Associate
I have an old ek 360 rad and looking into the ports I can see bluish green residue which is also on some of the treads can this be cleaned? Or has this rad had it?
Bluish/green build-up in rad?
- Thread starter jammir
- Start date
Man of Honour
Mix some white vinegar with some distilled/deionised water, 9 parts water to 1 part vinegar, heat it in the microwave, then fill the rad, slosh it around for a bit to get as much of the inside as possible, then rinse, you'll likely see blue-ish water & maybe some blue bits, do this until you get the water to run clear, once it's clear then flush a few times with distilled water to clear out the vinegar mix, then you should be good to go 
Soldato
What he said ^
Do watch out though, if the vinegar mix is too strong, it produces blue compounds in a reaction with the copper. In other words it will keep looking blue if you use too much vinegar. Basically you want to remove the blue deposits, then make sure it's running clear, as said!
Do watch out though, if the vinegar mix is too strong, it produces blue compounds in a reaction with the copper. In other words it will keep looking blue if you use too much vinegar. Basically you want to remove the blue deposits, then make sure it's running clear, as said!
Associate
Mayhams blitz is good, got my rads bright copper over night. You can use viniger but it stinks.
The residue is probably due to the flux from soldering, if you pop to Tesco you will see they actually do a distilled vinegar (clear).
As above, take out the rad and fill eith a diluted vinegar and distill or deionised mix (warm it up is also good) put in stops (leaving some air in the rad for the next bit). Stand for 5 and give it a good shake for 5 mins and pour out in a clear meauring just or something to check for green bits.
Repeat until pours out clear or only the odd spec remains, then rinse well several times. When you buy a radiator this is recommended before you install it, you would be surprised how much crap comes out.
As above, take out the rad and fill eith a diluted vinegar and distill or deionised mix (warm it up is also good) put in stops (leaving some air in the rad for the next bit). Stand for 5 and give it a good shake for 5 mins and pour out in a clear meauring just or something to check for green bits.
Repeat until pours out clear or only the odd spec remains, then rinse well several times. When you buy a radiator this is recommended before you install it, you would be surprised how much crap comes out.
Soldato
Good advice, there are plenty of flakes/corrosion/metal shavings that emerge. But bear in mind that a blue tint to the liquid is often copper salts which have been produced by the vinegar attacking the copper. So if you feel like you've removed all the gunk but still seeing blue tint, try rinsing.