Ok guys I have seen pics of liquid cooled pc's with green fluid. I am assuming this is antifreeze. How well would this work as a cooling liquid.

You are right, the green fluid is anti-freeze distilled water blend.

I would not recommend this as a first line cooling solution.

Here is a quote from probably the best water cooling tech series I have read:

"A blend of water and anti-freeze is an acceptable substitute for “anti-corrosive water wetters”, but should generally be avoided. The main reason is the effect anti-freeze has on viscosity and heat transfer properties. Anti-freeze really does not possess a very good combination of properties at the temperature range that a water cooling system would operate. It really excels in its ability to deal with temperatures ranging from –20°C to 120°C. This range occurs frequently in cars around the world, but not too often in computers. If you absolutely can not find an anti-corrosion additive and must use anti-freeze, use no more than 25% anti-freeze to 75% water. "

Read the full article

here

That link is to the AMDMB article on fluids.

They also have one on general water cooling, and one on pumps.

Yup, I started by using Distilled water and antifreeze. I does ok but I have a better mix now. I am using Windshield Washer fluid, (distilled water and glycol mix), and a little bit of water wetter. This mix really flows well, cools good and isn't hard on the tubing. The anti-freeze mix was hard on the tubbing, it made it get soft and collapse.

One note, the windshield washer fluids usually don't have a list of the chemicals inside, so use this little rule of thumb. If it claims to do anything like have a lower freezing point, or have Poison warnings, etc. then you better avoid it, probably has methanol just like anti-freeze.

Choos

BUT ANTIFREEZE TASTES GOOD!!!

hmm, winshield washer fluid? i'm just using distilled water and water wetter.

winshield washer fluid is blue to start with, and i bought some nifty UV die that turns the water blue under a black light, so if i opt to use this stuff (i'm assuming i use it straight with a little water wetter, and no "poison" or "lower freeze temps" labels) will it glow brighter blue under a black light, or should i add some of the die?

oooh, i'm gonna brag to my friends how i don't use old fashioned WATER-cooling, i use the new fangled WINDSHIELD-WASHER-FLUID-cooling...........oooooh boy, i'm gonna be the pope of Chillie Town!

I would think that it would have a nice light blue color till you hit it with the UV light, then you should get the normal UV reactive coloring.

has anyone tried denatured alcohol? i put in it the freezer and got it down to -5 degrees C and it warmed up to room temperature faster than water could ever hope to do. i suppose you could try a 50/50 alcohol water mix and see if it has good results but add water wetter or something to prevent corrosion. you know you want to try it. just the alcohol would probably be even better. (i use denatured alcohol to clean surfaces and solder flux off of PCBs denatured alcohol works just as good in the bathroom on tile and so fourth as the expensive poision cleaners.)

Do a search here at PR on fluids. Tell me what you find?

ok, so i put this winshield washer fluid and water wetter in my water cooling system, and let me tell you, it's AWESOME!!!!!

i dropped my CPU temps from 37*C Idle, 41*C Load to 26*C idle, 27*C load!!!!!!!!!

this is the coolest thing since sliced bread, and it looks sweet with the UV light, i added some of the UV die and now it looks so damn cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like your water cooling system really benifits from the increased flow rates do to the lowered viscosity of the coolant.

Very glad to hear it

First off. I do not intend to insult anyone...just dispell a couple of misconceptions. One...the amdmb article on water cooling. Car engines don't operate from -20 to 120 F. That's the environment antifreeze is designed to work in. Engines operate well over 200 degrees F when warmed up. Far exceeding the normal operating temperatures of a computer processor. The main reason a cars cooling system is pressurized is to keep it from boiling away. But he is correct, a computer is not a car. He also fails to mention Water Wetter is designed to work in a 50-50 mix of glycol and water in the same operating environment.

Two. Glycol is glycol. Whether propylene or ethylene. Whether it is colored green and added to antifreeze or blue and added to detergent and water such as windshield washer fluid. The only reason you would get better temps with windshield washer fluid than antifreeze mixed at the same proportions with water is...less glycol. Windshield washer fluid is already mostly water. Exactly the same thing could be acheived by mixing more water with antifreeze. Just don't make the mistake of using an alcohol based washer fluid. It would have no corrosion preventative characteristics at all.

Three. Viscosity and flow rate. Low flow rate isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most radiators have a "sweet spot" for heat dissapation with a relatively low flow rate. And innovatek proved you don't need a high flow rate if you design the block correctly. If high flow rate worked better most water cooling vendors wouldn't be dropping the big 500 gph pumps in favor of a good low flow pump with a good head. Back pressure is much more of a problem. Heavy viscous fluids, radiators with poor flow rates, too many elbows, t-connectors and fittings all cause pressure in the system. And pressure in the system raises the temperature in the system. Any antifreeze with a "anti-foaming" agent will do exactly the same thing as watter wetter does. It will lower the surface tension of the water. This in turn reduces bubbles forming on the walls of the system and makes for better contact and heat transfer.

Four. Glycol by itself shouldn't degrade most pvc, silicon or tygon tubing. Antifreeze is stored in polyvinyl containers and auto hoses are often silicon based. Water wetter degrades and stains pvc and silicon in heavy concentrations.

Five. Don't take mine or anyone else's word on the subject without doing a little research yourself.

AntiM-

You will never be put down for a valid opinion, especially a well informed one!

We are a pretty tough bunch to insult!

lcpiper and I help alot of the noobs and first timers with their wc projects......and frankly, we do a pretty decent job!

But both of us readily admit that we are learning ourselves! We are here to exchange info and ideas.

If you know as much as your early posts indicate you may, you will be a welcome addition!

Now, most of us using WW are using very small quantities and I have surely never had any PVC breakdown from the pink juice.

Many of the people using EG run it pretty darn thick! And I am sure that is not optimal from any standpoint!

I Use a product called PURPLE ICE 25% and water 75%.

http://www.royalpurple.com/retail/pr...urpleice.shtml

This stuff ROCKS

I am hearing you guys talking about different cooling liquids and I want to know what liquid or mix would offer the greatest temperature drop and have anti-corrosive agents. I heard of this stuff called Engine Ice which is used in the AquaExtreme over at CoolTechnica so I think its good. Have any of you guys used it or heard of it. Heres the link http://www.engineice.cc/products.html
Let me know what you think

"Important Note: Always use Distilled water with your AquaXtreme XG Water-Cooling System. Included 4oz water additive (Redline Water Wetter or Zerex Racing Super Coolant)is good enough for 1 gallon of distilled water to protect your system against bacteria, algea growth and corrosion."
-from Cooltechnica's site

I'd avoid the environmentally friendly sorts of coolants such as you list. Simply because it isn't proven in computer use. And stick with what has been proven to work. Such as glycol based antifreeze such as Zerex. And products like WaterWetter and Purple Ice.

About 5% is enough to prevent corrosion in the average system and still gives great cooling. You might want to go closer to 10% if you have dissimiliar metals in your loop. Especially non-anodized aluminum. You'll still get good results.

Edit: Wow...damn old thread.

i used 50% water 25% water wetter and 25% wind shield fluid

What are your temps?!

normally about mid 80s F on very hot days low 90s it never ever goes past 95F

Thanks anitM, does anybody have some pics or know how it looks under Blue Neons.

rewind,
what does your system consist of and how are you measuring temps?
Is that case temp.coolant or CPU?

Heres my system: Asus A7N8X Deluxe, AMD Barton 2500, 512 Kingston Hyper X (dual channel) Visiontek Ti4200 @ 310\550

MY barton is not yet installed, I have an XP2000 in there right now. See I am buying this stuff: A Danger Den Maze 4, Black Ice Extreme, 2 aluminum 120mm on each side of radiator, Hydor L30 pump, and a Chiefec case, 1/2 in tubing and fittings. I want to know do you guys think this kit is worth it, totals around $340.00. Also about the Purple Ice, I dont want to use water wetter really. Im going to get the new Vantec Nexus fan and neon controller. It will have two blue neons in my case and I want to know how well Purple Ice coolant will look. Also does anybody have experience with purple ice. Thanx