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Water cooling gloop.

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Rakunarr

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Sep 23, 2022
I’ve had quite the challenging experience with my Z690 system. Everything was running fine for about six months but then my water cooling loop Stopped working. I took out a radiator thinking I had too much resistance and restrictive flow and this marginally helped. So sort of unfortunate series of events, I decided to replace the stock CPU bracket with the thermal right support bracket and in the process I bent a few pins. I corrected the pin placement and was able to get them computer booting but then it began not posting soon after. Basically had nonstop issues with the system. I flushed out the water pump and the CPU block previously and shortened the cooling loop without taking it all apart. Unfortunately my problems persisted. This is the first time in a year that I took everything out of the case and disconnected the water lines from the motherboard and this is what I found; Please see the pictures. Does anyone know what this is? It doesn’t seem like any rust or oxidization process… but it has basically plugged the water cooling loop. I will admit that I don’t remember if I flushed it the motherboard before installing the water cooling for the first time.
 

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What coolant did you use? It looks like gummed up dye. Many people will tell you that I'd you do use colored dye, you must flush the loop at minimum every 6 months. Otherwise the advice here is usually to avoided dyes, using either distilled water or a clear coolant.

Of course it is so critical to ensure that no mixing of aluminum and copper occurred.

For the blocks you'll need to remove them from the computer, take them apart, and clean them out. An old toothbrush is helpful. It is easy to damage, stretch or mis-seat the o-ronfs so extreme care should be taken with them. They can be replaced if needed, but that is in itself a delicate task. The pump and reservoir will also need thorough cleanings.

For your radiator, you'll want to shake them out with hot water just like a new one. Not sure if it will be possible to save them if they are filled with the same jelly, but it's worth trying.

From our Beginners Guide to Water Cooling (see sticky)
Radiator preparation is one oft-missed item. Boil sink water and let it cool for 5 min. Pour into the radiator, filling it up, and let it sit 10 minutes. Drain half of the water or so and shake it till your arms hurt, shaking 3-4 minutes, like a crazy person. Drain into a clear container. Do the “radiator dance” again and again till the water coming out is clear and there is no gunk once the water settles. Then do it two more times. Finally, fill the rad with distilled (or deionized) water and do the rad dance one last time. NOW and only now is your radiator 90% clean. No worries, the last 10% will come out in the next year or two when you redo your loop for maintenance.
 
Thanks for the help. I have another water cooling set up that I used clear fluid and it’s been going strong for 2 1/2 years without any maintenance. Working flawlessly. Thank you for all of the instructions but I think I’ve had enough with tinkering with this computer and motherboard. I May clean out the radiator, but I think I’m going to replace the pump and lines and maybe even cpu block, and store the motherboard away for now.

Seems insane to me that the dye gums up that badly. Never again. It was Corsair xd 5 or 8 red coolant.
 
Yep. This is why I'm constantly repeating what Blay posted. I had that same exact issue with my loop when I used colored fluid. At that time I was using Mayhems. After like 3 months my temps skyrocketed and when I inspected the loop I noticed everything was jellied up.

Took me several hours to clean it all out. I couldn't get the rad clean enough, so I replaced it. From that point on I only use clear distilled water with biocide, and for color I use colored tubing. Not one single issue since. I do my loop maintenance once every year.


OP if you decide to continue using colored fluids/Dyes, then be prepared to perform alot of maintenance to prevent this from happening again.
 
Man I'm glad I saw this. Really sad. Good luck, OP. Your story has helped me, no way will I use dyes in my loop when I get it set up!
Don’t worry man my AMD and Nvidia stock holdings are really weathering the storm👺🤐😵‍💫🎃🤮
 
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