Disposal of Zerex + distilled water

[vinylkid]

Hi folks, first time posting in the Liquid Cooling forum. I've been gleaning the threads and stickies the past 2 months and am in the process of putting together my first watercooling loop (Storm, Thermochill 120.3, DDC+ w/ Petra Top, Micro-res, U2-UFO case).

A couple of quick questions that don't seem to be addressed in any of the stickies:

a) How do people usually dispose of leftover or waste coolant fluid (ie: Zerex + distilled water)?

My understanding is that Zerex has ethylene glycol, and as such, is probably not a good thing to dump or flush down the drain.

b) How do people change or drain the fluid from their loops?

With a reservoir adding fluid is easy... but I don't see an easy way to drain or replace fluid without cutting tubing. My Thermochill radiator does have a bleed screw. Am I supposed to remove the radiator from the case, open up the screw, and invert it to drain the fluid?

Is it easier with a T-line?

Sorry if these are dumb questions... I'm a software guy, not a hardware guy! ;)

[welshtom]

I usuall pop the tubing off the lowest barb in the system to drain.

[cadaveca]

I dump my coolant @ the local car garage, same place i got the pentosin from.

[NickS]

I have a bad habit of dumping it down the sink.

[ziddey]

I have a bad habit of dumping it down the sink.
Depending on where you live, that's actually not as bad as it sounds.

EG really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Look at all the cars with busted heater cores (like mine :p) and everytime I have the heat on, I'm breathing in nice EG. Mmmmm

guess that means i'm gonna die soon though :(

[cadaveca]

yeah pretty sure it;'s the additives to ethlyene glycol that make it problematic, but I;m really clueless. I just know that due offered me $10 of the 25 or so i paid for the coolant for it back mixed w/ water. Drop the stuff off, for cash back? You bet i will! Probably ends up in the neighbour's car (944):lol2:

[IanY]

Don't dump it down the sink or flush ethylene glycol !! Its highly toxic. While I'm not an environmentalist whacko, think of how badly it contaminates the water supply and/or how many fishies it would kill.

I typically collect the waste water in a bin and fill up gallon containers. I take it down to my local car repair shop/ gas station and they gladly dispose on my behalf. This stuff is so toxic that any neighborhood fire station and/or your town's waste office would gladly help you dispose.

[cadaveca]

LOL! Guess i am already "doing the right thing". Gonna have to ask Petra about this new additive, couple more weeks and I'll be ready to change it out!

[citat3962]

All the Auto Parts stores near me have a bin in the back for coolant and a bin for oil..

I dump both regularly since I do my own flushes and Oil changes so when I flush my PC it goes into the same container the Cars coolant does....

however I use Pentosin in my VW so you don't have to flush it very often by design...

[eXceeded]

uhoh... dumped at least 40ml of zerox into my sink last weekend when i screwed up my first watercooling build (more to come of course ;))

[Allsorts]

Originally Posted by vinylkid
How do people usually dispose of leftover or waste coolant fluid (ie: Zerex + distilled water)?

If you're talking about disposing large amounts of Zerex or anti-freeze then it would be best to take it to a garage or your local refuse dump (if they have an appropriate container to empty it in, that is).

I would dispose of small amounts down the sink. Leave your tap water running for a few minutes to dilute it and to make sure it all gets flushed away. You're not adding a huge amount of Zerex to your loop in the first place are you?.



Originally Posted by vinylkid
How do people change or drain the fluid from their loops?

You can pull the tubing off the lowest barb in the system, as welshtom has already said. Have a bucket and a cloth ready!

Also, just as you can use a T-line (pointing upwards) to help fill your loop, you can use one (pointing downwards) to help empty it. If you're really clever you can use one T-line for both operations. ;)