How urgent is it that I clean my loop?

[Jamarlie]

So basically after the new LTT video I realized that I have been a tad lazy when it comes to showing some love for my water loop. Basically I used a bunch of high quality stuff, EK reservoir, pump and block, XSPC rad, primoflex, monsoon fittings and EKs UV blue coolant.
Now I built this system back in September 2016 and haven't cleaned the loop since. Luckily I planned ahead and already installed a drain point below my reservoir. However, well, laziness.  
It has lost absolutely no fluid over the year and a half, I still get great temps (always below 60°C under synthetic load), the PC isn't in direct sun light, I don't have cloudy coolant and I don't have any visible gunk swimming around in the water. Needless to say the EKoolant has a biocide additive so I highly doubt algae can live submerged in there, especially after I thoroughly cleaned everything prior to installing.

Now for my question:
How urgent would maintenance be for that setup? I've looked around online and I found that everybody said you should clean it about every year but they were all talking about distilled water loops. I could not find any specific recommendations for my coolant and how often people recommended to change that. Should I clean it asap? Can I wait until I hit 24 months of running and then do some major maintenance like retubing etc? What should I clean and how thoroughly? Should I redo the tubing, disassemble and thoroughly clean EVERYTHING? I'm kinda worried I'll get leaks if I do that and reassemble. Or if it is urgent to clean, is it enough if I just flush it, I mean the tubes seem to be fine, I can't see any build up and they are still as transparent as ever. 

Thx in advance for your help.

[Bananasplit_00]

16 minutes ago, Jamarlie said:

 EK block,

"quality" 

 

id check up on it at least once a year if not every 6 months, but its usiually not really a problem untill temps start to go up

[W-L]

19 minutes ago, Jamarlie said:

-SNMIP-

Ideally it's best to replace your fluid every 12 months max to ensure no gunking or any potential issues from the biocides degrading. For tubing if it's soft tubing if you notice is becoming stiff at all it should be replaced. 

 

I've personally run a system past 18 months with no problem using Pastel fluid but I do keep an eye on the PH every so often to ensure nothing is going bad. 

[Jamarlie]

4 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

"quality" 

 

id check up on it at least once a year if not every 6 months, but its usiually not really a problem untill temps start to go up

Hey, the supremacy EVO ain't a bad block by any means tho. But then again, preferences :^) Did a ton of research back when I built this system and from what I could tell this was one of the best user rated blocks I could find, it ain't bad at all imo.
 

5 minutes ago, W-L said:

Ideally it's best to replace your fluid every 12 months max to ensure no gunking or any potential issues from the biocides degrading. For tubing if it's soft tubing if you notice is becoming stiff at all it should be replaced. 

 

I've personally run a system past 18 months with no problem using Pastel fluid but I do keep an eye on the PH every so often to ensure nothing is going bad. 

So you'd both recommend I at least check on the loop and flush it to see if it needs more maintenance asap, is that correct?

[W-L]

Just now, Jamarlie said:

Hey, the supremacy EVO ain't a bad block by any means tho. But then again, preferences :^) Did a ton of research back when I built this system and from what I could tell this was one of the best user rated blocks I could find, it ain't bad at all imo.
 

So you'd both recommend I at least check on the loop and flush it to see if it needs more maintenance asap, is that correct?

I would recommend to change it, drain the fluid and take a close look at the blocks and components to see if there is any build up or residue. If everything looks good a couple of flushes and new fluid should be alright. 

 

I've always torn down my loop every 12 months or so for cleaning, other than the current one running an extended period. 

[Jamarlie]

Just now, W-L said:

I would recommend to change it, drain the fluid and take a close look at the blocks and components to see if there is any build up or residue. If everything looks good a couple of flushes and new fluid should be alright. 

 

I've always torn down my loop every 12 months or so for cleaning, other than the current one running an extended period. 

Alright, then I will get to it as soon as I find the time, thanks for your reply! :] 

[Bananasplit_00]

2 minutes ago, Jamarlie said:

Hey, the supremacy EVO ain't a bad block by any means tho. But then again, preferences :^) Did a ton of research back when I built this system and from what I could tell this was one of the best user rated blocks I could find, it ain't bad at all imo.

i have it, hate it. got it with micro finns bent and an oxidised bottom(EK went "yah this is normal, we aint doing shit deal with it") and i could have just gotten the Heatkiller IV PRO and had noticably better performance. dosent look great either and seems to, however much i tighten it, fill up with air slowly. im not getting an EK block again, they are overrated and the company hasent done any inovation at all in the last 5+ years(something like that). at least im getting an Ncore V1D to replace this dissapointment. Im fine with ek beyond blocks, but blocks they are crap at

[Jamarlie]

4 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

i have it, hate it. got it with micro finns bent and an oxidised bottom(EK went "yah this is normal, we aint doing shit deal with it") and i could have just gotten the Heatkiller IV PRO and had noticably better performance. dosent look great either and seems to, however much i tighten it, fill up with air slowly. im not getting an EK block again, they are overrated and the company hasent done any inovation at all in the last 5+ years(something like that). at least im getting an Ncore V1D to replace this dissapointment. Im fine with ek beyond blocks, but blocks they are crap at

Well let's not turn this into a thread about water cooling superiority, my question was an entirely different one, I do understand your rant though.

[Jamarlie]

Okay so if anybody finds this later down the road and is wondering the same thing I wanna say how everything looks after entirely disassembling the loop. I feel the need to point out that this might not apply to you and you should still check for signs of trouble with your loop but in case your question is similar to mine:
Holy sh*t what a waste of time I just went through. My loop was as clean as it was on day 1 when I first assembled everything. I have disassembled the pump, the water block, flushed the radiator and there is literally NO buildup what so fucking ever. The loop had no gunk in it when I drained the coolant, the block was shiny and as good as new, the pump was clean and there was absolutely no residue.
So overall conclusion for my case:
I wasted 40 bucks on new coolant and new tubing, I could have probably let the loop run for another year or so. I seriously don't know why they took that EKoolant off the market because it definitely seemed to have done the trick for me.

[Limecat86]

1 hour ago, Jamarlie said:

Okay so if anybody finds this later down the road and is wondering the same thing I wanna say how everything looks after entirely disassembling the loop. I feel the need to point out that this might not apply to you and you should still check for signs of trouble with your loop but in case your question is similar to mine:
Holy sh*t what a waste of time I just went through. My loop was as clean as it was on day 1 when I first assembled everything. I have disassembled the pump, the water block, flushed the radiator and there is literally NO buildup what so fucking ever. The loop had no gunk in it when I drained the coolant, the block was shiny and as good as new, the pump was clean and there was absolutely no residue.
So overall conclusion for my case:
I wasted 40 bucks on new coolant and new tubing, I could have probably let the loop run for another year or so. I seriously don't know why they took that EKoolant off the market because it definitely seemed to have done the trick for me.

Well, just be glad that everything is still in top condition. In my opinion disassembling your loop once a while never hurts because it helps you discover premature problems which could cause some severe damage later down the road.

[Jamarlie]

3 hours ago, Limecat86 said:

Well, just be glad that everything is still in top condition. In my opinion disassembling your loop once a while never hurts because it helps you discover premature problems which could cause some severe damage later down the road.

It's a double edge sword. On one hand I am super glad my loop still looked the way it did and about the fact that it was still in extremely good condition.
On the other hand I am a bit salty that I worried so much my loop was gonna corrode and flood my PC in a disaster the likes of a biblical catastrophe. 
Oh well, all in all it swallowed 8 hours of my time but hey, I kinda knew back when I opted for a custom loop that I would have to do maintenance at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Also one upside of the entire ordeal was that I found out I had the fins on my CPU block installed the wrong way. They were parallel to the water outlet instead of perpendicular. That shaved off 10°C of my core temperatures. Now my PC runs comfortably at a cozy 50°C after 30 minutes of synthetic load

[r34lj4k3]

I built a loop for my friend in 2008 (yes, 10 years ago) and it's still running. The temps are the same as they've always been. I've asked him to let me look at it but he doesn't even care anymore. We've done literally 0 maintenance on it. My personal loops have made it a few years without issues. I upgrade in about that timeline, though. Linus seems to have 10 people's worth of problems for his builds, not really sure why. At this point, my friend has had 10 years out of his pc and if it dies a horrible death any day now, he'd still be happy with his purchase.