View Full Version : Methanol freezin up!
Nebulous
11-07-2003, 11:37 PM
Need a better mixture or some better fluid. My chiller is runnin great, but my methanol is freezin up. I was noticing a small temp increase so i checked the rez and lines. I saw there was a kink, no biggie. I'll just do some surgery. As i moved the coil to get the pump out the rez (igloo playmate) I saw there was at least 2 inches of ice covering the whole coil. All i have in the rez is 4 gallons of methanol. Tested to -20F (-30c) yet this stuff is freezin up. Do I have to swap it out for better methanol that's tested to lower temps or can I use something else?
I want something that will not freeze yet have good cooling properties.
Geeez my chiller is doin some serious chilling and not even fully powered!
TheWeaseL
11-07-2003, 11:43 PM
Anti freeze for a car would be my suggestion...
Nebulous
11-07-2003, 11:48 PM
Originally posted by TheWeaseL
Anti freeze for a car would be my suggestion...
Yeah but I heard antifreeze sux for pc cooling. I was thinking about it, but not sure.
I use a combo of denatured alcohol & propoline glyco. works great so far down to -43c.
Keeper
11-08-2003, 12:31 AM
Iso Alcohol works well and is not going to cost an arm and a leg, 71% will flow very well at -50 and you can buy it at Sam's by the half gallon. It is very good with plastic and you can use it without mixing anything to it.
hatemi
11-08-2003, 02:30 AM
Automotive antifreeze is the way to go. It isnt as toxic as methanol( drink some and your blind, drink more and its bye bye!) and doesnt even cost as much. Some can be found very cheaply in 10liter cans for like 8 euros. The Carlake antifreeze I have is fine for -39c when mixed 50/50 with water.
Nebulous
11-08-2003, 07:39 AM
Tanx guyz for the info. I'll look into both. Last time i tried Antifreeze I had my rez on my windowsill over the winter and it froze up too. Lines, pump and rez just locked up in a frozed state. Fried my cpu too :rolleyes: Since i'm going way below the -10c mark I'll try a mix of both antifreeze and ISO alcohol. Hopefully the mix will do me right and not freeze up.
This one guy suggested some stuff called "HEET" Pure meth for gaslines. I can see it now, i'll have 4 1/2 gallons of that stuff in my igloo rez being chilled and all the while it's next to me. First I'll have the giggles, then extreme laughter followed by a slight headache then complete darkness. When i come to I see a bright light and saint peter next to the pearly gates.
:lol:
Keeper
11-08-2003, 08:09 AM
If you use the Iso, you won't need to mix anything to it; adding antifreeze will just increase the viscosity when it gets cold and reduce your flow rates.
Iso comes in 71 and 91% solutions, 91% was overkill for me at -30C so I have been adding distilled water with better results. 91% is good to -88C, not sure about 71%.
You dont have to mix anything with denatured alcohol. i just tryed
the boiler antifreeze because it was cheep. automotive antifreeze
is 30% distilled water & will slush up @ lower temps. denatured alcohol is found in the paint section of any hardware store in 1 5 & 10gal containers. i think Iso would be harder to find in large quantitys.
hey hatemi methanol will kill you so will Iso & denatured alcohol.
But automotive antifreeze will too. plus its hard to clean up if you
have a spill & leak. any type of alcohol/meth will evaporate. plus
if you do have a leak antifreeze has a sweet taste that little kids & pets love, but on the filpside antifreeze doesnt burn.;)
hatemi
11-08-2003, 04:17 PM
denatured 96% alcohol is actually the only one of those that isnt dedly. If you drink it then you det drunk as a seilor, that is if you can drink it without puking ofcourse, but it isnt lethall. Ertremely flamable though;)
Well i have 4gals in my chiller @-43c come over and we'll party,
Xtreme style!:banana: :banana: :toast: :toast: :sick: :sick:
Nebulous
11-08-2003, 08:27 PM
:lol: Tanx for the info guyz, now the 64 thousand dollar question where do I get this stuff? I mean i don't want denatured alcohol since my rez is close by and i'll be breathing in the fumes. I'd go with the Iso if i can get gallons of it.
Most any hardware stores like truevalue/ ace/bestvalue. homedepot/lowels. look in the paint section near solvents like paint thinner & stripper.
DID SOMEONE SAY STRIPPERS?:devil:
Keeper
11-08-2003, 08:40 PM
You can get Iso at Sam's for about $3.80 a gallon. It comes in 1 quart containers 2 to a pack and thats for 91%, the 71% will be even less (maybe $3.10 per gallon).
You will want to put an air tight seal on your res regardless of what fluid you use though.
It can be found at any pharmacy in 91% strength and at any grocery store in 71%.
ethanol at any liquor store, AA fuel at a boat shop.
Nebulous
11-08-2003, 10:45 PM
Awsome! Tanx guyz :toast: I'll keep you posted.
Originally posted by hatemi
denatured 96% alcohol is actually the only one of those that isnt dedly. If you drink it then you det drunk as a seilor, that is if you can drink it without puking ofcourse, but it isnt lethall. Ertremely flamable though;)
It will kill you if you kep drinking it and will surely damage your liver VERY quickly (not to mention memory loss and all sorts of other effects - stay away from this $hit)
hatemi
11-09-2003, 04:31 PM
Originally posted by Jabo
It will kill you if you kep drinking it and will surely damage your liver VERY quickly (not to mention memory loss and all sorts of other effects - stay away from this $hit)
Well I know it can kill you if you drink too much of it( and so can any alcohol), but I also know that the most pathetic drunks can drink it without getting that ill. It may be because they have tolerance that we mare mortals can only dream of, but it can be done. I`ve heard stories that filterig it through french toast will make it more hmm... lets just say tasty;) We used that stuff in chemistry all the time in high school and the teacher told us its just your normall 96% alcohol added with some chemical that makes you puke if you try to drink it but isnt actually poisonous. That said I DONT recomend anyone to try and drink it...
Originally posted by hatemi
I also know that the most pathetic drunks can drink it without getting that ill.
I knew an old drunk on my block that told me about drinking aftershave when he got hard up for a drink.:sick: he dead now.
Nebulous
11-09-2003, 10:52 PM
Originally posted by vlad
I knew an old drunk on my block that told me about drinking aftershave when he got hard up for a drink.:sick: he dead now.
You wanna know something really weird? My father drank rubbing alcohol with orange juice and also aftershave. He's one sicko the old geezer! :rolleyes: I'm surprised he's still alive. In a vegetated state tho.
Well back to the topic: As an emergency i went to the gas station and got 2 bottles of dry gas. Read the label and it said : Contains Methanol (67-56-1). Poured a bottle in the rez and let the pump mix it up. Waited about 2 hours and fired up. No more freeze ups and my cpu temps are floating @ 14c. Liquid temps @ -0.3c. This will hold me till i get a new rez and some fresh mix.
Nebulous
11-10-2003, 11:19 PM
*Update*
Went to home depot and picked up an ornage and white 5gal igloo cooler, then went to pepboys and picked up 5 gals of Peak RV & marine anti-freeze rated @ -50F. Nice pink color too.
Modded the hell out of the cooler for the coil to fit, but it's werkin like a charm. I'll borrow a digicam and take some shots :D
You mean something like this?;) pritty color. it's addicting is'nt it?
this was my 1st. my 2nd is'nt complete up & running yet & im working on my 3rd. better then crack.
\/icious
11-11-2003, 08:30 AM
Originally posted by Nebulous
This one guy suggested some stuff called "HEET" Pure meth for gaslines. I can see it now, i'll have 4 1/2 gallons of that stuff in my igloo rez being chilled and all the while it's next to me. First I'll have the giggles, then extreme laughter followed by a slight headache then complete darkness. When i come to I see a bright light and saint peter next to the pearly gates.
:lol:
LoL that guy was probably me and yeah, if you used the stuff pure with an open container then you would be flyin pretty high. But that stuff pure goes really low so i suggested it so you could use as much water as possible. I would think that you could go with a half and half mixture max. As far as iso goes, the fumes will also give you quite a buzz and like all alcohol is highly flammable. I tried iiso ( 75% iso / 25%water) and it worked well. As for using any alcohol your going to want to seal you res and as long as you do it well you should have no problems.
Nebulous
11-11-2003, 08:53 AM
:lol: tanx vicious :D Yeah I selaed up the rez and it's werking like a charm! Using this Marine anti-freeze and there are no fumes and no odor which is a major plus.
Yep vlad, that's the stuff. You're right about it being adictive lol. It looks like the pc has blood :eek: Werks great !
Good Luck on # 2 and 3 :thumbsup:
\/icious
11-11-2003, 01:55 PM
yeah thats the plus about usin antifreeze and that §§§§ does look pretty cool. Are you usin the stuff pure or are you adding water to it?
Keeper
11-11-2003, 04:27 PM
Thanks Vlad, I just switched to Denatured Alcohol and got a 7 degree improvement.
This is a 1700+ @2.6GHz
http://www.nerdsforjesus.org/images/dna.JPG
Pimpsho
11-11-2003, 04:35 PM
hey neb its been a while and forgot what kinda ac unit that is...im lookin at this 5700btu windown unit...how would that do? im thinking of chilling my swifty 462uht and my dteck spir@l on my 2100...u think it could keep up? in terms of water temps bellow 20c?
Pimpsho
11-11-2003, 04:35 PM
Originally posted by Keeper
Thanks Vlad, I just switched to Denatured Alcohol and got a 7 degree improvement.
This is a 1700+ @2.6GHz
http://www.nerdsforjesus.org/images/dna.JPG
do u have ne pics of u setup? what are your specs on the chiller?
Keeper
11-11-2003, 06:14 PM
Look here for pics of my set up
http://www.nerdsforjesus.org/coolerpage.html
Originally posted by Keeper
[B]Thanks Vlad, I just switched to Denatured Alcohol and got a 7 degree improvement.
This is a 1700+ @2.6GHz
:banana: :banana: :toast: Glad to hear it!!!!!!!
Keeper
11-11-2003, 06:48 PM
I am getting much better flow rates with the DNA. The ISO gets pretty viscous at -30C, which does not seem to be the case with the DNA.
I hope pump life does not deteriorate with the DNA.
Pimpsho
11-11-2003, 06:56 PM
what kinda unit is that chilling the water man? thats tight! also is -26 ur water temps? and is that c of f temps?
Originally posted by Keeper
I hope pump life does not deteriorate with the DNA.
I've been running a beckett 535gph pond pump from homedepot
for a while now without a prob.:thumbsup: i've looked @ pumps
that are made for alcohol but theyre not sure if it will take the temp, so ill stick with a garden pond pump till it failes.
Keeper
11-11-2003, 08:26 PM
Pimpsho, that’s a 404A chiller, it will chill the fluid down to -30C in the winter here and -26C in the summer. I had to put it in a cabinet because its my office PC, people can’t deal with parts hanging out all over the place in my line of work.
Vlad, I am using a pond pump too, got me a MAG 7, and I am hoping it lasts a long time. I will have a MAG 5 for a back up after I rebuild it, but the MAG 7 is rated @700gph so it gets the job. The flow with ISO was really weak even with the MAG 7; the Denatured really improved the flow, easy two times by looking at it. I wish I had someway to measure the difference, significant to say the least.
Nebulous
11-12-2003, 02:21 PM
Dang keeper, that's a sweet chiller :thumbsup:
Yo pimpsho, that AC unit will do very nicely. Just be sure to have a sealed rez so you don't lose any cooling once the evap is submerged. I'm using the modded dehumidifier called ChillZilla. Liquid's temps are -2.5c and cpu temps at full load are 10c. I'm happy :D
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