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Gunk In Water

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masitti

Member
Joined
May 16, 2002
Location
Colorado
Short Story: I have a greyish/brown color in my water, how do I get rid of it.

Long Story:

I first assembled my system a couple months ago. I forgot that I had to use a anti-corrosive additive. Water gunked up. To the point where the flow has slowed down quite a bit. I ended up disassembling the whole system couple months later, rinsing it in the sink, and reassembling. When I filled it up this time, I used Purple Ice to see if that would help with the flow issue and the color issue, but to no such luck. Any ideas? I am building my new system in the sig tomorrow so I wanted to see if there is anything I should/can do while it's all torn apart. :) Thanks!
 
First things first, I would get some new tubing. You probably won't be able to clean the old stuff out and make it look nice again.

Second, you should take your water blocks apart and scrub them with a toothbrush or something similar. Use hot soapy water, it should kill off the algea. This is assuming you can take them apart.

That still leaves the pump and rad (and possibly the blocks too). You could hook up a small loop and run a mixture of water and one of the following: bleach, rubbing alcohol, peroxide, or iodine. Most of these are somewhat corrosive to copper, so you don't want to have these chemicals in your loop for too long, but a day to clean the growth shouldn't hurt anything.

I've never had to do this personally, so I don't know what ratios to suggest. Iodine is pretty potent, so you probably won't need more than 1/4 teaspoon of that to clean out your loop. Maybe someone with more experience can suggest a better mixture?

Good luck!
 
Iodine won't clean out anything, It will just prevent new baddies from growing.

Running Vinegar through your loop is probably your best bet. Fill the loop with like 50/50 Vinegar-water and a couple drops of soap. Run it for a couple hours. Drain and run clear water. Drain fill with clear water, drain fill with Distilled + 10% antifreeze and a few drops of Iodine.
 
zeb is right, vinegar will clean out your copper and make it look happy and shiny again, but if you don't want this sort of thing to happen in the future, i would put a few drops of bleach in the lopp this time. That stopped growth in my loop, and its cheap too! :D
 
I just used a few drops of alcohol...worked perfect (or was it peroxide? Hmm...whatever it was, it worked LOL).
 
alcohol is all good and well, just make sure you don't use isopropyl, it can dissolve acrylic if you put too much (like A LOT too much, but better safe then sorry)
 
After you have immersed your copper completely in vinegar, rinse or dip it immediately in distilled water and dry immediately otherwise you'll get oxidations brown spots.
 
Get new tubing preferably, or use an aquarium brush with dishwashing detergent to physically clean out the tubing.

Use a strong vinegar solution and take apart and scrub out your blocks using the aforementioned toothbrush.

When you put it back together and do your distilled water mixture, add a few drops of povidone-iodine (it is alcohol free and can be bought for about $4 at walmart) to keep anything new from growing. Don't add bleach or alcohol. Bleach is very corrosive, and alcohol seems to have issues with acrylic.

If you have all copper components, you don't really need any antifreeze in your loop. You can just use distilled water with a few drops of povidone-iodine. If however antifreeze makes you feel better, no more than 10% works well. If you have any aluminum in your loop, then make sure to use 10-15% antifreeze to be safe.
 
ziggo0 said:
I just used a few drops of alcohol...worked perfect (or was it peroxide? Hmm...whatever it was, it worked LOL).

No reason to use Hydrogen Peroxide. It's water with an extra hydrogen atom and quickly turns to h20 since it's an unstable compound. That's why they keep it in dark containers (so the light doesn't break it down to water as quickly).

Anyways, I usually ran my loop for 6+ months at a time between tearing it down with 10% antifreeze 90% distilled water. Worked fine and never got any grimy slimy stuff.

Best of luck!
Derek.
 
Strida said:
No reason to use Hydrogen Peroxide. It's water with an extra hydrogen atom and quickly turns to h20 since it's an unstable compound. That's why they keep it in dark containers (so the light doesn't break it down to water as quickly).

Anyways, I usually ran my loop for 6+ months at a time between tearing it down with 10% antifreeze 90% distilled water. Worked fine and never got any grimy slimy stuff.

Best of luck!
Derek.

AH! It was alcohol then...wasn't in a brown container.
 
Hello,

Suggestion 1:

If I were you, I would drain my loop and refill it with distilled water and a dash of Valvoline's Zerex (5% Zerex to 95% distilled water is correct, I believe). Then place a filter (distilled-Carr, part # 4448k26) somewhere in the loop--remember to get the correct fittings so it can be placed in the loop--and let the system run until the slurry is clear. Finally, remove the filter and run your cooling system as before.

Suggestion 2:

If you do not want the hassle of completely bleeding your system, try placing the aforementioned filter somewhere in your loop and run it until the slurry is clear. Once the water is clear, remove it as mentioned in the prior paragraph.

I am unsure if it would be wise to add anything fluid to the slurry.

Cheers.
 
Hello,

Oops.

Add to my prior post: I agree with Voigts' suggestion; install new tubing.

Tubing is cheap and you already know how much your loop requires.

Further, get new fittings: brass or nickle plated brass.

Replacing the tubing and fittings will also provide you with the opportunity to optimize your system.

Since you are going to have to drain your setup, you might as well implement my first suggestion:

Suggestion 1:

If I were you, I would drain my loop and refill it with distilled water and a dash of Zerex (5% Zerex to 95% distilled water is correct, I believe). Then place a filter (distilled-Carr, part # 4448k26) somewhere in the loop--remember to get the correct fittings so it can be placed in the loop--and let the system run until the slurry is clear. Finally, remove the filter and run your cooling system as before.​

I believed I plagiarized this suggestion from a posting made by Marci over at over-clock.co.uk. I did it unwittingly, though, because whenever I setup a loop with a new radiator, I first run a filter inline to remove any particles left behind by the manufacturer of my radiator. I have done this so often that doing so has become rote.

Cleaning the blocks should not be necessary as the fittings were probably the source of corrosion. Running the filter inline will clear up any gunk. I would get a third opinion on whether or not to tear apart your blocks and clean them.

Voigts, why not use something like Zerex: you have to use something to inhibit the growth of algea and a coolant would eliminate any worries over future corrosion. I like Zerex because of the low 1:20 coolant:water ratio.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
renityren said:
Voigts, why not use something like Zerex: you have to use something to inhibit the growth of algea and a coolant would eliminate any worries over future corrosion. I like Zerex because of the low 1:20 coolant:water ratio.

Cheers.

There is nothing wrong with using Zerex or some other antifreeze, etc., but in an all copper/brass loop, corrosion is a non-issue. I run about 10% Toyota red antifreeze myself basically because I like the red, not because I really need it. Zerex however is not going to do a thing for algae, hence the suggestion to use a few drops of povidone-iodine in the loop.

In his case, since he already has growth, he is going to need to take it all apart and clean it all to make sure he gets everything out. AFTER he does that, he could use a filter if he wants to which is not a bad idea to make sure gunk in the loop doesn't keep clogging things up. I personally just hook my setup to a sink faucet via a waterbed fill kit and force flush everything out before draining and refilling with distilled.
 
Just to prevent any misunderstandings here:
Zerex, WW or any other type of anti freeze or racing coolant DOES NOT prevent algae or bacteria growth.
 
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