Can I use "De-Ionised water" to clean GPU fan?

[tilyardinit]

I actually ordered wd-40 from tesco it got replaced with De-Ionised Water, Tesco brand.

The bottle says. for Car/Boat batteries,
Steam irons
and Indoor water features..





I needed it for my GPU fan because it's making noise..Or should I go out and get..WD-40.

 

[house70]

That is distilled water, you can get it anywhere.
How do you plan to do the actual cleaning? Will you remove the fan from the card and just clean it? Even so, if you plan to wash the fan with that water, don't forget to lubricate it when you're done and the thing is completely dry again.
I would just brush the fan blades thoroughly, then lubricate the fan and re-place it. Make sure any excess lube is removed, or it will be spread all over the system when the fan spins up.
When a fan makes noises like that it is usually a sign of wear and tear, not only poor lubrication. I would suggest get yourself a new fan for a few bucks and avoid a costlier potential fan failure that could fry your GPU.

 

[xtreme5]

yes, you can clean it easily even i washed my old pentium4 915 motherboard with normal water and after that i swear motherboard works perfectly.

 

[tilyardinit]

That is distilled water, you can get it anywhere.
How do you plan to do the actual cleaning? Will you remove the fan from the card and just clean it? Even so, if you plan to wash the fan with that water, don't forget to lubricate it when you're done and the thing is completely dry again.
I would just brush the fan blades thoroughly, then lubricate the fan and re-place it. Make sure any excess lube is removed, or it will be spread all over the system when the fan spins up.
When a fan makes noises like that it is usually a sign of wear and tear, not only poor lubrication. I would suggest get yourself a new fan for a few bucks and avoid a costlier potential fan failure that could fry your GPU.

well I was told to use WD-40 and it says that De-ionised water can't conduct electric. Somebody said you can dip your card in the water and it wouldn't break it...lool.

But no, I wanted Wd-40 to lubricate the fan to stop it from being so noisy. if it isn't a lubricant then I won't bother.

the fan itself is the custom Ati radeon 4850 Powercolor clip on fan. Clips off very easily so i'll be doing that.

 

[tilyardinit]

yes, you can clean it easily even i washed my old pentium4 915 motherboard with normal water and after that i swear motherboard works perfectly.

I bet one day you ruin the motherboard, lol.

 

[dish_moose]

WD-40 sucks as a lubricant - once all the good stuff evaporates you are left with a "dry" bearing/bushing. You can use WD to free/clean stuck parts but you need a very light weight oil to lubricate.
BTW once a fan gives you problems - better to replace than spend all that time & effort to fix something that has a low cost.
-Bruce

 

[tilyardinit]

WD-40 sucks as a lubricant - once all the good stuff evaporates you are left with a "dry" bearing/bushing. You can use WD to free/clean stuck parts but you need a very light weight oil to lubricate.
BTW once a fan gives you problems - better to replace than spend all that time & effort to fix something that has a low cost.
-Bruce

I've brought sewingoil for this,

Btw, the fan itself...I can't find anywhere🙁

it's an Ati Radeon HD 4850 powercolor and there isn't a replacement fan. the guy i brought from wants a 16.00 shipping fee.

And it takes 25 days to come...Lol.

So I'm spending like..4-5.00 on just giving it a good clean.

If it works then great, but if i have to get a new fan...I'd still lubricant it/clean it everynow and then...I haven't done so with this card.

 

[ngrego]

You shouldn't use either of these on your fan unless you want to comletely destroy it and possibly your graphics card altogether! The fan on your GPU does not work like a mechanical fan there are no ball bearings and it isn't lubricated by a common lubricant. The brushes in the fan are enriched with a lubricant and self-lubricate the fan for the duration of its life. When that stops happening the fan has simply reached the end of its life and must be replaced.
Using lube on the fan may stop the noise its making but it is surely not repaired!

If you can't find the exact fan to replace the broken one you can surely find an aftr market fan to do the job and save your graphics card in the process.
Check these out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119079
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118076
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119064

 

[xtreme5]

I bet one day you ruin the motherboard, lol.

really? then how much bet you want and that motherboard still working fine from last 2 years