anti freeze

chewy-tuna

chewy-tuna

chewy-tuna

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torquay
just want to know what anti freeze i can use in pc water loop, as read that some mixes can eat tubing and seals where others do not, so how do i know which brand is safe? :confused:
 
Modern antifreeze is also summer coolant and anti corrosives that also protects rubber/plastic/gasket material in a cooling system.

Used it for 20 years at work and it was the best of the best and cost more per gallon than fuel or oil.

May be a bit thicker than what's needed for a PC's WC small pumps etc.
 
jh30uk said:
Modern antifreeze is also summer coolant and anti corrosives that also protects rubber/plastic/gasket material in a cooling system.

Used it for 20 years at work and it was the best of the best and cost more per gallon than fuel or oil.

May be a bit thicker than what's needed for a PC's WC small pumps etc.
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And that applies to a PC how?

I'd say almost without doubt that you should not be putting anti-freeze in your PC... Use premix coolant or de-ionised water.
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
And that applies to a PC how?

I'd say almost without doubt that you should not be putting anti-freeze in your PC... Use premix coolant or de-ionised water.
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And I can say from experience that the is absolutely nothing wrong with using Anti-Freeze.

I used some cheapo BlueCol premix to fill my loop as I was too impatient to wait for delivery of some proper coolant.

I ran the loop for 6 months with no issues of tubing dissolving, bacteria or corrosion.
 
reason that want anti freeze instead of premix, is simple im using a external rad that holds 2ltr liquid res and tubeing 1ltr, so 3 ltrs in total, now two months back bought 4 ltrs of x1 clear blue, now found liquid is algae thick, this is only after a couple of months after flushed system. i looked at spare full bottle and green with algae, so as my system takes a lot of liquid and antifreeze a lot more cheaper,and no algae will grow or survive in antifreeze,
i do have 1 bottle of halfords blue anti-freeze for vehicles manufactured before 1998 would this be ok if so whats the ratio?
 
I used saab red antifreeze & distilled water in mine back at the start of last year and have had zero problems so far. The only problem that you will encounter with ethylene glycol based antifreeze is that it doesn't play nice with acrylic or plexiglass, causing crazing quite quickly. (it's fine with tubing and metals though) It is certainly good at keeping bacteria/algae at bay whilst keeping the loop corrosion free. It is very toxic though so you need to be careful with filling and spillages. You won't find a coolant with better corrosion inhibitors as it is designed for use in cooling loops that contain a vast mix of metals including the dreaded aluminium.

I mixed mine at roughly 4:1 water:antifreeze.
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
And that applies to a PC how?

I'd say almost without doubt that you should not be putting anti-freeze in your PC... Use premix coolant or de-ionised water.
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Did I say it did, I was simply adding to the comment about antifreeze, you know peeps here do that. :rolleyes:

In fact read my last sentence I said it may not be ideal and when I think about it would work and probably be better with less gunk/corrosion that most if not all the rip off brands out there now.

Engine cooling systems have had mixed metals as well as all the non metal parts in them for decades now.

All you read here is peeps having to put vineger through their loop to clean them, obv the coolant is not that good.
 
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Back when PC water cooling started there were a lot of mixed metals involved. It was for instance common to use car heater cores (often aluminium) as radiators. It was quite normal to use car anti-freeze (well diluted with de-ionised water) for its anticorrosion properties.

It did usually dye the commonly used silicone tubing interesting colours.

With the off the shelf all copper components now available there must be a better solution.
 
I've used antifreeze in my loops since 2003, it's what all us "oldschool" water coolers used before specialist fluids arrived on the scene, many of us still do as it's much better bang for buck but your limited in colour options.

If you look in Halfords or somewhere you will generally see the are two types of antifreeze generally available, modern OAT (Organic Acid Technology) type which is generally recommended for cars made after 1997 (and usually red) and IAT (Inorganic Acid Technology) which is recommended for older cars (and usually blue), it's personal preference but I prefer the older IAT type.

Ideally you will want a ~10% mix (with DI or distilled water), you can increase this if you want (for more colour, it's virtually clear at 10%) but it won't really make a difference.

If you go this route and make it yourself you basically end up with £1.40 a litre coolant that protects against corrosion/bacteria and has a 2-5 year life. But as has been said your very limited in colour choices.
 
chewy-tuna said:
never heard the term crazing before what is crazing ? and what is best material for res when using anti-freeze?
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Crazing is micro cracks that can be seen when light shines across the acrylic. (a google seach will show you some very severe cases) It is a common problem on acrylic fish tanks. It does take quite a long time to develop and start becoming visible but it will get worse as time goes on. It also depends on the coolant concentration, temperature and the thickness of the acrylic. I've moved over to a glass tube res which won't have this problem.
 
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