Cleaning plasticizer?

[JeremyCT]

My loop has been together for ... :cough: ... let's just say longer than typically advisable. I plan to break it down and rebuild it as I (hopefully) add a new component to the system. Flow rates aren't what they used to be, so it certainly seems to be due.

I used Masterkleer PVC tubing, and the plasticizer is pretty much all over everything at this point. Is there a preferred/easy way to clean it? I'll be replacing all the tubing, but I want to get as much off the insides of the block, barbs, pumps, and radiator as humanly possible before I put it back together.

For the rad would doing the rad dance (do we have an emoticon for that yet?) all over again with some vinegar work well enough? What about the pump? The plastics probably wouldn't react nicely to vinegar. Maybe I'm over-complicating things as there won't be much plasticizer remaining on the parts that get re-used, but I'd like to remove if it can be done easily.

On the subject, is there an inexpensive plasticizer-free tubing available in 3/8x 5/8? Primochill Pro LRT seems to be the fan favorite at the moment, but I'm good with anything that works, looks are pretty far down my list of priorities, I'd be fine with black. The Tygon Norprene tubing isn't any deal compared to Primochill (they're close in price from what I see), maybe I just need to pay extra to keep the plasticizers out of my loop?

 

[Conumdrum]

No emoticon, but no Youtube of someone doing it yet either...........

You should open the blocks and pumps etc to clean out the gunk anyway, every year or so.

Looks like you missed the massive memo about LRT clouding quickly now, they made a bad batch, I don't recommend it. Masterklear is fine, not as elegant as Tygon or others. Have you looked at the Danger Den tubing? All tubings build up somewhat.

Vinegar probably won't eat away plasticizer. But it can eat copper/brass, makes it all green forever, used in limited concentrations and not soaked for hours, sure, why not. I use it for blocks at 100% but for only 20 minutes or so. For my rads, I used hot water and dishsoap, lots of rinsing etc. Fill it, let it sit full for an hour, drain 1/2 out, shake youz' booty.

 

[wagex]

to clean plasticizer off rubbing alcohol works real quick like with a toothbrush on blocks and stuff just done get it on any acrylic or plastic stuff if you use it in the rad make sure its fully dry before assembling it and make sure to rinse it all with distilled afterwards i dont think the alcohol would be good for the tubing either but i have used it in my 655 vario pump with no problems

 

[musicfan]

Here was a discussion we had here in May on cloudy tubing with 55 replies. There are posts you may find helpful.

I was able to remove the plasticizer in my CPU block with a toothbrush and soapy water. Never could get it out my mcres because it's hard to get to the inside...but that res is cheap so I got another. Here is a shot of my stained res. Part of our discussion was that so far the problem seems to be mostly cosmetic rather than damaging (other than making a clear reservoir translucent).

My observations, which are limited to my gear and photos from others, is that once clear tubing goes completely cloudy, it is leaching into the coolant. If I see my Primochill that is on now x 5 months go cloudy, I will change my coolant and tubing straight away.

I am becoming a proponent of the pond-pump drinking-water filtration method of cleaning. This should catch much debris in the loop like floating chunks of plasticizer. See the video at the bottom with Lazy Man from West Coast Mods. Let me know if you wish parts # from Home Depot if you wish to use the 5 micron filter method. This cleaning method makes me use less vinegar and lemon juice too. Wish I had had it when I bought my rads.

Good luck on the tubing. Hope you score a good batch.

 

[rustyfender]

im sorry musicfan but to my knowledge plastisizer is white when it deposits. what you have there looks much more like mold than anything else. ive seen the same thing form in camel-backs that were left wet inside.

 

[musicfan]

im sorry musicfan but to my knowledge plastisizer is white when it deposits. what you have there looks much more like mold than anything else. ive seen the same thing form in camel-backs that were left wet inside.

Thank you for commenting. I apologize for not re-taking the photos, giving background, or comparison photos. I re-took the reservoir photo just now after it has had months to dry.

I purposefully do not change my cloudy tubing because cloudy tubing has always made me curious. After my Tygon 3603 clouded white, the plasticizer chunks were blue/white floating around the silver-coil (see photo).

I don't know why my Masterkleer went yellow-brown unlike my Tygon. With both the Tygon (white-blue) and Masterkleer (yellow-brown), I dissected the tubing to find the insides powdery like talc rather than slimy or filamentous like biological growth should be. So without a microscope or culturing for biological growth, that is as certain as I can get.

I replaced the Masterkleer with Primochill tubing in Jan 2012 because my curiosity has limits and this is my primary system. I did 5 micron filtration of all the loop and trapped nothing. I did the full block tear-down in April. So far the replacement Primochill is clear. I have always had silver in the loop (coils or fittings).

There is one photo attached showing the brown Masterkleer with one piece of cloudy white Tygon as the fill-tube up top. I left cloudy Tygon there because the fill line is usually dry and I was curious. Perhaps that photo shows best the white Tygon 3603 versus brown MK. The brown in the res was why I finally changed tubing this time around. And other than an unsightly res, there have been no consequences other than debris in the CPU block that cleaned easily.

Other than my res photo, I saw one unhappy person's thread with black Tygon that looked like my res but black smears. This may clean with a soft rag and soapy water if I could get at it. Or it may work fine as is. I think most sensible water-coolers change tubing sooner than I do. Thanks for your comment and for making me take new photos.

 

[JeremyCT]

Good heavens that brown Masterkleer is nasty!! Mine is white-pinkish, and the pinkish hue is due to the Water Wetter I tossed into the loop to begin with for anti-corrosion. I know it's not required, but it made me feel better.

My loop was distilled, CuSO4, and Water Wetter.

 

[m0r7if3r]

I'm pretty sure Water Wetter does not prevent corrosion

 

[JeremyCT]

It might depend on the brand, there's more than one product that has similar properties, but the Red Line stuff has anti-corrosives in it.

Rust and corrosion protection allows for use of straight water in racing or reduced antifreeze levels in warm climates.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=74&pcid=10

 

[Conumdrum]

Still, not a watercooling thing we want to use, as the Water Wetter went out of favor.

Just no need, but old shool habits from the early adopters is still a blessed thing, otherwise we wouldn't be where we are with all the premade easy parts.

Jeremy hasn't been here forever, but I think he was watercooling a longgg time ago.

 

[RGE]

red line water wetter has alcohol ethers so will increase risk of cracking/leaking using acrylic, such as reservoirs, another reason wouldnt use it since reservoirs more common now vs t-lines in past. And having used distilled and distilled with inhibitors, there is no difference in amount of copper oxidation either with typical inhibitors available to water coolers.

Copper and brass only loop, corrosion/erosion is no different with or without corrosion inhibitors that typically are in premixes or used for auto. Typical auto antifreeze with inhibitors compared to distilled water on brass and copper.

 

[JeremyCT]

My background is automotive/medical, actually.

Has anyone tried the Tygon 2001 product? It's not available in 3/8 x 5/8, only 3/8 x 1/2, but I might be able to make that work if I could find someone that sold it by the foot. It comes in a 50' roll, but pricing varies widely.

 

[RGE]

Tygon 2001 is semitransparent, translucent white tubing just in case you wanted clear. And I wouldnt use 1/16 inch thick tubing like 3/8 1/2, kinks way too easy and imo less secure whichever method used for attachment, worm clamps/compression more likely to cut through thinner tubing. I bought some 1/16 inch by mistake in past, and quit 1/2 way though hooking it up, eventually tossed it.

Tygon beverage tubing (44-x and 43-x) and duralene tubing, while both have plasticizer, neither tends to leach. Martin had pics of duralene in a system for couple years, tubing still looked clear, and it is very cheap.

If I were going plasticizer free, I would probably try 3/8 5/8 in tygon 2375 or tygon E1000. Clearer than tygon 2001, though both expensive near $4.00 per foot. But I would wait and see what people tying that on ocn say about it first.

I would probably try the Duralene, very clear, good flex and 45 cents per foot for 3/8 5/8, and havent seen any say yet that it leaches plasticizer, even though it contains it.