Water Cooling Issue

[DrunkDwarf]

Alright, over a year ago now (March 06) i bought a full custom system from Aria, using their Custom PC Builder Utility thing (dont think they have that anymore, i couldn't see it at least).

It included a Gigabyte 3D Aurora Case and a Gigabyte 3D Galaxy Liquid Cooling system... everythings been good and swell, my system was consistantly in the 20-30C range idle, 30-40C perhaps while gaming.

Problem is, a year on now, the Coolant has changed colour, and is now transparent, whereas it used to be blue... and the plastic tubing have a sort of white haze, some kind of buildup on the tubes it seems.... and its not cooling my system as much as it used to... its now hitting the 50-60C range while gaming! (on warm days though), which is causing the warning heat sensor thing to beep.

The warranty i got with the build, is over, its now beyond a year since i got it, so im unsure what to do...

How would i go about cleaning the water cooling system? And if i were to find new coolant (not available on the Aria site that i can see)... how would i dispose of the old coolant? I doubt it'd be safe to pour down the sink... :P

Any advice?

[Hosser]

I haven't any experience in this area friend, none at all, but it occurs to me that the \"coolant\" in a \"water-cooled\" system is water. But hey, I'd probably pour it on the lawn even if it wasn't. I'm just that ignorant.

As for getting new coolant? My house has this fancy thing called a tap... :D

Tap water is almost certainly an idiotic idea, and I really would encourage you to check some water-cooling forums for information. Ask the experts on Xtreme-Systems or something.

BUT, I know you have to add chemicals to it so that it doesn't develop algae... That you can definitely buy on PC tech sites. Maybe even Aria. (I'm avoiding giving you a specific site that I know stocks the stuff because of the frankly ghey Area rule concerning the mention of competitors)

If you want to know what is in my opinion, the best PC tech site for water cooling stuff, send me a PM. :D

[Aaron]

I cant remember the exact ratios off the top of my head, but Distilled water and Anti-Freeze makes for a good mix! I think its 9/10 water, 1/10 Antifreeze.

The coolant isnt just water. But i'd be happy pouring mine down the sink!! Dont use tap water as algae will just grow over time!!!

Have a read/post/question in this forum - its one of the ones I mod on, and there are some guys on there who REALLY know their stuff!!

http://www.liquidninjas.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?s=&f=33&page=1&pp=25&sort=lastpost&order=desc&daysprune=-1

:)

[DrunkDwarf]

Gigabyte included its own special coolant mix with the watercooling system. Id probably have to contact Gigabyte in order to get some of the same stuff.

Thanks for that link btw, some helpful stuff! from looking at that forum, the white haze is apparently calcium deposit... theres also advice on how to clean it!

I guess ill have to do some work for a change :P flush all the coolant out, clean the tubes, and then perhaps put a mix of distilled water and antifreeze in there instead...

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[DrunkDwarf]

[quote:cdda0a95cc=\"PrivatePyle@Work\"]Hehe, so it's kind of like giving your system a colonic :P[/quote:cdda0a95cc]

Basically, yeah...

Im still unsure as to what to do with the old coolant... its got antifreeze in it, i know that much... what would you normally do to dispose of chemicals such as that? I saw mention to pouring it onto the lawn... though i dunno

[Lovefist233]

wouldnt pour it on the lawn, might kill the grass, pour it down a sewer.
maybe buy some diesel engine coolant to replace it? seems to be quite efficient although it may be too thick for the pump, i'm not sure

[Aaron]

Im pretty sure ive seen someone try it with an engine coolant before, and you're right.. it was just too thick to be used.

In water cooling, pressure is your friend!! hehe! :D

[mac124]

it is basically the same stuff as used in cars, its a glycol based coolant, well mine from thermaltake is anyway. Probably watered down a bit more than used in cars though. As for cleaning it out, dunno mine never stays together long enough to need it :shock:

[Mattbot2]

lol.

[Himesh]

lol... i don't see the need in water cooling... unless your a SERIOUS overclocker or just hate the sound of fans...

[mac124]

Don't be fooled by the silence thing, water cooling can be as noisy as air cooling you do still need fans to cool the rads after all BUT it can be totally silent BUT it generally costs alot for total silence, look at the Reserator for proof of that, and generally speaking the perfomance isn't that great on passively cooled watercooling. Pick the components wisely and you can get good results and low noise.

Cheaper water cooling is probably on par with TOP end air cooling these days and yes it can have its risks but if done properly and tested properly BEFORE powering up the whole pc you should be ok but even then its not 100% guarenteed see here for proof of that.

http://www.aria.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=202

Watercooling is very good though if like as said you intend to overclock. That said i will be watercooling my media pc with a view to quietening it down so watch out for another thread like the one in the previous linky, hopefully no problems this time though.

[Himesh]

lol... not too good a experience.. i no if that happened to me i'd never go near a water cooled PC again!

[mac124]

LOL yeah i wasn't impressed at the time but it was my second pc i was doing and my main rig was watercooled too. I have learnt alot since then though main lesson being don't use compression fittings on small bore pipe as they can slip off :x

It was a good excuse to upgrade too though :wink:

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[Himesh]

lol

[mac124]

[quote:fc8ee8057c=\"PrivatePyle@Work\"]And there's a lesson we all ought to learn kids. Thanks for tuning in to Blue Peter with your host, Mac124. Be sure to meet us back here tomorrow for another one of life's great lessons ~ Here's one I made earlier! :)

*rofl rofl*[/quote:fc8ee8057c]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/smilies/thankyou.gif

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/smilies/lol.gif P!ss taking bugger you http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/smilies/kissmyass.gifhttp://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/smilies/biggrin.gif

[DrunkDwarf]

As an update, last night i decided to finally get round to draining the old coolant, cleaning the tubes, and putting the new coolant in... didn't really get too far...

I managed to get the pump/reservoir and waterblock out of the system, and placed in a basin, got the old coolant out alright.

Coca-cola was the recommended medium for cleaning the pipes, so i started filling the reservoir with that, as it reached the top of the reservoir, i noticed coke dripping down the side, making a puddle on the kitchen towel i had placed underneath... upon looking closer... i noticed two huge cracks on the two rear top corners, the two corners that would've normally been facing towards the motherboard, out of immediate sight... the only reason it hadn't leaked inside my system, is that by the time the cracks emerged in the tank, the water level inside had already been below it...

Im just glad i noticed at the coke-cleaning stage, rather than putting it all back, and having it leak inside the case...

Luckily, i had made an order to Aria for new thermal compound and a compound remover... and as a backup, i ordered a CPU fan, incase things went titsup, which they have...

Ive now removed the water cooling system entirely, and shall be using air cooling from now on! :D

[Anonymous]

[Removed at the request of the author]

[DrunkDwarf]

[quote:0bc3fcc622=\"PrivatePyle@Work\"]Nice save dude - would it have been under warranty if it went up in a cloud of smoke?[/quote:0bc3fcc622]

Nope, warranty has run out, so yeah, i was majorly relieved.

[Aaron]

What were the other bits you were using in your water set up anyway?!

[DrunkDwarf]

[quote:ae7662f7a2=\"Aaron\"]What were the other bits you were using in your water set up anyway?![/quote:ae7662f7a2]

Was a complete kit... the Gigabyte 3D Galaxy Liquid Cooling system, pump/reservoir, waterblock, radiator, tubes, clips, and its own coolant mix. Im doubting there would be much point in trying to salvage the other components, would be better off buying the best individual compononts if i were ever to try watercooling again.

[Aaron]

ah ok - with the pump and res combined? I was just wondering if it could be used as a base for a custom watercooling system, so if you were going to go down that route, you wouldnt have to buy a complete new system, but just upgrade bits as and when!?