Drying out watercooling loop

Whiff30812

Whiff30812

Whiff30812

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72
Hi all,

So I'm moving country soon and my PC is being shipped via Sea and it will take upto 2 months to arrive at it's destination..

I have to drain the loop as no liquids are allowed and it's probably a good idea anyway..

Now I'm worried about corrosion in the loop after being drained.. Would it be a good idea to use an air duster to try and blow out all the remaining liquid from the rads and blocks?

Cheers!
 
mattyfez said:
Could you put it somewhere warm like an airing cupboard, and let evaporation do its thing?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don't have anything like that in my current apartment and annoyingly I'm only going to be able to drain the loop a couple of days prior to moving I'm not sure if that would be sufficient time to be honest..

Ideally I don't really want to be dismantling anything either as time is not on my side
 
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After washing the loop out you could try rinsing it with 99% isopropyl alcohol. IPA has a lower boiling point than water so it should evaporate faster. Goes without saying...keep the room well ventilated.
 
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Whiff30812 said:
IPA is bad for plexi though no?
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Ah yes it is. I was thinking more for the radiators...the harder to dry stuff basically. For blocks and reservoirs can open it up and dry it manually
(Also wouldn't put ipa in the pump either lol)
 
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Drain it then attach a vacuum cleaner to one removed tube end, with some tape to seal round it. Sucking the air through will do the same as blowing through it, with probably more flow from a vacuum. Leave it running for an hour or something.
 
Bubo said:
Drain it then attach a vacuum cleaner to one removed tube end, with some tape to seal round it. Sucking the air through will do the same as blowing through it, with probably more flow from a vacuum. Leave it running for an hour or something.
Click to expand...

This is my idea as well. Either completely disassemble the loop and dry it that way, or blow air through for a few hours
 
corrosion caused by what?
might be going on a ship but packaged up its not
going to be getting salt water in it/on it
any remaining coolant in there isnt going to cause corrosion
since thats what its normally filled with
air isnt going to do anything to it once coolant is out
 
Mcnumpty2323 said:
corrosion caused by what?
might be going on a ship but packaged up its not
going to be getting salt water in it/on it
any remaining coolant in there isnt going to cause corrosion
since thats what its normally filled with
air isnt going to do anything to it once coolant is out
Click to expand...
Normally air isn't in a loop... 3 months or more with air in a loop with the dregs of coolant can't be a good thing... Oxidation of copper...
 
Whiff30812 said:
Normally air isn't in a loop... 3 months or more with air in a loop with the dregs of coolant can't be a good thing... Oxidation of copper...
Click to expand...
Have left stuff on a shelf with remnants of coolant
In them for a lot longer than that with no issues
Still got 3 old swiftech expandable/refillable aio
Those have been severely abused in similar fashion
For years and still no problems

If really worried
Once it arrives flush it with mayhems blitz
Or a similar loop cleaner
A lot of the loop will be nickel plated not bare copper too
 
Mcnumpty2323 said:
Have left stuff on a shelf with remnants of coolant
In them for a lot longer than that with no issues
Still got 3 old swiftech expandable/refillable aio
Those have been severely abused in similar fashion
For years and still no problems

If really worried
Once it arrives flush it with mayhems blitz
Or a similar loop cleaner
A lot of the loop will be nickel plated not bare copper too
Click to expand...
To be fair this is the kind of information I'm happy to see! People who have effectively done what I'm saying with real experience of it.

Thank you!

To be honest the main issue would be screwing up my GPU waterblock as by the looks of it getting one for a 3080 is going to be difficult!
 
Whiff30812 said:
To be fair this is the kind of information I'm happy to see! People who have effectively done what I'm saying with real experience of it.

Thank you!

To be honest the main issue would be screwing up my GPU waterblock as by the looks of it getting one for a 3080 is going to be difficult!
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Yeah got a 3080ti
Blocks can still be found with some searching around
But they're not everywhere for sure
But your gpu block should be nickel plated usually
Might get a bit of water/coolant staining
On the nickel if some coolant left in there evaporated
But other than that nickel exposed to air should be fine
 
Leaving fluid to dry out in a loop would probably only be a real issue if you were using that god awful pastel coolant, for even worse that absolute ***** Aurora stuff with the pearlescent bits floating in it by design.
 
+1 for air drying, but if you're going to use a vacuum then exercise some caution and try to create some kind of liquid trap to make sure you don't end up accidentally firing a load of coolant through the vacuum and murdering it!
 
Whiff30812 said:
To be fair this is the kind of information I'm happy to see! People who have effectively done what I'm saying with real experience of it.

Thank you!

To be honest the main issue would be screwing up my GPU waterblock as by the looks of it getting one for a 3080 is going to be difficult!
Click to expand...

Take the blocks off, you could even take them with you in normal suitcases empty and fill them on arrival / cap them off.

To be fair I would do this anyway remove all fluid, remove tubing (and rinse) this will dry quickly, remove blocks then you can unscrew, clean and it will dry out easy. Radiators can be drained and capped then packed in boxes, the rads would be the only thing which might get a bit funky internally then but hit them with vinegar and water wash and shake and should be totally fine.
 
I'd drain, flush with DI/distilled, then run a higher than normal concentration of XT1 clear before final drain. Then at least the remnants are fresh anti corrosion and biocide. I'd posit it's the air that's going to cause issues, not the liquid.

Then when you're setting back up, prepare to run Blitz Part 1 in the rads, then part 2 through the whole system.

I wouldn't sweat it too much, it's not years.
 
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To be honest
This wouldn't be of great concern to me
I would be more worried about rough handling
In transit
Especially if you're leaving the gpu in situ
I would use/or diy it yourself some of those expanding foam packs
Ocuk actually uses those on some items
Expands to fit around the gpu /or whatever you want it to
And makes perfectly shaped packaging to fit your item

If using Especially one big bag of it
Need to get the pc side panel on quickly
So it doesn't expand too far outwards and stop
The side panel fitting back on

Yeah in an ideal world you would dismantle it
Before shipping
But sometimes we can't do what's ideal
And have to do whatever suits the situation
 
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Mcnumpty2323 said:
To be honest
This wouldn't be of great concern to me
I would be more worried about rough handling
In transit
Especially if you're leaving the gpu in situ
I would use/or diy it yourself some of those expanding foam packs
Ocuk actually uses those on some items
Expands to fit around the gpu /or whatever you want it to
And makes perfectly shaped packaging to fit your item

If using Especially one big bag of it
Need to get the pc side panel on quickly
So it doesn't expanding too far outwards and stop
The side panel fitting back on

Yeah in an ideal world you would dismantle it
Before shipping
But sometimes we can't do what's ideal
And have to do whatever suits the situation
Click to expand...

I'd second all of this and suggest it's the best advice you've had so far. Your rig will not be well loved on its journey.
 
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Thanks
Sometimes I actually have good ideas :cry:

Another thought
Remove hard drives/ssds/m2
And take those yourself
Last thing you want is it
Lost in transit with personal information, passwords,photos etc on the drives

Or could secure erase the drives
Since not always easy to remove m2 drives
With a full custom loop
Obviously would have image backups
You can take in person to restore them once
You're reunited with your pc
 
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