alchohol cooled

is it wise to put alchohol in the whole system if you don't have to worry about corrosion?

100% alchohol? no. It does not have asmuch thermal capacity as water. Its only real benifit in any cooling system is its low freezing point.

It will also evaporate very easily and can sometimes seep out water tight connections.

Jon

i would also watch out for those rubber tubing drying up, and cracking if they are exposed to alcohol for a long time.

and also the pump prolly couldnt move the alchohol since it is much thinner than water.

Most alcohol such as isopropyl (rubbing) and ethanol (liquor) are highly flammable.

I read a comparison of different fluids and fluid combonations some time ago and the best for cooling was methanol but its way too noxious aka unhealthy for humans so in the end water is top dog once again

I rund a 50-50 mix of tap water and blue widshield washer antifreeze. Works great for me. No algae either, and no evaporation problems.

I use a 10% blend of meth, ethylene glycol & isopropal to 90% DW for last 4 months in a chilled water seystem with no complaints.

if you do decide to do it,
put your case at the other corner of ur room.
and point the fans away from you, fans have been know to spread fires...

Using some in your system supposedly does a little for your flow rate, but it isn't as good as pure water. I don't think he is chilling, and on the issue of tapwater: Buildup, anyone? Or do you do something to stop that?

i have 80% tapwater in my system
no build up so far (1year or so)

Korndog said:

if you do decide to do it,
put your case at the other corner of ur room.
and point the fans away from you, fans have been know to spread fires...

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I was drinking milk when i was reading you post and milk came out of my nose because i laughed so hard..... roflmao point the fans!! hahaha nice one

hehehe, thanks
it would actually be quite entertaining to watch a fireball come out of a tornado fan. hmm.. something to show off at your next lan party

With the mix i have, i'm very sure you could do little to set it on fire. I haven't had any agae, and i haven't had to top it up in a long long time. My cooling system holds alot of fluid, prolly about 2-3 gallons total. I'm glad its not flamable

Just a couple of observations as I pass through.

*The alcohol will not stay in your system for long. Any connection that water will not seep through, alcohol may. It can pass through PVC and other plastics and eats others.
*Your pump may suffer, as they are without bearings, they depend somewhat on the surface tension of the water to act as bearings for the impeller. A pump will pump it.
*While pure alcohol is quite flammable, mixing with water stops this immediately. Of course, I wouldn't open a reservior with a large airpocket in it whilst smoking--just incase. It's not the fluid but the vapor that burns.
*Windshield (windscreen) washer fluid is fine to use in a small mix, it's already mixed to begin with. The alcohol will leave the system, but that system will be quite sterile for some time afterward unless you continue to add water. It does stop algae, but will do nothing for corrosion protection, so no metal mixing! It contains a small ammount of detergents, so again, it may do damage to your pump in large ratio mixes (no surface tension).
It is poisonous, so keep that in mind.

I used to run it (wwf mix), but since my sytem is all copper based, and sealed well, I just switched to double distilled water instead.

Good points Diggr.

My pump has been running this mix for 2 years, no prob.

Metal mixing is just a bad idea to begin with. The aluminum barbs on my copper Z3 block corroded away, spewing water all over. Cost me lotsa money. So far, now that i swapped to brass barbs, i have not had any corrosion.

The alcohol has definatly not left my system. I have been drinkinking heavily for 10 years........

As far as the computer coolant goes, i think the alky is still in there too, cuz it still tastes the sam as it always did

i have tried it and i found it to be very effective .... it may have less capacity than water but then again your only using the liquid as a medium to transfer heat ultimately it is your radiator's and fan that dumps the heat out of the system ...... i find it a better transfer of heat because of it's superb viscousity (and just maybe just maybe it seeps into the tiny crevices within the block isn't that why people like to use it as a cleaner) ....... but as mentioned above there are disadvantages ....

it leaks much easier as i found out once ..... even on watertight system (you's have to make it airtight)

it's a fire hazard.

plus i'm sure of the long term effects of it on copper and plastic parts of the pump as well as tubing .... as i tried it out for a few weeks only

tediber said:

i have tried it and i found it to be very effective .... it may have less capacity than water but then again your only using the liquid as a medium to transfer heat ultimately it is your radiator's and fan that dumps the heat out of the system ......

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Less heat capacity means a higher temp for the same amount of heat. The radiator and fan is important, but the liquid used is equally important.