Best clear coolant on the market?

[OG_Mega]

Hey all, at the final stages of my build and need to decide on which liquid I'm going to use. 

 

I've read distilled water with biocide, Mayhems XT-1 clear, or EK cryofuel clear.

 

I'm using chrome plated copper tubing, and bitspower black sparkle fittings if it matters. 

 

Any suggestions are helpful, thanks! 

[GabeThePCHelper]

Distilled water.

[knightslugger]

I agree with using DW for coolant. 

[OG_Mega]

delete

[OG_Mega]

 

6 minutes ago, GabeThePCHelper said:

Distilled water.

 

4 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

I agree with using DW for coolant. 

Is it purely distilled water, or do I need to add a biocide, anti-corrosive, etc? 

 

Another thread / user suggested: 

66% battery distilled water 33% ethylene glycol antifreeze 50/50 premix.

[GabeThePCHelper]

Just now, OG_Mega said:

 

 

Is it purely distilled water, or do I need to add a biocide, anti-corrosive, etc? 

Pure distilled water normally does the trick, not a watercooling expert but I've seen lots and lots of people have their coolants gunk up their loop. DW is the one that won't gunk up your loop, and just make sure to flush every 1-2 months.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

43 minutes ago, GabeThePCHelper said:

Pure distilled water normally does the trick, not a watercooling expert but I've seen lots and lots of people have their coolants gunk up their loop. DW is the one that won't gunk up your loop, and just make sure to flush every 1-2 months.

The only reason you can get gunk in your loop is if you are using the older pastel coolants or anti-freeze like during the days of water cooling old. Modern coolant is pretty much just distilled water, concentrate (additive) and some dye if it's colored.

 

Just distilled water is fine for short periods of time but if you let it run for a long period of time, you will eventually get algae build up due to the heat. If you just want to run distilled water, I suggest to add some additive like EK Cryofuel concentrate or XSPC concentrate to prevent any organic build up in the loop. Just make sure to get the recommended ratio right.

 

Buying coolant like Cryofuel Premix will save you the hassle of mixing the concentrate with the distilled water but it does cost more.

 

And in case someone brings up the fact that LTT only uses tap water in their builds, they only use it for a very short period of time and disassemble those builds after they're done filming so they don't really need the anti-baterial inhibitors.

 

Also, see a timestamped source below: Jayztwocents, my go-to for watercooling.

 

[Mick Naughty]

Distilled water is best. Isn’t a debate. Add an anti corrosive agent. Like pc nuke or utopia. 

[knightslugger]

1 hour ago, OG_Mega said:

 

 

Is it purely distilled water, or do I need to add a biocide, anti-corrosive, etc? 

 

Another thread / user suggested: 

66% battery distilled water 33% ethylene glycol antifreeze 50/50 premix.

no need for anti-corrosive since all your metals are copper. no need for EG either. if you want to add some (eg: hardly any at all) colloidal silver go ahead. That should kill off any bacteria or algae. not sure how long you're planning to go between maintenance periods though, and DW is cheap as hell and is an effective coolant. no need to make a loop any more expensive than it already is...

[andrewmp6]

14 hours ago, knightslugger said:

no need for anti-corrosive since all your metals are copper. no need for EG either. if you want to add some (eg: hardly any at all) colloidal silver go ahead. That should kill off any bacteria or algae. not sure how long you're planning to go between maintenance periods though, and DW is cheap as hell and is an effective coolant. no need to make a loop any more expensive than it already is...

Depends if his blocks are copper or nickel plated.I have heard nickle plated needs a anti-corrosive in it but not sure if that is true or not.

[OG_Mega]

5 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

Depends if his blocks are copper or nickel plated.I have heard nickle plated needs a anti-corrosive in it but not sure if that is true or not.

@knightslugger

 

The Heatkiller IV Pro is Nickle-plated copper: http://shop.watercool.de/epages/WatercooleK.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/WatercooleK/Products/18001

 

Not sure what the FTW3 Hydrocopper is: https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=400-HC-1489-B1

 

How long between maintenance periods would you suggest? I'm trying to be as hands off as possible for the longest periods of time. I know I'll have to maintenance every once in a while, but not trying to do it once every month or two

[knightslugger]

3 hours ago, OG_Mega said:

@knightslugger

 

The Heatkiller IV Pro is Nickle-plated copper: http://shop.watercool.de/epages/WatercooleK.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/WatercooleK/Products/18001

 

Not sure what the FTW3 Hydrocopper is: https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=400-HC-1489-B1

 

How long between maintenance periods would you suggest? I'm trying to be as hands off as possible for the longest periods of time. I know I'll have to maintenance every once in a while, but not trying to do it once every month or two

twice a year maybe? Use the tubes as a visual indication of condition. if it looks clear, it's fine. start seeing lots of junk in there... time for maintenance.

 

DW was good enough for liquid cooling back in the day... absolutely nothing has changed.

[OG_Mega]

36 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

twice a year maybe? Use the tubes as a visual indication of condition. if it looks clear, it's fine. start seeing lots of junk in there... time for maintenance.

  

 DW was good enough for liquid cooling back in the day... absolutely nothing has changed.

 

Is the reservoir a good indication? My tubes are copper plated so can't see the liquid throughout them. 

 

All else aside, as long as I change the pure DW every 4-6 months everything should be running fine and dandy? 

[knightslugger]

36 minutes ago, OG_Mega said:

 

Is the reservoir a good indication? My tubes are copper plated so can't see the liquid throughout them. 

 

All else aside, as long as I change the pure DW every 4-6 months everything should be running fine and dandy? 

that'd be fine. If you wanted to make absolutely sure nothing grows inside the loop, a few drops or a teaspoon of colloidal silver will ensure nothing grows in that environment.

[OG_Mega]

3 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

that'd be fine. If you wanted to make absolutely sure nothing grows inside the loop, a few drops or a teaspoon of colloidal silver will ensure nothing grows in that environment.

Have a link?

[knightslugger]

Just now, OG_Mega said:

Have a link?

honestly? make it yourself... If you can build this:

 

 

You can make GALLONS of it with very little silver.

[OG_Mega]

8 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

honestly? make it yourself... If you can build this:

 

 

You can make GALLONS of it with very little silver.

Yeah ... probably not going to do that unfortunately lol

[andrewmp6]

Silver and nickel plating do not mix well.It will eat the nickel plating off in time.Silver and di stick to copper only blocks.If you want nickel blocks then stick to a clear coolant any brand you like.As far as coolant changes can very from 6 months to 2 years.It all depends on how hot the loop gets and even if you cleaned it right before hand.There is coolants like koolance 701/705 that will last 2 years but you pay more for that coolant because of it

[knightslugger]

I have not heard that. A .45 Anodic Index value delta between Chromium (the brightening finish used on nickel) and silver in a controlled environment is perfectly acceptable. even if it was bare nickel, the delta drops to near zero.

[OG_Mega]

4 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

Silver and nickel plating do not mix well.It will eat the nickel plating off in time.Silver and di stick to copper only blocks.If you want nickel blocks then stick to a clear coolant any brand you like.As far as coolant changes can very from 6 months to 2 years.It all depends on how hot the loop gets and even if you cleaned it right before hand.There is coolants like koolance 701/705 that will last 2 years but you pay more for that coolant because of it

 

35 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

I have not heard that. A .45 Anodic Index value delta between Chromium (the brightening finish used on nickel) and silver in a controlled environment is perfectly acceptable. even if it was bare nickel, the delta drops to near zero.

Ultimately, I think I want to add a clear concentrate or something else to the loop as a precautionary measure. With that in mind, is there something that you'd all suggest that I can just purchase and mix with the DW? 

[knightslugger]

mayhems or Cryofuel clear. either will do just fine.

[OG_Mega]

Just now, knightslugger said:

mayhems or Cryofuel clear. either will do just fine.

I've read that XT-1 has a longer life than X1, would you suggest one over the other?

 

PS: I have another thread going where we're figuring out where to put the drain port. Mind if I tag you into that if you have any suggestions? Following a YouTube build to the tee, but it doesn't seem like the build had one. It's confusing the hell out of me

[knightslugger]

4 minutes ago, OG_Mega said:

I've read that XT-1 has a longer life than X1, would you suggest one over the other?

 

PS: I have another thread going where we're figuring out where to put the drain port. Mind if I tag you into that if you have any suggestions? Following a YouTube build to the tee, but it doesn't seem like the build had one. It's confusing the hell out of me

i'm not very well read up on your thread, but i will chime in if i have something for you.

[SolarNova]

On 4/11/2019 at 7:43 PM, GabeThePCHelper said:

Distilled water.

This.

 

I ran my loop for 4 years without a flush with just distilled and biocide. Now while the water remained clear, when i broke down my blocks they had corroded somewhat, not bad mind you, but they did corrode. So make sure to also add anti corrosion inhibitor as well.

 

My new loop now runs Distilled + Biocide + Inhibitor.

 

Spoiler

Mayehms do everything u need. "Ultra Pure H20" is their distilled, and they also have a Biocide concentrate, and inhibitor concentrate.

[OG_Mega]

10 minutes ago, SolarNova said:

This.

 

I ran my loop for 4 years without a flush with just distilled and biocide. Now while the water remained clear, when i broke down my blocks they had corroded somewhat, not bad mind you, but they did corrode. So make sure to also add anti corrosion inhibitor as well.

 

My new loop now runs Distilled + Biocide + Inhibitor.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Mayehms do everything u need. "Ultra Pure H20" is their distilled, and they also have a Biocide concentrate, and inhibitor concentrate.

So essentially grab some DW, some biocide (Mayhems Biocide Extreme Concentrate, 15mL https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0067I78VS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lpFSCb58Y4S6C) , and an inhibitor concentrate (http://www.performance-pcs.com/mayhems-inhibitor-15ml.html) , and I’ll be good to go?