Cleaning Watercooled PSU

nogoodreason · 19 Mar 2017 at 16:37

Hi guys. I'm trying to restore an old (and filthy) watercooled gaming rig. I don't have experience with watercooling so am approaching this side of things with caution.

I've dismantled everything and bought a Mayhems Blitz Pro cleaning kit, but I'm a little stumped as to what I can (safely) do to the watercooled PSU.

It's a Koolance 1300W Liquid-Cooled PSU. I drained the coolant inside - expecting it to be the coloured fluid from the rest of the loop - but discovered it had been full of its own, clear fluid. Is it safe to fill it back up with any coolant? How much? Can I risk adding too much?

As it appears to be somewhat self-contained I'm hoping it's not quite as dirty as the rest of the system, but imagine there's probably some degree of algae or other crap in there. Would running the loop with Mayhem Blitz actually do anything to the PSU, or should I take specific steps towards cleaning it?

(Apologies if these are very noobish questions!)

Jokester · 19 Mar 2017 at 16:43

You can reuse that - don't put water in!

It's a non-conductive liquid, presumably completely inert so you don't have to worry about growths.

nogoodreason · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:03

Unfortunately it's down the sink now!

#Fail

Jokester · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:21

Inert liquids were all the rage a few years ago. Can't find any at all for sale anywhere.

nogoodreason · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:22

So I could have sold that instead of pouring it down my sink? ...Great.

Would Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 do the job?

Jokester · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:27

No, don't put water in - the coolant is directly cooling mains voltage components so it needs to be completely inert and non-conducting. Even distilled water will become conductive over time.

nogoodreason · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:29

Appreciate the heads-up. Guess my options are to find a replacement fluid or replace it with a normal PSU.

Well, that and kick myself.

Jokester · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:34

I can't even find anything on Ebay.

nogoodreason · 19 Mar 2017 at 17:41

Jokester said:
I can't even find anything on Ebay.

Thanks for looking. I've emailed Koolance.

This probably isn't a great start to my watercooling adventure.

nogoodreason · 20 Mar 2017 at 17:46

Got a reply from Koolance:

Hello,
We haven't had any of the non-conductive fluid in a long time.

If you try to source non-conductive fluid elsewhere I would warn you of companies that use that label on fluids that actually are conductive.

You'll know you've found a truly non-conductive fluid when you see the price tag.

Don't suppose anyone wants to buy an empty PSU?

cobalt6700 · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:43

You need something like 3M Fluorinert FC-40, which will set you back around $500/L. That's an arse.

nogoodreason · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:44

cobalt6700 said:
You need something like 3M Fluorinert FC-40, which will set you back around $500/L. That's an arse.

Exactly how much money did I pour down the sink?

cobalt6700 · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:52

Mate, my intention wasn't to make you kick yourself more, sorry! How much was in there?

deFiniLoGy · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:53

Just a while idea, but mineral oil should work fine?

nogoodreason · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:53

Hah, it's fine. It's an amusing story to tell, at least...

I dunno, it was fairly full.

deFiniLoGy · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:55

nogoodreason said:
Hah, it's fine. It's an amusing story to tell, at least...

I dunno, it was fairly full.

Looking at the size of the loop it shouldn't be over 1L, but still I think u're better off buying a new psu lol

cobalt6700 · 20 Mar 2017 at 18:59

deFiniLoGy said:
Just a while idea, but mineral oil should work fine?

Maybe some research into a transformer oil? I guess that would do the trick (If the internal pump is ok with pumping mineral oil)

deFiniLoGy · 20 Mar 2017 at 19:19

cobalt6700 said:
Maybe some research into a transformer oil? I guess that would do the trick (If the internal pump is ok with pumping mineral oil)

I'm just thinkin Luke in LTT has his PSU called in his mineral oil PC so I think that could still do the trick?

nogoodreason · 20 Mar 2017 at 19:26

Watercooling's been giving me a headache from the start. I think I'm going to just play to my strengths: eBay all the watercooling components, offer the PSU for cheap/free on top, and use the proceeds to buy air cooling that I understand and can't possibly pour down the sink.

deFiniLoGy · 20 Mar 2017 at 19:28

nogoodreason said:
Watercooling's been giving me a headache from the start. I think I'm going to just play to my strengths: eBay all the watercooling components, offer the PSU for cheap/free on top, and use the proceeds to buy air cooling that I understand and can't possibly pour down the sink.

If you have a large sink you might still could...