Watercooling fluid

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 12:46

Hi all

So I'm going to be watercooling my pc some point over the next month, just getting the last few bits... I haven't ordered fluid yet but I've been checking a few out...

Do coloured fluids need mixing with distilled water or can they go straight in the loop?

Do they tend to clog up compared to clear fluid?

Do I need to flush my radiator before fitting in the case? Its a brand new radiator from OCUK

Cheers

BriT · 4 May 2020 at 13:10

Just get a pre mix like Mayhems X1 fluid or pastel range. Yes you will need to flush the rad out with distilled water, I do it warm and do a few rinses until its clear coming out in a dish.

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 13:25

BriT said:
Just get a pre mix like Mayhems X1 fluid or pastel range. Yes you will need to flush the rad out with distilled water, I do it warm and do a few rinses until its clear coming out in a dish.

Brilliant thanks i'll have a look at the Mayhems, Where is the best place to get distilled water?

BriT · 4 May 2020 at 13:27

Well I used de-ironised water from Tesco.

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 13:31

BriT said:
Well I used de-ironised water from Tesco.

I know the stuff, Cheers bud

Mcnumpty2323 · 4 May 2020 at 13:36

I just flush mine with the water from my
Condenser dryer
Lot of people will say you need to do it
With mayhem blitz or similar
But never had any problems
You can buy your coolant premixed in 1l bottles
Or in concentrate to add to distilled/deionised water

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 14:17

Mcnumpty2323 said:
I just flush mine with the water from my
Condenser dryer
Lot of people will say you need to do it
With mayhem blitz or similar
But never had any problems
You can buy your coolant premixed in 1l bottles
Or in concentrate to add to distilled/deionised water

Cheers bud, Do coloured fluids cause any issues in loops or do they need maintaining more than clear fluids?

Mcnumpty2323 · 4 May 2020 at 15:37

Minibiker said:
Cheers bud, Do coloured fluids cause any issues in loops or do they need maintaining more than clear fluids?

Never had problems personally
Except with mayhem aurora
After few months it clogged the blocks
Looks great but would avoid any of the
Shimmering effect coolants

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 16:41

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Never had problems personally
Except with mayhem aurora
After few months it clogged the blocks
Looks great but would avoid any of the
Shimmering effect coolants

Ok bud brill I'll take that onboards thanks

flea.rider · 4 May 2020 at 16:57

i used to use pre mix .. until it ate away a gpu block and then another that clogged a cpu block .. now i just use distilled water and silver coils .. if you want colour go for coloured tubing ..

Minibiker · 4 May 2020 at 16:58

flea.rider said:
i used to use pre mix .. until it ate away a gpu block and then another that clogged a cpu block .. now i just use distilled water and silver coils .. if you want colour go for coloured tubing ..

Yeah that's the worry I have... Think I will go clear tbh

Mcnumpty2323 · 4 May 2020 at 17:20

Never had a block eaten away
In over 10 years
That sounds more like galvanic corrosion
Than caused by coolant

Alex h · 4 May 2020 at 18:10

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Never had a block eaten away
In over 10 years
That sounds more like galvanic corrosion
Than caused by coolant

I have to agree with this in all my years of watcooling
Ive never had a problem with mayhem pastel and used it for years and in multiple computers I've used red blue and green and never had any damage to any block cpu or gpu

flea.rider · 5 May 2020 at 01:39

good for you .. but many have ....

WantoN · 5 May 2020 at 02:09

I only use clear, XT1 nuke concentrate mixed with distilled, not de-ionised, water.

Don't like coloured fluids, they stain, they sometimes gunk, and I like the look of clear in the Res.

Minibiker · 5 May 2020 at 09:11

Some mixed opinions here.. No matter what I go for are the Premixed bottles ready to pour in? I'm guessing that's why they're called Premixed

Bossman · 5 May 2020 at 12:13

Whenever you hear of someone that's had issues with the fluid it's usually because of the PH balance is off.

Minibiker · 5 May 2020 at 12:16

Bossman said:
Whenever you hear of someone that's had issues with the fluid it's usually because of the PH balance is off.

Whats PH balance?

sorry new to all this

FireTwo · 5 May 2020 at 12:23

de-ironised or battery top up water from halfords!
5litre for like £2.80 (trade card)

Bossman · 5 May 2020 at 12:48

Minibiker said:
Whats PH balance? sorry new to all this

Basically if the fluid and components have a PH inbalance it's more likely to react and corrode/separate and give you headaches. Mayhems did a video cleaning the radiators with their Blitz kit they sell and explaining why it was done and gave a break down as to the implications of what might happen if you didn't do it. It basically does a deep clean on the system and radiators in particular which should give you a PH balanced system that your fluid can go into and therefore reduce any likely issues down the line.