grey sludge

[Sterculus]

I took a look inside my comp today and noticed that the pipes looked really grey. I've since taken the system apart, and everything is covered in this grey residue. I don't have a camera here to take pics, but that's pretty much it: some grey stuff that doesn't want to come off easily. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting this stuff off? The only idea that I have is putting everything (except the pump) into the dishwasher, but I don't know how well that would work.
TIA

[oRIDDLERo]

do yourself a favor and just get some fresh new tubes ;)

[ArE_eYe_SeE_kAy]

Dang. That's nasty. I get that in my dehumidifier in my basement. It's like an algae mold. How long has it been since you cleaned that out? Did you use something like iodine or water wetter?

[20sev20]

I have the same problem. I've been running on water for only 3 months and the inside of my tubes are coated with this metallic grey sludge. I've used deionized water, zerex super racing coolant, and etheromycin. I can't figure it out.

[dagamore]

i hav eyet to see this problem in my systems, and all i run is de-stilled water (safeway has it for 99c a gallon every now and then) and enough anti-freeze to give a a 15% antifreeze and 85% water mix. no growth, no rust, no problems in my mixed systems after more then 2 years (in one case) and thats with an untreated ALU block, with Bronze/Cu mixed brabs modded on to it.

[NeoMoses]

Originally posted by dagamore
i hav eyet to see this problem in my systems, and all i run is de-stilled water (safeway has it for 99c a gallon every now and then) and enough anti-freeze to give a a 15% antifreeze and 85% water mix. no growth, no rust, no problems in my mixed systems after more then 2 years (in one case) and thats with an untreated ALU block, with Bronze/Cu mixed brabs modded on to it.

THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you!!!! I've been trying to tell people for over a year now that antifreeze is one of the best things you can use in a watercooling system. Why do they never listen? And I swear, whoever started that rumor that water wetter is a good corrosion inhibitor ought to be whacked in the head. They're no better than the person who invented popup windows (grrr :mad: ).[/end rant]

Ok, back to the useful part of my post. I would first try cleaning your system by flushing it with white vinegar. It's really cheap. If this doesn't work, you can also try CLR. After flushing with vinegar and/or CLR, be sure to run at least 5 gallons of water through the system in order to flush out any remaining acid. And when you re-fill your system, use a mixture of Distilled water and Antifreeze. I personally use about 90% water, 10% Dexcool antifreeze. 85/15 should work well, too. Much more than that is probably overkill. Too little corrosion inhibitors, and may start to see temperatures rise over time.

Just my $0.02, hope it helps.

[Glaze132]

If you plan on doing what Neo suggested (I used it last night) I put my pump in a white vinegar resevoir and ran it through my system and then after I had the pump on for about 3 minutes I turned it off and about 5-10 minutes later I flushed the system with distilled water about 5 gallons worth and today my pump is leaking (danner mag 5). Maybe I didn't flush the system soon enough but today my pump leaks, so just be forewarned that something could go wrong. I will have to figure a way to make it stop leaking, I think I will try JB Weld any thoughts?

[K1ll1nT1m3]

I really shouldnt say this, but I have been running Koolance water additive ( cool green color like antifreeze ) and distilled water for over a year without a problem. I have ran it on a mix of copper and aluminum and gold. ( 3 different systems in all ) I havent had it stain anything yet. I ran tap water for a few weeks and had problems though. ( grey film all over the place )