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Originally Posted by Ozymand
HFE is actually the replacement for traditional applications of Fluorinert (FC-series fluids). I'm actually rather surprised that it's being sold commerically in small batches just because the price of the stuff went astronomical (we were paying roughly $1k/container for a while).
My bad then, I had guessed due to the rather limited availability of commerical-grade FC-series fluid that it was more of an HFE-series variant.
In that case, if it's a true Fluorinert you won't have an issue because HFE is a selective solvent (it will leech similar materials out). Checking out the 3M homepage, and gussing from what limited information is on the InertX website, it may indeed be small batches of FC-77, which won't pose the same issue. Here's the information on HFE-7100 (the stuff I use at work, designed for use in ATE equipment), look under sections 4e and 4f which detail what happens when the fluid is used with a system that has incompatible material in it. |
Phew! You had me worried there for a moment...
Still, I appreciate the heads-up and will read the link you provided. Fluorinert is indeed spectacularly expensive. All I can think is that Inertx.com is selling reclaimed/recycled stuff (TCM Industries does, and their reclaimed product is claimed to be comparable in, if not exceeding, purity of the new stuff) which comes at a considerable discount.
My reasoning is however, that (provided the circuit is leak-proof) I can just pour the stuff in and stop worrying about corrosion, algae and the like. Even if it springs a leak, the loss of £70,-- worth of coolant is more survivable than the loss of £1000,-- + of shorted out equipement...
When I have the thing up and running, I'll come back and report my experiences.