Should i fill up my loop with Lorch LCL 30 (welding machine) coolant?

[RollinLower]

Well hello there!

 

It's that time again. the time to change out the old coolant in my watercooled rig for some fresh one.

 

right now i got it filled up with demi-water with added biocide to manage the PH. this way i won;t have growth, and the demiwater won't degrade my waterblocks.

as good as a solution this has proven to be over time, i feel like this coolant might actually be better? it's the same coolant i use for the machines i work with as service engineer for welding machines/robotics.

 

the label reads:

-antifreeze till -30 celcius

-prevents corrosion

-good lubrication characteristics (so basically good for the pump!)

-protects pump and tank against lime (wtf is lime anyway? i bet they don't mean the fruit)

-counters against germ foundation

 

these are all just very good things for a coolant to have. so should i top up my (quite expensive) waterloop with this stuff? or should i go with the tried and true demiwater/biocide setup again?

Edited May 16, 2019 by RollinLower
Added pics

[GrockleTD]

Dunno, but lime is stone that is dissolved in water from the ground

[Nocte]

8 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

protects pump and tank against lime (wtf is lime anyway?

Most likely meant "limestone" 

[GrockleTD]

Just now, Nocte said:

Most likely meant "limestone" 

Limestone is easily dissolved in water by streams and stuff, lime is just shorter.

honestly, if it’s an option, test it in a cheaper loop, but I wouldn’t in your main PC, the biscuit is not worth the risk

[RollinLower]

3 minutes ago, Grockle88 said:

Limestone is easily dissolved in water by streams and stuff, lime is just shorter.

honestly, if it’s an option, test it in a cheaper loop, but I wouldn’t in your main PC, the biscuit is not worth the risk

well, i do actually have a server that i'm in the middle of watercooling. all it needs is a proper PSU to be fully functional. i could just try topping that one up with this stuff.

it's all old cooling parts i have from previous loops too, so nothing expensive. 

 

the thing that's got me curious about this stuff is the lubrication factor. 

welding machines do not have microfins, so the chance of the lubrication filling up a TIG torch or something is pretty much 0. on a PC waterblock tho...

i can't find how viscous this stuff is anywhere. when you pour it it is basically water, but could this mean that there will be buildup in the block overtime?

[GrockleTD]

25 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

well, i do actually have a server that i'm in the middle of watercooling. all it needs is a proper PSU to be fully functional. i could just try topping that one up with this stuff.

it's all old cooling parts i have from previous loops too, so nothing expensive. 

 

the thing that's got me curious about this stuff is the lubrication factor. 

welding machines do not have microfins, so the chance of the lubrication filling up a TIG torch or something is pretty much 0. on a PC waterblock tho...

i can't find how viscous this stuff is anywhere. when you pour it it is basically water, but could this mean that there will be buildup in the block overtime?

Possibly, but it could also be fine, but honestly, it would be a neat experiment at the potential risk of your sever’s cooling

[RollinLower]

Test system filled up and running! Really curious about what the Lorch coolant is gonna do. I'm going to let it run for the night and check back in the morning.

[SolarNova]

What it means in regards to Lime, is whats called 'hard water', water with high Lime concentration, nothing wrong with it tbh.

I used to live in a hard water area, drinking water. All it meant was that you would get limescale build up on things like Kettles, and washing machines, and dishwashers. So this coolant would likely break down the limescale somewhat in a system that has used hard water in it in the past.

 

That coolant, is likely a glycol based coolant. Check it to see if it seems slightly thicker than water, like a very very light oil. it should be fine for use in a water loop so long as you have no rubbers/plastics that are comprised of Glycol, like PETG hard tubing.

 

 

[RollinLower]

@SolarNova @GrockleTD 

so here's an update.

turns out the Lorch coolant actually destroys acrylic! who would've thought this was a bad idea? 

guess i'll be running regular old demiwater from now on in all my systems

[For Science!]

20 hours ago, RollinLower said:

 

Most probably due to to the 4% Propanol present in the mixture. Since this appears to at least contain propanol and EG, it basically is limited to no acrylic, no PETG systems. So if you had an full copper tubing, full metal blocks, then it may have worked.

 

http://www.imhof-schweisstechnik.ch/index.php/downloads/category/1-sicherheitsdatenblaetter?download=8:kuehlmittel-lcl-30-1

 

For future refence, here is a handy chart that includes PETG and Acrylic (PMMA) and a bunch of chemicals that you may or may not encounter either in homebrew mixes or commercial coolants. It is always a good idea to check the safety data sheet (SDS) of coolants which typically list the nasty chemicals in them (which are actually required for their function).

 

http://tools.thermofisher.com/content/sfs/posters/LCD-Chemical-Resistance-Guide-GALSPCHEMRESPOSTER-EN.pdf