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Which fluids work better
- Thread starter husam
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2003
- Location
- North America
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.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2005
- Location
- Kenosha, WI.
^^ 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.
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.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2001
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.
- Thread Starter
- #7
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2004
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.
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2004
Water is the best. Nothing has a higher thermal conductivity or capacity for so cheap.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2005
- Location
- Buffalo, NY
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
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2006
- Location
- Sioux Falls, SD
+1 For distilled water and antifreeze.
OP mentioned monitoring water temps andcoolant 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 is a good place to start.
OP mentioned monitoring water temps and
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2003
- Location
- Ottawa Ontario Canada
I used tap water with ~5% antifreeze.
Loop running for one complete year.
No issues.
Loop running for one complete year.
No issues.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2004
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
Antifreeze won't kill all algae ...
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2004
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.
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.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Location
- White City, OR. 97503
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.
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
Disabled
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Location
- Anywhere but there
+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 ...
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 ...
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2005
Some interesting stuff:
http://www.overclockers.com/articles609/
http://www.overclockers.com/articles609/
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2007
- Location
- Upstate NY
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."
