[D] Loop Maintenance

[Ghost]

This is the fourth weekly discussion topic. For more discussions and an explanation of them click HERE.

 

This weeks discussion is about loop maintenance. Lots of people that are considering water-cooling are often unsure about it. So;

• How often do you service your own loop?
  
• What do you do during the servicing?
  
• How much does it cost you to service your loop?
  

You can talk about how long it takes, is it messy, etc.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

I personally don't really service my loop on a regular basis. I mostly do it when I need to take the loop apart because I'm adding something to the loop, etc. Last time I did it I was changing case. 

 

When servicing my loop I change all the tubing and coolant, flush out my rads and blocks to get rid of any dyes in it and then I put it all back together. I usually have to dedicate a day to it to do it properly without rushing.

[Volbet]

I maintained my loop 6-7 month ago, because i switch to a new graphicscard. I usually try to maintain it once every year (give or take a couple of month). 

When I maintain it I just change the coolent and flush out my blocks and rads with a mixture of vinegar and hot water for 24 hours. So the whole process takes me a day and a half to two days.

[goodforyou19]

i maintain it roughly half a year, but thats usually because i am adding/changing something.

i usually change all the tubes, the water, the kill coil, flush out the rad and blocks, and thats about it.

tubing tube, water and kill coil is maybe 7-10 dollars? depending on if i want to change the type of tubing... still not able to find 1 like and want to stick with yet.

[Akula]

• How often do you service your own loop?

6-Months maximum

• What do you do during the servicing?

Completely drain the loop, clean all blocks, re-tube the loop & re-fill

• How much does it cost you to service your loop?

Because i re-tube & re-fill, normally it will cost me about $40.

[timothy]

I maintain my loop about every 6 months 

 

In the maintenance i change my coolant and tubing 

[BroKenFingers]

Never seem to be able to keep my hands out of my system long enough..when I do open it up..I re-tube,clean the block and change the H2o and go again..'sigh'...never really thought about how much "just maintenance would be.."..always spending more for the reason why I am in my system in the first place... :rolleyes:

[Scottywelsh16]

Just done mine after 10 months

Looked like it was still running clean tho

I get a fish tank pump and filter combo, detach my loop from the res and attach it to the Pump/Filter

let it run through the loop for 8 hours to make sure nothing is stuck

Then replace the liquid and kill coils.

[mybeat]

> How often do you service your own loop?

8 months to a year, unless there's something wrong with temps or I'm swapping components. 
> What do you do during the servicing?
Remove the tubing, clean out the blocks, flush the rads with boiled water first, then with distilled.

>How much does it cost you to service your loop?

20 euros if I don't have spare tubing and coolant.

[Whaler_99]

I typically do one at most one a year, sooner if swapping...

 

Drain coolant, replacing tubing.

Check all fittings and barbs for any sign of corrosion or rust.

I pull out the rad and fans. Rads I blow out with compressed air then flush for a few hours or until dye color is gone. Fans I blow out and make sure the blades are all clean.

Also will flush CPU and GPU blocks along with the res...

 

Reassemble, run another leak test and good to go...

 

I typically plan two days to do all this. New coolant, tubing and fresh can of air - $40-$50...

[gatecrasherlok]

I do mine every 6-9 months.

Like many above I have a pond pump and a filter which I attach to radiators, blocks and so forth and give each piece a good 3-4 hour filter cycle. If blocks require dismantling and a good deep clean then it will be done and put through the filter cycle again before reassembling loop.

If anything it may be overkill but I've had no problems previously and it gives me peace of mind.

All in all, leisurely can take a 2 days.

[JordanMac]

was planning to do maintenance once a year but im making changes to the loop after 6 months so i'll so the maintenance. 

I drain the loop, replace coolant with vinegar/water solution and set loop going for a few hours to flush the system, i do this a couple of times then use distilled water. it only costs me £20 for new coolant, £10 for distilled water and like £2 for cheap vinegar.

[Ghost]

and like £2 for cheap vinegar.

I prefer to use citric acid. You buy it as a powder/granules so its easier to store,  its cheaper and you can control the concentration of the acid more easily.

[JordanMac]

I prefer to use citric acid. You buy it as a powder/granules so its easier to store,  its cheaper and you can control the concentration of the acid more easily.

thanks for the tip, that does seem better as it will be purer acid. plus you don't look like a weirdo buying 5 liters of vinegar.... 

[gatecrasherlok]

thanks for the tip, that does seem better as it will be purer acid. plus you don't look like a weirdo buying 5 liters of vinegar.... 

You got something against us buying mass amounts of vinegar

[JordanMac]

You got something against us buying mass amounts of vinegar

i just feel weird when the only thing i buy from a super market is several liter bottles of 39p vinegar....

[Mecael]

I maintained my loop 6-7 month ago, because i switch to a new graphicscard. I usually try to maintain it once every year (give or take a couple of month). 

When I maintain it I just change the coolent and flush out my blocks and rads with a mixture of vinegar and hot water for 24 hours. So the whole process takes me a day and a half to two days.

 

When you flush with water/vinegar do you flush manually or fill it up and let the pump flush then drain and rinse with water?

[Volbet]

When you flush with water/vinegar do you flush manually or fill it up and let the pump flush then drain and rinse with water?

I start with filling the rads with the mixture and shaking them. There after I fill the loop with the mixture and let it run in the loop for 24ish hours, and then I empty the loop and refill it demineralized water and let that run for about 2 hours. Then I empty it againg, and put into my case againg and fill it with demineralized water a final time.

[legopc]

i have never cleaned my loop :L i only had it in my pc for about 4 months 

[gatecrasherlok]

i just feel weird when the only thing i buy from a super market is several liter bottles of 39p vinegar....

Which supermarket you use?

 

39p is well cheap. last ime i bought mine, they were 69p from sainsburys. I'm guessing ASDA or Tesco?

[JordanMac]

Which supermarket you use?

 

39p is well cheap. last ime i bought mine, they were 69p from sainsburys. I'm guessing ASDA or Tesco?

ASDA, i wouldn't want to put that stuff on my chips though!

[gatecrasherlok]

LOL that is true, chips would probably tatse better with domestos