best performance for WC coolant

[rickyman123]

what is the best brand for water cooler coolant?

 

[aigomorla]

straight distilled + silver as long as ur not mixing copper and alu

 

[Schmide]

Not the best but real men use Water Wetter Pink.

 

[aigomorla]

Not the best but real men use Water Wetter Pink.

:hmm:

sarcasm?

 

[Billb2]

Distilled water plus your choice of biocide.

 

[Schmide]

:hmm:

sarcasm?

Partially. Partially not.

Advantages - it lowers viscosity, increases thermal capacity (although I don't think this leads to better performance), prevents build up on moving parts.

Disadvantages - it's pink, it smells, it kills pets, it stains tubing, plexiglas, etc, (some say this leads to breakage), not very environmentally friendly, makes liquid very electrically conductive (if it touches your powered equipment, goodbye).

With WW or other similar additives, you can run a loop much longer without cleaning it.

Here's a good chemistry on it.

http://www.overclockers.com/pc-water-coolant-chemistry-part-ii/

 

[aigomorla]

yeah it coats everything with a slimy layer..

However its important when mixing alu + copper, usless when using copper only.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

dont use anything, not that water wetter. ONLY DISTILLED + Silver Coil. The best.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Just remember that distilled water is still conductive. Just ask my two seagates and liteon dvd burner that short circuited last week when a coolant leak bridged the contacts underneath the drives and burned out the electronics on them. I'm now a big fan of the plastic clips because of it. I was running distilled + hydrx when it happened. I'm thinking of getting the feser coolant next time around if somebody will keep the blue in stock lol.

 

[Gillbot]

Just remember that distilled water is still conductive. Just ask my two seagates and liteon dvd burner that short circuited last week when a coolant leak bridged the contacts underneath the drives and burned out the electronics on them. I'm now a big fan of the plastic clips because of it. I was running distilled + hydrx when it happened. I'm thinking of getting the feser coolant next time around if somebody will keep the blue in stock lol.

PURE water is NOT conductive. It's the contaminants that make it conductive.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_difference_between_distilled_water_and_conductivity_water

You contradict your own statement by saying distilled + hydrx. Anytime you have distilled + anything, it is no longer "just distilled" water.

 

[nitromullet]

In building my first loop, I researched this extensively. This question seems to come up on pretty much every forum that has anything to do with water cooling, and nobody has a solid answer. Currently I'm using HydrX, but I have some Pentosin G11 and PT Nuke on the way. I'm sure both will work, but is one better than the other...? If so, why?

Maybe some of the more experienced folks could weigh in on their experiences with some of the following (or others).

Distilled + HydrX
Distilled + silver
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12 + PT Nuke
Water Wetter
Feser
Primochill
Distilled + Zerex
Fluid XP
Thermaltake

I doubt anyone has experience with everything, but just a little blurb would be nice. Let us know if it leaves residue, grows algae, whatever...

 

[LOUISSSSS]

ONLY distilled + 1x silver Coil.

NO PT NUKE, NO PENTOSIN G11, No Hydrx, No any other coolant.

in this case you get the best of both worlds, cheap & performance.

 

[nitromullet]

ONLY distilled + 1x silver Coil.

NO PT NUKE, NO PENTOSIN G11, No Hydrx, No any other coolant.

in this case you get the best of both worlds, cheap & performance.

The coil is only a biocide, it does nothing to prevent corrosion. Mixing Alu and Cu seems to require a corrosion inhibitor, but I don't know how necessary corrosion prevention is in an all Cu loop.

How long have you been running the same loop?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

uh... are you using aluminum parts dude?

there will be no corrosion if its an all Copper loop.
same loop for 1.5 years

 

[nitromullet]

uh... are you using aluminum parts dude?

there will be no corrosion if its an all Copper loop.
same loop for 1.5 years

No, I am not...

Sounds like a pretty good track record.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

then there is no need for G11, and hydrx is just poisoning your loop with contaminants and on top of that raising your temps.

 

[nitromullet]

i found oxidized black gunk inside of BOTH of my copper blocks after looking inside after 6 months. you should take a look...

find my thread on it here if u dont believe me..

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2053631

 

[bmaverick]

80% distilled water + 20% PG coolant.

 

[WoodButcher]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2053631

i found oxidized black gunk inside of BOTH of my copper blocks after looking inside after 6 months. you should take a look...

find my thread on it here if u dont believe me..

ROFL

In building my first loop, I researched this extensively. This question seems to come up on pretty much every forum that has anything to do with water cooling, and nobody has a solid answer. Currently I'm using HydrX, but I have some Pentosin G11 and PT Nuke on the way. I'm sure both will work, but is one better than the other...? If so, why?

Maybe some of the more experienced folks could weigh in on their experiences with some of the following (or others).

Distilled + HydrX -waxy buildup in the tubes, eventually clogs the blocks.
Distilled + silver - no problems, as posted before, biocide only, not for mixed metals
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12 -haven't used it
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12 + PT Nuke -haven't used it
Water Wetter -haven't used it
Feser -like hydrX
Primochill -ditto
Distilled + Zerex -again, like hydrX
Fluid XP -ditto
Thermaltake -more of the same i think this may have started growing but really don't think so, it's just,,,,,,, thermaltakeD:

I doubt anyone has experience with everything, but just a little blurb would be nice. Let us know if it leaves residue, grows algae, whatever...

I'll use silver if I have it, otherwise fish tank algecide or a few drops bleach. These both break the surface tension of water a bit and this is the idea behind wetter wetter, a good thing I think. Must be, my last build ran a year or so and looked pretty good when I drained it, no clogs and the copper was clean.
Before I run my loop the first time I connect to hot tap water and let run a few minutes in each direction then rinse w/ distilled. After setting up the loop I'll drain and refill within the week to be sure the water is clean. I got a rad with flux once so this became a habit for me.

 

[aigomorla]

I doubt anyone has experience with everything, but just a little blurb would be nice. Let us know if it leaves residue, grows algae, whatever...

:hmm:

you sure about that...
I've been watercooling for a very long time....

:sneaky:

Ok.. if your mixing Alu + Copper please use a corrosion inhibitor.
Do not run straight distilled + silver.
The copper will eat the alu. In worse case scenarios, u get a hole and your cooling pulls and "old faithful" inside your computer. And it will be most definitely conductive.

There are a few metals that are OK to mix.
Brass is one of them, nickle is another, gold and silver is fine as well, zinc, and so on and so on... for more info google "galvanic corrosion".

To answer your questions:
Distilled + HydrX -It has etyl glycol... it later starts to clump as your block kinda strings it out. This is the notorious "mystery jelly".
Distilled + silver - Shouldnt have problems.
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12 -stains your blocks with the color... later the dye will fade... You will also have the mystery jelly stuff after long term use.
Distilled + Pentosin G11/12 + PT Nuke -if you use too much PT nuke, it cam clump and solidify. 1-2 Drops PER ENTIRE SYSTEM! that's all you need.
Water Wetter -NASTY NASTY but very recomended when mixing metals. It will coat everything from tubing to blocks with a nasty funky smelling slime. Just dont mix metals, and you dont need to touch this stuff besides inside your car.
Feser - water + ethylene glycol... it will stain your blocks and tubing over time.
Primochill -ditto
Distilled + Zerex - Etylene glycol.
Fluid XP - the old stuff is gross. It will coat everything with a waxy type material.. seriously gross... *spent many many hours flushing my rad of that nasty stuff. The new stuff i have no experience on... nor would i ever try.
Thermaltake - Its water + Etylene glycol..

Etylene glycol is poisonous. So if you have pets that like to bite things or lick things off the floor, its very highly not recommended.

My personal opinion.
Distilled Water + Silver is my vote if your keeping to a mostly copper / brass / nickle loop.

Mixing metals?
Ummm please change your alu parts out. Meaning just don't do it. Its not worth the headache.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

My copper problem is unrelated to to using that coolant mixture crap. I run only distilled & silver. Do u know how to prevent that? If not then u should refer to yourself
as a noob and stfu.

Go ahead and use ptnuke & pentosin & hydrx

 

[LOUISSSSS]

My copper problem is unrelated to to using that coolant mixture crap. I run only distilled & silver. Do u know how to prevent that? If not then u should refer to yourself
as a noob and stfu.

Go ahead and use ptnuke & pentosin & hydrx

 

[nitromullet]

Thank you both for the responses.

I really don't think mixing Alu with Cu is as big of an issue today as it used to be. I just bought a whole bunch of new parts, and I would have had to go out of my way to find Alu stuff. I'm sure it still exists, but luckily almost everything is either copper, brass, copper/nickle plated, and occasionally silver.

I actually disassembled my loop last night (adding stuff), and I did notice some sticky residue on my tubing after only two weeks of HydrX. I wasn't too pleased about that.

I have a set of silver plated barbs. Would I be ok running straight distilled with 2 drops of PT Nuke (I have this kind), or should I order the silver kill coil and add it to my loop?

 

[nitromullet]

My copper problem is unrelated to to using that coolant mixture crap. I run only distilled & silver. Do u know how to prevent that? If not then u should refer to yourself
as a noob and stfu.

Go ahead and use ptnuke & pentosin & hydrx

No reason to get all ruffled... I don't think I attacked you, just let you know that your conflicting statements were confusing. You said never had an issue with oxidation here, but in another thread you said you did. I have no idea if you're talking about the same loop or not. If you could clarify, that might be helpful.

I actually looked for your thread about the 'oxidized black gunk' referenced in the other thread because I was curious, but I didn't find it.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

no it looks like its oxidation related, but i haven't found a conclusion to it. copper and brass and silver do not react with distilled water. you will have even more problems using PTnuke or hydrx or any other mixture of any liquid other than only distilled water in your loop.