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Water Cooling Coolant
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:15 am
by matt719
Heh... sorta forgot to buy some water wetter or other coolant and now i need to know the best way to make my own coolant. Does anyone know any good ways with common "chemicals?" Thanks.
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:18 am
by PreDatoR
just use straight up distilled water... some people put antifreeze in the system why i don't know its not like the system is going to freeze anyways...
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:22 am
by NascarFool
Shame on you Predator.

Antifreeze is also a coolant. I have roughly 85% distilled water and 15% anti-freeze.
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:23 am
by matt719
nice... but what is the easiest way to distill water w/o a machine? Do you just go to the grocery store and buy it or something?
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:25 am
by matt719
i want to see hwo fast greg responds...

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:26 am
by nexus_7
yawn.
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 12:51 am
by PreDatoR
better add more Nas it might freeze at only 15% :B thats only good for about 20F i think hehe
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 2:41 am
by matt719
I'll just go for 50% distilled water, 50% anti-freeze. I read that a few places...
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 8:25 am
by Lmandrake
The anti-freeze has additives that prevent corrosion. Its a must if you have an aluminium rad and a copper block or vice versa.
I use non-toxic anti-freeze that they sell for motorhome drinking water systems etc. I do a 50/50 mix.
If you have pets, you don't want to use the toxic anti-freeze. If you have a leak or a spill and you don't know it, a cat or a dog will lap that green stuff right up and then die from kidney failure.
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 11:09 am
by matt719
I do have a cute little dog

I'll use non-toxic, she is too cute to die (she's an Italian Greyhound). Anyways... I actually have all copper parts anyways, but i want anti-freeze anyways because, it's a coolant, and just to be safe
This is my radiator

I must say i've never seen a better one, and i even got it with chrome plating because they were sold out of the standard. As for the waterblock, I'm going to make it myself with a milling machine (i'm not doing the milling though) out of copper.
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2002 6:01 am
by Tomuchtime
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2003 5:49 pm
by matt719
One thought... Isn't coolant more dense than water? And then wouldn't that be bad for a water pumping aquarium pump? Please post your thoughts.
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2003 5:03 am
by Judg3
Antifreeze isn't considerably much denser then water, so you shouldn't worry to much about it. You should worry that adding antifreeze makes the water less effective, even tho it will hold more heat (a 70/30 mix of coolant/water will raise the boiling temperature to 113 C / 235 F instead of the normal 100 C / 212 F of water alone) it also makes the transferrance of heat more difficult. Car's can use it because they have temperatures of over 4500 F and so the slight loss in the conduction of the water doesnt matter.
So if you use antifreeze, try keeping it at 15% or less to keep the effectiveness of the system. An even better solution is to use a Radiator/Cooling System conditioner which contains Isopropyl Alcohol and other lighter petroleum products instead of the antifreeze's ethylene glycol. This is what I use, as it contains what you want (corrosion proofing and pump lubrication) without the additional properties of antirfreeze, which you don't really need seeing as your system shouldnt ever get that hot or that cold.
Typically you need 1oz of radiator conditioner to 1 gallon of water.
Just my $0.02 USD
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2003 6:07 pm
by Jen
water wetter or purple ice is what i use. dont use anti freeze unless your going to below ambient room temps
Jen