Will it be ok using hard well water as liquid cooler?

[irishred]

I am thinking of buying a liquid cooling system for my new build. I will have no more than 2 video cards, several hdds and blu ray drive. I live in the country where it gets dusty and hot. I have hard well water and uses no water softener. I understand there is more maintanence for liquid cooling than air cooling but just want to make sure my pc stay cool although I want to oc my i7-2600k and maybe my video cards if I can get them as reference cards. What about using distille water?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Distilled water or de-ionised is a popular choice of W/coolers,
do not use well water, the minerals etc in it will result in built up deposits in no time and kill your loop, unless you can distill it yourself?
Moto

 

[manzooka]

Hey Irish,

Don't use your well water. While researching for my first WC build the majority of FAQs and guides I read suggested the use of distilled water plus a biocide like PT Nuke or a silver kill coil. Maintenance needs will vary, but I've ready many reports from folks who have gone 12 months + without the need to drain or clean their WC rigs.

 

[need4speeds]

The easiest thing to do if you have hard water is to buy the premixed antifreeze that is already a 50/50 mix. You could opt for the orange GM style long life stuff so you never have to change it.

I don't think most systems are made to run on pure water, most use antifreeze/water mix that has the anti-corrosion stuff in it already.

-pure distilled water is somewhat corrosive (acidic), you are better off with reverse-osmosis bottled water that has some minerals in it still, it wont be as acidic as pure water is. You want water that is low in minerals and PH neutral.
Also this water is easy to find at your corner store. Do not get bottled mineral water or "mountain spring water" make sure it says reverse-osmosis and says it's low in minerals.

-well water is alkaline and will corrode metals and leave deposits.

-Pure distilled water is ok if you use it with the treatment like suggested above, the treatment adjusts the PH and stops algae growth.

-You could also add some water the the antifreese mix, so its 70/30 instead of 50/50 because the more water vs glycol the better the heat transfer.

 

[blackhawk1928]

I am thinking of buying a liquid cooling system for my new build. I will have no more than 2 video cards, several hdds and blu ray drive. I live in the country where it gets dusty and hot. I have hard well water and uses no water softener. I understand there is more maintanence for liquid cooling than air cooling but just want to make sure my pc stay cool although I want to oc my i7-2600k and maybe my video cards if I can get them as reference cards. What about using distille water?

You can purchase distilled water from the store. I cannot see you distilling water yourself. You would need to evaporate it in a perfectly clean envirnment and condense it back.

If you want an easy and cheap solution for clean water, purchase a Reverse Osmosis system. If you use a quality membrane, your PPT will be brought down to practically 0. Your well water probably has hundreds if not thousands of ppt, you don't know what chemicals are in it that can lead to destructive reactions with your cooling equipment. Reverse Osmosis will give you practically distilled equivalent water.

 

[Pyree]

Or if you know someone working in a laboratory, let them bring you in and use some of their water.

 

[Cespenar]

Do not use antifreeze. I found it has an oily component that wrecks tiny pumps, as well as coating the cooling fins inside the water blocks.
I like distilled water, but I can only get de-ionised water here in Australia. I'd prefer distilled water if it was genuine. De-ionised water may not be distilled. I don't know.
I find that if you replace distilled water every 6 months or so you will have no trouble. And it is the best cooling liguid you can use.

 

[rubix_1011]

Pure distilled is the best...maybe some biocide or killcoil...or both. You don't need any kind of glycol mixture, additives, coolant, etc...just water.

Like others have said, avoid tap or hard water...even softened tap water should be avoided. Just spend a couple dollars and call it a day.