what coolant to use?

[ComputerCustomizer]

Hi all,
I am planning on setting up a new water cooling setup at the end of the summer to cool the e4X00 series CPU and a custom liquid-cooled psu, but I have read that copper and aluminum (the metals i plan on using for the waterblocks) can easily corrode and i was wondering if anybody could help me out with ideas for additives to reduce corrosion. Would mineral oil work or would it mess up the pump and/or radiator?
All help appreciated,

 

[Yoosty]

I use a Non-conductive fluid, you can find them here. Fluid XP+ High Performance is one of the top fluid you can find.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g30/c103/s183/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Coolant_Additives-Non_Conductive-Page1.html

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

any idea of a cheaper coolant?

 

[Dahak]

Dude,coolent is what it is.There is no point trying to cheap out when you run liquid cooling.Go with what is the most recommended and pay the price.As far as I'm concerned,you can never be too careful with liquid cooling.My other recent machine runs liquid cooling.A X2 4400+at 2.6gigs stable.And it runs on a coolermaster mini R120 liquid cooling system.Goodluck.

Dahak

AMD X2 5600+ @ 2.8ghz(stock)
M2N32-SLI DELUXE MB
2 GIGS DDR2 800 RAM
THERMALTAKE 850WATT PSU
7950GT KO(WAITING FOR MY OTHER TO COME BACK FROM RMA)
ACER 22IN. LCD
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
80GIG/250gig SATA2 HD's
XP MCE

 

[Yoosty]

You could use OEM coolant, but again if it leaks then you might have to replace your mobo, ram and graphic card.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g30/c103/s458/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Coolant_Additives-OEM_Coolant-Page1.html

With the non conductive coolant, chances are less on replacing your mobo, ram and graphic card if it has a small leak. But the choice is yours to make.

 

[warezme]

I use that non conductive fluid XP+, pricey I think. I don't recall what size I bought but it was almost enough to fill my system, so I topped it off with some good old prestone antifreeze. Antifreeze is not very conductive and I added only a small percentage plus it non corrosive, probably because it also non conductive, no transfer of metal ions, hence no corrosion.

YOu can also get by with a mix of 75% distilled water (NO MINERALS) and 25% antifreeze. I had an old thermaltake Aquarius II that i gave to a friend still running on that no problems. Just add some algae killer if needed and flush thoroughly every year or so.

 

[phreejak]

Why invest thousands of dollars in computer/cooling equipment and cheapout on the fluid? You'll get alot of opinions on various solution mixtures but why take a chance? I mean, if your cooling loop springs a leak one day and your gear shorts out what then?

I've accidently spilled fluid and had leaks but, because I used a particular fluid, I was protected. I've used PC ICE for over 2 years now and have been supremely satisfied. It is slightly more expensive than regular coolant but it's non-conductive, antimicrobial, protects against galvanic deterioration and also works as a lubricant for the pump.

Can't put a price on peace of mind....

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

can you post the link of where to buy the coolant you use?

 

[phreejak]

PC ICE can be found here:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=303&sort=20a&page=2

or here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g30/c103/s183/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Coolant_Additives-Non_Conductive-Page1.html

 

[gomerpile]

coolent restore is the best in the market and cheap. It can be found in most auto shops

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

do you use it with two different kinds of metal in waterblock? would it work well with an aluminum block but a copper block also in the loop?

 

[phreejak]

I have copper watrblocks on my CPU, GPU and the mosfets around the CPU (4 of them) and my rads (two dual 120mm rads and one single 120mm rad) are alum.

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

thanx for all
i plan on an aluminum waterblock for the cpu (homemade) and a copper cooling "block" for the power supply (homemade) and an aluminum radiator,, and maybe later I would make a waterblock for the graphics card out of whatever i have laying around.

 

[bydesign]

Do not use anti-freeze as PC coolant. It has two primary purposes lower the freezing point and raise the boiling point. Most also help with corrosion somwhat. In PC cooling neither of these apply more over it reduces effectiveness of the system because it doesn't conduct heat as well as water. I only use about a 1/3 mixture in the coolent for car becuase of that same reason.

Your best bet is to go with distilled water with some algaecide added. I would avoid mixing metals as they will react with each other. There is a product Zerex I believe that help with this.

Distilled water is a pretty bad conductor of electricity and those so called non-conductive fluids are only slightly better. In fact pure water is non-conductive. IBM use to use to cool their mainframes back in the day when the size of small house.

Lasty I wouldn't bother with water cooling the PSU.

1. It's pretty dangerous
2. It not likely to last that much longer.

 

[WestWarrior]

Im going to agree with ByDesign here. For the most part, coolants like PCIce and Fluid XP are not exactly the way to go. They claim to be non-conductive, but none of them are, they can damage a motherboard just as good as anything else. I would personally go with Distilled Water+Pentosin+PTNuke+Zerex(only if youre gonna have Al+Cu in the same loop). It will be much cheaper than if you bought that other stuff and give you better, or at the very least equal performance, while for the most part staying relatively safe. You can find everything except Zerex at the link below.

http://www.petrastechshop.com/wacoac.html

 

[phreejak]

I'm not certain from what data you've gathered these conclusions about PC ICE but I can attest to it's non-conductivity from experience. I've applied PC ICE on a running PSU, GPU and in a PCI slot and in each instance I was pleased to see that, in fact, it lived up to its claims.

I've got two years worth of use and experience using it so I have first hand knowledge that PC ICE works like it says. I have no experience with Fluid XP so I can't say anything about it though.

 

[WestWarrior]

If you have the means necessary, you can fill a cup full of PC Ice and stick a bare + and - wire hooked to a light bulb and see that it does conduct. Very little, but it still conducts. Ive heard of people pouring distilled on their old running computers with nothing happening. I think its really a matter of how long it sits and a few other factors. You can also see the light bulb thing with Distilled water. One cool note to add is that pure water is non conductive. Also, soapy water is highly conductive (thus why the ole' toaster in the bathtub works so well)

 

[gomerpile]

I suggest going with coolent restore it is the best on the market, I've got the cheapest of water system, running in the hottest of days, cool as the temps of the summer. cpu oc'ed over 1 gig, gpu 100 or better Mhz everything is over volted, no other additive matched Coolant restore found in most auto shops. Your data is incorrect. Rad coolant is a substance that wont freeze just like placing a bottle of JD in the freezer. Second it takes CO2 out of the water reducing the boiling point.

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

i think i am going t use phreejaks's solution, mainly because he said that it works for him and the coolant is still within my budget.
thanx eveyone