Oil addition to loop?

SticKx911

2[H]4U
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I googled a bit, but didn't find anything so maybe it's just a really dumb idea. I thought I'd seek some [H] experience before rigging a test loop to try it.


Would there be any downside to adding a splash of oil into a water loop?

Why add it? Well oil and water don't mix. With good flow, a water loop typically looks fairly stagnant. Would this visually show liquid flowing through or would the oil just trap itself somewhere due to its weight being different than water. (flow for fun/looks, not expecting anything serious) Oil collects dust and contaminants better than water, so if there is flow, it may be possible to add basic filtration without a heavy flow restriction...idk.
 
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Setup a weird pump setup where its skimming a portion of oil off the top of the res with the rest of the coolant and it should work just fine. There probably wont be any benefits but it could look cool. Or continually disturb the fluid in the res.
 
Setup a weird pump setup where its skimming a portion of oil off the top of the res with the rest of the coolant and it should work just fine. There probably wont be any benefits but it could look cool. Or continually disturb the fluid in the res.
That's what I was considering. Just to see if it worked at all. I also thought that's a good bit of work if it's completely stupid and someone else has already tried it. Lol

I'll probably give it a whirl this weekend with some spare parts and see what happens. I'd mostly be concerned with oil trapping in a water block, but it's the most restrictive component so flow/pressure should be at it's highest there. 🤷‍♂️
 
It would most likely sit on top of the water in your res. Unless you direct inject it into a line somehow while the pump is on but eventually the majority will end up floating on top of the water in the res is my assumption.
Your looking for it to act as a filtration medium in a closed loop?
 
Ever seen an engine that got water in the oil?
It wont be quite that bad because of the difference in temps, but eventually it will develop a sludge from the spinning pump which wont help flow rate.
Up until that point the oil will sit on top of the water impeding its flow round the radiator, and oil that does make it round the system will coat everything, preventing the water from conducting heat to/from metal very well, rendering the cooling crap.
Its a rather daft idea and a waste of equipment used to test it.
 
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Why not get just a flowmeter?
That just proves flow. Idk. I was looking at some big reservoirs thinking it would be neat to get a lava lamp like flow to it, but I would definitely be worried about the sludge problem. The filtration idea was a side thought of a possible thing. It coating things would be terrible.

I'd rather ask a dumb question than waste a weekend on a dumb idea. Thanks for the input guys!
 
That just proves flow. Idk. I was looking at some big reservoirs thinking it would be neat to get a lava lamp like flow to it, but I would definitely be worried about the sludge problem. The filtration idea was a side thought of a possible thing. It coating things would be terrible.

I'd rather ask a dumb question than waste a weekend on a dumb idea. Thanks for the input guys!

lol, coolio :)

Another way to think about this, has a cars water cooler ever had oil put in it with water for the purpose of improvement and succeeded?
It doesnt mean you shouldnt think outside the box but its worth asking a question along a similar line.
There are oil coolers in high power cars but only because engines must be cooled with oil which breaks down with heat, its a very good way to keep oil from harm.
Very different from cooling a PC.

Neat water is the best safe coolant (unless you go phase change) for capturing and getting rid of heat if you can tolerate water loss through pipes (ie you have a reservoir to keep the water level topped up).
Where loss of coolant is an issue, like in an All In One (AIO) cooler that has no method of top up, a mix of water and Glycol helps them last years. This is what AIOs use.
Its not quite as good as water but its a good in between.
 
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That just proves flow. Idk. I was looking at some big reservoirs thinking it would be neat to get a lava lamp like flow to it, but I would definitely be worried about the sludge problem. The filtration idea was a side thought of a possible thing. It coating things would be terrible.

I'd rather ask a dumb question than waste a weekend on a dumb idea. Thanks for the input guys!
I didn't think you were asking a dumb question, I was just trying to better understand what your goal here is.

Personally, I only use distilled water and a biocide. I want to introduce as few extra contaminants to my loop as possible because I usually only flush them when I change out parts, so that can be 2-3 years.
 
it would likley damage the pump but tiny little plastic beads like they put in soap or hand sanitizer, small enough to pass through the tubes in the rads. air bubbles work to untill they collect in the res. unless you had a fancy system to recirculate said air back in to the tubes. though some pumps are just impeller based maybe tiny beads could work? flow that you can see, an appealing idea.

EDIT the engine sludege, i think higher engine temps help with that. you would need far more than a drop of it in a loop though.
 
I didn't think you were asking a dumb question, I was just trying to better understand what your goal here is.

Personally, I only use distilled water and a biocide. I want to introduce as few extra contaminants to my loop as possible because I usually only flush them when I change out parts, so that can be 2-3 years.

The main goal that sparked the idea was to add flare to the boring reservoir without dyes. Also, looking to dabble in hard line, all the pteg is clear tubing. Even a small amount of clear vegetable oil to just see something move through it might liven it up without the need for dye. (Again, just where the idea came from)

I tried mayhem's pastel for a year or so, I swore off dyes after that. Not due to any damages, but I had to flush and redo quarterly or it would just get nasty looking. I've been using distilled outside of that time frame which is perfectly fine. Just looking to change it up and make a fun little side project that isn't prohibitively too expensive. Maybe get my kids interested in it being able to see it flow around...idk. I'll probably try than regret that primochill vue stuff.

I work in hvac so I might just powder coat some copper line and stick with distilled. Eh. Indecision is the worst consequence of choice. Lol
 
I respect the idea, I dont understand the anti-dye stance. Colored liquid has come a long way. I am in the middle of a new build and for the second time have disasembled a loop where I used pastel fluids from ek and mayhem and have not only 0 gunk but very clean blocks. both systems ran over a year without fluid change averaging 6 hours of gaming a day(estimated of course}. If you want to see water moving, and many do, buy a fancy liquid and dont feel bad about it.
 
I work in hvac so I might just powder coat some copper line and stick with distilled. Eh. Indecision is the worst consequence of choice. Lol
Or, just use copper tubing and leaving it nice and shiny for that steampunk look
 
As a fellow hvac guy if you have ever had to clean a chiller that had bad oil contamination you would never add oil to your loop. If it flows it will coat everything and worse might eat the o rigs/parts of your blocks..also vegetable oil is probably one of worst oils you could use and you have access to much more stable oils....at the least get a very tall reservoir

Just make a small chiller and oil tight box and submerge the whole pc if you want to ues oil
 
I respect the idea, I dont understand the anti-dye stance. Colored liquid has come a long way. I am in the middle of a new build and for the second time have disasembled a loop where I used pastel fluids from ek and mayhem and have not only 0 gunk but very clean blocks. both systems ran over a year without fluid change averaging 6 hours of gaming a day(estimated of course}. If you want to see water moving, and many do, buy a fancy liquid and dont feel bad about it.
You're right about it coming a long way. Old thermal take green was some nasty stuff. This is a htpc/plex server that runs 24/7. The dyes tend to change hue after a couple of months so I have to flush it way more often. I only disliked the mayhems because it wasn't worth the work to maintain the look. I just bought solid color tubes and left it like that for a while.
 
what about some sort ultra fine glitter, i've seen fluids with it before.

Not a good idea in my experience. The glitter tends to collect in spots in the blocks. Granted, I haven't tried every fluid out there but the ones I have tried I didn't care for. So far though, the EK fluids and Koolance fluids have all worked extremely well. I've gone years without doing any real maintenance on the loops and the blocks will be super clean and look brand new when I do get around to taking everything apart.
 
Went with the primo chill stuff for now. Does the job well. We'll see how long it lasts. Lol
IMG_20210205_185628.jpg
 
For water flow, I just look at the reservoir, it is very apparent if the pump is working or not. Water flow meter would be cool in that it could indicate over time if you need to clean your system or not or have issues with your pump. I had to replace my D5 EKB water pump recently due to it not spinning on startup at times. Took it apart, cleaned it which was rather clean anyways but felt like a lot of play/wear was present. The rotor would bind up due to the play was my conclusion, once it was running it had no issue. This pump saw extended periods of time as in 24/7 usage (mining) and it just flat wore out. New pump is doing great.
 
For water flow, I just look at the reservoir, it is very apparent if the pump is working or not. Water flow meter would be cool in that it could indicate over time if you need to clean your system or not or have issues with your pump. I had to replace my D5 EKB water pump recently due to it not spinning on startup at times. Took it apart, cleaned it which was rather clean anyways but felt like a lot of play/wear was present. The rotor would bind up due to the play was my conclusion, once it was running it had no issue. This pump saw extended periods of time as in 24/7 usage (mining) and it just flat wore out. New pump is doing great.
My reservoirs always just look stagnant. Flow in, flow out, once the bubbles are bled, at most I’d get a little wiggle at startup. I would think visible water turbulence would introduce air bubbles.
 
My reservoirs always just look stagnant. Flow in, flow out, once the bubbles are bled, at most I’d get a little wiggle at startup. I would think visible water turbulence would introduce air bubbles.
hmm, why swirls so it is apparent, maybe how/where I connected up the tubing to it.
 
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