Thermochill rad flux cleanup

[Nephilim]

My reservoir managed to stay clear for a remarkably long time running nothing but distilled water. I originally flushed once overnight with a full bucket of tapwater and a whole bunch of milky/oily crap came out.

I decided to add some zerex and almost as soon as the zerex hit the water (which was completely clear) it went milky :| The Zerex in my bottle is transparent purple.

I have a PA120.3 btw and only copper components.

[71 (Bryan)]

aperantly you guys have something to tell your chemistry teacher

[Skauneboy]

So, it rusts on the inside and outside

Unfortunately it looks like it does. Or could this be something else?

[IanY]

Ach Mein Gott in Himmel !!!

[Navanod]

Don't understand your first sentence...

And no, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten into the reservoir.

I meant, that i had removed the rad and been flushing it on its own for quite a few days...

since there's no tubings, no coolant, where's that reaction coming from?

Your theory may be true, but it seemed unlikely that the rad was the only thing to be still "producing" these flakes of particles after so many rounds of washing (the blocks and tubings are perfectly clean now)

[Navanod]

I still have the exact same good old three-piece rod, which I brought with me half way around the world. Remember flannelite... its amazing for cleaning tubes.. my brother shipped me some..

You can also use a piece of rattan.. a cane comes to mind.

Flannelite!!! I remembered that our armskote man valued it more than money
Looked just like toilet paper (but made of cloth) to me though

Guess what I used in the end?

Sleeving material!!! I had some unused sleeves for sleeving fan wires...and figured, what the hell, tied it to my brush, threaded it through the tubing, and PULL~~~

[Navanod]

Unfortunately it looks like it does. Or could this be something else?

Good grief, thats not how mine looked like

perhaps I'm just being overly fussy?? the water coming out looks clear now...until I shine a torch light through it at certain angles

thats when I see those shiny particles...

BY THE WAY, just read the entire thread

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=133038

Not really helpful to me this late in my cleaning, but i suggest the rest take a long hard read, esp those using acid and vinegar...I'm staying far from that stuff

[Bojamijams]

I just want to add that my Hardware Labs BIX 480GT did not have ANY flux! I did the hot distilled flush and saw nothing.. been running it for 2 weeks now and the mcres is as clear as its ever been. Considering I got a 4fan rad for the price of a 120.3 and don't have this trouble, I'm REALLY freaking happy with my purchase now.

Just an fyi.. I don't know if mine was different, but HWLabs does a damn fine job IMO.

[cablesguy]

u just hv to keep at it until it clears, i used up more than 45ltrs of distilled in the process,

I think this is Rankers advice, sorry if its not:

"1) Buy 10 gallons of distilled water (how much is that in ltrs?, anyways i used up 50++ ltrs)
2) Fill radiator up with boiling DI water, cap, shake for 2 minutes (great forearm workout!) empty. Repeat 3-4 times.
3) Fill same radiator with boiling DI water again. This time, cap it off and leave it sitting for 3-4 days.
4) 3-4 days later, boil more water, and soak all of your waterblocks in the boiling water. Use tongs to handle your components or wear gloves to not leave oils or what not on your blocks.
5) Dry all of your blocks using coffee pads or your woman's make-up pads and rest them on something lint free.
6) Open up your radiator(s) that's been sitting and pour out contents. You'll notice milky stuff come out. Now flush 2-3 times again with room temperature DI water.
7) Pour boiling water down your tubes.

Now you're good to go with the installation process =)"

Heres a pic I took during cleaning

[IanY]

Ten gallons of water, you say lol

[menace2society]

u just hv to keep at it until it clears, i used up more than 45ltrs of distilled in the process,

I think this is Rankers advice, sorry if its not:

"1) Buy 10 gallons of distilled water (how much is that in ltrs?, anyways i used up 50++ ltrs)
2) Fill radiator up with boiling DI water, cap, shake for 2 minutes (great forearm workout!) empty. Repeat 3-4 times.
3) Fill same radiator with boiling DI water again. This time, cap it off and leave it sitting for 3-4 days.
4) 3-4 days later, boil more water, and soak all of your waterblocks in the boiling water. Use tongs to handle your components or wear gloves to not leave oils or what not on your blocks.
5) Dry all of your blocks using coffee pads or your woman's make-up pads and rest them on something lint free.
6) Open up your radiator(s) that's been sitting and pour out contents. You'll notice milky stuff come out. Now flush 2-3 times again with room temperature DI water.
7) Pour boiling water down your tubes.

Now you're good to go with the installation process =)"

Heres a pic I took during cleaning

Can't understand why someone would go through all of that when this product should CLEARLY be deemed DEFECTIVE
Can only imagine the damage to the other components in the loop
This product should never be recommended regardless of what the numbers say and Thermochill should be ashamed for releasing such shoddy products


Keep it

[Navanod]

Can't understand why someone would go through all of that when this product should CLEARLY be deemed DEFECTIVE
Can only imagine the damage to the other components in the loop
This product should never be recommended regardless of what the numbers say and Thermochill should be ashamed for releasing such shoddy products


Keep it

I wouldn't go so far as to make such a claim

but then again, it is very irritating to have to take so much time, effort and still ended up with crap in the loop, esp when one has paid a premium price for it

[cablesguy]

truth be told, i was beginning to wonder when it would start to clear n why it wasnt at the very least partially factory cleaned....cost maybe

As to my being extreme, comparatively here, on a scale of 1 to 10, im far frm it, maybe 1 to 1.5

But i think i got all the gunked out as my tubing is still clear after 6-7 months

[Navanod]

truth be told, i was beginning to wonder when it would start to clear n why it wasnt at the very least partially factory cleaned....cost maybe

As to my being extreme, comparatively here, on a scale of 1 to 10, im far frm it, maybe 1 to 1.5

But i think i got all the gunked out as my tubing is still clear after 6-7 months

Yea, i think the trick is to not go overboard with the cleaning and start using harsh and extreme things on the rad...may end up dislodging things that wasn't meant to be flushed out...hence the endless gunk

I'll give it one last hot water flush and put it back into service, whatever's left should eventually be flushed out over the next few months of use

[Nater]

What about muratic acid (sp?)? I remember a friend of mine used it to clean a car radiator and it did wonders. I was a bit hesitant to use it on my Thermochill rads. Quite honestly, I'm not at all surprised with Thermochill's shoddy manufacturing. They're made in the UK after all. Anyone ever owned a British car?

I think my PA120.2 will be my last Thermochill purchase. I'm going with Feser for super-high-end builds and Swiftech for everything else.

[jonny_ftm]

There was never problems with thermochill radiators till so many noob came buying them and adding some exotic chemicals in their loops with crappy tubing

Maybe get good tubing, no additives and you can use your thermochill again

[Navanod]

There was never problems with thermochill radiators till so many noob came buying them and adding some exotic chemicals in their loops with crappy tubing

Maybe get good tubing, no additives and you can use your thermochill again

i'm using tygon and PC ICE clear (no dye)

it didn't do anything to my last few loops and ran 18months straight without needing a change (rad was MCR220 in that loop)

i'm sure there're just as many running straight distilled and tygon with the same crap problem

[Rinaun]

use boiling vinegar. Its an old trick used by liquid engineers to purge radiators. For every degree vinegar gets warmer, the volatility of it increased. two cups of hot (not boiling) vinegar for 1 minute in rad will clean it like its brand new. This in effects eats away 1/1000th of the copper, making a new virgin connection with the water. Be careful though, leaving hot vinegar can dissolve copper easily!

[Rinaun]

What about muratic acid (sp?)? I remember a friend of mine used it to clean a car radiator and it did wonders. I was a bit hesitant to use it on my Thermochill rads. Quite honestly, I'm not at all surprised with Thermochill's shoddy manufacturing. They're made in the UK after all. Anyone ever owned a British car?

huh? just because some british cars suck doesn't mean they all suck. I mean, most american cars suck. I would avoid using muriatic acid. I consider that stuff pretty dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

[cablesguy]

18 months sounds good, i thot of cleaning and rebuilding the loop every 6 months, maybe ill postpone it a little.

Im also using Tygon and PC Ice no dye, well actually i got the Invisible Blue which looks clear but supposedly turns UV Blue under UV...but somehow I didnt see any UV. That aside no complains.

On a side note, I just got hold of a TFC 240, the TC does look to be more solid tho', plus the TFC has a hollow sound when i knock the sides, iinm i read someone here with the same experience.

[Rinaun]

pc ice < water wetter imo.

[jonny_ftm]

18 months sounds good, i thot of cleaning and rebuilding the loop every 6 months, maybe ill postpone it a little.

Im also using Tygon and PC Ice no dye, well actually i got the Invisible Blue which looks clear but supposedly turns UV Blue under UV...but somehow I didnt see any UV. That aside no complains.

On a side note, I just got hold of a TFC 240, the TC does look to be more solid tho', plus the TFC has a hollow sound when i knock the sides, iinm i read someone here with the same experience.

I see others noted the same thing. I posted something about it few days ago.

Back to topic, I didn't have any problems with my PA120.3, on two loops, using either hydrix and now the Feser premixed stuff

I will soon build my new setup with one more PA120.3 and a PA120.2 and let you know if I see some garbadge in my loop, but I doubt it. If you use distilled no additives, it won't hurt

[Skauneboy]

Any guesses on what that red/brown stuff in my radiator might be and how to clean it? Under what conditions would brass or copper oxidize in that way?

[jonny_ftm]

Any guesses on what that red/brown stuff in my radiator might be and how to clean it? Under what conditions would brass or copper oxidize in that way?

It just shows it is some reaction between your additives and something else in the components

[Skauneboy]

I don't see how distilled + one drop of PT Nuke would be any worse than HydrX or Feser though. As you can see in my sig I'm not running mixed metals either. Anyway, as long as that oxidation stays put and doesn't stain my loop I'm not too bothered.