Water Temps SUPER HIGH!

[Joker_927]

I reported my cpu temps a while ago and they were fine. 38Cidle, 40C load. I installed an 80mm fan in the front ot cool the hd, and it actually lowered the cpu temp too! down to about 36 idle 38 load!

Well, last night it hit me that I never added anything to the water to make alge not grow. I have heard numerous horror stories on this thread about alge growing and all that. Luckily mine has only been running for about amonth now. I had bought some ALGE-B-GONE and I opened it up. It says it is supposed to be used for 10 gallon taks. I have about 1 gallon of water in my lines, go I cut off what looked like a tenth of the tablet.

I debated whether I should turn the system off and put the tablet in, or just put it in while the system is running. I gambled and put the tiny, rasin sized tablet into the reservior. It sank and started to fizz. Then (because I am an idiot and choose the wrong method) the tablet got sucked in the the line! I saw as the little mongruel went through the tubes and hit the pump!! The pump made a sound like sand was gowing throught it, then the pill came out, and it still looked intact. Then it went into the heatercore, and never came out. Im guessing it dessolved in the heatercore.

My problem? Well now my idle temp is 41C and my load temp is 43. Tha isnt very good since its about 5C over what it was last night. So, do you think taht the alge pill somehow decreased the thermal properties of the water/water wetter solution? Do you think it clogged/damaged soemthing as it took its little voyage? Are you just think another factor like weather is affecting my temps?


thx

[LtBlue14]

funny story
it's too late now, but why not just use antifreeze next time? that tablet may very well have lowered your water's efficiency by a lot

you say you used water wetter in there? water wetter keeps algae out, FYI
but it also stains tubing and can clog waterblocks like the whitewater and cascade with its thin film residue that it leaves on everything
i'd empty your lines and refill with distilled water + antifreeze

[Joker_927]

I was told that distilled water + watterwetter was the best combination out there.

When I thought about it, I dont understand how antifreeze helps thermal conductivity of water at all. It just lowers the freezing and rises the biolding point of water.

Water wetter is chemically formulated to actually cling to the metal and help it transmit heat.

I could be totally wrong that is just how I saw it, and why I chose watter-wetter.

PS: I promised everybody here that I would try my setup in every form possible. See I water-cool everything in my system and leaves a lot of room for changing tubes and such. Right now they are all in a series (cpu->gpu->NB) but I have some Y splitters and such. I should probably just use this an an excuse to actually go about changing the config.

will see....

[LtBlue14]

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=142006&perpage=20&pagenumber=3

EDIT: BTW, the reason i linked to the above thread is because it talks about water wetter - read it and find out why it's bad

and you don't use much anti-freeze, and it doesn't affect the thermal conductivity of the water TOO much, though it obviously does some. no matter, you need it to keep your lines clean, and it gives it a cool color =)

i recommend dexcool antifreeze, it's a nice orange color

i'd say you want to keep your blocks in series, a parallel config will lower the flowrate through each block, and i doubt water temperature variation would make up for this

[E_Man]

distilled h20+4 tablespoons or so of isopropyl

keeps the tubes sparkling clean

hasnt increased temps at all

[telexen]

I'm doing fine with distilled water and more than 20% anti-freeze ... you don't need that much anti freeze with it though ... I'm sure if I cut it down to 10% I'd get 30-31c average temps

[Joker_927]

Originally posted by E_Man
distilled h20+4 tablespoons or so of isopropyl

keeps the tubes sparkling clean

hasnt increased temps at all

Interesting. Never thought of this. I'm guessing the alcohol keeps alga away plus cleans the system. :) But, what stops corrosion?

[koontz946]

wait... doesnt anything plus distilled raise temps (if only minimally?)... i was under the understanding that distilled was the way to go if ur not going under freezing... i got that from a sticky, i think rockstarbob's

correct me if im wrong...

[Joker_927]

from what I know distilled water WILL get you best temps. That is, until the alge starts to clock your water-block and your cpu fries.

[koontz946]

ah. well how does algae get into distilled water? the stuff im *trying* to use says its steam distilled... i would think it would be perfectly clean...

[Joker_927]

its clean now. in sure you weren't in a clane room when u poured it into your system. Little microbes got into the water as it apssed through the air. Whetever else got in there. ANYHTING! will evolve because of the perfect climate the water makes for bateria. Nice a warm. The water will lsowly start to "grow" things one way or another.

[mata2974]

well how does algae get into distilled water?
when you setup your WC system expose it to air, there are billions of tiny algae spores ready to find a place to call home. No water how clean your water is, as long you deal with atmospheric air you will get them...

[Tyl0r]

i recommend dexcool antifreeze, it's a nice orange color

There has been a long standing issue with Dexcool turning into a thick, orange crusty muck in radiators. I used to work for a GM dealership as a service tech(read grease monkey) and there had been numerous complaints about poor cooling performance. The poor cooling was due to the Dexcool changing it's solid salt state. GM sent out a technical service bulliten on it, saying that it was a normal breakdown of the coolant due to heat exchange, and because of reactive/oxidative properties with both copper and aluminum radiators. Since cpu waterblocks are made from copper, I would be cautious of this. Not saying Dexcool always broke down into a solid state, but it wasn't an uncommon thing to see a bunch of crust hanging around radiator caps and in hoses.

I wouldn't use Dexcool, instead use a green coolant, and get some pH strips to test it's acidity/alkalinity<sp?>. You should be able to find pH strips and the coolant at any auto parts store. It's also recommended that you use distilled water with any automotive coolant. I think a 10-20% solution of coolant to water would be optimal for light heat transfer. You should be able to find a chart listed on the back of most coolant jugs that will tell you what heat properties you'll get at various percentages.

[LtBlue14]

wow, no solid state stuff goin on in my system right now...but i wonder if people have had this problem with dexcool in their wc systems
gonna start a thread on it

[koontz946]

gotcha... i guess when i add stuff to my system ill pour some of my stoli in there ;) jk ill prolly just use isopropyl alcohol

[Soja]

Read the replies by Neomoses about dexcool (http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=223005&highlight=dexcool)

[Tyl0r]

On another note, if you really want a red/orange coolant, you could always use Toyota coolant. I was talking with a friend of mine who still works in a Toyota dealership he said there hasn't been an issue with it crusting up like Dexcool.

Personally, even if there are success stories with Dexcool(both in cars and computers)I would still be leery of it, but it's because I'm biased against it from what I've seen. :p

[Joker_927]

What about PEAK 50/50 antifreeze/coolant?

[Soja]

Originally posted by Joker_927
What about PEAK 50/50 antifreeze/coolant?

I use 10% PEAK AF w/ distilled.

[Joker_927]

that keeps bugs out and stops corrosion??

[Soja]

yessir

[Joker_927]

What color is the PEAK stuff? it would suck if it conflicted with my yellow ultra-violet dye.

The reason that I asked about PEAK coolant was because we sell it where I wourk and I get a gallon for less than $2.

[Tyl0r]

I believe Peak sells both an orange colored and a green colored coolant. Orange should be extended life, and would usually costs more then the green.