How often do you *actually* drain your loop?

Jay85 said:
no biocide or kill coil, never used them at all. If you're using distilled water (i've been using halfords ones for many years) i dont think you need to tbh.

Whats the benefit of having a lower freezing point coolant in the system? I can understand in vehicle applications but not sure about computer cooling systems?
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My computer is in the 'office', which is a conservatory. Don't get me wrong, it's a comfy place to be (insulated, bricked, triple glazing etc) but I reckon it could easily reach below zero on a very cold night.

In addition, it's not outside the realms of possibility a house could reach below zero. Say you go away for 2 weeks and the central heating is off, or the boiler goes out for a few days. Given our lovely loops are closed systems, freezing water could have very nasty consequences.

That's my thought process anyway :)

Thanks for the rest of the info. I too only use distilled water, but once it's been opened, and once your grubby mitts have been over the tubing, fittings etc, you're introducing bacteria. At least that's my worry.

Not saying you'll have ever have a problem or anything like that, just my reasoning for using a concentrate. It's obvious I may be overly cautious, given you've never had an issue!
 
WantoN said:
My computer is in the 'office', which is a conservatory. Don't get me wrong, it's a comfy place to be (insulated, bricked triple glazing etc) but I reckon it could still reach below zero on a very cold night.

In addition, it's not outside the realms of possibility a house could reach below zero. Say you go away for 2 weeks and the central heating is off, or the boiler goes out for a few days. Given our lovely loops are closed systems, freezing water could have very nasty consequences.

That's my thought process anyway :)

Thanks for the rest of the info. I too only use distilled water, but once it's been opened, and once your grubby mitts have been over the tubing, fittings etc, you're introducing bacteria. At leaat that's my sorry.

Not saying you'll have ever have a problem or anything like that, just my reasoning for using a concentrate. It's obvious I may be overly cautious, given you've never had an issue.
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Ah i never thought of having a computer in the conservatory, yeah you're right it could technically go below if you're not in the house for a long period of time although very unlikely in this country. Outside temp yes it will but inside an insulated home or in your case a conservatory i highly doubt it would (i'd be very surprised if it did).

In terms of bacteria growing from touching tubing and fittings, i did consider this but through the 8 years of using watercooling i've never once had this issue happen. Ive used premixes but usually only for a short period of time before i get bored of it and change back to distilled water.

When i recently opened up my cpu block after upgrading to a newer platform (after near 5 years of continuous use) i was quite honestly expecting the worst but there was nothing, no staining, no gunk of any kind. Looked as good as the day i bought it.

The funny thing is i even drained my loop once before around 2 years ago but reused the same fluid and it was still okay. Safe to say im using newer distilled water now for my new setup as i think even distilled water as a shelf life haha.
 
Mr Mcgoo said:
I will be getting a new pump and cpu block that I have wanted and has just been released. Aqua Computer D5 Next with D5 Top and Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora ;)
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Very jealous. I absolutely love that pump; looks superb, and the built in functionality is excellent.

I'm also a big fan of what AlphaCool are doing. Loved their previous modular GPU blocks, and that CPU block looks nice.

More of a fan of the EKWB Quantum, in nickel that thing looks magnificent, bit out of my price range mind ;)
 
Jay85 said:
Ah i never thought of having a computer in the conservatory, yeah you're right it could technically go below if you're not in the house for a long period of time although very unlikely in this country. Outside temp yes it will but inside an insulated home or in your case a conservatory i highly doubt it would (i'd be very surprised if it did).

In terms of bacteria growing from touching tubing and fittings, i did consider this but through the 8 years of using watercooling i've never once had this issue happen. Ive used premixes but usually only for a short period of time before i get bored of it and change back to distilled water.
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My mum's house was empty for quite some time, stopcock broke in the loft, it was the middle of winter. Water built up in the ceiling and poured through, boiler stopped working. I came down two days later and it was frozen. It's a pretty extreme example, but I know first hand a house can get below zero. That being said, I definitely dont think it's a necessary thing to have freeze protection, I'm just a belt and braces kinda guy :D

Very encouraging to hear you've had no issues with distilled water, I always opt for it over de-ionised. I often wonder if these pastel colours etc are actually worse than just distilled. Wouldn't run them myself, and definitely not those aurora things, even for weeks.
 
WantoN said:
Very jealous. I absolutely love that pump; looks superb, and the built in functionality is excellent.

I'm also a big fan of what AlphaCool are doing. Loved their previous modular GPU blocks, and that CPU block looks nice.

More of a fan of the EKWB Quantum, in nickel that thing looks magnificent, bit out of my price range mind ;)
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Fell in love with the pump as soon as I saw the concept and it has proven to be very good. This will be quite the upgrade from my little 450lph 3m head pump. will only be running this at 60% so around 900lph double my current flow and 2.2m head. so a very nice upgrade :) the cpu block looks better than my basic acrylic rgb. Also has more micro fins 81 0.2mm apart and 0.2mm thickness per fin compared to my current 49 0.2mm apart and 0.4mm thickness per fin. Should be looking at around 1-2c better temps on the cpu block alone and maybe 1-2c on the pump for cpu and gpu :) winner winner chicken dinner
 
Mr Mcgoo said:
Fell in love with the pump as soon as I saw the concept and it has proven to be very good. This will be quite the upgrade from my little 450lph 3m head pump. will only be running this at 60% so around 900lph double my current flow and 2.2m head. so a very nice upgrade :) the cpu block looks better than my basic acrylic rgb. Also has more micro fins 81 0.2mm apart and 0.2mm thickness per fin compared to my current 49 0.2mm apart and 0.4mm thickness per fin. Should be looking at around 1-2c better temps on the cpu block alone and maybe 1-2c on the pump for cpu and gpu :) winner winner chicken dinner
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Very nice. I'm moving to a dual D5 setup, and I SO wanted that NEXT. Unfortunately money is tight, but I picked up a D5 PWM for £35 on the MM, so can't complain! I'm doing a scratch build open frame case to go in my cupboard, and I'll be using the AquaComputer OCTO to control my fans, very excited to try it out.

Just need to finish modifying the cabinet and f ind a bloody reservoir on the MM! Large ones are like hen's teeth atm!

Really looking forward to some pics of this build, going to be epic!
 
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I will be doing a build log once I get the parts. The virus has delayed delivery but OC was nice enough when I called to refund shipping as next day wasn't going to happen.
 
Mr Mcgoo said:
I will be doing a build log once I get the parts. The virus has delayed delivery but OC was nice enough when I called to refund shipping as next day wasn't going to happen.
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Awesome. I always say I will but never do! :D Do you not get free shipping as a forum member?
 
Spie said:
FREE SHIPPING - for loyal OcUK forum members only

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This offer applies to
  • OcUK Forums members who have 250 or more posts and have been registered for over 90 days, or
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