why not to use dye's for watercooling

[Elganja]

A quick background...
-2 loops
-one had blue dye the other red dye
-fluid was primochill
-these loops had been running for ~9 months

The GPU (RED) loop faired well, not much grit or discoloration in the liquid while the CPU (BLUE) loop was completely clear when drained.

I have before and after pictures of the CPU loop that had the Blue Dye
BEFORE:

AFTER (after a boiling vinegar bath x1, did it twice but only took one pic)

The results are damning... never never again will I use dye. I have spent the last day, and will spend most of today cleaning up all the blocks. Thanks to [AK]Zip's tips on how to clean everything.

So far, I have disassembled and cleaned the GPU, CPU, and NB blocks. Next up is cleaning the radiators w/ some hot water/vinegar mix. Also ordered some new tubing (wanted to switch to white for a while now anyways!), a silver coil to use with distilled water, and some mx-4 thermal paste (figure this was a good time to change my TIM everywhere).

 

[aigomorla]

acetone > vinegar.

However it stinks like no tommorrow.

The vinegar will make the oxidized metal shiney again, however the acetone will strip all that die + organic gunk.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Exactly why I stayed far away from dyes!

 

[dawp]

Elganja, I noticed you have one of the apogee xt v1, I was wondering if you're going to get a v2 top? I just ordered one from swiftech for mine.

 

[Elganja]

Elganja, I noticed you have one of the apogee xt v1, I was wondering if you're going to get a v2 top? I just ordered one from swiftech for mine.

i did in fact order the new top... it will be here in a couple days

 

[Soulkeeper]

^^ to the guy suggesting acetone

Absolutely stay away from acetone if there are any plastics or boiling/fire involved
also keep it off your skin as it absorbs and attacks the nervous system ...
I say this as a painter.

vinegar is the better/safer choice for copper cleaning 🙂

 

[aigomorla]

^^ to the guy suggesting acetone

Absolutely stay away from acetone if there are any plastics or boiling/fire involved
also keep it off your skin as it absorbs and attacks the nervous system ...
I say this as a painter.

vinegar is the better/safer choice for copper cleaning 🙂

well i wasnt expecting u to use it on acrylic or rubber orings.

On a copper plate its fine.
So is Hydrogen Peroxide.

The key thing is its organics thats stuck.
Dye is organic, glycol is organic.

The best way to get rid of organics is use something like alcohol or acetone.

If its a copper block with that much collection acetone works better as its more aggressive.
Hydrogen Peroxide is excellent in getting rid of DYES as well.

😉

 

[cbgoding]

Any chance this was primochill fluid xp? That stuff's been known to gunk systems for years, though I haven't heard of other dyes doing this.

 

[Elganja]

this

http://jab-tech.com/Primochill-PC-Ice-With-UV-Red-Dye-Bomb-pr-3542.html

and

http://jab-tech.com/Primochill-PC-Ice-With-UV-Blue-Dye-Bomb-pr-3540.html

were the exact fluids I was using. Just to note, the loop that had red (GPU) was in very good shape. Just very minor cleaning needed. Which makes sense, since the blue loop's water was clear on drain, and the red loop's fluid was still red

 

[ender11122]

I wish they would stop selling this stuff. So many people have posted problems like yours and they are just duping new people into making a mess of their loops.

 

[dawp]

they sell it because people not knowing any better will buy it.