Cleaning rads before installing

[xdeathshot20]

I'm about to build my first custom loop and I just had a question.  I have 2 ek rads and I wanted to know if it is okay to use boiled tap water to clean and flush them out.  I don't have any distilled water.  The guy at microcenter said tap is fine and you probably don't even have to clean them but I'm gonna do it as a precaution

[Mick Naughty]

Well distilled is like 89 cents for a gallon but yea tap water is fine for a quick flush. Id still do my last flush with distilled. But I rarely do any of that. 

[bowrilla]

This also highly depends on the coolant you're using. Some fancy ones are really picky and need a perfectly prepped system or they will flock, go bad, clog your loop, etc. Primochill Vue is one example for a very delicate coolant. It is perfectly fine to make a flush with tap water but don't let it sit in it or store it afterwards. You're risking limescale deposits and corrosion.

 

A thorough first flush with warm tap water is fine, use a good chemical cleaner against fats followed by one against limestone, then another very thorough rinse with warm tap water until all chemicals are flushed out, then a last rinse with distilled water. You should be able to get that stuff at any supermarket, it's either distilled or deionized/demineralized water.

 

If you put the loop directly together you should be ok to skip the last flush with distilled water as I've said before but do not ever skip it if you're using one of those picky coolants. They come with a special sys prep fluid. Use it.

 

A good and thorough preparation reduces the risk of clogged up blocks. 

[bling]

i used warm (not boiled) tap water and white vinegar for cleaning the radiators, but then a flush with distilled water is highly recommended

[ewitte]

tap water has all kinds of metals in it