What is the simplest way for flushing a loop?

RJ1892

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 3, 2014
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I have some plasticizer in my loop, mainly sitting in the reservoir and some in the GPU block and probably the CPU block. I want to flush it as best as I can without tearing the entire system apart (I plan to tear it all apart sometime when a Volta Titan comes out). But would like to just flush the system for now.

Should I just run distilled water through it for a few hours, then drain it, then run a new batch of distilled water, a few times over? I assembled my cooling loop in September and just want to make sure plasticizer deposits don't end up effecting cooling performance by clogging up the loop, as of now it has not affected performance.
 
If you're got visible deposits or sediment, I'd recommend tearing it down and cleaning it completely.

If you're really adverse to that, then do 4-5 flushes with DI water. On the first and second flush I'd flush it through a filter (or just a paper towel) to get an idea of how much sediment/material you're dealing with. That will help you determine how many times you need to flush it.
 
I guess I'll be pulling it apart sometime next week, I'd rather do it the right way but hope I don't run into any issues, I haven't pulled apart the blocks at all yet.
 
I guess I'll be pulling it apart sometime next week, I'd rather do it the right way but hope I don't run into any issues, I haven't pulled apart the blocks at all yet.

You might do a flush first like I mentioned, and flush through a paper towel or coffee filter. The amount of crap you see in the filter after the flush should give you an idea of how dirty the loop is. If you see a huge pile of sediment, particles and plasticizer, then a more through cleaning might be required. If you only see a few specs, then just a flush might be enough.
 
You might do a flush first like I mentioned, and flush through a paper towel or coffee filter. The amount of crap you see in the filter after the flush should give you an idea of how dirty the loop is. If you see a huge pile of sediment, particles and plasticizer, then a more through cleaning might be required. If you only see a few specs, then just a flush might be enough.

Yea I will see what happens when I flush it. I'll refill with some distilled water then drain it a few times. I think when I initially filled it I may have added too much of the EK coolant and it caused the plasticizer to leach off the tubing. I use Primochill Advanced LRT which I thought was supposed to have less plasticizer leeching than other brands but I guess it's all the same.

Thinking of switching to PT Nuke + distilled water rather than coolant. I don't think I can do a kill coil since I have EK's nickle blocks which I hear have issues with kill coils.
 
My recommendation is: flush all the circuit and refill with distilled water and vinegar, leave it working for some time, you will see that all parts will be cleaned.
 
Yea I will see what happens when I flush it. I'll refill with some distilled water then drain it a few times. I think when I initially filled it I may have added too much of the EK coolant and it caused the plasticizer to leach off the tubing. I use Primochill Advanced LRT which I thought was supposed to have less plasticizer leeching than other brands but I guess it's all the same.

Thinking of switching to PT Nuke + distilled water rather than coolant. I don't think I can do a kill coil since I have EK's nickle blocks which I hear have issues with kill coils.

I've used LRT with both DI + PT Nuke and with EK Coolants (even the pastels) and never really had a plastizer problem, so can't quite say what you might be seeing. I'd definitely filter it when draining to see what you're dealing with. Also inspect the tubing itself, all the sharp bends and places the tube was flexed (like around compression fittings) and see if there are any visible cracking or discoloration. I don't think you need PT Nuke AND a coil. The whole point is really to prevent biological growth. If your loop is clean and you use DI water, you shouldn't have ANY. PT Nuke is just insurance.
 
My recommendation is: flush all the circuit and refill with distilled water and vinegar, leave it working for some time, you will see that all parts will be cleaned.
What ratio water to vinegar? Would this damage the pump?

I've used LRT with both DI + PT Nuke and with EK Coolants (even the pastels) and never really had a plastizer problem, so can't quite say what you might be seeing. I'd definitely filter it when draining to see what you're dealing with. Also inspect the tubing itself, all the sharp bends and places the tube was flexed (like around compression fittings) and see if there are any visible cracking or discoloration. I don't think you need PT Nuke AND a coil. The whole point is really to prevent biological growth. If your loop is clean and you use DI water, you shouldn't have ANY. PT Nuke is just insurance.
Yea I know, I wouldn't use both a kill coil and PT Nuke, I just always see a kill coil recommended over PT Nuke. I'm not sure why this plasticizer problem happened, it's not major, I just don't want it becoming a bigger problem in the future.
 
What ratio water to vinegar? Would this damage the pump?


Yea I know, I wouldn't use both a kill coil and PT Nuke, I just always see a kill coil recommended over PT Nuke. I'm not sure why this plasticizer problem happened, it's not major, I just don't want it becoming a bigger problem in the future.
Nope, you Will not have any problem. the vinegar will clean the loop. But this method is just for clean the loop. After you refill the loop, flush the water and check the shape of each part.
 
I recommend Mayhems 2 part loop cleaning kit. A bit expensive but it works really well, the inside of the rads were very clean after doing it to my buddies loop.
 
That won't flush out. You'll have to replace the tubing and scrub the blocks if you want it clean. Flushing won't do a thing, and if it truly is plasticizer it will only get worse as your tubing will chunk up the loop more.
 
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