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Cleaning Solution Needed..(not for the weak) *pics*

D

Dark Prodigy

Jawbreaker
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
2,803
I noticed my temps and flow started to take a dive recently, so I decided to take a hard look at my loop. This is what I found:



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:mad: I need to crack open these blocks and do some serious cleaning and I need cleaning recommendations. My tubing was just as bad. Utterly intolerable. I almost feel like throwing the CPU blocks away completely but would rather save the $$ for new tubing and stuff. Guh.
 
Holy crap man, what were you running for fluid? There are definitely loose particles floating around in your loop.

I think the most common practice for cleaning copper blocks is to remove all the seals and tops, and flush with vinegar. One thing I found that helped clean up most of the corrosives off of copper was to essentially boil them in hot water with vinegar mixed in. Smells horrible, but it worked for me with a copper block. It helped take off UV fluid who's color started to, um, congeal in little clots.
 
Put the copper blocks face down in a plate of ketchup for an hour or two, then brush them with a toothbrush.

There looks to be some mild pitting in your aluminum (?) reservoir.
 
and HERE is what happened when I opened the cpu blocks & reservior.... Damn I'm pissed.


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I'm sure this is the main reason why my temps were looking so bad lately..not to mention random shutdowns due to heat. I'm looking into the vinegar and baking soda soltions unless anyone else has something better.


Oh yeah, and I know my pump has this crud in it...need a good solution to cleaning that out too.
 
Arcygenical said:
Put the copper blocks face down in a plate of ketchup for an hour or two, then brush them with a toothbrush.

There looks to be some mild pitting in your aluminum (?) reservoir.
Click to expand...


Ketchup really? I don't mind trying it, but what properties are in ketchup to rid me of this.... blasphemy of cooling?

Oh, the reservoir is aluminum but its not pitting. Its all crud on the plexi and inside. I did a quick wipe on the plexi and inside, there were no pits.
 
Ketchup is mainly tomato and vinegar. Two highly acidic solutions... IT works wonders because it's a "gel" and really sticks inside the block.

Just, don't let it touch the bottom surface of the waterblock, no need to tarnish it if you can avoid doing so.
 
elleana said:
What sort of coolant were you using?
Click to expand...

yes please, i want to know

altho it looks like what ever coloring additives were in there came out of solutions or found something to bind with :(


ohh, while your cleaning all your blocks, you should probably go ahead and so some major rad flushing
 
That looks like too much AC Fluid or UV Dye.

As suggested already, Ketchup works just fine. I do suggest you flush your radiator (about ten times) with boiling distilled water and make sure your pump is OK.

I am shocked your system stayed running!
 
I'm not sure why people are suggesting using Ketchup instead of flushing with vinegar? Vinegar + boiling water should pull that out pretty quickly.
 
R1ckCa1n said:
That looks like too much AC Fluid or UV Dye.

As suggested already, Ketchup works just fine. I do suggest you flush your radiator (about ten times) with boiling distilled water and make sure your pump is OK.

I am shocked your system stayed running!
Click to expand...



This pretty much sums it up I believe. I was originally using Voodoo Super Coolant when I first built the system about a year and a half ago. As the coolant needed to be refilled/topped off periodically, I was adding clear AC fluid to it, thinking it had the same properties.


Never mix coolants!!<----- the advice of the day kids.


I'm surprised too somewhat it ran as long as it did. However, I started to get random shutdowns but quickly ascertained it wasn't the PSU or memory, but heat related when I took a hard look at the loop. PC's been a workhorse since I built it.

I'll be pouring some nice hot distilled vinegar and water solution in my radiators for flushing and running a similar solution through the pump today. Since I have 2 cpu's, I used the ketchup solution on one block and hot distilled vinegar on the other. They both turned out pretty much the same and look good. I swear I wanted to throw them away. I'll have to take some more pics.


Also, does anyone know who has clear 7/16 ID - 5/8OD Tygon tubing in stock?
 
If he was running an anodized aluminum reservoir along with copper blocks and tap water, then this is galvanic corrosion. If that is the case, then he should be running distilled water, coolant, and water wetter. That's it. The UV dye stuff can be nasty.
 
I changed my tubes and loop recently.
I wanted to clean the Swiftech blocks and reservoir and radiator.

I emailed Gabe at Swiftech and he recommended "Pinesol" and distilled water, 5cc of Pinesol to 1 liter of distilled.

Sounds bizarre, but worked well. Fortunately, my stuff was no where near as bad as yours.

I've seen the ketchup deal before and also vinegar. Your radiator is going to be very hard to clean.

Your tubing request:http://www.jab-tech.com/Tygon-R-3603-7-16-ID-5-8-OD-Chemical-Tubing-AAC00033-pr-3957.html
 
I was going to say that looks exactly like the infamous AC slime we have seen before. AC fluid does not tolerate high concentrations at all, this is why I like sticking to all copper and just plain distilled water with a little biocide.

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Yeah I think the AC fluid I was adding contributed greatly to the sludge and corrosion build up.


Here are some pics of the blocks after some super cleaning.


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I used the ketchup and hot water + distilled vinegar technique..both worked fine. Since I have 2 cpu blocks, I used one of each solution. I simply ran the solution through my pump and the VGA blocks and it worked great. But I dismantled my CPU blocks and got in there with a brush.


Here's is a pic when I flushed my radiators. I used clear distilled vinegar and hot water and got all the nastiness out.

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I ordered some new tubing. They were too horrible to even post them. I need some good fluid solutions so this crap won't happen again. Also, I realized after I took the pics of the cpu blocks that I need to clean the nozzles out too..heh.
 
On your rad(s), you may want to repeat, rinse... The cleaner the rad the slower the clouding on tubing, and the rest. Good clean-up!
 
You need to keep flushing the radiators until the stuff comes out clear (or very close to it). Also it looks like your fittings at least on the CPU blocks need cleaning too.
 
Erasmus354 said:
You need to keep flushing the radiators until the stuff comes out clear (or very close to it). Also it looks like your fittings at least on the CPU blocks need cleaning too.
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I did. I ran the solution until the solution was as clear coming out as it was coming in. Just thought I'd share a few pics of what came out. Also, at the end of my last post I noted that after I took the shots of the CPU blocks, I neglected to clean the nozzles. Got in there with a q-tip with the hot water/distilled vinegar solution..and the nozzles now look new. :)
 
My two cents:
What everybody said up until this point is spot on. 100% all good suggestions. Vinegar is your best bet to kill algae, as well as flushing your system. However, you will need to finally flush your system with distilled water before filling it again. Any vinegar that is retained in the system can pool and speed galvanic corrosion.
Furthermore, and I know this is a modder's no-no, but the use of BLACK hosing will also inhibit algae growth. No light in, means no plant growth. Yes, yes, you're pretty reservoirs are still open to light exposure, but a good, high-power LED in the reservoir can inhibit the algae spores.
Minimize the amount of "human" interaction when filling your system. I've seen guys suck on hoses to create a vaccuum, blow water in with their breath, leave a T-Line completely open for ease of refills, etc.. All these procedures, while speeding your ability to take a cool pic and post it on the forums, DESTROY you're otherwise germ free water cooling loop.
One more thing. ADD an algae inhibitor to your loop. This is not for the semi-queasy though. MANY waterblock manufacturers skimp on the 100% copper qualification and opt for a brass alloy of about 80-90% copper. Since brass is more of a chemical bond occurring at extreme temperatures, and not a solid molecular structure, algae inhibitors can and have been known to eat away at brass. This product,HERE, is probably the best algae control product that is non-reactive....that I know of. A teaspoon in most loops is MORE than enough to slow/prevent algae growth.

-EGA
Chemist, Computer Scientist, and Captain of Marines
 
You might want to clean out the inside of the barbs as that could lead to the fluid being discolored.
 
Dark Prodigy said:
That's exactly what I did. I ran the solution until the solution was as clear coming out as it was coming in. Just thought I'd share a few pics of what came out. Also, at the end of my last post I noted that after I took the shots of the CPU blocks, I neglected to clean the nozzles. Got in there with a q-tip with the hot water/distilled vinegar solution..and the nozzles now look new. :)
Click to expand...


^^^^^^

R1ckCa1n said:
You might want to clean out the inside of the barbs as that could lead to the fluid being discolored.
Click to expand...
 
Nice clean-up!

As Mr. ega said, I always wear gloves when I set up my loops and never breathe into the lines. This will nearly elimanate contamination.

I use plain old Swiftech Hydrx additive, I've not had any contamination to date in over three years.
But I usually change the tubing and fluids yearly, preceded by a good flush out.:D
 
Hell I use two drops of iodine and distilled water. That's it. Nothing else. I flush with a vinegar/water mix if I have to crack the loop to add a new part.
 
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