Which fluids work better

[husam]

Hi,

Just wanted to know Which fluid works better in L.C.S, and is there in good LCD monitor fits in 5 1/2" bay which could monitor temp and water flow if there is any !!!

Thanks.

[Albuquerque]

Best IMO is distilled water with a very small amount of algecide (a small bit of radiator fluid will work too). I've used NOTHING but distilled water and a small splash of rad fluid for the past four years in my loop with no issues.

[Jas]

^^ agreed. Distilled water and a little bit of anti freeze type product.

Th enice thing about making your own coolant micture is you can choose what dyes if any you want to use.

As for LCD monitors, There are some, but they are pretty expensive. There are some LCD readout screen you can get that are much cheaper thogh. I personally have never used one though.

[husam]

^^ agreed. Distilled water and a little bit of anti freeze type product.

Th enice thing about making your own coolant micture is you can choose what dyes if any you want to use.

As for LCD monitors, There are some, but they are pretty expensive. There are some LCD readout screen you can get that are much cheaper thogh. I personally have never used one though.

How about damages to the MB in case of leaks ??

[ManOfKnight]

Of course there will be damages to equipment if your loop leaks. This is why you perform a leak test before you actually turn on your computer. As long as you pay attention to your loop and perform a good leak test...you should be good.

[voigts]

Of course there will be damages to equipment if your loop leaks. This is why you perform a leak test before you actually turn on your computer. As long as you pay attention to your loop and perform a good leak test...you should be good.

Actually, a lot of people survive leaks remarkably well. A leak does not by any means spell death. Any fluid becomes more conductive over time as it leaches metal from the blocks. Don't waste your money on expensive "non-conductive" fluid. It becomes conductive too and is no guarantee against damage either.

[husam]

Actually, a lot of people survive leaks remarkably well. A leak does not by any means spell death. Any fluid becomes more conductive over time as it leaches metal from the blocks. Don't waste your money on expensive "non-conductive" fluid. It becomes conductive too and is no guarantee against damage either.

Thats make my choice alot easy, I will make sure I do good leak test.

Thanks guys.

[hypertek]

firm believer that distilled water works!! my danner 3 pump died a few days ago.. and luckily i just put only distilled a few days prior wiht algicide.. and the destilled kept the system opertating despite no water cycling.. i did not play any games, but was able to work in desktop and browse the net.. i threw my old via aqua back in for now.

[SolidxSnake]

Water is the best. Nothing has a higher thermal conductivity or capacity for so cheap.

[Craptacualr]

Amen, distilled water and a dash of antifreeze. FWIW early on in my WCing days I had a tiny tiny drip from one of my CPU waterblock fittings develop after a leak test. Dripped onto my AGP socket and got it nice and damp. Eventually noticed some artifacts while gaming and went spelunking. Saw the water and FREAKED out. Soaked the board in Ethanol, let it dry for 12 hours, snapped everything back in and it worked like a charm, no problems. If you use distilled, leaks are not the end of the world

[Dice]

+1 For distilled water and antifreeze.

OP mentioned monitoring water temps and coolant water flow. My opinion is this: Monitoring flow is usually counter-productive in that by installing an inline flow-meter, you are throttling the flow. If your loop is routed well, you can expect only 2 states where flow is concerned. Those are Flow/No-flow. Monitor the temps and you will quickly learn if there is no flow. As for the screen to do the temp monitoring, I dare suggest you install speedfan or mbm5. If you must monitor by probes, and display them on a bay screen, Jab-tech (http://www.jab-tech.com/Temp-Monitors-c-196.html) is a good place to start.

[Onlypro]

I used tap water with ~5% antifreeze.
Loop running for one complete year.
No issues.

[sunrunner20]

Best IMO is distilled water with a very small amount of algecide (a small bit of radiator fluid will work too). I've used NOTHING but distilled water and a small splash of rad fluid for the past four years in my loop with no issues.

Antifreeze won't kill all algae ...

[SolidxSnake]

antifreeze won't kill an algae (or bacteria.. i don't remember which). It only kills organisms with a.... liver? Kidney? I dunno... some sort of organ that nothing that will grow in your water loop.

Either way, you don't even need antifreeze in your loop, unless you're running mixed metals (which isn't smart in the first place). Run all copper/brass/delrin and you can run straight up distilled. Theoretically of course. After that you'll need some algaecide, biocide, etc. Pick up some non-alcohol iodine or some growth inhibitor from a local pet store and toss in a few drops and your loop is fine.

[RIG RIDER]

95% distilled water & 5% antifreeze is the only solution I will use in my loop.
I've been running my SIG RIG for the last 14 months with the same solution with no problems or sea monkeys growing/swimming in my loop.

And please leak test before you power up your RIG.

[QuietIce]

+1 for distilled, algaecide, & Betadine (non-alcohol iodine solution)! Best coolant mix around, IMO.

Anti-freeze adversely effects the cooling properties of your loop and isn't really needed unless you have mixed metals (copper and aluminum). Algaecide can be found cheap at any store with aquarium products and Betadine is available at any drug store and most supermarkets ...

[billb]

Some interesting stuff:
http://www.overclockers.com/articles609/

[UreiCollector]

Monitor the temps and you will quickly learn if there is no flow.

I totally agree! Go ahead and run SpeedFan, and unplug power from your pump, then keep an eye on the temps. You'll be convinced that a flow meter is totally un-nessesary.....your temps are going to rise in a hurry. I would consider flow meters a novelty item, not a practical one.

If you concerned with pump failure, you can always set speedfan to shut down your machine if temps go above a certain level.....read this.....

http://www.almico.com/sfarticle.php?id=4

....they state "There are several scripts and tools out there that can do almost anything, including a system shutdown."

[Elluzion]

so best way you guys think to go is Distilled water + Algecide (how much [few drops?])

is antifreeze truly needed?


by the way, how do you know how much water to put in your loop? i know that sounds stupid.

[husam]

also should it be used to clean rad when used for th first time, or tap hot water do fine.

[SolidxSnake]

so best way you guys think to go is Distilled water + Algecide (how much [few drops?])

is antifreeze truly needed?


by the way, how do you know how much water to put in your loop? i know that sounds stupid.



What I do:

Get a measuring cup (1 cup sized). I fill it one cup at a time and I toss that into my reservoir. I repeat until my loop is eventually filled (I pour it in, hit the pump till the res is empty, refill, etc). I keep track of how many cups I use in my loop to know how much water I have used. After that's done and the loop is bled, I put in another however much additive I need to complete the mixture I want.

For instance, if I want a 90:10 ratio of water:antifreeze, and I added 3 cups of water to allow my loop to have sufficient water (not full but enough so there isn't any air being pulled in), I then add in however much antifreeze I need to make a 90:10 ratio. Since I used 3 cups, I need .3 cups of antifreeze to make my loop have 3 cups water and .3 cups antifreeze. 3 cups of water is 90% of my loop, and the .3 cups of antifreeze is 10% of my loop. These are all theoretical numbers but it gets the point across.

And in addition, make sure to add additives after you bleed the loop. While it doesn't really matter when you add additives, it makes bleeding MUCH easier and faster. If you put in the additive as you fill the loop, then the additive will most likely foam up and cause bleeding to last much much longer. If you add in the additive when there is no air in the loop (fully bled), then there won't be any foaming and bleeding will be extremely short, especially with a well-designed loop.

Edit: To clean the rad, you should use a mix or straight-up vinegar. Soak the rad with vinegar for maybe 30 mins, and then dump the vinegar and repeat until the rad puts out clean vinegar. After you consistently get clean vinegar from your rad, rinse it out a few times with distilled water.

[QuietIce]

so best way you guys think to go is Distilled water + Algecide (how much [few drops?]) + iodine: don't forget the iodine! (4-8 drops/gallon)
Algaecide will depend on what you get - follow the label directions.
is antifreeze truly needed? NO!
Unless you mix aluminum and copper in the same loop (which really should be avoided).
by the way, how do you know how much water to put in your loop? i know that sounds stupid. Usually much less than a gallon. Distilled can be found in almost any store for $1/gallon.



also should it be used to clean rad when used for th first time, or tap hot water do fine. I like using tap water and 25% vinegar. Fill it up then let it sit for a half-hour or so. Rinse with tap water until the water runs clear. Finally (before the tap water dries!) fill the rad with distilled and shake well then empty it and let it air dry ...

[JamesXP]

To op, don't get any temperature monitoring or flow monitoring devices it isn't worth putting money into that excuse for a w/c system.

[Ben333]

How about damages to the MB in case of leaks ??

well I run distilled and antifreeze and last night my T kind of tipped a bit and spilled water in a 2" circle on my mobo while the comp was running. I shook the mouse, it moved on the screen and all was well. I grabbed a paper towel, wiped the board and the computer is still running right now. Keep in mind that water only hit traces, not resistors or any other components.

[Jas]

Just a a slight aside.

LEAKS
I have taken 3 seperate graphics cards, and two seperate mother bords, one wireless network card, and a sound card all for a bath.

After removing them from my case, and dousing them in distilled water (yes you read that correctly), cleaning off any residue, drying the off, and replacing them, I am proud to say every single peice of hardware survived like a champ.

But you push down to hard on ONE screw on a NB water block..... Oh thats a rant for another topic.

DISTLLED WATER!!!!!!! It makes computers happy.

[hank123]

im using distilled watter and a little bit of water wetter. so far everything has been bad ass!

[Moto7451]

I use about 5% antifreeze in order to keep the solder from being damaged. Thats about it, besides that I use distilled, pond algaecide and iodine

[billb]

Water temp monitoring:
Get one of these, Pull out the probe and epoxy it into a 1/2 tee.
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556018810.html

Flow monitoring:
Get one of these, pull out the turbine sensor, put it on a bypass loop (it's only 3/8" ID) and remote the display into a 5-1/2' bay cover. If you valve the bypass, you can even measure flows whenever you want instead of just monitoring.