Who uses a mix of distilled water and orange Dex-Cool?

Can you post pictures of what it looks like and what ratio of water to dex-cool you are using?

I think orange water would look pretty cool and I haven't heard of any complaints using Dex-Cool.

Thanks.

Duno if this is the same orange anti-freeze you are referring to but check out the second section in this article (first paragraph after 'Fill 'Er up'-

Popular Mechanics on AntiFreeze

It states that you should not use the orange anti-freeze unless you have an aluminum radiator and goes on a bit to explain.

Its because the Dex-cool, the new brand of automotive coolant is diethelene glycol, instead of etheline glycol. The new "all aluminum" engines (not meaning the block, just the rad, and the intake man) like that better for corrosion. I didnt read the link to PM, but everything I have read says that it is OK to use in older systems... as long as you dont mix the two. The only thing I can think of is the higher tendacy to film up on surfaces that will make seeing it a little harder. Just my $0.02.

*edit* I just read the article on PM. It says that the orange type of coolant will not provide protection for the lead solder on brass/copper radiators. Other than that (excluding all forigen models) a retrofit is ok, as long as the Waterpump is in good condition. In other words, Go for it, as long as you don't have lead solder on your heater core, or water block. The water pump in an engine is of a different design to matter in this application. Which is good, because I was going to ask the same question.

I think Dex-cool was something that GM started and is also ending. There have been reports of it eating through parts of the engine. I have a 2001 Grand Am that uses the stuff and was told by a few differnet auto experts that I should switch to the good ol green stuff on my next flush.

Tho we are talking about watercoolers and not cars. I dont think it would hurt anything to use it but I myself wouldnt.

I use it, no problems

greenman100 said:

I use it, no problems

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Thank you.

No problems with it here. All the bad reports I've read about it involved cars where the fluid level was allowed to drop, people who keep it topped off don't seem to have the same kinds of problems. Keep in mind that that is refering to use in cars, which is a whole other kettle of fish anyway. In the computer world I don't see people suffering from DEX-COOL related problems in droves.

I'm using the Prestone orange Dex-cool no probs for several months. It's in a 20/80% antifreeze to distilled water mixture. I added a splash of humidifier bacteriostat to keep the algea at bay. The first time I built my system I didn't add any. When I went to do an upgrade, there was green stuff coating my tubes. Here's a thread with pics of my comp.

http://www.anonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135

The orange water goes well with the red mobo, vid card, and orange RAM.

eobard said:

No problems with it here. All the bad reports I've read about it involved cars where the fluid level was allowed to drop, people who keep it topped off don't seem to have the same kinds of problems. Keep in mind that that is refering to use in cars, which is a whole other kettle of fish anyway. In the computer world I don't see people suffering from DEX-COOL related problems in droves.

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Exactly. Poor maintanance is a big cause to this.

Dex-cool wont affect copper. Most auto heater cores are copper and used in Dex-cool equipped vehicles. My 97 GMC Sierra had Dex-cool as OEM and it had a copper heater core. Even its replacement was copper. Replaced after a seam burst on the core tank. What you dont do is put standard antifreeze in a dex-cool equipped car. Standard ethylene glycol will screw up teh diethylene glycol's longevity properties. Also standard is a bit harder on aluminum radiators, but if you change coolent in your car like you are supposed to, its not an issue.

Been using it for well over a year now and no probs what so ever. I use about a 75/25 ratio and temps are nice and no growth.

I thought the antifreeze acted as a biocide?
If not, can I keep my plan of 90/10 Water to Dex-Cool or should I add some something to prevent algae? If so, what?

gingo said:

I thought the antifreeze acted as a biocide?
If not, can I keep my plan of 90/10 Water to Dex-Cool or should I add some something to prevent algae? If so, what?

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We never worried about that when we added rear a/c units to vans. Generally the heat an engine creates (up to 240F) would kill pretty much every form of algae. Havent got a clue if it would at lower temps.

How hot does the coolent get in a computer?

How hot does the coolent get in a computer?

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Only as hot as your water. Which depends on your ambient temperature, the effectiveness of your heat-dispersal (radiators) and the amount of heat being dumped into your cooling loop. In my GPU's peltiered water circuit, the water gets very hot. In my CPU's straight water circuit, the water stays very close to room temperature.

Can you post pictures of what it looks like and what ratio of water to dex-cool you are using?

I think orange water would look pretty cool and I haven't heard of any complaints using Dex-Cool.

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I use Prestone Dexcool Antifreeze (orange coloured), around a ~15/~85 mixture with deionized water, in both of my watercooling loops.

It's been in one of the water circuits I have for a long time now, probably half a year or so, and in the other circuit for about 4 months. The water is still clear in both cooling loops.

I've had no corrosion issues, and I will continue to use this anti-freeze in my watercooling circuits.

I like the Orange colour, although it is somewhat covered up in my system by the Orange UV dye that I use, making the water a slightly reddish colour.

Here are two pictures for you, one of Prestone Dexcool mixed 10/90 with tap water, and one of how Prestone Dexcool looks in my two water loops.

felinusz said:

I've had no corrosion issues, and I will continue to use this anti-freeze in my watercooling circuits.

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So you are just using the dex cool anti-freeze and water, nothing as a biocide, right?

Organisms can still live in anti-freeze. It is only poisinous to humans because our body thinks it is alcohol, and tries to process it as so. That clogs your kidneys causing all sorts of trouble.

It depends on the conditions. Sometimes things will grow, and other times they won't. Like I said, I had green stuff lining where my fittings joined the tubing when I didn't use bacteriostat.

Water temps are usually pretty low making a pleasantly warm environment for organisms to flourish. 100F water feels warm to the touch to a person.

So you are just using the dex cool anti-freeze and water, nothing as a biocide, right?

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That's right, nothing in there specifically for killing bacteria, or preventing their growth.

I've never had any issue with stuff growing in my water - but that doesn't mean that it never happens.