how to get rid of bacteria in watercooling?

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Pucci--Luda

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
151
Basically what it says

just wondering what the best addative is that will kill of bacteria in my water loop

any good household products i can use? that wont wont damage my tubes?


thanks
 
go to a pet store and buy algae killer in the fish section, 3 drops will kill everything
 
put a few drops of iodine in. pick some up at your local ingles/bi-lo/walmart.
 
If you look at any good online store they will have some good additives and are usually UV reactive. Try Frozencpu.com
 
I imagine watter wetter is quite poisonous, probably antifreeze is as well, and bleach would also probably be quite toxic. Choose your poison :D
 
hmm this brings up an interesting idea....

anyone have any fish with their water cooling? :D

I can't see them liking the pipes too much.. but hey, 10 second memory, you can't go wrong! :D
 
go here and scroll down a bit and read what he has done, worked wonders for me
actually frequenting the pro cooling forums and asking there should yeild better results as per what not to use in the loop and how to clean it
 
Bleach and copper blocks will spell certain doom for it and everything it touches, your block will be ruined, so will your pump, hoses, clambs, radiator, etc etc.
Water Bed algae killer is good, or just use RO water and a little jet dry or some soap even.
 
Originally posted by md262626
3 drops of Chlorox will do the trick!
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indeed it will...on your blocks, rad etc etc...do not use bleach please. also i wouldnt use alcohol neither since it can dry out and dry rot certain plastics and rubbers (e.x. your pumps o-rings and what not)
just use some betadine and youll be done...besides betadine also has a nice side effect..if your useing a poly top and get a hairline crack the betadine make seem into it and gum up stopping the leak :)
i know this from first hand experience
 
It makes sense to use glycerin, or a high-end antifreeze, instead of water. Its heat transfer whatever is better than water, and there definitely won't be any bacteria in it.
 
Originally posted by kovermours
It makes sense to use glycerin, or a high-end antifreeze, instead of water. Its heat transfer whatever is better than water, and there definitely won't be any bacteria in it.
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last i checked water was alot better than glycerin man.
 
antifreeze is used because it won't freeze up here in dez parts ya der ay!!


Usually find a 50/50 mix in your car up north, but in the south you just put like 90/10 in for them semi-frost days and to help lubricate your water pump. You want more water because it does cool better then having antifreeze.
 
Originally posted by Paully's5.0
antifreeze is used because it won't freeze up here in dez parts ya der ay!!


Usually find a 50/50 mix in your car up north, but in the south you just put like 90/10 in for them semi-frost days and to help lubricate your water pump. You want more water because it does cool better then having antifreeze.
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Actually, part of what antifreeze does is raise the boiling point of the mixture as well, so you pretty much want a 50/50 mix anywhere you happen to be. Steam doesn't cool very well. In a computer watercooling system though, mixing in even like 95/5 would probably be enough to keep the bacteria out, but I'd still recommend water wetter, as I'm pretty sure it's better at preventing cavitation.
 
Originally posted by Visable-assassin
indeed it will...on your blocks, rad etc etc...do not use bleach please. also i wouldnt use alcohol neither since it can dry out and dry rot certain plastics and rubbers (e.x. your pumps o-rings and what not)
just use some betadine and youll be done...besides betadine also has a nice side effect..if your useing a poly top and get a hairline crack the betadine make seem into it and gum up stopping the leak :)
i know this from first hand experience
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Let's take a look at this. Your average washing machine uses the exact same materials as your average water cooling kit (copper, brass included). Yet you submit it will mess up your blocks, and your radiator? You speaking from experience or just guessing? I think someone needs to go to Iwaki's website and read the list of stuff you can run through their pumps.
 
What additives are there that don´t make the water electrically conductive? Considering most mentioned here are acid and thus conducts electricity extremely well?
 
Originally posted by oqvist
What additives are there that don´t make the water electrically conductive? Considering most mentioned here are acid and thus conducts electricity extremely well?
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Any additive will more than likely make water conductive. Water by nature is NOT conductive, it's the impurizations like salt and and minerals in the water that make it conductive. Distilled water is known to be non-conductive, but, when you introduce it to a system like a closed circulating loop, minerals from your brass and copper will form in the water and thus it will be conductive.
 
Q: Will a propylene glycol based coolant (Prestone LowTox in my case) in the range of about 5-10% mixture keep the bacteria out?
 
Couldn't you just go to a local pool shop or something and put some Chlorine in or will that damage the copper and such?

Just don't mix Chlorine pucks with Coke :)
 
Originally posted by KINgGh0sT
Couldn't you just go to a local pool shop or something and put some Chlorine in or will that damage the copper and such?

Just don't mix Chlorine pucks with Coke :)
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no it will mess of the surface of the metal it comes in contact with, instead for a sanitizer goto a pool supply shop and ask for a sanitizer that is chlorine and bromine free
 
Originally posted by md262626
Let's take a look at this. Your average washing machine uses the exact same materials as your average water cooling kit (copper, brass included). Yet you submit it will mess up your blocks, and your radiator? You speaking from experience or just guessing? I think someone needs to go to Iwaki's website and read the list of stuff you can run through their pumps.
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lets look real fast..since when was a washing machines "tub" made out of copper? its a well known fact bleach and copper do not mix ans can corrode very bad. And as for iwakis site..yes we can all go read the site but that doesnt mean jack since most dont run an iwaki pump so your argument is moot.
you can run gas thru alot of shit...that doesnt mean its good for one material in the loop.
 
I swear by purified water. The best crap to use (though expensive) is HPLC grade water (available at sigma-aldrich.com) for several reasons.

1. Pure water has the best thermal transfer capabilities because of its damn hydrogen bonds. You could use water wetter and get results slightly better than pure water, but why risk it reacting with the copper in the water blocks?

2. Pure water is not electrically conductive.

3. HPLC Water has no ions (related to number 2). This means it won't do CRAP to your waterblock.

4. It's microbiological grade certified, which means, it has nothing in it. No bacteria. Nothing should grow in it unless you contaminate it somehow. It's non-toxic too, just don't drink it because it's so pure it'll cause your cells to gain water and burst (not a good thing.) If you are really anal, you can get DEPC water, which is so pure it doesn't even have DNA particles in it. Run your watercooling rig like your Windows -- virus free!

5. If you leak it onto your components, it has no ions, so it won't conduct electricity, and the ions will not react to the silicon or whatever on your motherboard.

Or, for those of you poor bastards (aren't we all?), deionized water from a local car shop used to tap off batteries works just fine. But it might not be sterile.

The funny thing tho, is the HPLC machine isn't water cooled, it's got three fans air cooling it. Then again, it's just a puny 1 ghz PIII.
 
Originally posted by Visable-assassin
lets look real fast..since when was a washing machines "tub" made out of copper? its a well known fact bleach and copper do not mix ans can corrode very bad. And as for iwakis site..yes we can all go read the site but that doesnt mean jack since most dont run an iwaki pump so your argument is moot.
you can run gas thru alot of shit...that doesnt mean its good for one material in the loop.
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Your response has no merit. Re-read my reply!........sheesh!
 
Originally posted by Phragmenter

which is so pure it doesn't even have DNA particles in it.
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water has DNA in it?

Originally posted by md262626
Your response has no merit. Re-read my reply!........sheesh!
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oh i read it, you said that the average WCing kit uses the same materials as a washing machine..ok while this may be true...the part that the bleach runs thru is NOT a closed loop and is NOT copper. So once again ill clearly state do NOT use bleach with copper it WILL corrode the block and your rad if your rad has copper parts. And most around here will tell you the same. And as for speaking from experience or guessing..Ive never had it happon to me but there have been pics posted of systems that were really messed up due to it, if the search worked you could probably find some. And again WTF does Iwakis site have to do for anything? Like I said most people dont run Iwakis so you could run sulfuric acid thru it for all I care, if I'm not running one WTF difference does this make to me? I know...NONE
But if youd still like to think bleach+copper=safe by all means wait till the others that know what I'm talking about comment on it, running bleach thru a copper loop is about as safe as running pure deionized water thru a loop...oh wait deionized water will damage copper too.
 
Ok so now that the washing machine debate has been resolved... :rolleyes: ...

With respect to bacteria and baddies: Propylene glycol based: yay or nay ? :D
 
Originally posted by __Maad__
Ok so now that the washing machine debate has been resolved... :rolleyes: ...

With respect to bacteria and baddies: Propylene glycol based: yay or nay ? :D
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in theory it should work.
some have had very good results with nothing growing in their loop while others have had stuff grow in their loop, I dont know for sure but it seems like the glycol concentration is too low.
my self I use a little betadine always that shit will kill pretty much anything, and it hasnt bothered my temps one bit
 
Originally posted by Visable-assassin

oh i read it, you said that the average WCing kit uses the same materials as a washing machine..ok while this may be true...the part that the bleach runs thru is NOT a closed loop and is NOT copper. So once again ill clearly state do NOT use bleach with copper it WILL corrode the block and your rad if your rad has copper parts. And most around here will tell you the same. And as for speaking from experience or guessing..Ive never had it happon to me but there have been pics posted of systems that were really messed up due to it, if the search worked you could probably find some. And again WTF does Iwakis site have to do for anything? Like I said most people dont run Iwakis so you could run sulfuric acid thru it for all I care, if I'm not running one WTF difference does this make to me? I know...NONE
But if youd still like to think bleach+copper=safe by all means wait till the others that know what I'm talking about comment on it, running bleach thru a copper loop is about as safe as running pure deionized water thru a loop...oh wait deionized water will damage copper too.
Click to expand...

I ran a water/bleach mixture in my old watercooling setup for nearly 2 years with not one single problem, EVER. If 2 years of pumping a 90/10 water/bleach mixture through a copper block nearly 24/7 doesn't damage it, I really don't think you have a case.

In regards to antifreeze(the green stuff you put in your car), yes it will kill any/all bacteria. Also in regards to antifreeze, NO it will not react with the copper in your loop. Guess what car radiators are made out of? Heatercores? Ding ding ding! Copper! (On a side-note, no, watter wetter will not damage the copper components in your system either.)

Adding pretty much anything to water will likely make it electrically conductive, so there's not really any way around that.
 
use bacardi 151. Then when you want somethin to drink, tap it. Best of both worlds.
 
Originally posted by Visable-assassin
water has DNA in it?



oh i read it, you said that the average WCing kit uses the same materials as a washing machine..ok while this may be true...the part that the bleach runs thru is NOT a closed loop and is NOT copper. So once again ill clearly state do NOT use bleach with copper it WILL corrode the block and your rad if your rad has copper parts. And most around here will tell you the same. And as for speaking from experience or guessing..Ive never had it happon to me but there have been pics posted of systems that were really messed up due to it, if the search worked you could probably find some. And again WTF does Iwakis site have to do for anything? Like I said most people dont run Iwakis so you could run sulfuric acid thru it for all I care, if I'm not running one WTF difference does this make to me? I know...NONE
But if youd still like to think bleach+copper=safe by all means wait till the others that know what I'm talking about comment on it, running bleach thru a copper loop is about as safe as running pure deionized water thru a loop...oh wait deionized water will damage copper too.
Click to expand...


Is chlorine an additive in city water in minute amounts? Yes. Is your house plumbed with copper pipe? Yes. Is the drain riser on your washing machine made of copper? Yes. Does the drain water containing chlorine bleach from your washing machine go down the aforementioned drain? Yes. I'm sure glad architects, engineers, and a 100,000 plumbers don't know what they're doing:rolleyes:
 
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