Fuzzy water and anti-freeze

[Bignuts]

One of the things I have been doing fro my watercooled system is testing different combinations of water/UV dye/wetter to find the lowest concentrations of additives and still maintain good algi resistance.

For me corrosion resistance is not that important because I have only copper tubing, blocks, and brass fitings in my system which should let me get away with using just pure water, if it were not for my concerns about alg.

To date, my best luck has been with 2 oz. of redline watter wetter per gallon of distilled water and some UV dye for effect. This hasn't been perfect, and I got some minute growth initially, but it was small and liveable, even after six months from the first fill.

In my quest to find a better performing UV dye mix, I had changed out the original formula of wetter with 4 oz. of antifreeze per gallon.

Well, the system woke me up at 3:30 this morning and the DigiDoc read 65 deg C at the outlet of the watterblock (the flat temp probe is actually touching the barb of my maze 1). The alarm rang out because my system has been a breeding colony for some algi ever since I have switched over to the new coolant mix, and fnially a chunk had broken off only to to get stuck in another area restricted by growth, sending the Rio 180 spinning its heels in a vain attempt to try to pump water through the obstruction.

So much for the "Live and let live" doctrine I was using with regards to the new tennants in my computer.

My coolaning system is due for tubing replacemet so I will be adding some algicide such as the type used in waterbeds, or the stuff they sell at Home Depot for spas (which is very reasonably priced compared to most pool suppliers). I am just going to do a little research to make sure of any compatibility issues with the copper in my system.

For now the algi is still present in my system, I just squeezed the tubes to clear the blockage and loosen the remaining growth from the walls of the tubing, allowing the Rio to pass it through on a endless rolercoaster ride in my system.

Score one for algi resistance and water wetter.

My next coolant mix will be as close to pure water as possible, with just enough algicide and UV dye to do the trick, and maybe some wetter at a low concentration or another yet to be determined additive, like the valvoline "racing" coolant.

[g.l.amour]

i have never experienced what u just have.

i use some cheap WW knockoff (alentra radiator protector). should work against leaks, corrosion. looks really foul.

to that i add a couple of drops of dishwashing agent. that should take care of surface tention as stated by swiftech. over here i read some good stuff about dishwasher in the "chem of coolants" article by Brian.

chk it out if u haven't already, u r sure to find some ideas in that article.
http://www.procooling.com/articles/h..._coolin1.shtml

however, i do flush the system every 2-3 months, with an assortment of hydrochloric acid, vinegar, bleech, whatever i think is real nasty against algae, and i have lying around. bleech and hydrochloric acid is supposed to oxidize metal, but if u leave it in for about 5 mins, i don't thk it is gonna do that much harm.