Coolant vs no coolant

[thetrystero]

Lifehacker's guide says that colored coolants gunk up the loop. This is on an xspc raystorm 750 rx240. How much of a problem is it? Is it not something that can be addressed by flushing the tubes and toothbrushing the reservoir or are we talking mildew stubbornness here? And does adding coolant render any significant advantages? How many degrees celcius different are we talking about, or will it make the rad fans run quieter?

[Deton]

I'm assuming you meant colored coolant vs plain water.

Plain water
Pros:
better thermal performance, within 0.5°c
cheaper
easy to obtain

Cons:
non corrosion and algae protection
current conductor
freeze

Colored Coolant
Pros:
corrosion and algae protection
prettier

Cons:
cost
availability
dye pigment break down over time
mother of all stains

[calemus]

(( warning, ignorance ahead ))


Food Grade Machine Oil, 16 oz Food Grade Machine Oil, 125-03081


maybe?

[thetrystero]

I'm assuming you meant colored coolant vs plain water.

Plain water
Pros:
better thermal performance, within 0.5°c
cheaper
easy to obtain

Cons:
non corrosion and algae protection
current conductor
freeze

Colored Coolant
Pros:
corrosion and algae protection
prettier

Cons:
cost
availability
dye pigment break down over time
mother of all stains

distilled water it is then! my clean freak side will absolutely not allow the mother to come roost.

[Deliverance]

I use distilled and silver coils. Zero issues.

I used Feser coolant once in the past, but upon tearing the system down, there was a thin, slimy film on everything that disgusted me. So much cleaning. And replaced all tubing.

Calemus, I'd be hesitant to use anything heavier than water. Wouldn't a heavier fluid retain heat?

[MattyMatt]

I'm assuming you meant colored coolant vs plain water.

Read the LH guide here: A Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your Computer
Havent been on LH since the layout change. Still ugly.

Makes the same mistake I did. Water acts as the coolant, but in the waco world is not called a coolant. He is using the dictionary definition
Thanks for the post, informative.

Calemus, I'd be hesitant to use anything heavier than water. Wouldn't a heavier fluid retain heat?

Oil would work, but not too well within the loop itself. Youd want to do a complete submerge and still need a fan to generate movement. Also forget reusing those parts, once oiled, they can only go back into oil. Believe me. I did it with spares one day when I was bored a decade ago.

[Deton]

you do not use fan to move the oil, you need a good powerful pump to circulate the oil through the radiator.

[Solara2xb]

I use Distilled water + silver coil + PT Nuke in my systems and no issues.

I use to use Primochill coolant, great stuff but was to expensive to maintain. The Colored coolant works good, but will stain blocks and dye break down was quite fast which is the cons in using those type of coolant

[vinman]

i use distilled water + silver coil + pt nuke in my systems and no issues.

I use to use primochill coolant, great stuff but was to expensive to maintain. The colored coolant works good, but will stain blocks and dye break down was quite fast which is the cons in using those type of coolant

ditto!!!!

[MattyMatt]

you do not use fan to move the oil, you need a good powerful pump to circulate the oil through the radiator.

Im talking about oil submerged, not oil through a loop: Mineral Oil Submerged PC in Aquarium (original video) - YouTube

[PoLoMoTo]

I use de-ionized water >.> Need to get some ethylene glycol and copper sulfate...

[PoLoMoTo]

Im talking about oil submerged, not oil through a loop: Mineral Oil Submerged PC in Aquarium (original video) - YouTube

I actually really want to do that but it's really messy to change components and the mineral oil runs up the wires. I've heard of people submerging another box inside it and putting a fish in, sounds epic

[MattyMatt]

Like I said, forget those components afterwards. It is safe, as long as you make sure all wiring goes up, but it does stink and cooling performance isnt amazing enough for it.

[PoLoMoTo]

Like I said, forget those components afterwards. It is safe, as long as you make sure all wiring goes up, but it does stink and cooling performance isnt amazing enough for it.

I'm pretty sure the oil will go up too, I know someone who had the case shown in that video with his mic coming out the IO and the cable became so brittle that it snapped when he moved it.

[MattyMatt]

Oh yeah, it goes up into the jacks. Sorry, I was thinking the power cord, that I had no issue with. Made sure everything went up so I wouldnt get oil outside of the case.