Clear coolant turned blue?

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 00:36

So I finished leak testing my loop with distilled water, and today put in my coolant. It's Alphacool CKC clear, which I had two 1L bottles of. My loop holds ~1.1 litres and I wasn't able to get all the liquid out anyway when draining, so I figured I would leave a little of the distilled water in as it couldn't hurt to dilute the CKC with a little distilled water right? I think I was wrong! After a couple of hours I noticed my reservoir has a bluish tinge, so this happened pretty fast. I've seen speculation that it's the anti-corrosives in the coolant reacting to water that has become acidic. Apparently distilled water can do this?

The distilled water was in the loop for a week, and the loop was left mostly empty for a week, before filling this weekend. I only really have free time to work on this at weekends.

Prior to this all the parts were new - Alphacool copper rads, Alphacool VPP755 pump, Alphacool blocks. The radiators were flushed with hot water, then diluted vinegar solution, then a few rounds of distilled water (circulated first and then replaced with fresh).

What do you lot think? I'll likely leave it as it doesn't look bad and should just be a side effect of the anti-corrosive, but it'd be good to know what's up.

Space Monkey · 14 May 2018 at 00:50

I had a radiator that I had flushed with distilled water, then due to circumstances the rad was left for about a week also, thankfully I decided to flush the rad one more time before use and it was full of blue-ish little pieces and the water came out the same colour as your experiencing now, so I used a heated white vinegar/distilled water combo to flush the rad again (took multiple times to clear), then a final rinse with distilled water again.

It seems it's a form of oxidisation of the copper in the rads, so I'm assuming that's what's happened to you?

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 00:52

Space Monkey said:
I had a radiator that I had flushed with distilled water, then due to circumstances the rad was left for about a week also, thankfully I decided to flush the rad one more time before use and it was full of blue-ish little pieces and the water came out the same colour as your experiencing now, so I used a heated white vinegar/distilled water combo to flush the rad again (took multiple times to clear), then a final rinse with distilled water again.

It seems it's a form of oxidisation of the copper in the rads, so I'm assuming that's what's happened to you?

So you reckon it's because it was left for a week empty but wet? Sounds possible.

Space Monkey · 14 May 2018 at 00:55

LuckyBenski said:
So you reckon it's because it was left for a week empty but wet? Sounds possible.

That's what I concluded when it happened to me. When I first flushed the rad it was coming out clean so it's the only possible reason that I can think of?

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 01:00

Space Monkey said:
That's what I concluded when it happened to me. When I first flushed the rad it was coming out clean so it's the only possible reason that I can think of?

Yeah quite believable, and that's good news because it means it shouldn't happen again! I guess I can test its not a reaction by mixing the last ~100ml of coolant with some distilled. I actually have the liquid I drained from the loop in a bottle, plus plenty more distilled to hand.

Space Monkey · 14 May 2018 at 01:04

Personally if it was mine, I'd do a full drain, flush through so it's coming out clean and then once your confident it's all clear, refill the loop straight away and not leave open to the elements etc...

Or nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure!

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 01:13

Hahaha I was thinking the former. Gutting as filling, and the PSU shroud were the final steps in a very long build. And I also got a mark on the shroud, didn't notice til it was installed. Next weekend I guess!

Habakkuk · 14 May 2018 at 12:05

Huh. Let us know how the flush goes - how long will you leave the cleaning fluid in there before clearing it out & putting in actual coolant?

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 13:03

Habakkuk said:
Huh. Let us know how the flush goes - how long will you leave the cleaning fluid in there before clearing it out & putting in actual coolant?

I'll probably just drain, fill with distilled, run for an hour, repeat. Maybe put a couple of litres through the system so long as it's running clear. Then refill immediately with coolant!

That is, assuming it's not a reaction in the coolant. Better do some testing.

Habakkuk · 14 May 2018 at 13:40

Taste testing? :rolleyes:

giveUSAback2UK · 14 May 2018 at 14:20

Corrosion?
I had Alphacool fittings combined with their brass tubing and HardwareLab rads, EK waterblocks and experienced a bluish tint turning into a great deep blue color over several months.
Upon inspecting waterblocks (EK) they were destroyed (Nickel plated). Got second batch in copper, and after running for a few months I thought the fins started looking odd. No blue water, but I was fed up with it.

Could it be so that the rad (which sometimes has an aluminium part covered with copper or other coating can be busted and you get local galvanic elements?

Just my 2 cents.

LuckyBenski · 14 May 2018 at 15:24

It's possible but A) everything was brand new and B) there shouldn't be any aluminium at all in the loop. I'll see if the colour has changed when I get home, I left it running.

Bluntwrapped · 14 May 2018 at 20:51

It's hard to tell by the photo but If you have white LEDs running it may make the water appear an off white blue.

LuckyBenski · 15 May 2018 at 07:45

Bluntwrapped said:
It's hard to tell by the photo but If you have white LEDs running it may make the water appear an off white blue.

No LEDs yet, it's definitely blue. After 24 hours it may have gone slightly cloudy but it's hard to tell behind smoked glass.

Habakkuk · 15 May 2018 at 09:53

If you hadn't gone with clear, you may not have noticed.

Wonder how many others have this & are unaware - or if it's even a problem besides appearance.

LuckyBenski · 15 May 2018 at 16:11

Habakkuk said:
If you hadn't gone with clear, you may not have noticed.

Wonder how many others have this & are unaware - or if it's even a problem besides appearance.

From what I've read it's quite a predictable response for the anti-corrosive and isn't an issue for the loop. Ironically I considered opaque black tubing....

Minusorange · 15 May 2018 at 16:54

Why don't you test coolant + distilled water in a clean glass to see if the same colouration occurs then if it doesn't happen you can at least rule out coolant, or if it does then problem solved

LuckyBenski · 15 May 2018 at 19:59

Ok wow, within seconds one set of water had gone bluey and the other hadn't. The one with water from my loop went blue, the plain distilled didn't. Mad.

Habakkuk · 16 May 2018 at 10:32

Any idea what it means?

LuckyBenski · 16 May 2018 at 12:41

Habakkuk said:
Any idea what it means?

Not at all

I guess it could be mild corrosion on the radiators? I'm surprised though as they're new.

I've got litmus paper coming in the post