[Ghastard]

Hey guys I've been planning out my water cooling setup for a while and one thing's been bothering me. My mind is pretty much set on using a bong, but I don't know what I should be putting in the water.

The idea of inhaling water wetter or other toxic chemicals isn't too thrilling. From what I've read, you should put something in the water to make it non-corrosive, as well as something to kill off bacteria and algae.

What do you put in your bong system?


Also - My water block is made out of machined aluminumn (made it myself). Yes, I know copper is much better, but it's a real b**** to machine in a CNC mill. Is there something to prevent the "battery" effect that's safe to breathe?

I'll post pics of my block tomorrow when I can take some pictures.

[Diggrr]

I use about 1-2 teaspoons of bleach per 2.5 gallon jug. My waterblocks are all copper though, I don't know if aluminum would react with bleach or not. It sure does with galvanised metals (zinc).

Since I use a bong with copper blocks and brass fittings, there is no battery effect (brass is partly copper), the shower helps break the circuit, and the radiator is no longer a problem. The bleach is enough so that the bong has stayed clear for a month or so now, but not enough to smell it. I have lights in the bottom of the bong and a see through filter, so I would know if it were nasty in there.

If you were to use nylon hose barbs, you'd have no battery effect corrosion either (no other metal to react with).

Happy hunting!

[MadMan007]

come on now, SOMEONE has got to give the 'obvious' answer to this question soon...

[juliendogg]

there is a nontoxic form of glycol antifreeze used in rv's and campers to winterize the water holding tank and lines when the system isn't in use, it even tastes good so that you don't have to worry about cleaning the lines when you fill it up in the spring. the active chemical is propylene glycol vs. etylene glycol for automotive antifreeze, it protects to -50 in case you ever wanna pelt or something and you can use it diluted or straight as it's viscosity is only a little thicker than water. i've been running my bong now for over a week with a 50/50 propylene glycol and water mix. i'm hoping the thermal properties will equal that of ethylene glycol or water wetter. it's safe and anti corrosive for all metals and plastics. you can get it at any auto store or department store, it's pink.

[smudged]

i find toothpaste normally adds a........ oh water cooling right. Err don't have one yet but i am definately considering my options in the area

[Tecumseh]

IF you don't have different metals in your system, there can
be no galvanic corrosion.

Even the non-toxic stuff is no good to breath. There is
no additive that I personally think is safe. You probably
do want to fill your system with distilled water. Monsters
will take longer to establish themselves it it.

[Spec_Ops2087]

jeez guys a little unpolite don't you think....guess it is up to me eh

WELCOME TO THE FORMS



Spec

[rivercom9]

I dont think that if I had a bong that I would put additives into the water. Id just stick with water, and make sure to check up on the bong every once in a while. This is one of the drawbackls of using a bong.

[Roger24]

Put something in it that will give you a buzz. Then the bong will both do the job that bongs were originally designed for, as well as cool your computer
j/k

[RoadWarrior]

Bleach and aluminum don't mix, you'll get chlorine gas and corrode the ally quick.

You'll notice a lot of bleach cleaners specifically warn "do not use on aluminum"

I'd try baking soda maybe.

regards,

Road Warrior

[rivercom9]

Well, baking soda might form Co2 gas if it comes into contact with acid. Figuring that bleach is highly basic, wouldnt baking soda, which is also basic would have an effect on the aluminum just like bleach?

[Ghastard]

Wow, thanks for your input guys!

I think that I may just use nylon barbs so I don't have to worry about the aluminum corroding. I think I've heard about the bleach/aluminum problem that RoadWarrior mentioned, but forgot about it. Good thing it was mentioned, I was planning on using a little bleach.

For now I'll probably just use distilled water. It's safe as long as I change it every so often, and I don't have to worry about inhaling crap.

I thing that I'm going to start a new thread describing the water block I've made in a few minutes, I have some pictures to post.

Oh, and thanks for the warm welcome Spec_Ops!

[rivercom9]

Good luck and happy OCing.

[RoadWarrior]

Yeah, baking soda is a base, but somehow I think it's not as bad with aluminum, I think it might be a reactivity order kind of thing, at least they use aluminum cans for soda water, and I think I've seen baking soda toothpaste in rolled aluminum tubes. Maybe they laquer them though. Aluminum baking pans are popular, never noticed them getting particular chemical damage when used with a mix containing baking soda. However, I guess one should test everything with scrap metal before risking it to one's system.

Road Warrior

[rivercom9]

Yeah, Im just not too sure on baking soda's reactivity with aluminum.

[Accursius]

or you can use brass barbs.....hehe

[MiseryQ]

A few drops of antibacterial dish soap works rather good... dON'T ADD TOO MUCH LIKE i DID ONCE...:d... oops...

Still you'll have to change your water, I could keep thesmell down with a couple of drops of Ultra bleach, but there was no help with the Sea Monkeys...

[Silver]

You might go look at walmart or the local pharmacy if you are really intent on putting something in. I did in the beginning. There is a cheap product design to kill bacteria for use in vaporizers and humidifiers. I.E. don't have to worry about breathing it as it is designed for humidifiers/vaporizers which is pretty much what a bong does, humidifies. Of course you use it for the cooling properties.

[Wolfe]

use bleach or something and simply duct the output of your bong out a window or something. if the air goes somewhere that it cant effect you, the problem is solved

[RoadWarrior]

Well some of you guys would happily wear gas masks indoors if the chlorine was the only problem with bleach, but it's gonna eat up your toys...... fizzzzzz

[Silver]

Go with the vaporizer stuff for an anti-bacterial. Either that or nothing (which is what I use). Heck it only takes 3 or 4 days to go through five gallons. Good for the furniture in the winter too.

[FIRESTARR357]

i was wondering umm how come you can't just use the stuff they put in fish tanks.my sister said i should use it is there any reason why it would be bad?

[Silver]

If I am going to put in the air (i.e. evap cooling) then I really want something that is designed to be breathed. Now I suspect that the chlorine in water is valid as I know you can do it to drinking water in order to preserve its integrity for drinking purposes for years. I do not however remember the ratio but it is something like 1 to 5 drops per 5 gallons or something to that nature. Might look up mormons and do some searching around as I believe they believe in keeping alot of stores on hand in the event of an emergency and may very well have this info. Another may be some form of camping info type of thing. I would not put much chlorine in with out this info as you are talking about breathing this for extended periods and as previously noted this can cause you some bodily damage. Get the info first.

As for the fish thing, most of the time when we really want to come close to humans on testing we use primates not fish. Fish swim in and breath water with high concentrations of ammonia. Ask sis to try this out for you first and after she has proved this to you for ...oh...say a week, then give it a go.

I did miss (dumb me) that you are not using pvc on the bong. DO NOT USE THE CHLORINE, PERIOD. Now that we have the chlorine resolved, consider this. Many, many, many homes out west use what are called swamp coolers to cool their homes. This is comprised of a unit located outside of the house that has water running down three or four sides getting natural or manmade pads wet. Air is then drawn through this and blown directly into the house. Little vents allow the air to flow through the house as they are spring activated and as the pressure in the room builds up the vent opens and air can get out. These run in thousands, if not millions of homes for 6 or more months a year, day and night. Does this sound like anything to you? Water falling with air blowing through it into a living area? Sounds very, very familiar. The air coming out of the top of the bong? And to think that all of these people use regular tap water (with a toilet type valve on the unit to keep it full automatically) to wet these pads and they breath it for much of the year without any additives what so ever. Look into it. They may be unknown where you live but I assure you that there are several industries thriving on home sales of these units as they cool the house as much as 40 f and cost virtually nothing to run. You are okay breathing the air from your bong with no additives. BTW some of these house units are plastic, some are sheet steel and some have some aluminum components. Don't put anything in the water. If you would like more info on these then do a search on "Swamp Coolers" or "Home Evaporative Cooling".

[Ghastard]

After hearing what Silver said about the swamp coolers, I've been thinking about whether it would actually be benificial to use regular tap water in my system. I know that tap water is safe, and the people who control what goes into it know a lot more about safe additives than me. There will always be the problem of corrosion, but since I'm using an aluminum block with a pvc bong connected with nylon barbs, I'm pretty sure the only thing I would really have to worry about is buildup of crap.

The benifits of tap over distilled water seem to convince me I'll just go with the cheap route. Tap water is designed to resist buildup of nasty bugs, which is my main concern if I'm going to be sitting next to the exhaust. Every couple months I could probably just use a strong cleaner to remove crap that has built up.

I could be completely wrong with this idea though, so correct any mistakes I may have.

[rivercom9]

Why dont you test it out. Hve a glass of tap and a glass of distilled and set them out somewhere where they are likely to have a buildup of crap and see which one is better for you.

[Silver]

Do a little checking around on swamp coolers and thee shall sleep much better.

Run mine for the last year in this small 3 bedroom apartment (4 kids, wife and I) on tap water and yes there is a little build up in the head. Have to clean it now and again. change the water res about once a month. Took my old dd block apart and there was absolutely no mineral build up after about six months but then this does make sense as it is very seldom exposed to air (unlike the spray head). Minerals tend to deposit at the head openings. Bacteria wise I would think that the tap water would do better (though marginally) as it does contain chlorine (easily substantiated with a cheap pool chlorine test kit) and the distilled does not. Ain't paying for distilled water at 4 or so gallons a week. If I had to do that I would go to a sealed system. BTW have the line out of the water block drop slightly below the height of the water block before it climbs up the bong and use a five gallonwater bucket like a paint bucket or something along those lines (round cooler) as this keeps the water block with water in it constantly and does not expose air to it, thus aiding in keeping minerals in suspension.

[michael westen]

there is even one better solution that will work, I think don’t ad anything to the water at all and use one of those UV TL they use in clean room’s and lab's 99.9% of the bug's hate it because there body cant stand it, and they will die a harebell dead by "sun" burning hehehe

[Lou Natic]

Tap water in alot of areas, even though filtered, still have alot of dissolved minerals that can build-up over time (ie hard water). In the case of hard water, the dissolved stuff is mineral salts of calcium and magnesium. If the water is "softened" using water softeners, that process involves using sodium chloride to displace the calcium ion which basically results in the loss of the calcium but a good amount of common salt (NaCl) remains. I don't know of the corrosive properties of the calcium and magnesium salts, but common salt is alittle corrosive even suspended in solution.

Not to meantion fluoride, considering alot of counties and municipal districts employ fluoridiation of the water supply. Fluoride is corrosive, and has been documented to have caused millions in damage to water pipes annually where the level of fluoridation is high.

Distilled water, although more expensive than tap, is a much safer bet in the long run.

[michael westen]

howe a bout this

[Silver]

Originally posted by Lou Natic

Not to meantion fluoride, considering alot of counties and municipal districts employ fluoridiation of the water supply. Fluoride is corrosive, and has been documented to have caused millions in damage to water pipes annually where the level of fluoridation is high.

Distilled water, although more expensive than tap, is a much safer bet in the long run.

Won't disagree with you on any of the points but if it is alright will add a little. The minerals do build up, that is the nature of the beast however no more so than the dust, dirt, etc that are introduced through the fan blowing air into the stream. Changing out the water in the system on a regular basis is required. Not bad as distilled water over the course of a month would cost what at 1/2 gallon a day? Cost effective for my labor on off time.

Flouride (florine) is deadly in much quantity. What is it ..something like one drop will kill an elephant. Of course the habit of using "pure water" is claimed by the government to have resulted in a drastic rise in dental disease due to the lack of floride intake.

Tap water is federally regulated..distilled water...(really like those water filter deals outside of grocery stores, these are claimed to be unregulated and changed out at operators will. Bacterial growth in these units is shown to be on average much higher than anything you get out of taps in america). Now we know that most use tap water in vaporizers for the sickies in the home. We also know that the vaporizer requires (per its instructions) minerals in order to operate effectively. Furthermore should it not then the directions tell you to add a little salt in order to allow it to function correctly. Added a little too much one time and it steams like a bear. This along with the use of swamp coolers on a large scale kind of negates the issue of air born tap water being hazardous to your health.

As for the corrosive behavior of tap water and its mineral/contents. There is no denying this. Had to replace the swamp cooler every ten years or so as the sheet steel would corrode and start leaking. This almost invariably occurred where air was allowed to come into contact with the water as it dried. Looking at my system after a year on city water (lake water) I find the block four brass fittings, two copper line splitters and one zinc (?) garden type head. The only parts exposed to air (except during cleaning) is one brass fitting and the garden head. The garden head is of course showing some corrosive type of reaction after a year. It is not however degraded to a point that it needs to be replaced and I suspect most of the degradation is a result of me placing it in vinegar when I want to dissolve the minerals blocking the little holes. The part is easy and cheaply replaced (need to look for a better way to clean it). This and one brass fitting are the only metal components regularly exposed to air. The head of course during the run time and the brass when the bong is shut down. The only part showing any where or deposit of any sort is the head. I did not mention that all other parts are either pvc, silcone,vinyl or plastic. This setup on tap water will by far out live my system.

By using a five gallon bucket with a 4" hole in the secured top and passing the bong tube all the way down the bucket to its base I gain stability and the ability to have a large resevoir with a higher water level thereby keeping more of the system "charged" with water. by haveing the block exit tube slightly droop below the level of the water blck the blaock itself stays charged with water whenever the system is off. Now as there is very little exposed metal surface in the off or running state then air has little impact on the system. Kind of like keeping a glass of water full by putting a lid on it. You do not get much in the way of minerals falling out and attaching to the surface unless the water is allowed to evap (or by adding caustic) there are virtually no minerals dropping out. This of course allow the minerals to stay in suspension. Now I agree with the fact that mineral content will increase in the water and therefore the system needs to be flushed with clean water on occasion and one must also agree that there is a measure of mineral exhausted in the "sprites" that exist to some degree at the bong exit.

One more note on the 4" pvc in the bucket, use a cheap 3/4" bit to cut a series of holes in the part in the water or you will have limited water flow for the pump out of the res.

Though florine appears to be frightening consider that millions drink it and breath it in a very small quantity daily as previously noted. Also consider that the common apple contains acetone (naturally occurring and refered to till rescently under one common name of nail polish remover) and are eaten by many.

The maze 2 I took apart contained absolutely no salts visible to the eye after six months of use. Exposed (read outside of case and exposed to light) have a slight greenish tint (ever see this in your aquarium?). Inner hoses show no such algae growth (no light). Probably ought to put a drop or two of chlorine in one day to clean up the algae but then after a year this is to be expected.