Lemon Juice + Vinegar

[Bojamijams]

Ultimate way to clean your toys? I'm thinking it'd be a great radiator flush, no?

[paulbagz]

I have no experience in using such a mix for cleaning loops, but I believe it would make quite a tasty mix for something to do with fish.

Salmon perhaps?

-PB

[BeepBeep2]

Ultimate way to clean your toys? I'm thinking it'd be a great radiator flush, no?

3 cups distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 tsp lemon juice

It's a really nice acidic mix to clean copper, (once mixed) but dont leave it any more than 30 minutes

I'm not sure about the radiator but its nice for cleaning corrosion of the block.

[gejmer]

Rather pure citric acid.Juice is such a recession

[relttem]

3 cups distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 tsp lemon juice

It's a really nice acidic mix to clean copper, (once mixed) but dont leave it any more than 30 minutes

I'm not sure about the radiator but its nice for cleaning corrosion of the block.

Ive used this to clean copper..minus the lemon juice..make sure you rinse it VERY well when done. It does a great job cleaning copper tho.

[Serpentarius]

ketchup (yummy!)

[paulbagz]

ketchup (yummy!)

This thread is making me hungry.

-PB

[bmaverick]

Why spend more money putting those ingredients together rather getting Prestone Super Flush for about $3 bucks?

This will clean the entire loop too. Just rinse with distilled water.

[Waterlogged]

Chemistry lesson...

Distilled white Vinegar pH level: ~2.4

Lemon juice pH level: ~ 2.2

I'll leave the rest of you to figure out what I'm getting at.

[Serpentarius]

Chemistry lesson...

Distilled white Vinegar pH level: ~2.4

Lemon juice pH level: ~ 2.2

I'll leave the rest of you to figure out what I'm getting at.

Lemon juice wins! (coz it smells fresher)

[defect9]

i know, lets add baking soda and make a volcano out of our cpu blocks

[Waterlogged]

i know, lets add baking soda and make a volcano out of our cpu blocks

[BeepBeep2]

Chemistry lesson...

Distilled white Vinegar pH level: ~2.4

Lemon juice pH level: ~ 2.2

I'll leave the rest of you to figure out what I'm getting at.

I said cleans copper...its nice to soak your block in for a few minutes.

Of course you'd want to rinse really well after that...

[Waterlogged]

I said cleans copper...its nice to soak your block in for a few minutes.

Of course you'd want to rinse really well after that...

Guess you missed the point I was making. Both vinegar and lemon juice are in the same acidic range, that makes one of them (the vinegar) redundant. Just use the lemon juice and salt, then use a good base (like baking soda) mixed with water to rinse the parts with. This will stop the acidic reaction and keep your parts from looking funny after the final water only rinse and they've dried out.

To recap, cleaning should flow like this;

Pull apart and get the big stuff (if any)
Rinse + old toothbrush (distilled water only)
Clean in solution (Lemon juice + salt)
Rinse in base solution
Rinse (distilled water only)
Dry
Re-assemble

Steps 3 & 4 should only be done if it's absolutely needed.

Please remember that acids eat things...especially copper. If you see your mix turn bluish, that's dissolved copper and you should cease cleaning immediately and start the base rinse.

[OverWhatHill]

My experience:

I have a 2.5 gallon commercial ultrasonic cleaner. Worked in aerospace for a number of years primarily doing O&M work. We had some solid copper machined diplexers returned from the field with severe corrosion on the inside. They were pressurized with SF6 gas. The corrosion was green, about an eighth of an in thick. I didn't know what to clean these with so I tried adding about 3 cups of white vinegar to the water. It removed all the green corrosion very quickly, however, it left the copper with a very, very dark discoloration.

In the end result, when the corrosion was removed there was quite a lot of pitting on the inside. They would never stabilize again and were discarded.

I suspect a similar reaction would take place on any copper this type of mixture was used on. Now the discoloration was just on the surface of the copper, very thin, almost like a plating.

Just an fyi.

[asura]

Nobody particularly liked my earlier suggestion of sulphuric acid, so now I offer up safety pickle it's a pH neutral oxide remover for gold, silver, brass, bronze, and... copper. Again, give your nearest jeweller a call and he/she can probably let you have a little baggie for a few quid.

[G H Z]

My experience:

I have a 2.5 gallon commercial ultrasonic cleaner. Worked in aerospace for a number of years primarily doing O&M work. We had some solid copper machined diplexers returned from the field with severe corrosion on the inside. They were pressurized with SF6 gas. The corrosion was green, about an eighth of an in thick. I didn't know what to clean these with so I tried adding about 3 cups of white vinegar to the water. It removed all the green corrosion very quickly, however, it left the copper with a very, very dark discoloration.

In the end result, when the corrosion was removed there was quite a lot of pitting on the inside. They would never stabilize again and were discarded.

I suspect a similar reaction would take place on any copper this type of mixture was used on. Now the discoloration was just on the surface of the copper, very thin, almost like a plating.

Just an fyi.

Anything using SF6 is subject to arcing and gas breakdown, the left over metal fluorides were probably responsible for the dark discoloration, not the cleaning solution.

[tw33ter]

Nobody particularly liked my earlier suggestion of sulphuric acid, so now I offer up safety pickle it's a pH neutral oxide remover for gold, silver, brass, bronze, and... copper. Again, give your nearest jeweller a call and he/she can probably let you have a little baggie for a few quid.

The msds says the ph on that is zero lol

[OverWhatHill]

Anything using SF6 is subject to arcing and gas breakdown, the left over metal fluorides were probably responsible for the dark discoloration, not the cleaning solution.

Actually the SF6 is used to prevent arcing. But when it does arc and that occasionally happens, an acid is produced because of the arc. That's what caused the corrosion on the inside. The cleaning solution caused the discoloration on both the inside AND outside. Prior to the cleaning the outside had been bright & shiny.

[antiacid]

i know, lets add baking soda and make a volcano out of our cpu blocks

volcano cooler!

[asura]

The msds says the ph on that is zero lol

Damn, totally blond moment on my part! Regardless, it doesn't etch copper like say nitric acid, though it does leach copper oxide and a bit of copper along with, it doesn't make any noticeable mark or impression on copper (or silver, or gold) and that's 7h at 40C and over night at ambient room temperature (probably about 10C) so it's certainly safe to use, just make sure to neutralise thoroughly before putting anything back in your loop.