Flushing Radiators

[im4gine3]

I know this has been covered a ton by now but I just wondered what people thought of powder flushing?

When typically cleaning a radiator of all residue, I would normally use x part white vinegar with x part warm water followed by water hose the final rinse with distilled water.

The in-laws brought back limescale remover powder from China which works wonders in a kettle in minutes, so was planning on using that on my HWLabs radiators. I’ve heard it’s best not using on nickel but the radiators should be ok, but even then, is powder too harsh?

Unfortunately the packet is blank and doesn’t contain an ingredient list so I’m unsure. Using this method, I will no longer need to play maracas with them

 

[im4gine3]

got it. Never used the blitz kit before.. Part 1 enough or do i need both parts?

 

[im4gine3]

yeah thats my usual routine.. i was just thinking of other home remedies to try other than spending more money. Nothing wrong with vinegar and water, just thinking of more efficient methods

 

[im4gine3]

managed to find labelling on the packet i had.. some packets were blank but the first out of box packet was labelled.. seems to just be citric acid.. unless they don't label specifics.. but my god is it super fast at descaling! It makes vinegar and water look like childs play

note: not used on radiator yet but have used vinegar/water to clean other stuff

 

[im4gine3]

I'll remember this for next time... I spent too many days flushing 2 rads using 10 litres of distilled water. It was not fun, but a good workout for my arms

i did the same but with 3 huge radiators.. rather than purchase the kit.

The loop i'm building will only be temporary till i upgrade the system, so i'm not too fussed if i see debris floating through it.. at least that way while it's running, i would be able to clear it out easier when i bleed it

 

[im4gine3]

I found I needed multiple flushes to get rid of all the small debris. Though to be honest I was quite pedantic so even a small spec meant I did it again and only when I didn't see anything after 2 consecutive flushes did I consider the flush successful... maybe it's a bit over the top but gave me peace of mind

likewise.

I ended up using about 5L of distilled/deionized water to flush and rinse the radiators.. about 2L was purely used in the kettle to boile along with citric acid

 

[im4gine3]

Before I transferred my system into the current case and cooling setup, I had used a premix liquid that I don't recall the name of. Within about 9 months, there were clumps and particles of all sorts blocking the CPU block fins, it took me hours to clean everything through and flush properly, the amount of distilled water cost me a small fortune.

After all my hard work, I bought a new case and built up the loop, I used distilled water, Mayhems Watercooling Dye and XSPC E6 Biocide, that was nearly 2 years ago and the loop has remained clean since. I would say there is something to mixing a clear coolant and keeping it simple as possible, must remember to add a few more drops of biocide.

I had similar experience with EK Pastel colours.. where if you are not running your system constantly,the colours would slowly separate and clock up the blocks etc. Pastel Azure Blue and Cloud White were the main ones i saw thios issue with.

Now i just use de-ionized/distilled water, and maybe a couple drops of dye Not needed to use biocide of any kind.

 

[im4gine3]

With citric acid - does that cause erosion/corrosion at all?

i believe it depends on the metals.. if your radiators copper/brass, it shouldn't but if its alumuminium, i'm not sure

 

[im4gine3]

Thank you. I have copper radiators, what about vinager?

White diluted vinegar. I typically use 10:1 vinegar and water ratio, but use more vinegar if the stuff inside is stubborn to get rid of