Would window washer fluid work for a water cooling setup?

[smopoim86]

Would there be enough chemicals in window washer fluid to keep algea and corrosion away in a water cooling system?

 

[Talcite]

corrosion isn't caused by lack of chemicals... 0.o Algae still grows in all types of stuff, including antifreeze. Windshield washer fluid is antifreeze mixed with some water, so it's not good enough. Best bet is to completely use opaque tubing and parts. Let no light in, then you don't have algae problems.

 

[tw33ter]

Originally posted by: Talcite
corrosion isn't caused by lack of chemicals... 0.o Algae still grows in all types of stuff, including antifreeze. Windshield washer fluid is antifreeze mixed with some water, so it's not good enough. Best bet is to completely use opaque tubing and parts. Let no light in, then you don't have algae problems.

Such as this Black Tygon

 

[Missing Ghost]

lol. I think window washer fluid would CAUSE corrosion.

 

[Zepper]

Some window washer fluid contains some ammonia so it could be corrosive. Most automotive washer fluid is just alcohol, water and colorant. A 10 or 15% solution of Zerex in distilled water should do fine both as coolant and anticorrosive for both copper and aluminum. I would say you wouldn't need to change it out more often than every other year.

.bh.

 

[imported_Lucent]

I hope all of you are talking about the winndex type of "window washer fluid", not the automotive stuff. The stuff used in cars has methyl alcohol. Gooogle it for info. Like water, it will diffuse through the tubing and will escape when you refill your system. Although it will do a great job killling microorganisms, it is a bad idea.

 

[Cruise51]

Does strong UV light kill algae?

 

[imported_Lucent]

Originally posted by: Cruise51
Does strong UV light kill algae?

The main effect of UV is it prevents microorganism reproduction. Water purification machines have UV built in.

 

[Talcite]

Yes, UV light kills algae. Fish tank UV purification systems keep water life deader than a zombie.

They do cost in the neighbourhood of $100 USD though. Even a very small system would be more than adequate for your system though. Anyways. The cheapest and fastest way is just to use black everything.

By the way, there's different wavelengths of UV light. Black lights are utterly useless, they're not designed to sterilize things. Water purification UV is specifically designed to kill life, and you shouldn't use any other type of UV to do so. Cause it won't work. =p.