered from the same curse. Good riddance. :mad: Not every problem was related to the watercooling, but it still seemed as if the rig (or the fool who made the rig) was cursed.

I've never had algae, dirt, or corrosion in the loop, but I have had tube clamps slipping off, slow leaking, and all other sorts of strange problems. Had to refill the loop once every 6 months.

Then again, I'm a horrible butterfingers and am not known for my thoroughness of work, let alone patience and forethought :p
 
Been watercooling my Athlon XP for about 1.5 years, till the cheap pump died .. but it was a Kingwin system, so the alarm went off.

During the entire time I had to top off the system during the 1 year mark. I even ran the system for a few months with "low" water, just a few bubbles and reduced performance no biggie hehe.

This time around I'm hoping my new system will be a better performer b/c I'm planning to use it as a long term solution and overclock overclock overclock!
 
Roughly 8 1/2 hours.


Just added a maze 4 into the loop for my video card :D

All is well so far!
 
I've been watercooled for about 6 months and have only had a problem once due to some finicky fan connectors. A power pass-thru connector decided to stop giving the pump power. Everything got really hot, I could barely touch the cpu block, but there doesn't seem to have been any long term damage.
 
madmat said:
People don't realize that on a non mixed metals loop that there is no need for coolant aside from controlling the flora and fauna.
Click to expand...

QFT

rinse all parts in alcohol + surgical clean when assemblying and filling + distilled water coolant = 4+ years never disassembled just add distilled water when needed (seldom) , with NF7-s and OC Barton M.
[DD maze 2 + Bonny Heater Core + 6 x 80mm fans @ 7V + Gorman Rupp laboratory pump]

Used the glowy crap with new system cause it was there.
 
My last WCed system ran for 25 months straight with no tubing change, fluid change, or even fluid top-off. :D It has one of those 5 1/4" bay reservoirs, and although the level had noticably gone down a bit it didn't seem the affect anything. The only reason I even changed the fluid was because I had leftover Pentosin from a more reason build and I figured I might as well go for a change of color since I had all the stuff out already. :p
 
system had been watercooled for almost 2 years, currently is taken apart due to hardware / case change, but the past 2 years I didn't change water once and only topped it off once. Ran perfectly fine tho. (goal is quiet, not OC)
 
My loop is about 8 months here. But I do change stuff out all the time, maintenence is more for aesthetics reason than actually needed. Like tubings and cleaning the dust off the radiator etc..After working with different types of coolant, I'm using just pure distilled water from now on. It makes it a whole lot easier to clean parts that doesnt leave any residue.
 
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