Corrosive fluids?

[dimmreaper]

I have been running tap water with an aluminum water block and copper cored heatercore setup for about a month. (I know makes a great battery) I have been having problems with slime. I keep adding lots of alcohole which has helped me get a little cooler. But there is still floats growing in their. So I added a little bleach, just a few drops. Will this corrode my waterblock or heatercore? Will It make the battery situation any worse? I know I need to switch to distilled water and anti-freeze. But I'm still working on my sealed resivor. No sense in switching until then.

 

[Big Mike]

You should be ok, you could just dump it and use tap water with antifreeze, its formulated to kill off most gunk and prevent corrosion. Keep in mind if your water supply isnt sealed the slime is all but inevitable.

 

[dimmreaper]

Thanks Mike:

Do you water cool?

I have seen the light.... and never again will I return to the darkness!

 

[Upptown]

Check the pet store. There's lots of products out there to slow the slime in the fish tank. If it won't kill the fish it certainly can't be that bad for that battery you call a cooler. What I'm really interest in is what the inside of that thing will look like after a year of bimetallic corrosion!

 

[dimmreaper]

Upptown (Dec 18, 2000 08:04 p.m.):
Check the pet store. There's lots of products out there to slow the slime in the fish tank. If it won't kill the fish it certainly can't be that bad for that battery you call a cooler. What I'm really interest in is what the inside of that thing will look like after a year of bimetallic corrosion!

It will not be like this for a year. Just a few more days. I have my new resivor, just have to mod it to make it work.

 

[Fink]

Bleach is a bunch of different emulsifiers, some perchloric acid and hypochlorite. All of which has multiple counterions, typically sodium and lithium. Ions = electrolytes = bigger battery. The bleach will kill off the gunk, but the rest of the salts contained in the solution will convert your water into a very good conductor. Dump it out now!

I would agree with previous posters. Dump the water, flush at least 3 times with deionized - not distilled - water then add 1oz/quart of Redline waterwetter and/or 10-20% antifreeze. I would also seriously consider changing your tubing, the alcohol will have leeched out plasticizers, making them either brittle or really soft - it will depend on the composition of the piping material. IF you can find Tygon tubing, that would be the best thing to replace the tubing with. Better check your waterblock/radiator and make sure that corrosion has not compromised their integrity.

 

[ploop]

The only new thing I'd have to add to all of that is the fact that bleach LOVES aluminum. As in, for lunch! I agree with everyone else, dump it ASAP! If not for anything else, the bleach content. Depending on how thick the aluminum section is and how much bleach you added, expect a hole in about 1-2 weeks.

 

[dimmreaper]

I got off my butt and finished the closed resivor.... I am now running about 10% anti-freeze 90% distilled water. It's working good. 8)

 

[Murphy]

Solution:

As a chemist I can tell you (as you've seen above) this is a very bad idee. Good watersoluble salts make excelent electrolytes. Example:

Cu(s) + 4H+ +2ClO- ==> 2Cl(aq/g) + Cu2+ + 2H20(l)

Same for alu. More reactions possible. The coolant must, certainly in contact with alcohol get very funky collors, green, blue or grey, whatever. Flush your watercooling set very good and use deminiralised water (and some water wetter).

Only have chemical experience, not (yet) with water cooling. I am building my first setup, I have a alu radiator from an old ford and a big alu block. If watercooling my athlon 500 is a succes, maybe I get some better stuf. GORB isn't satisfactionairy enough.

Keep on overclocking!

 

[dimmreaper]

Fink (Dec 18, 2000 09:06 p.m.):
I would agree with previous posters. Dump the water, flush at least 3 times with deionized - not distilled - water then add 1oz/quart of Redline waterwetter and/or 10-20% antifreeze. I would also seriously consider changing your tubing, the alcohol will have leeched out plasticizers, making them either brittle or really soft - it will depend on the composition of the piping material. IF you can find Tygon tubing, that would be the best thing to replace the tubing with. Better check your waterblock/radiator and make sure that corrosion has not compromised their integrity.

I did not use typical PVC tubing when I threw this together, I used some good stuff. Not sure what its make of, but it's good stuff. It's fuel hose use on chainsaws. It costs about $4 a foot. The stuff is very very hardcore. Battery acid will not even melt it! Oddly it's kind of rubbery. It has not hardened any in the last month I've been using the alcohol, it's fine.

 

[OddOne]

One possibility for preventing microbial growth is the algae-killer used for - of all things - waterbeds! I don't know what the negatives are of usign a touch of it as a growth reducer/preventer in this application though. Maybe when I feel brave or foolhardy I'll flush my system again and try some.

oO, running alcohol/water in a closed-loop all-copper system...

 

[CFusion]

Corrosive fluids? URL for COOLANT

http://data-detective.com/overclock/new_page_1.htm

that's a recipe for good coolant...you can get water wetter at your local auto store.

 

[dimmreaper]

Here is a pic of my fancy resivor. I drilled three holes in the lid of a 2quart plastic jar. Cut the plug off the pumps cord. Ran the cord through on of the holes. Put a new plug on the cord. Cut the tube part of a pic pen in half. Poked the two halves through the remaining two holes. Glued the tubes in place. See pic for finished product. Cheap and professional, not often I get to use these words together.