Eternal Thermochill Flushing

[Xavior]

White vinegar is good, as recommended above.

I actually used UV dye for a period of time and switched over to plain distilled afterwards, having flushed the rad ''properly'' in between as well. I used hot water and it came out clear. After I took the distilled loop apart for another upgrade, I did hot water flushes again and once again, it was clear. Took a flashlight and discovered there was actually blue gunk inside, even after all those hot water flushes and a year of plain distilled running through. A quick vinegar fill and it came out dark blue. I've done some more quick vinegar flushes after this one, even one with salt through it (supposedly aggresive for metals, be careful) and one boiling hot.

The thing is, vinegar is useful if you know how to use it. I'm not sure how long you can actually leave it in before it starts wrecking your rad beyond any recognition, but 15 minutes shouldn't do any harm. Dye is obviously different from flux, but you get the point.

[eponymous]

White vinegar is good, as recommended above.

I actually used UV dye for a period of time and switched over to plain distilled afterwards, having flushed the rad ''properly'' in between as well. I used hot water and it came out clear. After I took the distilled loop apart for another upgrade, I did hot water flushes again and once again, it was clear. Took a flashlight and discovered there was actually blue gunk inside, even after all those hot water flushes and a year of plain distilled running through. A quick vinegar fill and it came out dark blue. I've done some more quick vinegar flushes after this one, even one with salt through it (supposedly aggresive for metals, be careful) and one boiling hot.

The thing is, vinegar is useful if you know how to use it. I'm not sure how long you can actually leave it in before it starts wrecking your rad beyond any recognition, but 15 minutes shouldn't do any harm. Dye is obviously different from flux, but you get the point.

Sounds good.

So do you put the vinegar in neat or do you dilute it? Also, do you put it in boiling or just room temp?

[Waterlogged]

I've been flushing with ordinary tap water for a month now and I sometimes empty it out and leave it. Will this cause any problems like that?

Thanks.

It shouldn't.

[Xavior]

I flushed it with undiluted vinegar, which I believe had around 8% of acetic acid. Boiling is not really necessary, I only tried it to see if it was more effective. The rad was already clean from previous room temp flushes.

[eponymous]

Hmm, I can only see clear looking "Distilled Malt Vinegar" which just looks like water. Is this the stuff I want?

[Waterlogged]

Hmm, I can only see clear looking "Distilled Malt Vinegar" which just looks like water. Is this the stuff I want?

Doesn't sound like it's the right stuff. Where are you looking?

[eponymous]

Doesn't sound like it's the right stuff. Where are you looking?

Sainsbury's :P

I'll have a look in Tesco as well.

[Waterlogged]

Hmm, after some further research, according to this site, it seems that stuff you found may be the right stuff. I've never seen it referred to as a "malt vinegar" before, hence my uncertainty.

[eponymous]

"We thought about a few ways to reuse the empty vinegar containers and we came up with several. Cut the bottom off of the container and use as a coloured pencil tidy for children, if the edges are sharp you could cover with cut up pages from a magazine and stick them onto the plastic and cover with pva glue. The bottoms could also be used to place plant pots in or used in the garden as slug traps."

LOL.

Can anyone think of good uses for old pumps, tops, reservoirs? :P

[eponymous]

Ok, so I found some vinegar in Tesco which is described as being "Distilled vinegar" and claims to be made from barley malt. It's clear in appearance and is about 4.5% acidic. It's only 45p for 17 fl oz. What do you think?

I also managed to dig out the e-mail I got from Steve in March:

-----------------------------------
The most common way of flushing the radiator is to fill it with warm water and vinegar. Then flush it through with distilled water and then use it. This removes any surplus flux from the soldering or any impurities that might be there.

Kind regards

Steve Verity
-----------------------------------

[hellcamino]

I've been flushing with ordinary tap water for a month now and I sometimes empty it out and leave it. Will this cause any problems like that?

Thanks.

The only problem I see at this point is that you might die of old age before you manage to get that thing flushed out...use vinegar, pee in it...do something!

[jim0ne]

i have used white vinegar to clean out my rad and left it in for over 15 hours (i fell asleep then forgot all about it). After seeing it in the sink, i shook it like a crying baby and then ran the tap water through it. After the tap water rinse, i rinse it good with distilled water and nothing happened to the rad, except that it was clean and good to go. I been using that 120.2 rad for over 2 years now and still no problem.

Hope you get all that stuff out of the rad... must be super frustrating.

[eponymous]

The only problem I see at this point is that you might die of old age before you manage to get that thing flushed out...use vinegar, pee in it...do something!

Lol :P

i have used white vinegar to clean out my rad and left it in for over 15 hours (i fell asleep then forgot all about it). After seeing it in the sink, i shook it like a crying baby and then ran the tap water through it. After the tap water rinse, i rinse it good with distilled water and nothing happened to the rad, except that it was clean and good to go. I been using that 120.2 rad for over 2 years now and still no problem.

Hope you get all that stuff out of the rad... must be super frustrating.

Thanks

[headala]

From my experience when the white vin comes in contact with a black rad there is a dangerous reaction resulting in a media frenzy and beer summit.

I flush my rads (one TFC, one HWL, and one TC) many times with boiling water+shake, and I still get junk in my loops. So I just shrug and replace the water every now and then. It's not that big of a deal IMHO

[eponymous]

From my experience when the white vin comes in contact with a black rad there is a dangerous reaction resulting in a media frenzy and beer summit.

I flush my rads (one TFC, one HWL, and one TC) many times with boiling water+shake, and I still get junk in my loops. So I just shrug and replace the water every now and then. It's not that big of a deal IMHO

Thanks.

At this stage in the game though I'm out of options and I don't want to put my rad in my loop until I'm totally sure all that crap is gone I've seen the results of people not flushing properly and it isn't pretty.

[eponymous]

So I've got the vinegar and the rads are full as I speak. I'm going to wait 30 minutes then give them a good shake and rinse. Fingers crossed....

[eponymous]

Wow! Unbelievable. The amount of crap that came out after 30 mins of vinegar soak is amazing. They look much cleaner inside now. I still notice what I think may be flux in the far corners of the end-tank but I can't be sure.

What does everyone think - should I risk another 30 min soak with vinegar or do you think they will be ok now?

[bentleya]

Well pics of all the things in the water coming out?

Either your doing something mega wrong? lying? or this is a bad case?

But surly you have done it enough times.

[eponymous]

Well pics of all the things in the water coming out?

I didn't take any pics - was too messy in the kitchen.

Either your doing something mega wrong? lying? or this is a bad case?

What is that supposed to mean? Why on Earth would I be doing something wrong and more to the point, why would I be lying?

I really can't see why you'd make such a stupid comment...

This post is just detailing my findings from my own experiments. I'm not trying to prove anything, I'm just trying to let people know what has worked and what hasn't, for me.

[Xavior]

You can do it again, just flush it thoroughly with water after you've drained the vinegar out.

[eponymous]

You can do it again, just flush it thoroughly with water after you've drained the vinegar out.

Cheers

[WeeMaan]

This thread has made me realise that Thermochill is nothing for me.
I was going to get one 120.4 but I'll rather pay 15£ extra to get the XSPC RX480 and save alot of time.

So, my Thermochill 120.4 has arrived.
Time to start flushing and see how big PITA it is.

I'm just going to put it in the sink and let room temperatured water go thru it a ½ hour, then shake with boiled water a couple of times, and then finally flush it with deionized water.
Sounds good?

[eponymous]

So, my Thermochill 120.4 has arrived.
Time to start flushing and see how big PITA it is.

I'm just going to put it in the sink and let room temperatured water go thru it a ½ hour, then shake with boiled water a couple of times, and then finally flush it with deionized water.
Sounds good?

Hahaha, I knew you would in the end. Thermochills have something about them - you just can't not buy one no matter how much hassle they are :P

I think you'll be pleased with it as they are solid bits of kit.

So I ended up flushing with water 20-25 times then flushed with vinegar three times (leaving for 30-45 mins) before finally letting hot shower water run through them (as hot as you can get from a shower).

I seriously suggest a round of white vinegar.

Please keep us up to date on how you get on!

[Arthur]

Been using Vinegar on my rads for over 2yrs now. Works like a charm...Just make sure you flush it out good afterwards..

Me too mate. My Thermochills rocks with vinegar well.

[WeeMaan]

Okay, I started flushing now.
I used tap water for like 15min on each hole, I did'nt see any white stuff.?
And now I cant flush it thru with di-ionized water untill tomorrow, is that ok?
Would it do any good leaving it full of tap water until tomorrow?