Cleaning Alphacool Radiators

[BenTan]

I only use isopropyl alcohol to clean the TIM on the outside of the blocks, i was talking about the inside of the block. The flux builds up on the water channels on the inside of the blocks and that must be cleaned too.

 

That "white powdery stuff" is why i use the qtips, to get that off. It is from the flux and just the nature of water cooling on the different materials.

 

You can use sysPrep do help get rid of that too. You just make a loop and put the sysPrep in some distilled water and run it for a while. It works well but IMO you don't need it if you have no problem in braking down your system and cleaning it your self.

 

It depends on the type of dish-washing liquid, some can leave residue and etch the acetal and create another problem. The acidity will just react with the copper in the radiator, it will be fine once you dilute it with distilled water to flush the radiator and not leave it to soak for a long period.

 

I haven't seen you say anything about any green flakes in the reservoir, so i am assuming you never used any PTnuke in your system. 

 

I also would advise you get some Monsoon silver bullets if you don't have them already and put them in any extra ports you have in the loop be it on the reservoir or radiator/s.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

I never used PT Nuke because I was using EK premix, so I assumed that it wouldn't be needed since the Ek mentions on the website that necessary 'treatments' have been included. I've only heard of people using PT nuke or a silver coil for distilled water.

 

The fluid I'm moving on to is the Mayhems Pastel concentrate. Again I'm assuming you don't need PT Nuke or Monsoon Silver bullets since the 'treatments' are already included in the concentrate? I'm just worried about pH since many people have issues with the Pastels changing color. I'm kinda reluctant to do a bicarbonate flush and test for pH since there's no shop nearby that sells pH test strips. But again, I don't want to find my loop changing color in less than 6 months time.

 

About green flakes, I've never had those but after the first few rinses, I saw quite a bit of greenish-blue particles. They don't show up anymore though.

[Leonard]

Thanks for clarifying.

 

I never used PT Nuke because I was using EK premix, so I assumed that it wouldn't be needed since the Ek mentions on the website that necessary 'treatments' have been included. I've only heard of people using PT nuke or a silver coil for distilled water.

 

The fluid I'm moving on to is the Mayhems Pastel concentrate. Again I'm assuming you don't need PT Nuke or Monsoon Silver bullets since the 'treatments' are already included in the concentrate? I'm just worried about pH since many people have issues with the Pastels changing color. I'm kinda reluctant to do a bicarbonate flush and test for pH since there's no shop nearby that sells pH test strips. But again, I don't want to find my loop changing color in less than 6 months time.

 

About green flakes, I've never had those but after the first few rinses, I saw quite a bit of greenish-blue particles. They don't show up anymore though.

If you are using a premix coolant then you don't need the PT Nuke but you can use silver bullets/coils, the silver tends to attract the algae and then you can just clean the coil/bullet. I use PTNuke because i only used distilled water because there are too much issues with colour coolants, especially from Mayhems and i like thinks simple. I have stopped using distilled water and switched to de-ionized water this year with no PCNuke but i do have my kill coil in the reservoir and it looks really clean so far.

 

The greenish-blue particles could come from the vinegar because that is the reaction colour that is produced when they come into contact with each other. 

 

The bicarbonate soda wash is not on my list to be used when PC water-cooling because my sister, who is a laboratory manager/quality control thing-a-ma-jig for more than a decade, says that the bicarbonate of soda will take forever to wash out properly in a radiator because of the nature of the product and the radiator's chambers. If i were you i would run your loop for about a month before putting in the Mayhems dye in your loop to help bring the ph back to normal.

[BenTan]

If you are using a premix coolant then you don't need the PT Nuke but you can use silver bullets/coils, the silver tends to attract the algae and then you can just clean the coil/bullet. I use PTNuke because i only used distilled water because there are too much issues with colour coolants, especially from Mayhems and i like thinks simple. I have stopped using distilled water and switched to de-ionized water this year with no PCNuke but i do have my kill coil in the reservoir and it looks really clean so far.

 

The greenish-blue particles could come from the vinegar because that is the reaction colour that is produced when they come into contact with each other. 

 

The bicarbonate soda wash is not on my list to be used when PC water-cooling because my sister, who is a laboratory manager/quality control thing-a-ma-jig for more than a decade, says that the bicarbonate of soda will take forever to wash out properly in a radiator because of the nature of the product and the radiator's chambers. If i were you i would run your loop for about a month before putting in the Mayhems dye in your loop to help bring the ph back to normal.

I should mention that I'm not using a dye. It's colored concentrate which you mix with water to form the fluid, so I can't add it to the loop without emptying the loop.

 

I could still run with distilled water for a month then empty the loop and refill with the Pastel. Thing is, I have a pretty crappy draining system in my loop so I don't want to have to take it all apart again just to completely get rid of all the fluid in the loop.

[Benji_w]

What tubing did you use in your loop? the white powder could be plasticiser. 

[BenTan]

What tubing did you use in your loop? the white powder could be plasticiser. 

I used Primochill advanced LRT.

[Benji_w]

I used Primochill advanced LRT.

 

in that case it won't be plasticiser.