Mct-40….why is it not more popular?

[hyperasus]

It’s amazing to me that this stuff (http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=143&cat=63&page=1) isn’t more popular. Am I missing something? I changed over to this stuff and my temps didn’t go down. It takes care of the corrosion, algae and conductivity problem all at the same time. How people can stand to change out the water every 6 months I don’t know. I just find it interesting it’s not used by more people. Makes me wonder if there is some catch I don’t know about.

[Diggrr]

Well, since distilled water is only a buck per gallon, and I can get more in 5 minutes, do the math.

Glad it's working out for you (really I am), but my system holds just over 2.5 US Gallons....$219.90+ could buy me a nice Gig of ram :)

[cripy]

I use mct-40 because I got a couple quarts for free and I must say yes it is great stuff

[RangerXLT8]

Well, since distilled water is only a buck per gallon, and I can get more in 5 minutes, do the math.

Glad it's working out for you (really I am), but my system holds just over 2.5 US Gallons....

Wow that's alot of water to me, my setup uses like 1/4 US gallon.

[hyperasus]

Yes I know how every talks about how cheap distilled water is yet in real life they all spend money on anti algae and anti corrosive additives. I realize the additives are cheaper but it will still be around $10 for the additives. 2.5 Gallons………..well allrighty then lol. Not sure what you have that uses so much water but you are obviously a special case and I can totally see why you’d want to go with something cheap. For 99% one quart would be enough to do the job.

[cripy]

1 quart barely filled up my system and im only cooling my cpu but thats probably because I have a dual 120mm heatercore and a dual floppy bay res.

[Diggrr]

Yeah, I know...I'm special :D

I have a copper/brass truck radiator in my basement feeding my case with 1" ID tubing and a one gallon vortex reservior...that's where all my water goes.
Plus too, I don't use additives at all. If your setup is cleaned properly to begin with, there's no algae.
Every 6-8 moths I clean out my block, not that it's clogged or anything, but just to remove that minute layer of black oxidation.

[cripy]

truck radiator nice. my frien uses pool treatment to prevent algae.

[hyperasus]

Yeah, I know...I'm special :D

Every 6-8 moths I clean out my block, not that it's clogged or anything, but just to remove that minute layer of black oxidation.

Well there you go. Wouldn't it be something if one year from now you looked at your block and it was still shiny with no oxidation? Like I said before; I realize your case is special but for most people the non corrosive properties alone of mcp-40 would be worth the extra few $.

[Sneaky]

its not more popular because 1. its more expensive than distilled water & additives, and 2. distilled water has better heat conductivity than the non-conductive solutions, and most of us wanna drop temps as much as possible, plus 3. you don't need a special solution as long as you leak test properly and seal everything well

[hyperasus]

Ok first of all you will not see more than a 1 or 2 degree trop in temps MAX. I didn't see any change in temp when I changed over. And second, no one plans on having a leak, but when it happens you are screwed and you are out hundreds of $.

[voigts]

The other problem is that if you change or mess around with your system on any kind of semi-regular basis, the MCT-40 can really add up. It is just plain handy to stop by Walmart on the way home and get a gallon of distilled water (only need about 1.5 liters for me). And as far as the cost of additives, I don't know where the $10 figure comes from. I bought a bottle of algaecide at Walmart for $5 that is enough to last for about the next 15 years, and even the blue VW antifreeze I am using is $30 a gallon and goes a very long way given that I only use about 6oz per refill.

Plus at some point the MCT-40 will become conductive, although frankly I wonder how long this would actually take. If it works for you, then great. I have spent the last 7 months building and rebuilding my setup, and almost finally have it to the point that I might leave it alone for a while. If I had to refill this thing with MCT-40, I would really be out some money!

And although you can lose hardware if you have a leak, usually hardware can be cleaned and revived. Using good clamps, hose, parts, etc. makes it a LOT harder to have leaks in the first place.

[rcillig]

waht ratio of water too coolant do you guys use ?

[hyperasus]

Why couldn't you reuse the mct-40 when you play with your system? I have done it before with no problems. Just drain in to a clean container so the fluid can be reused.

[phaeton]

I use Dowfrost + RO Water and it works fine, I just reuse it when I drain the system.

My 9800 Pro would be dead right now if it weren't for the non-conductiveness :)

[hyperasus]

Tell us more about this "Dowfrost" you speak of. Sounds interesting. A link perhaps.

[sunrunner20]

My 9800 Pro would be dead right now if it weren't for the non-conductiveness :)

Search around, plunty of people have had their videocards run fine with just plain distilled water pooled ontop of the video card.

[Sneaky]

Search around, plunty of people have had their videocards run fine with just plain distilled water pooled ontop of the video card.

i was one of thoes people - the center quick-connect on my old asetek block (first WC loop) leaked a bit, and when i took it apart to move it to a new case & upgrade a few things, i noticed that there was an odd green spot (from dried up UV dye) on/surrounding the back of the card RIGHT on top of the core w/ open traces - i never noticed any sideeffects of this when i was running my card & overclocking and whatnot

[Jas]

I had a leak pop up about 8 months ago, when I was doing a rebuild (my own carelessness). The 6800 Gt got a nice bath and went bonkers. After cleaning with distelled water and alcohol, it ran just fine.

I use distelled water and zerex 95/5 ratio (plus a bit of UV dye)

[voigts]

The problem that i would have run into hyperasus with reusing the fluid every time is that I have done stuff where I want to be able to flush out the system good before putting in my final mix. If it was just something simple, yes I could just reuse the fluid, but in my case, I have switched pumps once, changed out rads/heatercores 4 times, changed res to t-line to res about 4 times, and have a completely different system now, all in the space of about 7 months. So anytime I have made a major change, I want to be able to flush things out good first. I realize this is not the norm, but this is where I am anyway. I have just been endlessly tweaking to try to get this thing where I really want it with performance vs. silence, and I am finally about there ( I think!).

I use about 15% antifreeze with some algaecide and a little iodine also. I have some anodized aluminum in the loop so that is why I run 15%. If it was all copper I would do like Jas and go about 5% antifreeze.

[[O-CuK]Marci]

waht ratio of water too coolant do you guys use ?

depends on the specific coolant in question.

[Bugsmasher]

Both the MCT line and the FluidXP lines are great fluids for watercooling. I think the main reason more people to dont use them is simple economics. While it may be only $22 plus shipping (call it ballpark $30 IF you only need one quart) that $30 dollars may be the difference between a 6002 waterblock and a Storm or between an Eheim/Mag/Hydor pump and an MCW655 or MCP600 or the difference between a nice dual heater core and a radiator which is pre-modded or specifically made for WCing like the BI series.

I dont think that its the fact most people dont think its a good idea its simply that most people are trying to fit their WCing into a certain budget. Even with the addititives (I had the anti-freeze, Sanford Highlighter, and waterbed tablets already) the max price you are looking at for using distilled water is around $10 and as little as $1. If you need that full quart (not that unusual for those with reservoirs) then any leak can require another $30 to be spent.

Lastly there are many WCing people (nutcases by the way, one and all) that are WCing to eek out every 0.1 degree improvement that they can get. Witness those that buy up to $500 of cooling components. They arent going that deep into their wallet while still being willing to give up 1-2 full degrees.

Now I would actually think that product would out and out shine for someone using chillers and would also be a great safeguard for anyone nervous about or new to watercooling. Its also a great product for those that simply want to set it up and forget about it.

Bottom line however between the price and performance hit many WCing people simply choose to go with water + additives. Personally I think the MCT and FluidXP fluids are a great idea but when I add my window reservoir my fluid needs should top out at over a quart for my system. If I stop and think of that extra $50 dollars I start thinking 'add a second pump' or 'get a Storm block' well before I think of getting the admittedly safer fluid. Being on a budget and slightly nuts like most of the rest of you WCers I always will spend my spare change on performance first.

Dumb? Yep, probably but I cant seem to help myself. :cool:

[Perseus]

waht ratio of water too coolant do you guys use ?

It depends on the coolant miixture you use. For instance, I'm playing with Hydrx now which mixes 2 ounces with 33 ounces of distilled water.

On topic: People don't use things like MCT more due to expense and/or wanting to try homebrew or other mixture types. Being that there are so may approaches to coolant I tend to think that just about everything is pretty much okay as long as I can use what I want. As far as using a mixture that's non-conductive, I agree, that would be great. However, no mixture as is completely non-conductive. Especially after some times passes. I tend to lean towards being as non-conductive as possible because I want standard UV dye in my loop.

So far this frame of thought has worked. I've had one leak over 4 loops so far. I heard some sizzling when it happened, but as soon as my AGP slot was dry, my video card was fine.

[hyperasus]

There are some reviews out that actually claim mcp-40 can get better temps under load. Although I find that hard to believe. I do not think mcp-40 hurts temps any. For anyone buying a new setup Danger Den gives a free bottle of mcp-40 with any purchase over $100. That's what I did so it didn't cost me anything to go this rout. I have to admit that if I had to pay the $20 I probably would have just overlooked it and not given it a second thought. Now that I've used it I would pay the $20 before I would go back to plain ol water. Its just good technology and awesome stuff for pc cooling. This is the kind of technology that will eventually make watercooling more mainstream in the computer industry.

[Fighter2a]

I use it. I just cool my cpu and I only used about a third of the bottle to fill my loop.

[voigts]

You have good observations Bugsmasher that I think are very true. I guess it also depends on your setup and how much fluid your setup requires. I think if it was about half as much, more people would be willing to use it.

[ls7corvete]

Anyone know whats in the DD stuff, I have a bottle here of the -40, I got it assuming it was a perflourocarbon product but it looks a lot like glycol to me.

It looks like glycol, it smells like glycol, it feels like glycol, I havent tasted it yet but I bet it tastes like it too.......

If it is glycol there is a nice markup on this stuff.

Can someone confirm to me that fluidxp is a perfluorocarbon? Anyone interested in buying some fluoronert with me?

[whozyodaddy]

I have a bottle of MCT-5 here, it is not enough for my system. Would it be safe to mix it with distilled water?

[Seven]

Oh god...

My system is quite the zombie when it comes to water pressure, etc.
Basically, in the process of removing my Thermochill 120.3 from my PC-70, about a cup of water splashed all over my case, and onto my Radeon 9800. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of me, but it still worked.

You really have no need for non-conductivity in a cooling fluid unless you are really clumsy. For practicality's sake, it's probably better just to leak test.

7

[hyperasus]

Like I said before... no one plans on having a leak or accident yet many many of us here in the forums have had at least one bad experience with water. S**t happens even with the best of us. If you only lost 1 graphics card or MB in a lifetime it would have paid for all the mct-40 you will ever need and still have money left over. And that's still not factoring in the non corrosive and no algae and not having to change your water every 6 months to a year.

[Stewie]

Anyone notice the deal (http://www.dangerdenstore.com/) at DD? /me thinks this may help boost the MCTs acceptance/usage.

[hyperasus]

Not sure what the link is trying to show us but if you are talking about a free bottle of mcp-5 or 40 with any purchase over $100 then yes I mentioned that earlier in the thread.

That’s what I did and I am glad I gave it a try. I will forever use the stuff until someone comes out with something better and/or cheaper.

[Stewie]

My bad...apparently I missed that one :p

Not sure what the link is trying to show us but if you are talking about a free bottle of mcp-5 or 40 with any purchase over $100 then yes I mentioned that earlier in the thread.

That’s what I did and I am glad I gave it a try. I will forever use the stuff until someone comes out with something better and/or cheaper.

[Liquid3D]

Well I can tell you this. I just had a spill which went unoticed for almost a week. In the interim not only was a $600 graphic card saturated with MCT-5, but so was the pci-ex 16X slot in a $200 mobo. I had inadvertantly loosened the connector above the card feeding my waterblock and by the time I discovered the leak had occurred the fluid (MCT-5) had completely evaporated, leaving a large amount of residue (it's ingredients such as anti-corrosive etc.).

Well I can tell you as quicly as distilled water breaks down (there's really no such thing as completely non-conductive distilled H20) I would have been out not only a $600 card and a $200 mobo, but a PCPOwer&Cooling 850SSI which is another $400, not to mention the CPU if the conditions were conducive to the short effecting that hardware.

I'm writing an article about this incident, look for it at Madshrimps in a few days. I owe MCT and Danger Den a debt for the stuff saved me a bundle.

Also compared to H20 MCT DOES cool more effectively temps rise. Read the reviews to see each time load is placed on the system the MCT temps are lower.
later

[Moto7451]

MCT40 & Fluid XP are just Distilled water & glycol along with a few other chemicals.

Thats basically why they're not very popular. Get some Swiftech Hydrex & mix it into your water. Its even cheaper & works the same & since you can put in the bare minimum for an all copper loop, you won't hurt your temps nearly as bad as MCT40 will. 1-2°C that can be attained by using a different *cheaper* coolant isn't something to sneer at really.

Distilled water will not & will never conduct electricity as long as I'm alive :D. With the addition of an antigrowth agent you too can bottle it & sell it at extravagant prices.

Most people change out their water every 6 months for better clarity, not because its gone bad or anything. People who run a colored additive don't even need to do that.

[Liquid3D]

Well I do agree that would be the basis of 99% of pre-mixes and i have tried Corsairs. Problem is without proper test setup it's difficult to tell the resistance or conductivity of a given liquid.

Luckily i don't do "real world" (read spills) testing that often, however; in the past I've lost some hardware using a distilled H20, Anti-alge, Water-Wetter mixture. It was fairly new so I doubt Galvanic Corrosion had been substantial enough to ionze the water, but that's why I wrote what I did. I'm basically telling those whom have MCT it's a decent product and they made a good choice.