Mayhems XT-1 vs Pastel

[Habakkuk]

I had a quick look but could only find the same copy/pasted list press release about them

I don't care about dye or UV, and I'll be using it with soft tubing - either clear or red.

I want to Blitz the system, then fill it up and leave it in for years - I couldn't find details about a difference in lifespan between the two, but XT-1 said 5 years in system, shelf life of 7.

I'm indifferent between prefilled or concentrate, and it'll be used with copper/nickel components - does either choice of coolent prefer Durelene or Tygon tubing?

 

[pastymuncher]

While it may say 5 years system life for XT1 Nuke I wouldn't advise leaving it that long in a loop. XT1 and Pastel have a major downside and that is that they are not compatible with all tubing. Go to the product page here and click on the last picture and enlarge it because it gives you a chart that shows which tubing that XT1 and pastel are not to be used with. I use Mayhems X1 as it has all the additives that you need and can be used with all tubing. My current loop has been running for 18 months now although it will be drained in the next week as my pc gets moved across to my desk build and the loop is getting tweaked. It will then be refilled with fresh X1.

Don't pay over the odds for fancy tubing either. I and many others on here have found that Mayhems own tubing is excellent stuff and I would go on to say it's argueably the best around right now. It is certainly massively better value than other brands.

 

[Habakkuk]

Tubing compatability aside, is there any difference in longevity?

(I'm going out on a limb & assuming they'll both cool the same)

 

[pastymuncher]

Most likely but I would still go for X1 instead because it works with all tubing. Forget about running the same liquid for 5 years because it just won't happen. Either you will upgrade and need to drain it down, your blocks may gunk up and need to drain it down, the colour may fade so you want to replace it or some other reason will crop up. The longest I have run a loop without draining it down for one reason or another is two and a half years and that was several years ago when we could buy Primochill Liquid Utopia in this country. At the end of the day doing maintenance on a custom loop is one of the things that is neccessary to do at certain intervals and if you don't want to do that then maybe custom water is not the right direction for you and maybe a AIO would be a better option.

 

[Undesirable]

Pastel has particulates in it, XT-1 Nuke doesn't. Mayhems says that the inhibitors in XT-1 Nuke are much more resilient than anything else. I believe Pastel Xtreme also has strong inhibitors in it, but it still has particulates that can get caught up in the loop.

I'm using XT-1 myself, but I haven't had long to test it (certainly not years) and I accidentally left contamination in my radiators because when I rinsed them I didn't realise that the rads are so high restriction that it's too difficult to get the flux / debris out without the use of a water pump and cleaning solution.

Anyway, to summarize, XT-1 Nuke is their newest range and supposed to last the longest in the loop, but make sure your loop is clean of all contamination first by using a cleaning solution and be careful of the tubing you use. Don't use PETG hardline tubing with it.

 

[Habakkuk]

Thanks, XT-1 Nuke it is