distilled vinegar

[hoax]

I need to clean my blocks for installation but I cannot find distilled vinegar anywhere.. these were the only two I could find:

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e299/cagiali/IMG_1961.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e299/cagiali/IMG_1967.jpg

or

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e299/cagiali/IMG_1962.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e299/cagiali/IMG_1966.jpg


either of them better them the other?

should I just mix it with distilled water? if so, what proportion should I use?

:confused:

[ak_47_boy]

I think any vinegar is fine just flush your block with distilled water after. I don't no for sure i have never done it.

[Kurz]

Go with the clear one.
Don't soak, just flush.
Don't leave it in there for more than 30 mins.
Shake to get the particulates loose.

[septim]

and rinse well with distilled, a gallon or 2...

[hoax]

thanks for the help guys.. white one it is then... no soaking.. :up:


and rinse well with distilled, a gallon or 2...

please, please tell me you are joking :eek: :(

cant buy it by the gallon, I have to make a bunch of stops on a few drugstores everytime and get the puzzled look "how many litters you need?...no we might have one or two, let me check for you"... and I thought I had bought the last six today... :rolleyes:

[.Logic]

Surely you can buy distilled from your local supermarket? Big 5 gallon containers or something similar :confused:

[Jedda]

Auto spare shops should have it in 4 - 5 litre bottles.

[septim]

or some de ionized water i think.

it after a few vinegar bath soaks pa120.3 around 1/2 liter of h2o shake it shake it, then rinse with another liter or 2, almost 1 gallon per vinegar soaking...
then repeat a few times....

but now-a-days seems that vinegar is not used anymore. simply warm up some distilled and pour into rad, (dont forget some mittens and g3/8 plugs for the pa) shake shake shake, rinse and repeat.
less repetition and no more vinegar to flush out.

[Jedda]

Think I'd save that for my fish n chips and flush with the water.
Thermochill say they use water soluble fluxes.

[septim]

hence no more need to do vinegar soaks with a thermochill rad...
could also work for other rads, i think Petra's recommend using only the warm/boiling? water method for cleaning out rads for initial use...

[hoax]

Surely you can buy distilled from your local supermarket? Big 5 gallon containers or something similar :confused:

nope....simply not available at supermarkets...not even by the litter :(


Auto spare shops should have it in 4 - 5 litre bottles.

now that I have not tried yet... thanks mate


or some de ionized water i think.

it after a few vinegar bath soaks pa120.3 around 1/2 liter of h2o shake it shake it, then rinse with another liter or 2, almost 1 gallon per vinegar soaking...
then repeat a few times....

but now-a-days seems that vinegar is not used anymore. simply warm up some distilled and pour into rad, (dont forget some mittens and g3/8 plugs for the pa) shake shake shake, rinse and repeat.
less repetition and no more vinegar to flush out.

septim! what are you talking about man...my PA is as clean as it gets...(or so I hope)... All I need to do is flush the storm and the mcw60!... did you suggest 2 galons to rinse because you thought it was going to be cleaning my rad?

:shrug:

[Frank M]

or some de ionized water i think.


De-ionized can be a ripoff. My loop was full white micro-stuff after just 3 months
with deionized, with a cleaned rad.

Hoax: yes, you have to clean the rads, too.

Instead of vinegar, you can also use denaturated alcohol: not as acidic and
corrosive (flush with vinegar and it turns bluish - that's the copper it dissolved),
but still a good solvent.

[hoax]

@Frank M - I didnt mean to imply that the PA came clean... I have already done A LOT of cleaning on the radiador. :toast:

I think that septim (correct me if I am wrong please) just thought I was going to flush my PA with vinegar.. and then the confusion started...

all I am doing is flushing a storm and a mcw60 before installation.. I am guessing a liter of distilled for each block should be enough to rinse any vinegar residue? :shrug:

either way.. lets forget the radiators for now :D

[serialk11r]

Vinegar is okay for cleaning blocks. Don't even try putting acidic stuff into your rad though. Vinegar is a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty solvent but cleans metals well (as long as you don't leave it on :rolleyes: then its not cleaning...) yea I said that a million times already.
BUT if you're going to use something acidic to eat away the tarnish, WATCH the block, don't just let it soak, because your copper might come out less clean than it originally was. I find that you can SEE the tarnish disappearing if you use vinegar or something stronger ;)

[Frank M]

More than enough.

IMO:
fill up with alcohol (or vinegar) - shake for a minute, empty.
do this again, with lower concentration.
Then do this 2-3 times with water
Then just rinse with water.
I think 1l will be enough for both, you'll even have some left.

[serialk11r]

1 liter is way too much for just cleaning your blocks. You barely need any of it to do the job. Do you have any toilet bowl cleaner at home? That stuff is ACIDIC! pour it on, and IMMEDIATELY rinse with water, lots of it.

[hoax]

More than enough.

IMO:
fill up with alcohol (or vinegar) - shake for a minute, empty.
do this again, with lower concentration.
Then do this 2-3 times with water
Then just rinse with water.
I think 1l will be enough for both, you'll even have some left.

thanks for the tips... I appreciate the help :toast:


1 liter is way too much for just cleaning your blocks. You barely need any of it to do the job. Do you have any toilet bowl cleaner at home? That stuff is ACIDIC! pour it on, and IMMEDIATELY rinse with water, lots of it.

thanks serial.. I know the kind of toilet cleaner people use around here (seen it before but dont recall the name), but I dont have the exact same, so I will just give it a quick vinegar flush and all should be ok..

just to clear it up one last time... it all started when septim thought I was flushing the rad and suggested 1 or 2 gallons of distilled...

enough of this confusion tho...all sorted..thanks everyone for the help