Home built water cooler maintenance "tops offs" versus retail units.......

[Khaotic]

Ok, so I've had my head in the sand for the last year or so - doing a lot of 'non PC' kind of things but...I did rebuild my PC using the Monsoon style res with the pump attachment. Anyway, I've used all different kinds of pre-mixed coolants and it seems like I"m always topping off the res every 3 months or so. Whenever that "swishing" sound starts to get a little too annoying.

I guess it comes down to the tubing I'm using allowing evaporation. I think I used Tygon or the DD kit of 1/4 wall "flex" tube....

Where I'm going with this....HOW are all in one retail kits (such as the one from Corsair) constructed in such a way as to never need to be topped off/refilled?!

[Kayin]

Neoprene or flexible plastic tubing that does not allow evaporation, or more accurately allows only a very small amount of evaporation, coupled with vacuum filling and hermetic seals on all in/out on the system.

[Martinm210]

I just thought everyone was sorry and replaced them with a real "custom" system before any evaporation could happen?
Hehe...just kidding.

I've thought about neoprene before, but I like looking for more than just topping off reasons. I just like to know things are clean and operating as they should. Covering it all up in neoprene tubing would drive me nuts. I MUST know what's going on in there.

[CrazyNutz]

I think the fluid in the sealed systems is glycol based, and I think glycol evaporates much slower than water.

[Rinaun]

For some reason, people dislike or sway away from using glycol (the stuff inside radiator fluid) even though when used properly, it allows you to not worry about mixed metals or corrosion/algae and only lowers the waters heat transfer ability by incredibly minimal amounts. I'm not sure about its ability to keep water in the loop, though. The main tip with glycol is don't add more than you need. One other trick with glycol is you can purchase multiple colors of radiator fluids with glycol in it, based on dealerships/brands. I haven't tested many colors. I can %110 say and assure you Mercedes Benz (Orange) Antifreeze works amazing and is safe on acrylic. I've used both XSPC res's, IanH res's, and Swiftech with them for over 2-4 years. I'm still on my first D5 (5 years old), I'm using aluminium custom parts in the loop, and the only downside I've noticed is it stained my tubing slightly. I never change my water though so it's not a huge deal to me. I've broken down 3-4 cpu/gpu blocks when upgrading every 2 or so years. Never had corrosion or ANY issues when inspected! Astek used water wetter, but I heard they had issues with it.

[Church]

Reason being .. glycol is less thermally effective in coolant role compared to water. And people prefer to fight off algae growth with biocides that affect less those thermal properties. It also happens that in modern components you won't see aluminium touching water thus lesser mixed metal ccorrosion problem. You are using DIY aluminium parts in loop and do proper coolant choice to go alongside that? Fine, it's smart. Most of others don't use alu. Why they should have same coolant choice? People shouldn't buy winter tires for cars driven in hawaii.

[rge]

Also glycol has no anti-corrosion properties, in fact uninhibited ethylene glycol is more corrosive than distilled water. But automobiles are common, and they need glycol to increase boiling temp, and in some areas decrease freezing temp of water, so anti-corrosives are easily obtained in glycol fluid meant for autos.

But like Church said, most modern computer cooling components have no aluminum, and auto fluid with anti-corrosives isnt going to stop normal copper oxidation, so no point in using anti-corrosives or auto fluid for most, just something else to potentially clog pins, especially if using silicates.

But if I were using aluminum and anti-corrosives, I would use concentrated ones that give full anti-corrosion with less than 5% glycol in water....since glycol itself has no use in any water loop, unless doing ghetto cooling in subfreezing temps.

[Rinaun]

Reason being .. glycol is less thermally effective in coolant role compared to water. And people prefer to fight off algae growth with biocides that affect less those thermal properties. It also happens that in modern components you won't see aluminium touching water thus lesser mixed metal corrosion problem. You are using DIY aluminium parts in loop and do proper coolant choice to go alongside that? Fine, it's smart. Most of others don't use alu. Why they should have same coolant choice? People shouldn't buy winter tires for cars driven in hawaii.

I've found the biocides (such as the sulfates that petratech sells) to be good, but I like being able to set something and just forget about it no matter what gets into my loop. I also don't use a 100% airtight loop, so as you mention it works well;for my particular situation. When I did need to fix anything, I just add a bit of water (my loop isn't completely sealed because of sensors and equipment) every 1 year or so. Closed loops wouldn't have this issue I'd assume. Aluminum isn't used mostly because of the reason that it causes corrosion. If corrosion wasn't a huge issue for vendors, I'm sure we'd see some really cool items come out since it's cheaper to work with than other metals. I remember seeing some pretty cool external aluminum finned radiators in the past.

[from RGE]:
But like Church said, most modern computer cooling components have no aluminum, and auto fluid with anti-corrosives isnt going to stop normal copper oxidation, so no point in using anti-corrosives or auto fluid for most, just something else to potentially clog pins, especially if using silicates. But if I were using aluminum and anti-corrosives, I would use concentrated ones that give full anti-corrosion with less than 5% glycol in water....since glycol itself has no use in any water loop, unless doing ghetto cooling in subfreezing temps.

I don't think using antifreeze would stop the copper oxidation, nor do I use it for that reason. Aren't radiators by default oxidized when you purchase them, since they are exposed to air/water during testing? The only way I could think of getting them unoxidized is doing a hot vinegar purge, which removes some metal as well. It's also slightly dangerous, and comes with no performance gain.

I didn't know Glycol wasn't the cause of the anti corrosive abilities of the coolant. Thanks for the info! I'm tempted now to go check on the exact chemistry of what I use, since whatever is in it obviously hasn't caused any issues for a extended period, and I'd love to tweak it for optimum performance. Ethylene Glycol is far less corrosive in pure form than Propylene Glycol, though I'm not sure how acidic it is compared to water. I'd assume it has only to do with PH and not actual composition, which is why in antifreeze they typically balance the PH towards 7-8+. As for Glycol lowering the water's ability to transfer heat: Pure ethylene glycol has a specific heat capacity about one half that of water. By reducing that "pure" ratio to say under 3-5% total content in distilled water, we are talking such minimal differences that cleaning your radiator of dust would probably make more difference in average temps. Antifreeze also acts as a lubricant; I have no clue of it's effect on pump/moving equipment life. I'd love to see common lifespans of D4-D5 pumps in just distilled water. I'm still using the one I ordered in early '08.