Guide To WaterCooling and Leak Testing - ALL New WaterCooler's Read Before Posting!

[NickS]

I'm glad you updated this MaxxxRacer. Who's the tard who thought it was a bright idea to soak for >24hrs anyway?

I think he deserves a konk on the head with his rad

[ShaneS]

The problem was that people assumed that because you used vinegar, the longer the soak the cleaner. Hence the "I soaked my rad in vinegar for 2 weeks!!!". I remember someone's heatercore got eaten through. I think repeated rinses/flushes are more important than soaks, just to point that out as well.

That's pretty much what I thought. The longest I had vinager in my rad, I think, was about 10+ hours.

I set up a little loop last night to make sure my rad was ok (pump, rad, filter, T-line setup) and it seems to be ok. I picked up the rad and turned it around a bunch of times and shook it as well and didn't see any leaks. Hopefully my rad is good to go.

[MaxxxRacer]

MaxxRacer how much vinegar/isopropyl alcohol/Kanco system pre-clean do you suggest we get with the revised cleaning procedure?

how much? When I cleaned a tripple fan rad I used just under a gallon of the vinegar. for the Kamco, only one bottle is needed. Infact, if i read the directions right, for our purposes you would only use a small portion of the bottle.

As far as how much alcohol would be needed.. Youre guess is as good as mine. I would hope a gallon would be plenty.

I'm just worried that I messed up my new radiator. Is there any way for me to check for leaks before putting it in my loop? I filled it with water and didn't noticed any leaks, but at the same time, when I shook the radiator, it did seem like a little water came out in the back.

you can fill up your sink or bathup with water, seal the ends of the radiator (the inlet and outlet), and then dip the radiator into the water. if you see any bubbles come out of the rad then you got a leak. But make sure you dont mistake air trapped on the outside of the rad as a bubble coming from the inside..

[2000army]

Good guide Maxxx

[BenArcher]

I know condensor style rads are inefficient comparison. But ive currently got acess to ones that are 2 x 3 foot & 2 inch thick. I was thinking of jamming it in an open window & seeing if i can get some decent cooling from it. What do you guys rekon?

Is the fact its got about 30 square meters of surface area going to counter the fact its an inefficient design?

[Leadslinger]

Has anyone tried using denatured alcohol and a paint shaker?

[phelan1777]

Has anyone tried using denatured alcohol and a paint shaker?

Oh god..........................mental images of 140$ T-chill............just spraying parts ever where............the horror!

[Leadslinger]

HAHA....you can adjust the "violence" level on them you know...I'm just wondering is anyone tried it..beats the heck out of standing there shaking it for an hour or so...my arms would get tired.

[phelan1777]

HAHA....you can adjust the "violence" level on them you know...I'm just wondering is anyone tried it..beats the heck out of standing there shaking it for an hour or so...my arms would get tired.

Consider it your exercise for the time you sit @ the PC :-P.

My PC is in the basement, so I get plenty of exercise hitting teh steps, because everything else is upstairs, even the head.

[cablesguy]

Planning to clean my Pa120.3 soon....so isit ok to use pure white vinegar or shud i mix it with distilled water...n whats the ratio?

Thx

Forgot to add...how rude of me

"Thx for the Great guide Maxxracer"

[Waterlogged]

No, Do NOT use any vinegar.

[cablesguy]

thx for the heads up Waterlogged, im a little confused as to why not or did i miss something coz it still says vinegar on the first page??

[Waterlogged]

The rads now come with RoHS certification which means no lead solder. Lead solder uses a different type of flux which needed the added "etching power" of the acid in the vinegar to remove the excess flux. The new stuff comes off with just hot distilled water.

[cablesguy]

wokay...Thx am currently halfway thru a 19 liter distilled bottle but there seems to be silvery stuff still floating each time,waters boiled

Man...ive now gone thru 40ltrs of distilled n im still getting silvery stuff floating...sure hope its solder flux

[thetoad30]

Ok, so I used this guide back in the day (in early 2006) when vinegar was still being used and used in long periods of time in a radiator and water blocks.

I just upgraded my system and am looking to install a D-Tek Fuzion and Swiftech MCW-60.

How do I go about cleaning the blocks? Do I use vinegar as stated or will alcohol be better?

I know about the vinegar eating the solder (from rereading the guide) but I wasn't sure if this was a safe thing to do with the water blocks still or not. And before I go and ruin them...

Thanks!

[Digital Nirvana]

Ok, so I used this guide back in the day (in early 2006) when vinegar was still being used and used in long periods of time in a radiator and water blocks.

I just upgraded my system and am looking to install a D-Tek Fuzion and Swiftech MCW-60.

How do I go about cleaning the blocks? Do I use vinegar as stated or will alcohol be better?

I know about the vinegar eating the solder (from rereading the guide) but I wasn't sure if this was a safe thing to do with the water blocks still or not. And before I go and ruin them...

Thanks!

just use hotwater with some isopropyl alocohol.

[thetoad30]

just use hotwater with some isopropyl alocohol.

When you say hot water and alcohol, do you mean to dilute the alcohol? If so, in what concentration?

What exactly is the procedure I should use? Just want to make sure I keep my loop contaminant free.

Thanks for the reply!

[thetoad30]

Anyone?

[lior307]

Great stuff your'e doing guys , Nice thread , keep up the good work

[Nate P.]

When you say hot water and alcohol, do you mean to dilute the alcohol? If so, in what concentration?

What exactly is the procedure I should use? Just want to make sure I keep my loop contaminant free.

Thanks for the reply!

Flush it with hot water first then use the alcohol afterwards.

[Gray5000]

A bit confused over the cleaning issue here


Vinigar - I think I'm going to stear away from using this, from what I've read it doesn't sound 100% healthy for my loop.

Hot water - When saying hot water, do you mean from the tap? Kettle boiled? or ?

Distilled water - I was unsure of what this is... so I wikied it...

Distilled water is water that has virtually all of its impurities removed through distillation. Distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container, leaving most if not all solid contaminants behind.

Now I very much doubt you guys are boiling the kettle 50 times a day and trying to catch the steam, and it seems a waste of cash buying it. Is there an easy way to get my hands on any?

Alcohol - Pure alcohol? I searched Isopropyl Alcohol but thats only sold as a spray from what I found is there something else that can be used for flushing/soaking?

Kamco SYSTEM PRE-CLEAN - If I use this do I need to use distilled/hot water/alcohol or anything else as well?


Could I create the loop filled with Kamco or another one of the fluids mentioned above and just leave it running for and hour or so cleaning everything and leak testing all in one go?

[Nate P.]

If your in the US, distilled water is readily available in local grocery and drug stores. Not sure about overseas though. Same with Isopropyl Alcohol. A $1 at your local drug store (in the US, again not sure about overseas).

Skip the vinegar.

You can boil distilled water, that is the recommended route. If you can't, boil tap water but afterwards use distilled water or Isopropyl Alcohol (just to be sure).

[MaXXimus]

Someone should update this thread, if I hadnt looked into the replies I would be dumping vinger in my system lol. So what are the proper steps I should be doing to get this done properly? Anyone care to outline them for me?

[Janno]

You can boil distilled water, that is the recommended route. If you can't, boil tap water but afterwards use distilled water or Isopropyl Alcohol (just to be sure).

i microwaved distilled water (couldn't find a clean enough pot or kettle to really boil it )

[MaXXimus]

Would it be safe to just run hot ass tap water in it for so long and then rinse with distilled?