Stains inside GPU blocks?

Yeah the tubing has slightly lost it's original crystal clear look although it's nothing like the yellow colour of the old XSPC stuff I had went.
 
I'm gonna leave it for now and check what its like over the holidays then.

What a pain in the backside. You have no idea how snug everything is in that 750d - lol
 
Had similar staining on my CPU block using primochill advanced as well.

Their support was useless they just blamed the retailer saying I was given the wrong tubing and to deal with them.
 
Had similar staining on my CPU block using primochill advanced as well.

Their support was useless they just blamed the retailer saying I was given the wrong tubing and to deal with them instead.
 
momo56 said:
Had similar staining on my CPU block using primochill advanced as well.

Their support was useless they just blamed the retailer saying I was given the wrong tubing and to deal with them instead.
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Interesting. What tubing did you go with in the end?

What other options do I have if/when I do change it?
 
Had some cheap masterclear (masterkleer?) tubing leftover so I just used that. I just open up the waterblock and clean them if the temps get silly. Definitely not buying primochill ever again. I think EK have a black tubing that doesnt have this issue. Other option is acrylic tubing.
 
momo56 said:
I think EK have a black tubing that doesnt have this issue.
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EK ZMT (Zero Maintenance Tubing), another alternative is Tygon Norprene but that's a tad expensive (lasts forever though, like seriously, it's the same stuff they make car transmission fluid lines out of and that runs north of 100 degrees).
 
I can recommend the Tygon E3603. Used to have some R3603 installed and that has been fine for years. I think the E is the same as the R but with a "widely accepted substitute for the DEHP plasticiser".
Swapped to some Primochill Primoflex Advanced Clear as I had to change size when I added new required monitoring elements toys to my loop. I've just swapped that out for the Tygon E3603 as I found some in stock and on offer. It's sooo much more flexible than the Primochill. Much nicer to work with too. Slips onto the barbs in the compression fittings a lot easier so you're not putting undue pressure on your cards while you coax the tubing on with colourful language. Stays put once the compression ring is on too. It's also squigible (if that's even a word) which was quite handy for coaxing some of the airlocks out.
 
Bought some of that EK ZMT tubing. Will let you know how it is if they ever decide to dispatch my items.

Shouldn't look too bad with a black/red build.
 
momo56 said:
Bought some of that EK ZMT tubing. Will let you know how it is if they ever decide to dispatch my items.

Shouldn't look too bad with a black/red build.
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I'd love to see some pics when you get it done :)

I've done a bit of digging into the tygon stuff and it looks like they all have plasticisers of some description. Looking at the ZMT tubing, it is a completely different material to the clear tubing, one that I assume doesn't need plasticisers to be workable (EPDM).

So, although I would rather keep transparent tubing for the nice UV effect, I much prefer to have a clean (as much as possible) maintenance free loop.

Does anyone else use the ZMT tubing from EK?
 
Yeah they arrived. Not the best looking tubing. Covered in glitter too for some reason.

Better than having to clean the waterblock every few months. Can finally use indigo extreme now.
 
I think the Tygon E-3603 does have a plasticiser but it's supposed to be one that doesn't cause the same leaching issues that the older R-3603 (and other tubing) may have suffered from.
Tygon do the original that ZMT is (presumably) copied from. It's called Norprene. I have read of issues (search for "ZMT compression") that people are having with getting it (both EK and Tygon) to stay on compression fittings because it is much softer. I cannot claim any experience with it but it's worth having a search round to see what people have had success with before you go ZMT as the fittings you choose may well be important.

For what it's worth, I ran Tygon R-3603 8/11mm for several years with EC6 coolant and have not had problems with gunk. I've just stripped the system down and did clean out my CPU block as there were a few tiny particles of gunk in the fins (clear top so I could see) but nothing that was disturbing. Also worth noting is that my system was formerly passively cooled (before upgrading GPU and adding an active rad) so my coolant temps were often up as far as 60C. The Tygon is much nicer to work with (getting it onto barbs) than the Primochill in my opinion. It probably isn't good for external runs where the tubing needs to be able to withstand some physical abuse (like feet) as it will squish, bend stretch - although it does spring back.
 
Thanks for the info Cenedd, you've swayed me back towards the Tygon again.

I feel like it's a bit of a minefield for tubing, if you don't want to get into a frequent cleaning / tube replacement schedule (which I don't)

On another note, whats best to remove the gunk from the block? I have access to proper solvents (at work) like IPA, Acetone, Butanone and some others that we use in cleaning processes.
 
Ketchup probably works due to its vinegar content.
It may seem a minefield but apart from avoiding the hideous mistakes, you'll be choosing between something that's good and something that's either as good in different ways or 99.9% as good - ie. you're gonna be fine with either.
The ZMT may well be fine but it might be a case if trying different fittings to see what gives enough grip. If you're after a slow build with plenty of spare time and budget, that's fine and you'll probably have some useful feedback for others afterwards...plus some colourful new vocabulary and maybe a little less sanity. But if you are short on time/money/patience you might want to steer clear of the norprene based stuff unless someone can state exactly what works well with it from experience.
 
Cenedd said:
Ketchup probably works due to its vinegar content.
It may seem a minefield but apart from avoiding the hideous mistakes, you'll be choosing between something that's good and something that's either as good in different ways or 99.9% as good - ie. you're gonna be fine with either.
The ZMT may well be fine but it might be a case if trying different fittings to see what gives enough grip. If you're after a slow build with plenty of spare time and budget, that's fine and you'll probably have some useful feedback for others afterwards...plus some colourful new vocabulary and maybe a little less sanity. But if you are short on time/money/patience you might want to steer clear of the norprene based stuff unless someone can state exactly what works well with it from experience.
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I've already spent a small fortune on fittings & the rest.
I'm gonna be fitting tygon I think
 
Yeah you were right about the fittings. My original ones wouldn't screw back on. Had to use different fittings.

Not sure what brand they are. Bought them from OCUK clearance.
 
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