Water Blocks Cleaning

[Tropikal]

Hello DFI and happy new year to everybody !

 

I was wondering if anyone knew how exactly to clean the parts of a watercooling system that are slightly moldy.

 

I tried to register on the DangerDen forum but for some reason i cant get the email for activation of the account so i cant post anything over there..

 

The parts i have are the following:

 

-Laing DD5 pump - I took that apart for whatever possible and cleaned that with a wet towel and some qtips

 

-Maze 4

 

-Universal TDX for socket 775

 

-BlackICE radiator

 

I m not sure what (if any) products i can use to get rid of the mold or what other method might be good to clean the inside of the blocks and the radiator.

 

Suggestions are welcome

 

Thank you

[radodrill]

A lot of WBs (at least those made by Swiftech) can be disassembled for cleaning.

 

Tubing can be cleaned with liquid dish detergent and a test tube cleaner (attach a string and pull it through the tubes).

 

Try pumping vinegar water through the Rad; might help.

[Tropikal]

Disassembling the DD water blocks will void the warranty.. which is not something i d want to do.. what i could i did took apart.. but that was just the pump. The tubing is not really an issue i ll buy those new, problem is how to get the blocks clean.

[clos6996]

you have to dissasemble the blocks to ensure that the mold is gone. once disassembled, soak them in vinegar (take out the rubber seals) then rub them down w/ketchup. Clean them with a toothbrush.

For the rad- let the vinegar sit inside it for about 6 hours, flush with distilled. Put some more vinegar inside, then flush again. Repeat the process until the vinegar comes out clean.

The tubing you should throw out and get new.

If you really dont want to disassemble the blocks, then run vinegar through them. However, this might be a problem as you have mold growing on them not just deposits. I would just disassemble the blocks.

[Tropikal]

I guess i ll give the vinegar a try..

 

By the way i m not sure if it s mold or just deposits.. it s white residues.. not sure exactly what the substance is.. it s my first time running a water cooled system.

 

Thanx for now, any more suggestions feel free to reply.

[Thasp]

Instead of taking it apart, hook it up to a powerful pump, have it be the only thing in the loop(no other blocks), and run 90% isopropyl alcohol with some water in it. I did this with red vinegar/distilled water, then with the alcohol/distilled water. I still keep alcohol in there regularly to prevent mold buildup, just at a lesser concentration.

 

I think alcohol would do the job better than vinegar. It gets rid of grease/other crap so much quicker than any other soap or cleaning agent I've ever used.. just run it through your loop for a while with it diluted a bit so it doesn't mess up anything in the pump, and you should be good to go(and notice there was a ton of other crap in the loop but mold that you didn't see before).

[zarathrustra]

Disassembling the DD water blocks will void the warranty.. which is not something i d want to do.

The stickers on the blocks say that yes... but DD also sell you accelerator nozzle kits, which require the block to be disassembled to change them. I do recall seeing somewhere on the DD forum, that warranties will still be honored if the 'do-not-remove-this-sticker' stickers are gone.

 

CPUKiller here will be the one to confirm this with.

[ahpaul82]

I would like to ask,

how long we should clean the WB once ?

Half year ?

[politbureau]

I would like to ask,

how long we should clean the WB once ?

Half year ?

Cleaned my TDX for the first time after a year and a bit. No major deposits, just thought it would be a good idea.

 

Put in the effort up front to ensure the system is contaminant-free, and then use the right additives and you shouldn't have to clean very often at all. How often do you clean out the rad and cooling system in your car? Exactly.

 

I agree that tubing should be thrown out if moldy/dirty. If you can get it, a high molar concentration of hydrochloric acid from an industrial/educational supply will clean a rad exceptionally well. Vinegar works too, though. I fill the rad completely with a boiling vinegar and salt mixture and let it sit overnight. Then I empty it, fill 2/3 to 3/4 full with straight vinegar, and seal the barb holes (buy the plugs, they're .25 each) and shake the rad as long as I can. Empty, refill and repeat the shake process until clean/satisfied. Make sure you flush with distilled/de-ionized very thoroughly before re-installing in your system.

 

Dissasembling a DD block will not void your warranty. Removing the sticker will only void the factory "leak-free guarantee."

 

Best copper cleaner out there - 1 cup vinegar + 1 tablespoon salt. Mix in a measuring cup, then slowly add flour until it becomes a runny paste. Scrub the inside of your block (remove the o-ring first) with a toothbrush for that fresh feeling.

 

For the hardcore, you can boil the copper-only part of your block in a pot with 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt for one hour, then soak and gently clean with soapy water before doing the above cleaning. This will remove any microscopic contaminants or oxidation and (maybe) improve heat transfer. Make sure the block is not directly touching the bottom of the pot. I sit the block in a stainless mesh strainer that holds the block about an inch from the bottom, base side up to prevent scratches.

 

Cheers

[Jarman]

http://hardware.gamershell.com/articles/wa...block_cleaning/

 

If you set up the water loop correctly you will hardly ever need to clean the block. Once every couple of years maybe.