Does copper oxide "spread" in a closed loop

starbuck3733t · 03-13-2006, 07:19 PM

So I've got some copper blocks in my loop, and a 1987 ford econoline van heatercore for a radiator. that core has some greenish copper "petina" on the inside that I can't seem to get rid of... it also doesn't seem to come out in the coolant particularly... maybe a little clouding. Will it just "stay" there or will it spread to the coolant if I'm running distilled water and just a little dye?

Thanks you geniuses!

bigben2k · 03-14-2006, 03:11 PM

Some of it should come off, bit by bit (ever so slowly), everytime that you flush the system.

What should be going on (someone correct me if I'm off) is that this residue (copper oxide) will get dissolved into the water, until it's saturated. Not hard to do when you start with distilled water.

You could try flushing out the rad with a warm vinegar solution to accelerate the process; just set it up in a loop with a pump and airtrap only, and let it run overnight. Not sure how you'd keep it warm that long though.

Report results.

03-13-2006, 07:19 PM	#1
starbuck3733t Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: State College, PA Posts: 338	Does copper oxide "spread" in a closed loop So I've got some copper blocks in my loop, and a 1987 ford econoline van heatercore for a radiator. that core has some greenish copper "petina" on the inside that I can't seem to get rid of... it also doesn't seem to come out in the coolant particularly... maybe a little clouding. Will it just "stay" there or will it spread to the coolant if I'm running distilled water and just a little dye? Thanks you geniuses! __________________ Goliath: 3.4E@3.91/Abit IC7, Maze4 (temporarily) + custom splitter to crazy 4-way watercooling parallel loop: X800XT @ 520/1280 + AC Twinplex, AC Twinplex Northbridge, Silenstar Dual HDD Cooler, Eheim1250, '85 econoline van HC + 2x120, 1x120 exhaust - polished aluminum frame panaflo L1As, 2x18GB 10K RPM U160 SCSI, 4GB PC4000. I wanna be BladeRunner when I grow up! Project Goliath - nearing completion.

03-14-2006, 03:11 PM	#2
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	Re: Does copper oxide "spread" in a closed loop Some of it should come off, bit by bit (ever so slowly), everytime that you flush the system. What should be going on (someone correct me if I'm off) is that this residue (copper oxide) will get dissolved into the water, until it's saturated. Not hard to do when you start with distilled water. You could try flushing out the rad with a warm vinegar solution to accelerate the process; just set it up in a loop with a pump and airtrap only, and let it run overnight. Not sure how you'd keep it warm that long though. Report results. __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

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