What the h..l can was growing inside my system?

Mousemagician

Limp Gawd
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Feb 13, 2010
Messages
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I did a mini-ITX build done in 2013 with the The Swiftech H220. I loved it, but switched to other builds soon after and parked the X220 until December 2019.
In December 2019, I expanded the old Swiftech H220 (CPU blck/pump and 240 mm radiator) with an Alphacool Eisblock GPX-N Plexi GeForce RTX 2080 Ti M01 to cool a Zen2 mini-ITX gaming system.

Little detail: I DID NOT CLEAN the water loop before building the Zen2 mini-ITX system.
Rather, I drained it of the old original coolant and filled the system with a clear alpha-cool pre-mixed liquid:
IMG_20190826_193521.jpg


Three months after, I re-purposed these components to a dual-system build. Below the YouTube video of this last build


By the time of draining the loop, this is what came out:
20200313_181501.jpg

20200313_181515.jpg

20200309_182704.jpg


Whatever that green thing is, it is not good! :vomit::vomit::vomit:
...this may serve as a confirmation that...

water-cooling loops MUST be cleaned before re-using them!!!
 
That looks bad.

Typically whatever you use for anyi-growth treatment should prevent growth, even in a dirty system...

Though these treatments lose effectiveness over time. Was your coolant within it's shelf life? Most coolants also recommend replacement at least annually.
 
Another thought..

It is tough to tell in a picture, but are you certain that is growth? Could it be copper coming out of a radiator or something?
 
You need to drain your loop. You need to disassemble everything and inspect the blocks for corrosion or growths. Assuming everything's OK, clean it all up and then reassemble the system. Use a coolant with a growth inhibitor. I've used a few of them over several years with good results. I've got EK Cryofuel in my system now, but I can't speak to its effectiveness. I've only run it about six months. So far, so good. But I have run Koolance's fluids for years in systems without even doing any maintenance and they were fine when I finally got around to them.

If you have corrosion in the system, then your going to need to start replacing parts more than likely. There are ways of removing the corrosion, which is fine depending on the level of corrosion. That said, if there is corrosion in the radiator, you won't be able to tell. Radiators are relatively inexpensive though.
 
You need to drain your loop. You need to disassemble everything and inspect the blocks for corrosion or growths. Assuming everything's OK, clean it all up and then reassemble the system. Use a coolant with a growth inhibitor. I've used a few of them over several years with good results. I've got EK Cryofuel in my system now, but I can't speak to its effectiveness. I've only run it about six months. So far, so good. But I have run Koolance's fluids for years in systems without even doing any maintenance and they were fine when I finally got around to them.

If you have corrosion in the system, then your going to need to start replacing parts more than likely. There are ways of removing the corrosion, which is fine depending on the level of corrosion. That said, if there is corrosion in the radiator, you won't be able to tell. Radiators are relatively inexpensive though.
Done! When re-purposed the mini-ITX system for the dual-system build, I did a proper cleaning and flushing with the Mayhems System.
20200307_163408.jpg


This means cleaning radiators (part 1) and washing/flushing the loop (part 2).
Then, I used the EK Cryofuel to fill it.
What I did not do is disassembling the CPU block, which is the only re-used part.
I am monitoring any change in color, since this time I have a reservoir to look at (this time)
 
Done! When re-purposed the mini-ITX system for the dual-system build, I did a proper cleaning and flushing with the Mayhems System.
View attachment 236944

This means cleaning radiators (part 1) and washing/flushing the loop (part 2).
Then, I used the EK Cryofuel to fill it.
What I did not do is disassembling the CPU block, which is the only re-used part.
I am monitoring any change in color, since this time I have a reservoir to look at (this time)

A Theory:
(based on a lot of conjecture at this point, so take it for what it is worth)

Background:

1.) Mayhems spells out that Part 2 (the rinsing solution) is pH neutral (pH 7 +/- 0.5
2.) There is nothing on the part 1 bottle (at least from this angle) that specifies pH, but based on this info, I am guessing it is an acid
3.) Acid in the loop can be a very effective cleaner, but you don't want it in there too long or it will start eating things resulting in radiator/block corrosion and nickel plating peeling off.
4.) Oxidized copper is green to greenish blue

Theory:

A part of the loop may not have been completely drained after flushing with the Part 1 solution. Sometimes fluid can remain in certain spots, as I am sure we have all experienced when we thought we drained a loop, and start taking it apart only to have a puddle of coolant at the bottom of the case.

This part that wasn't completely drained remained in the system and was not completely neutralized by the part 2 flush.

After the part 2 flush was drained, again, somewhere in the loop some fluid remained.

Once filled with coolant this resulted in a coolant with a lower pH than is healthy for the loop. Certainly this would have been a much milder acid than the original part 1 flush, but the original part one flush warns of a max of 12 hours. This sat in there for 3 months if I read your OP correctly.

Just a theory of course.

Radiators are difficult to inspect for corrosion, but you can usually take apart your blocks and inspect the insides to see if there is corrosion (or peeling if nickel plated).
 
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A Theory:
(based on a lot of conjecture at this point, so take it for what it is worth)

Background:

1.) Mayhems spells out that Part 2 (the rinsing solution) is pH neutral (pH 7 +/- 0.5
2.) There is nothing on the part 1 bottle (at least from this angle) that specifies pH, but based on this info, I am guessing it is an acid
3.) Acid in the loop can be a very effective cleaner, but you don't want it in there too long or it will start eating things resulting in radiator/block corrosion and nickel plating peeling off.
4.) Oxidized copper is green to greenish blue

Theory:

A part of the loop may not have been completely drained after flushing with the Part 1 solution. Sometimes fluid can remain in certain spots, as I am sure we have all experienced when we thought we drained a loop, and start taking it apart only to have a puddle of coolant at the bottom of the case.

This part that wasn't completely drained remained in the system and was not completely neutralized by the part 2 flush.

After the part 2 flush was drained, again, somewhere in the loop some fluid remained.

Once filled with coolant this resulted in a coolant with a lower pH than is healthy for the loop. Certainly this would have been a much milder acid than the original part 1 flush, but the original part one flush warns of a max of 12 hours. This sat in there for 3 months if I read your OP correctly.

Just a theory of course.

Radiators are difficult to inspect for corrosion, but you can usually take apart your blocks and inspect the insides to see if there is corrosion (or peeling if nickel plated).
Thank you for your thoughts, but I realize that there must be some confusion about when the green liquid appeared.
The green liquid came out when I extracted my Zen2 ITX gaming system from the Raijintek Ophion Evo case for moving it into the dual-system Phanteks Enthoo 719. To do so, I made two systems with one loop. When I drained the old single ITX system, I got the green stuff.
The Mayhems cleaning system was used to clean the two new radiators (part 1) and to rinse/flush the dual system (part 2).
The only part re-used from the old Swiftech H220 is the CPU block/pump, which was rinsed/flushed with the Mayhems part 2.
So far, everything looks clear, but I was wondering why I got the green liquid after only three months of operation of the original Zen2 ITX system.
I appreciate your help thinking about it, and I am sorry I may have caused any confusion.
 
This was my thought, could that green be from radiator corrosion.
Yes, I think this is it.
Not too bad, since that old Swiftech 240 mm rad is not part of the final dual-system build.
Fingers crossed: hopefully no more green ugly stuff coming from this loop (y)
 
You need to drain your loop. You need to disassemble everything and inspect the blocks for corrosion or growths. Assuming everything's OK, clean it all up and then reassemble the system. Use a coolant with a growth inhibitor. I've used a few of them over several years with good results. I've got EK Cryofuel in my system now, but I can't speak to its effectiveness. I've only run it about six months. So far, so good. But I have run Koolance's fluids for years in systems without even doing any maintenance and they were fine when I finally got around to them.

If you have corrosion in the system, then your going to need to start replacing parts more than likely. There are ways of removing the corrosion, which is fine depending on the level of corrosion. That said, if there is corrosion in the radiator, you won't be able to tell. Radiators are relatively inexpensive though.

+1 on the Koolance fluids. No muss, no fuss, and works equally well with either Aluminum or Copper parts.
 
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