Do I have to drain my water cooling loop?

[TechiGamer]

Hi,

I have a water cooling loop with a 50/50 split between distilled water and ethylene glycol. Although obviously most WC loops have to be drained regularly to preserve the components, I was wondering if ethylene glycol would present a different situation?
Glycol usually kills most living things, and is a lubricant and overall protectant and sealer.

What do I have to look out for in an ethylene glycol and water, water cooling loop?

Also, I would appreciate it if someone would suggest a link/guide to follow to clean out the loop.

Also, I was thinking of refilling my loop with propylene instead of ethylene, but I noticed that it is not as efficient and viscous as ethylene. Overall, propylene is not as great as ethylene, but are the trade offs negligible?

 

[CorrectingDisinformation]

Propylene glycol is not toxic, so there's that if it concerns you. It's true it is less efficient in cooling, but it's not by much.

Dow chemical (who makes PG) recommends using PG in a 30% solution as a heat transfer fluid. This is enough to keep bacteria and fungi from growing. I recommend not going higher than 30% because the more water you have, the better cooling. I also recommend buying inhibited PG since it has anti-corrosion chemicals added to it. I would say a 30% solution of PG will perform as good or better than a 50% solution of EG that you have now.

As for cleaning the loop, I don't know much about it as I don't use custom loops. I would assume a good flushing with tap water and a good final rinse with distilled water would probably be good enough.

 

[TechiGamer]

Propylene glycol is not toxic, so there's that if it concerns you. It's true it is less efficient in cooling, but it's not by much.

Dow chemical (who makes PG) recommends using PG in a 30% solution as a heat transfer fluid. This is enough to keep bacteria and fungi from growing. I recommend not going higher than 30% because the more water you have, the better cooling. I also recommend buying inhibited PG since it has anti-corrosion chemicals added to it. I would say a 30% solution of PG will perform as good or better than a 50% solution of EG that you have now.

As for cleaning the loop, I don't know much about it as I don't use custom loops. I would assume a good flushing with tap water and a good final rinse with distilled water would probably be good enough.

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it

Unfortunately, the problem is that propylene in a 30/70 mixture only has a melting point of -13, approximately. This is a concern because I have a rad outside the house to utilize the cold temperatures in the winter, which can reach as low as -30 Celsius.
To reach that kind of freezing point, both propylene and ethylene would need to be in a 50/50 mixture. So, which do you think would perform better in that mixture?
I don't mind sacrificing a few degrees for the extra benefits you mentioned. I also have pets, which is why no toxicity would be nice, but I'm always super careful and never had any incidents.