Coolant Clogs Water Cooling Loop: Myth or Not?

[iRon_Man22]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5435-watercooling-faq-some-basic-qa/#entry61837

I've heard so many different opinions on this, that it's hard to know what to believe. Some say all coolant with time will clog your water cooling loop, water blocks, pumps, etc.. In the link above, in the paragraph titled "Q: Clear coolant or clear tubes?" The mod named Ghost says "Some people say they have issues with dyes clogging up their system. That's just a myth and you shouldn't worry about it as it only occurs with bad coolants." Is this who I should believe? If so, what is considered an excellent brand of coolant?

 

[GRUxTSAR]

A loop will never clog. Some low-quality coolant brands have dyes that separate and build up on waterblocks and fittings, but your loop will never "clog", it'll just be hard to clean when you take it apart. If you don't want this problem, use distilled water + killcoil or biocide + anti-corrosive if you need it. You can use colored tubes with that, but they're harder to bleed when you fill the loop. Clear tubed with strong case LEDs will appear somewhat colored. If you really want to use colored coolant, use Mayhems coolant. It's expensive, but I never hear enthusiasts having issues with it

 

[iRon_Man22]

A loop will never clog. Some low-quality coolant brands have dyes that separate and build up on waterblocks and fittings, but your loop will never "clog", it'll just be hard to clean when you take it apart. If you don't want this problem, use distilled water + killcoil or biocide + anti-corrosive if you need it. You can use colored tubes with that, but they're harder to bleed when you fill the loop. Clear tubed with strong case LEDs will appear somewhat colored. If you really want to use colored coolant, use Mayhems coolant. It's expensive, but I never hear enthusiasts having issues with it

Solid answer, I think I was just misunderstanding the term "clogging" vs. just gunk build up on loop components. I'll probably go with the colored coolant purely for the aesthetics. I plan on regularly maintaining my loop and changing tubing at least once a year. I don't think build up will be a problem for me. I've heard Mayhems was good, thx for the help!

 

[rubix_1011]

I would recommend dyes over coolants. Less 'stuff' in the solution that can precipitate out and gunk stuff up. Even food coloring can work in a pinch.

Don't forget anti-microbial or biocide...stuff can still grow unless it is listed as being an anti-growth formula.

 

[iRon_Man22]

I would recommend dyes over coolants. Less 'stuff' in the solution that can precipitate out and gunk stuff up. Even food coloring can work in a pinch.

Don't forget anti-microbial or biocide...stuff can still grow unless it is listed as being an anti-growth formula.

good advice, I thought I had read food coloring was an absolute NO in water cooling. is that just debatable topic? Dyes would be a good choice like you say, are they any different looking asethetically from coolant?

 

[rubix_1011]

I've never heard of anyone having an issue with it. I've used it before without issues for over a year.

You wouldn't know any difference between dyes and coolants other than some coolants have other properties such as being glycol based or having anti-microbial properties. Remember, the more stuff that is in the liquid solvant (water), the poorer the cooling properties of the water.

 

[iRon_Man22]

I've never heard of anyone having an issue with it. I've used it before without issues for over a year.

You wouldn't know any difference between dyes and coolants other than some coolants have other properties such as being glycol based or having anti-microbial properties. Remember, the more stuff that is in the liquid solvant (water), the poorer the cooling properties of the water.

Awesome Rubix, thanks for the info. Any advice on which dyes are the best?

 

[rubix_1011]

Not personally, no. I think I used some Feser dye back in the day, but it's been several years. I only run distilled and anti-microbial now.

 

[4Ryan6]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5435-watercooling-faq-some-basic-qa/#entry61837

I've heard so many different opinions on this, that it's hard to know what to believe. Some say all coolant with time will clog your water cooling loop, water blocks, pumps, etc.. In the link above, in the paragraph titled "Q: Clear coolant or clear tubes?" The mod named Ghost says "Some people say they have issues with dyes clogging up their system. That's just a myth and you shouldn't worry about it as it only occurs with bad coolants." Is this who I should believe? If so, what is considered an excellent brand of coolant?

There were some Old School horrors of certain coolants that gelled in the loop and blocked off the flow, that is not a myth, but today, all of those past coolant problems have been resolved and are not a concern today.

Spoiler

If you do not add things to the coolant it plainly warns you not to do!

Some water block manufacturers recommend using their coolants for any of their nickel plated water blocks and Koolance will not honor their warranty unless you do use their coolant, and EK has not refused to honor their warranty but do recommend using their coolants.

The main reason dyes added to distilled water are recommended over coolants is that distilled water is the best tested thermal conductor of the heat transfer to the coolant as rubix_1011 has already said the more you add to the coolant the less it's thermal conductivity is.

When it comes to water cooling performance the closest you can stay to 100% pure steam distilled water the better, but you still need to comply with brand name demands of Nickel plated water blocks to stay on the safe side of things.

There in, is the question of what's in your loop metal wise, I always stick to a full copper loop that way I can personally use 100% steam distilled water and PT Nuke Biocide (Copper Sulfate) 1 drop per liter, and that's all I actually run coolant wise.

If you are running various metals in your loop you have no choice but to run a premixed coolant to keep reactions from taking place, however make sure you read the full directions on the coolant and do not add things like additional Biocide or Silver Coils if it says not to do so!

Many problems can be avoided if the end user would just read the Warnings.

You've asked about dyes but please keep in mind if you're running a nickel plated water block at all, I suggest using a pre-colored coolant from the manufacturer of the water block.

If you are running a loop that you can safely add dye to, then probably Mayhems Dye but always read the warning.

Warning:

To keep the nonstaining abilty it must be mixed with Ultra Pure H20, Pastel Ice White, X1 clear or XT-1 clear only. Mixing Nonstaining dyes with any premixed coloured coolants will result in a staining product.

Mayhems non stain dyes contain a biocide that is compatible with Mayhems current range of products (X1, XT1, Pastel, Aurora). They have not been tested on any other manufactured fluids.

***************************************************************************
The underlined above is to cover "Catch 22", as there are 2 different types of BioCide and it is not recommended mixing different types of BioCide in the same loop.

Or you can do what rubix_1011 does and use food coloring, I have not done that myself, but I know he wouldn't recommend it, if he was not sure regarding it.

Hope this helps you, and Good luck! Ryan

 

[rubix_1011]

I haven't used dye or food color for several years and be aware that it will stain tubing and possibly other more 'permanent' components in the loop, like copper.

There are a lot of reasons why most people who have been watercooling don't use coolants and dyes and try to convince newcomers to start off by not using them...it's because this hobby is a significant investment and we don't want to deal with permanent staining on expensive gear.

Plus, there is a great look that a pure, clean watercooling loop gives over one that is all 'bro'd and blinged out'.

 

[4Ryan6]

^ I wholeheartedly Agree!

 

[rubix_1011]

You put rims and giant spoilers on a cheap Honda, but when you have an AMG Mercedes, the clean, pure, powerful look does it simply due to it's minimalism.

 

[iRon_Man22]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5435-watercooling-faq-some-basic-qa/#entry61837

I've heard so many different opinions on this, that it's hard to know what to believe. Some say all coolant with time will clog your water cooling loop, water blocks, pumps, etc.. In the link above, in the paragraph titled "Q: Clear coolant or clear tubes?" The mod named Ghost says "Some people say they have issues with dyes clogging up their system. That's just a myth and you shouldn't worry about it as it only occurs with bad coolants." Is this who I should believe? If so, what is considered an excellent brand of coolant?

There were some Old School horrors of certain coolants that gelled in the loop and blocked off the flow, that is not a myth, but today, all of those past coolant problems have been resolved and are not a concern today.

Spoiler

If you do not add things to the coolant it plainly warns you not to do!

Some water block manufacturers recommend using their coolants for any of their nickel plated water blocks and Koolance will not honor their warranty unless you do use their coolant, and EK has not refused to honor their warranty but do recommend using their coolants.

The main reason dyes added to distilled water are recommended over coolants is that distilled water is the best tested thermal conductor of the heat transfer to the coolant as rubix_1011 has already said the more you add to the coolant the less it's thermal conductivity is.

When it comes to water cooling performance the closest you can stay to 100% pure steam distilled water the better, but you still need to comply with brand name demands of Nickel plated water blocks to stay on the safe side of things.

There in, is the question of what's in your loop metal wise, I always stick to a full copper loop that way I can personally use 100% steam distilled water and PT Nuke Biocide (Copper Sulfate) 1 drop per liter, and that's all I actually run coolant wise.

If you are running various metals in your loop you have no choice but to run a premixed coolant to keep reactions from taking place, however make sure you read the full directions on the coolant and do not add things like additional Biocide or Silver Coils if it says not to do so!

Many problems can be avoided if the end user would just read the Warnings.

You've asked about dyes but please keep in mind if you're running a nickel plated water block at all, I suggest using a pre-colored coolant from the manufacturer of the water block.

If you are running a loop that you can safely add dye to, then probably Mayhems Dye but always read the warning.

Warning:

To keep the nonstaining abilty it must be mixed with Ultra Pure H20, Pastel Ice White, X1 clear or XT-1 clear only. Mixing Nonstaining dyes with any premixed coloured coolants will result in a staining product.

Mayhems non stain dyes contain a biocide that is compatible with Mayhems current range of products (X1, XT1, Pastel, Aurora). They have not been tested on any other manufactured fluids.

***************************************************************************
The underlined above is to cover "Catch 22", as there are 2 different types of BioCide and it is not recommended mixing different types of BioCide in the same loop.

Or you can do what rubix_1011 does and use food coloring, I have not done that myself, but I know he wouldn't recommend it, if he was not sure regarding it.

Hope this helps you, and Good luck! Ryan

You guys are awesome, this answered a ton of my questions. My only question at this point is which PC cases are even my options for my build? I plan on water cooling my 2x 980Ti's and my i7-5930K. I want to do dual loops only beacuse I plan on getting serious with overclocking my CPU. My MoBo that I've been thinking about getting is the MSI X99A SLI Krait Edition (ATX). I want TONS of space for rads (triples and maybe a quad 120's ^^) and push/pull config fans. Which cases will give me the space Im looking for and the watercooling features I need? I plan to mod the case in the future as well.

 

[iRon_Man22]

I haven't used dye or food color for several years and be aware that it will stain tubing and possibly other more 'permanent' components in the loop, like copper.

There are a lot of reasons why most people who have been watercooling don't use coolants and dyes and try to convince newcomers to start off by not using them...it's because this hobby is a significant investment and we don't want to deal with permanent staining on expensive gear.

Plus, there is a great look that a pure, clean watercooling loop gives over one that is all 'bro'd and blinged out'.

Very good point I will skip the dyes and coolant. I plan on an all copper loop, I want to avoid mixing metals.

 

[4Ryan6]

Here's a case for your consideration.