Radiator Cleaning

Just a little heads up to those who are buying a new rad - make SURE you clean it.

Heres what I did (thermochill PA 120.3).

1. rinse the rad with distilled water.
2. Fill the rad with di-ionised, shaking the radiator when it is half full of water will help a little and will start to loosen the crap inside.
3. Do the same as above but this time with white vinegar(I used white malt).
4. Fill the radiator with vinegar but this time let it sit for 6-8 hours, I left mine overnight - 8hrs.
5.Flush out the vinegar with water.
6.Repeat Step 4.
7.Repeat Step 2.
8. Keep repating until you get clear vinegar. Took me four repeats, see below:



NOTE: Using warm water will not have the same effect as vinegar since most manufacturers have switched to water soluble flux.

cheers mate... I'm going to be in the market for a new rad soon... would never have thought of that

helps stave off some of the tube clouding. Couldn't believe the first flush tbh. Loads of what can only be described as grit came out - bad for impingement jets clogging tbh.

This info is realy helpful!

Especially to those who are new to water cooling! Thanks for the info mate!

I vote for this thread to be stickied!

So are new rads full of crap then? I always assumed they'd be clean when brand new!

Not exactly full or crap but yeah they are some nasty deposits left in through the manufacturing process such as flux etc.

Christ.. Mine was nowhere near that bad, although I didn't spend that long cleaning it.

My PA120.2 wasn't that bad either, I did two lots of vinegar and it came out with a blue tint.

Must have been a dirty worker who made mine then lol.

Back from vacation, what funnypant banned me for 3-4 days!?

Right, here's my cooltek exstream dual radiator after some cleaning with vinegar(long time ago):



And here's my BIX III after cleansing with 7-8% concentration vinegar:



You definitely don't want this in your loop!

can i just ask the best way to fill the rad? also, how do you know when the rad is full? sorry compete noob at this. Cheers

Use a cheap funnel when filling (make sure this is also clean). When it appears full stand it on its end (opposite to the threads) and any trapped air will rise to the top and bleed out, at this point give it a good shake with the ends covered then drain off.

thanx m8

So you recomend putting just vinegar in and no water to stand for upto 8hrs, just checking before i do mine.

On a similar note.. Whats the best way of emptying the loop? I decided to mount my rad in a different position inside the case on the top panel but need to emptuy the loop to do it! Grr!

clone said:

So you recomend putting just vinegar in and no water to stand for upto 8hrs, just checking before i do mine.

Click to expand...

First flush it out with water a couple of times. This will get rid of any loose particles that are inside. Letting the water stand in your rad for hours will have little impact. Once you have flushed all the loose stuff out you then soak with vinegar for upto 8 hours. Be carefull not to get vinegar on the outside(paint) as it can damage the paintwaork if left on over a peroid of time.

Street said:

On a similar note.. Whats the best way of emptying the loop? I decided to mount my rad in a different position inside the case on the top panel but need to emptuy the loop to do it! Grr!

Click to expand...

Just uncouple a tube preferably at the lowest point in your loop then drain it off, gravity will do most of the work for you, once it stops daining you may also need to uncouple another bit(usually near the top of your loop) to allow air into your loop and therefore allow the remaining water to drain off.

I know its common sense but ensure you do this while the PSU is unplugged and the motherboard has been discharged.

Ok cheers w3bbo

Good luck m8, hope yours aint as dirty as mine lol.

First rinse was not to bad,second one i`ll leave in all night.