[Pretty much solved] Brown-ish vape PG/VG gunk in my open loop?

[deadher0]

I put this custom loop together for my wife.  We've done quite a few loops in our shop, but this is the first one that will be in my home.  So, long story short:  My wife and I vape a lot.  Like, a lot.  We make our own juice so the clouds never end in our room.  

 

This gunk is after 1 month.  I brought it to my shop because I'm redoing reservoir positioning and redoing some bends and fitting placement. We built this machine out of spare parts I had laying around the shop, so don't be to critical of it..   Then I saw this vape VG/PG gunk in my reservoir.  I will be doing a flush today.  God only knows what's already in my blocks and rads.   Understand that it wasn't until this loop was built that I discovered a critical design flaw, the reservoir placement.  I think the reason we are seeing this is because that reservoir has been sucking air every now and then because of it's position.  It seems this pump/res needs to be straight up and down to operate at a higher RPM otherwise it's sucking / expelling air and the loop never properly pressurizes.  This is why I am fixing this today... but when I started THIS is what I saw D:  

 

My question:  Any thoughts on this?  It may be unsightly, but is it REALLY a problem?  Understand that this build was built for practicality.  We don't have a side window for it or anything so if it's NOT a big deal we'll continue business as usual.  We did it together for fun cuz thats what good married couples do

 

I theorize that after a good flush and proper reservoir/pump placement this issue should be resolved.  Thoughts?

[AMDNeko]

I would definitely Mayhems Blitz it and then make sure all the G1/4 screws are fully tightened...It shouldn't be sucking anything in.

[KenjiUmino]

12 minutes ago, deadher0 said:

Then I saw this vape VG/PG gunk in my reservoir.

i wonder how this is even possible. 

 

are you even sure this brown residue has anything to do with you and your wife steaming up the place all day ?

 

from what i know, vape steam should not leave anything behind at all. 

[deadher0]

45 minutes ago, PPCs-Kat said:

I would definitely Mayhems Blitz it and then make sure all the G1/4 screws are fully tightened...It shouldn't be sucking anything in.

It's 100% verifiable though.  This pump will NOT work unless mounted straight up and down.  The second I lay my machine down to orient the reservoir properly, It will no longer suck air.  I can run the pump at 100% and it won't make a noise.  The second I stand the tower up in the correct position leaving the pump/res in the incorrect position, it spit and sputter and makes a TON of noise.  

[deadher0]

37 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

i wonder how this is even possible. 

 

are you even sure this brown residue has anything to do with you and your wife steaming up the place all day ?

 

from what i know, vape steam should not leave anything behind at all. 

Listen man, I get that a lot of people are gonna be surprised by this...  but I wish I could have you come into my house.  Our room is COATED in VG.  It's on everything.  It gets in the internals, on my monitors, peripherals, everything.  It's been a problem for a long time.  We're constantly having to keep our electronics clean.  After a month, EVERYTHING has a VG film on it.

 

I wish I could show you.  It will trip you out. The pictures below show you her desk and all of her flavorings (these are old pics, she has twice as much now).  Her PC sits right next to it.  

[KenjiUmino]

wow, quite a selection you got there ... 

 

that tank next to the white one looks like my atlantis 2 but the mouthpiece is different ... where did you get that ?

[deadher0]

3 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

wow, quite a selection you got there ... 

 

 

that tank next to the white one looks like my atlantis 2 but the mouthpiece is different ... where did you get that ?

Oh man, this is just stuff we've collected over the past few years.  My wife is the "expert" really.  She's really into the hobby.  I'd have to ask her.

 

But hey, I'm gonna upload a video to demonstrate what I see with this VG in my shop.  I'll link / upload it shortly.    

[Crunchy Dragon]

Shocking as this seems, it may be a good idea to stop vaping....

 

I'll understand if you don't want to, I'm just offering a suggestion

[deadher0]

5 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Shocking as this seems, it may be a good idea to stop vaping....

 

I'll understand if you don't want to, I'm just offering a suggestion

Maybe so.  It's what helped me quit smoking years after I got out of the USMC I smoked like a chimney.  This hobby helped me quit.  

 

You may be right...  But somebody else HAS HAD to run into this... right?  (again, uploading video)  

[KenjiUmino]

5 minutes ago, deadher0 said:

Oh man, this is just stuff we've collected over the past few years.  My wife is the "expert" really.  She's really into the hobby.  I'd have to ask her.

please do. the mouthpiece i got with my tank is rather short and thick but i found out that i prefer longer and thinner pieces. something that does not feel like sucking on a truck exhaust pipe. 

 

 

i can't find a replacement piece that fits this diameter. all the tips i can find are for 510 compatible vapes. 

[KenjiUmino]

anyways ... about the VG covering every surface. i never heard of it and did not know this is a thing. 

 

i used to smoke cigarettes while sitting on my computer and it made the walls yellow and the computer dirty and disgusting (when there is more ashes and dirt in your keyboard than the ash tray ... something is wrong ... and don't get me started on the brown sticky dust buildup inside the tower over time) 

 

so i stopped smoking indoors and switched to vaping on the computer. didn't notice any negative effects yet. (or so i thought) 

 

should i be worried about the VG thing now ? 

[deadher0]

8 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

anyways ... about the VG covering every surface. i never heard of it and did not know this is a thing. 

 

i used to smoke cigarettes while sitting on my computer and it made the walls yellow and the computer dirty and disgusting (when there is more ashes and dirt in your keyboard than the ash tray ... something is wrong ... and don't get me started on the brown sticky dust buildup inside the tower over time) 

 

so i stopped smoking indoors and switched to vaping on the computer. didn't notice any negative effects yet. (or so i thought) 

 

should i be worried about the VG thing now ? 

We know that VG is pretty much non-conductive so you won't blow anything up.  Funny enough, CLCs have a VG base in them as well... that's why I'm not completely freaking out here.  But maybe someone smarter than me can explain if this is really a problem for open loops.  (video almost uploaded demoing my issue)

[deadher0]

Terrible thumbnail, but it gets the job done.  Quality should get better as Youtube processes.  

[InertiaSelling]

I also chain vape in front of my PC whenever I'm at home for an hour or more, and I have never noticed any kind of residue anywhere. That would lead me to think VG isn't the culprit here, especially since your reservoir most likely isn't sucking liters of air every day. I'm using a clear, almost tasteless liquid though. Also, @deadher0 the amount of vials and mods you and your wife have makes me question what "chain vaping" actually means.

[deadher0]

1 minute ago, InertiaSelling said:

I also chain vape in front of my PC whenever I'm at home for an hour or more, and I have never noticed any kind of residue anywhere. That would lead me to think VG isn't the culprit here, especially since your reservoir most likely isn't sucking liters of air every day. I'm using a clear, almost tasteless liquid though. Also, @deadher0 the amount of vials and mods you and your wife have makes me question what "chain vaping" actually means.

I think the difference here is not only the liquid contents but how much we vape.  I mean, you walk into our room and there is a perpetual fog that can last an hour after we leave lol.  

[InertiaSelling]

Just now, deadher0 said:

I think the difference here is not only the liquid contents but how much we vape.  I mean, you walk into our room and there is a perpetual fog that can last an hour after we leave lol.  

Wow. No matter how much fog I spit, it never stays for more than a few minutes. Even if I burn a whole tank. Exactly how much VG do you put in your homemade juice?

[deadher0]

5 minutes ago, InertiaSelling said:

Wow. No matter how much fog I spit, it never stays for more than a few minutes. Even if I burn a whole tank. Exactly how much VG do you put in your homemade juice?

I believe the wife says 70/30

[deadher0]

4 hours ago, KenjiUmino said:

please do. the mouthpiece i got with my tank is rather short and thick but i found out that i prefer longer and thinner pieces. something that does not feel like sucking on a truck exhaust pipe. 

 

 

i can't find a replacement piece that fits this diameter. all the tips i can find are for 510 compatible vapes. 

My wife answered you!

 

[deadher0]

Here is it drained and then cleaned...

[deadher0]

Or maybe I'm going the wrong route completely...  Anybody have additional thoughts on this.  For the record, I did use Primochill's Premium Water Cooling Fluid for the mix, but I did NOT use the Cooling Loop Pre-Treatment that was included.  Maybe I should've?  I use it for client's builds, but I didn't for hers... but I can't see this happening in a month's time, regardless of the bacteria.

 

No worries, I'm DEFINITELY doing a good flush and using the pretreatment loop prep liquid this time around...  but I doubt that would have made a difference.  Honestly, I only have 4 (well, now 5 with hers) PETG custom loops under my belt, so maybe somebody can shed some light here?

[KenjiUmino]

On 8.11.2017 at 12:50 AM, deadher0 said:

My wife answered you!

 

thanks for the answer, but i can't find the adapter anywhere here in germany.

[flibberdipper]

On 11/7/2017 at 7:11 PM, deadher0 said:

Or maybe I'm going the wrong route completely...  Anybody have additional thoughts on this.  For the record, I did use Primochill's Premium Water Cooling Fluid for the mix, but I did NOT use the Cooling Loop Pre-Treatment that was included.  Maybe I should've?  I use it for client's builds, but I didn't for hers... but I can't see this happening in a month's time, regardless of the bacteria.

 

No worries, I'm DEFINITELY doing a good flush and using the pretreatment loop prep liquid this time around...  but I doubt that would have made a difference.  Honestly, I only have 4 (well, now 5 with hers) PETG custom loops under my belt, so maybe somebody can shed some light here?

I'm honestly a bit of a super n00b when it comes to custom loops, but even just working on the automotive side of liquid cooling, its always in your best interest to do a proper clean after slapping stuff together before actually throwing it into service so that you don't get any funky stuff goin' on. Obviously cars are a bit more tolerant (kinda silly to do a full flush after replacing a little radiator hose for example), but same principal.

[deadher0]

I just wanted to give everyone an update on this.  We believe we know what this was caused by.  We theorize that it was a blend of events that led to the bacterial / algae contamination of the loop.  Since the reservoir was sucking air and not pressurized properly, things were able to get into the loop more than what would be usually possible, including our vape stuff (there are sweeteners in our mixes that organisms like algae and bacteria love to munch on).  Considering the fact that I didn't properly "pre / treat" the loop before filling it we left this thing open and invited problems.  That and... (drumroll please), the loop was not mixed with distilled water but rather purified.  It wasn't until I went through the trash at the shop to find the jugs of water that my intern bought to use with the coolant mix.  He brought me purified, not distilled.  I never caught this as he was the one that poured and mixed the coolant in a separate container.  

 

Since the triple flush things seem to be doing much better.  We apologise for the fault of blaming the vape juice as the #1 culprit. The intern responsible for giving me purified water has been sacked.  The shop manager on duty that was in charge of him has been sacked.  And those sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.

 

If anyone has some final input on this please share.  The other loops I have done have proven to be a breeze and we haven't had ANY issues with them...  this was a bear though.  And it could have been avoided with a little bit more attention to detail.  

[Limecat86]

52 minutes ago, deadher0 said:

Since the triple flush things seem to be doing much better.  We apologise for the fault of blaming the vape juice as the #1 culprit. The intern responsible for giving me purified water has been sacked.  The shop manager on duty that was in charge of him has been sacked.  And those sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.

That's a lot of people being sacked though.

 

Glad you found out what was causing your problem 

[For Science!]

 

14 hours ago, deadher0 said:

-snip-

I am confused about why you think air is getting sucked in from the atmosphere into the loop; a correctly assembled loop should be a closed system. "air getting sucked in" is only accurate as far as "air in the loop getting recycled in the loop". I assume that you had the SPC/DDC pump on its side and you were getting the gurgling/crackling noise associated with air entering the pump which was annoying. What must be appreciated is that the "Air sucked in" is in fact a constant, it is recycled in the system. This is because a custom loop is still a closed-loop; there is no gas exchange. Therefore I am confused overall about your "pressurized" statement as a closed water loop should not be significantly pressurized since moving water is simply circulating, the only minor pressurization occurs from the high-resistance of the waterblocks.

 

I am fairly convinced that this is either a simple matter of things in the coolant precipitating on the surface of the reservoir that wasn't filled or some degree of growth based on the fact that you didn't use distlled water.