Radiator Cleaning

w3bbo · 24 Jan 2007 at 18:27

Just a little heads up to those who are buying a new rad - make SURE you clean it.

Heres what I did (thermochill PA 120.3).

1. rinse the rad with distilled water.
2. Fill the rad with di-ionised, shaking the radiator when it is half full of water will help a little and will start to loosen the crap inside.
3. Do the same as above but this time with white vinegar(I used white malt).
4. Fill the radiator with vinegar but this time let it sit for 6-8 hours, I left mine overnight - 8hrs.
5.Flush out the vinegar with water.
6.Repeat Step 4.
7.Repeat Step 2.
8. Keep repating until you get clear vinegar. Took me four repeats, see below:

NOTE: Using warm water will not have the same effect as vinegar since most manufacturers have switched to water soluble flux.

w3bbo · 24 Jan 2007 at 18:42

helps stave off some of the tube clouding. Couldn't believe the first flush tbh. Loads of what can only be described as grit came out - bad for impingement jets clogging tbh.

w3bbo · 24 Jan 2007 at 19:49

Not exactly full or crap but yeah they are some nasty deposits left in through the manufacturing process such as flux etc.

w3bbo · 24 Jan 2007 at 21:32

Must have been a dirty worker who made mine then lol.

w3bbo · 25 Jan 2007 at 14:52

Use a cheap funnel when filling (make sure this is also clean). When it appears full stand it on its end (opposite to the threads) and any trapped air will rise to the top and bleed out, at this point give it a good shake with the ends covered then drain off.

w3bbo · 25 Jan 2007 at 18:49

clone said:
So you recomend putting just vinegar in and no water to stand for upto 8hrs, just checking before i do mine.

First flush it out with water a couple of times. This will get rid of any loose particles that are inside. Letting the water stand in your rad for hours will have little impact. Once you have flushed all the loose stuff out you then soak with vinegar for upto 8 hours. Be carefull not to get vinegar on the outside(paint) as it can damage the paintwaork if left on over a peroid of time.

w3bbo · 25 Jan 2007 at 18:53

Street said:
On a similar note.. Whats the best way of emptying the loop? I decided to mount my rad in a different position inside the case on the top panel but need to emptuy the loop to do it! Grr!

Just uncouple a tube preferably at the lowest point in your loop then drain it off, gravity will do most of the work for you, once it stops daining you may also need to uncouple another bit(usually near the top of your loop) to allow air into your loop and therefore allow the remaining water to drain off.

I know its common sense but ensure you do this while the PSU is unplugged and the motherboard has been discharged.

w3bbo · 25 Jan 2007 at 21:48

Good luck m8, hope yours aint as dirty as mine lol.

w3bbo · 29 Jan 2007 at 19:47

So how did it go clone m8 - dirty or clean?

w3bbo · 29 Jan 2007 at 20:58

Yeah np's m8y

w3bbo · 11 Jan 2009 at 10:37

Jeez, 2 years since this thread was started, time flies

.

I have amended the OP to reflect the changes. I still prefer the use of vinegar though as it gets more crap out than water but you do risk damaging the radiator if you are not carefull.

w3bbo · 11 Jan 2009 at 21:16

mikewebb said:
Im sure Ive seen that picture before on a competitors forum W3bbo

I'm a member/moderator on a number of 'competitor' forums m8. Nothing wrong with sharing valuable info and guides with the whole overclocking community

. I mean it's not like OCUK are Israel and everyone else is an Arab nation......