How would you clean a copper waterblock?

[Kibler]

I have a Dangerden Maze2 copper block that I used in a water tower "bong" cooling system. It used to work fine but now it cools horribly. I now use my old aquastealth block with a classic closed system and things are fine. When I try to use the Maze2 the temps go to sh*t. The surface is fine so I can only assume the insides are dirty.

I dont know if its corrosion or some organic stuff but I want to get whatever is it off!

One of my friends swears I should soak it in toothpaste! But I have no idea where he got that idea.

There must be some $5 crap I can buy at Home Depot to soak it in?

Before it got dirty the Maze2 cooled just as well as the Aquastealth still does. I like the Maze2 better just cause it bolts on and I feel a lot safer.

Thanks for any help

Kibler

[RoadWarrior]

Probably limescale, in which case a soak overnight and a good flush after with either, white vinegar, coffee machine cleaner or "CLR" should sort it out.

regards,

Road Warrior

[jbell]

Originally posted by RoadWarrior
Probably limescale, in which case a soak overnight and a good flush after with either, white vinegar, coffee machine cleaner or "CLR" should sort it out.

regards,

Road Warrior

I was gonna say CLR untill I saw yoru post...

I totally agree a good soaking over night in CLR should help big time!

[ol' man]

This is one reason to have a H2O block that you can take the top off of. Also I would only use distilled H2O for a bong cooler as then the CO2 that gets absorbed over time into the water will not form any of the carbonates that eventually will cause scale. Copper is highly restiant to acid attack if the acid is a non oxidizing acid such as HCl(Muriatic acid). Also they make a coffee cleaner made with HF which is similar to HCl but not as strong but it eats away silicate material which could form if you have used well water. HCl or any other acid will not eat away silicate material. I doubt you have that problem but you never know. If you want to hurry up the process you could use a solution of HCl as it will not attack the Cu but only the CO3's. I know when I worked in a Organic analytical lab this summer we did some water testing and they had something they would put into the evaporative coolers to stop the formation of all the carbonates but I can't remember what it is. I could find out though. I think this may be a problem after awhile even in small scale coolers like you guys are using. Once again I would always use a small amount of some kind of water treatment as also distilled H2O.

[Monaco]

the easy way:

goto the supermarket and get a canister of butane, the kind that are intended to be refill bottles for your lighter. Like six bucks.

Put the nozzle of the butane in one of the hose attachments on the block.

Push the nozzle in, and watch as the liquid butane in the can literally explodes into a gas inside the block, expanding 300 times in volume and pushing all the crap in yer block at least 10 feet into the air out the other hose connector.

of course, you'll do this outside and away from open flames, right?:D

I have done this quite a few times myself, it is safe as long as the block can handle it- any decent solid metal block should be fine. This clears out just about all of the scale, corrosion, rust, goo, slime, gremlins, etc that may be infesting your block in roughly one-third of a second. Looks almost new when you are done!

props to www.dansdata.com for telling me about this.

[jbell]

Originally posted by Monster of Rock
of course, you'll do this outside and away from open flames, right?:D






inside just sounds so damn fun!!!

I can see it now ... headline in newspaper - kid burns block down while trying to clean his bong cooler kit for his home pc....

[mw521]

Originally posted by Kibler
I have a Dangerden Maze2 copper block that I used in a water tower "bong" cooling system. It used to work fine but now it cools horribly. I now use my old aquastealth block with a classic closed system and things are fine. When I try to use the Maze2 the temps go to sh*t. The surface is fine so I can only assume the insides are dirty.

I dont know if its corrosion or some organic stuff but I want to get whatever is it off!

One of my friends swears I should soak it in toothpaste! But I have no idea where he got that idea.

There must be some $5 crap I can buy at Home Depot to soak it in?

Before it got dirty the Maze2 cooled just as well as the Aquastealth still does. I like the Maze2 better just cause it bolts on and I feel a lot safer.

Thanks for any help

Kibler Definitely CLR, since you are in NC, I find it usually at Kmart!:beer:

[Monaco]

inside just sounds so damn fun!!!

yah totally!

lol I've always wondered what it would be like if I ignited it as it came out the block....that would be something to see!:)

[fatshlink]

hmm how about battery acid. it could just eat it away. just kidding of corse. uhh beats me CLR maby

[William]

You can safely use Hydrochloric(Muriatic) Acid as well as Sulfuric(battery) and the copper will be fine. Only need to worry about Nitric Acid. So check that when you put it in there. Try flushing with some vinegar and then maybe some rubbing alcohol or preferably some acetone since you probably have those at home. I am not sure what CLR is, but I am farily sure it is some sort of acid so check to see what type it is.

[mw521]

Originally posted by William
You can safely use Hydrochloric(Muriatic) Acid as well as Sulfuric(battery) and the copper will be fine. Only need to worry about Nitric Acid. So check that when you put it in there. Try flushing with some vinegar and then maybe some rubbing alcohol or preferably some acetone since you probably have those at home. I am not sure what CLR is, but I am farily sure it is some sort of acid so check to see what type it is. I use CLR to clean some brass miners lamps I collect and sell on ebay and such. It works quite well on the deposits that the calcium carbide makes when it mixes with water. The residue is lime. It cleans the brass and copper quite well too of other deposits.

[CrystalMethod]

Automotive coolant system flush should work. It's pretty cheap and you will have a lot left over incase you need to flush the system from time to time. If you do use it, I'd run it with the system off, and just have the pump circulate the liquid. the stuff is also safe for rubber so it shouldn't screw up your pump seals or hoses.

[The Overclocker]

i was going to suggest using something in the water like water wetter or antifreeze to keep bacteria and limescale down but you are using a bong, might get away with some though...

[SavageHenry]

Originally posted by the overclocker
i was going to suggest using something in the water like water wetter or antifreeze to keep bacteria and limescale down but you are using a bong, might get away with some though...

I tried a small amout of water wetter in my bong, and it didn't have any noticabe positive effects. It did, however, produce a thick layer of foam on the surface of my reservoir that seemed to impede airflow . . . my temps went up significantly. I had to change out all of my coolant.

I had a similar experience trying waterbed treatment as a biocide.

[ol' man]

Originally posted by ol' man
This is one reason to have a H2O block that you can take the top off of. Also I would only use distilled H2O for a bong cooler as then the CO2 that gets absorbed over time into the water will not form any of the carbonates that eventually will cause scale. Copper is highly restiant to acid attack if the acid is a non oxidizing acid such as HCl(Muriatic acid). Also they make a coffee cleaner made with HF which is similar to HCl but not as strong but it eats away silicate material which could form if you have used well water. HCl or any other acid will not eat away silicate material. I doubt you have that problem but you never know. If you want to hurry up the process you could use a solution of HCl as it will not attack the Cu but only the CO3's. I know when I worked in a Organic analytical lab this summer we did some water testing and they had something they would put into the evaporative coolers to stop the formation of all the carbonates but I can't remember what it is. I could find out though. I think this may be a problem after awhile even in small scale coolers like you guys are using. Once again I would always use a small amount of some kind of water treatment as also distilled H2O.


I wanted to say the water treament we used were not anything you have most likely heard of. It did not foam and in fact the water was always perfectly clear they always used highly purified water in there cooling systems except in the cooling towers. Never the less they did have some scaling on some parts of the cooler.

[jbslow]

Great thread.

I need to clean my Maze2 also my temps have gone up 2-3C. Does anyone who has used the above methods have a helpful tip or anything? Anyone have another method?

I am running a bong cooler now but I am going to try out a radiator w/fan shroud setup. Will water wetter in that system remove buildup or will it only prevent new buildup? Mineral buildup that is.

[RoadWarrior]

Just thinking, coca cola would probably work too, :D Seriously though I think it would work pretty good for light scaling. Might need to leave it running through a while. And you'd want to get it as flat as possible first.

Heh, I'm suggesting coke waterblock cleaning now, anyone hear about my wrigley's chewing gum XP unlock idea? It's right up there with the 2L coke bottle fan adapter, at least now there's a use for the contents too :D Bwaahahhahaaa.

Road Warrior