1st Loop in over a decade - HELP?

[pio]

Alright, so a few of you guys have sent me some stuff for water loops (ty ty ty to those who helped btw).  I'm SUPER excited to get this going........

 

Question though.......I need a few parts, can anybody help me deal shop?

I need:
2x tubing Y splitters
Tubing (lots, going for an external rad)
Fill and drain ports

I want budget, I want to do this like a junkyard car build, find stuff for cheap or MacGyver something.  I also don't want it to be "wrong" either (use the wrong tubing and it corrodes or something stupid).

Also - I have car antifreeze to use.  Is that okay?

Another question too - How do I clean this all up before I install it?  And is car antifreeze okay to use in a PC loop?

HELP??????  

[Sir Beregond]

Most premix PC coolants use glycol, so yes car antifreeze is fine, but you definitely want to dilute it with distilled water.

 

If you want to clean it properly, get a Mayhems Blitz Pro kit (contains part 1 and part 2 cleaners). Part 1 is used specifically to clean the radiators. Part 2 is then used for the whole loop. Just follow the directions.

 

If you want to just cheap man clean everything then hook it all up to a running faucet and let it flush overnight. Then flush with distilled water.

 

Tubing? Maybe go to your local Ace Hardware or Home Depot or similar and look for industrial tubing of the EPDM/norprene style.

 

Y splitters? Get those anywhere, don't really need anything special there. Question will be what style you want? Do you want the splitters to have its own barbs that the tubing fits over and you just zip tie it secure? Do you want something that regular G1/4 compression fittings screw into that the tubing can attach to?

[pio]

8 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Most premix PC coolants use glycol, so yes car antifreeze is fine, but you definitely want to dilute it with distilled water.

 

If you want to clean it properly, get a Mayhems Blitz Pro kit (contains part 1 and part 2 cleaners). Part 1 is used specifically to clean the radiators. Part 2 is then used for the whole loop. Just follow the directions.

 

If you want to just cheap man clean everything then hook it all up to a running faucet and let it flush overnight. Then flush with distilled water.

 

Tubing? Maybe go to your local Ace Hardware or Home Depot or similar and look for industrial tubing of the EPDM/norprene style.

 

Y splitters? Get those anywhere, don't really need anything special there. Question will be what style you want? Do you want the splitters to have its own barbs that the tubing fits over and you just zip tie it secure? Do you want something that regular G1/4 compression fittings screw into that the tubing can attach to?

I planned on dilutting the antifreeze with water, yes.  I have "pure" antifreeze, non mixed.  So obviously I need to mix it 50/50 for my car (bought 2 gallons, for car + PC combined).  The mixture for the PC however, I'm unsure of.  I don't think I'd need a 50/50 mix in a PC, maybe 25/75?

I'm cool with "man cleaning".  Is there a cheap attachment somewhere for the sink faucet?  Budget is definitely king here, this is all going in an old, unloved FX build.

Y splitters - I'd prefer to use proper fittings so everything looks similar.  I've got "EK Quantum Torque" fittings right now, but only enough for the main loop (no drain / fill ports).  So I'd need to pickup 6 more fittings I believe for the two Y splits?  I think that was what I came up with.

Ace sells appropriate tubing?  Ace is literally in my backyard..........

Edited May 7 by pio

[Sir Beregond]

29 minutes ago, pio said:

I planned on dilutting the antifreeze with water, yes.  I have "pure" antifreeze, non mixed.  So obviously I need to mix it 50/50 for my car (bought 2 gallons, for car + PC combined).  The mixture for the PC however, I'm unsure of.  I don't think I'd need a 50/50 mix in a PC, maybe 25/75?

I'm cool with "man cleaning".  Is there a cheap attachment somewhere for the sink faucet?  Budget is definitely king here, this is all going in an old, unloved FX build.

Y splitters - I'd prefer to use proper fittings so everything looks similar.  I've got "EK Quantum Torque" fittings right now, but only enough for the main loop (no drain / fill ports).  So I'd need to pickup 6 more fittings I believe for the two Y splits?  I think that was what I came up with.

Ace sells appropriate tubing?  Ace is literally in my backyard..........

Tyson A-60-G is literally just industrial tubing. I imagine you might be able to find a more generic, less expensive EPDM style from a local hardware store, so it's worth a look. And such a tubing would be easily maintainable. I don't know if Ace actually does, I'm just suggesting you take a look though if the goal is "cheap" and "lots".

 

Yeah I've never used car antifreeze and distilled water, so don't really know the "right" ratio. I imagine a 25/75 or even 80/20 would be fine. You don't want too much glycol in there to slow the flow rate.

 

Faucet attachment? Probably, nothing I know about unfortunately.

 

Y splitters can either be an actual Y-splitter or something as generic as a block with three G1/4 opening such as this:

Alphacool G1/4 Round TEE Connection Terminal - Black (17030) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

 

 

Or you can do more traditional actual Y-fittings such as this:

Alphacool G1/4 Revolvable 45° Y-Connector - G1/4 - Black (17063) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

Alphacool G1/4 Revolvable Y-Connector - Black (17066) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

 

With either style, yes you'd need 6 compression fittings.

 

Edited May 7 by Sir Beregond

[damric]

I'm curious as to why use y-splitters?

[Slaughtahouse]

Different automotive antifreezes have different inhibitors for specific components in a vehicle. Some of them are too harsh for different tubing types. For the context of the build (budget, FX build) I don't think it matters all that much. 80/20 (4:1 ratio) is probably a safe min. 50/50 (1:1 ratio) is max. Goal of using antifreeze in a PC is to prevent mixed metals from going into galvanic corrosion mode. Unless you're running this loop outside, sub-ambient temps, you'll be fine with the min. Just cross check what tubing you're using first IMO. 

 

I've had a bad experience with an ethylene glycol (primary additive is most automotive coolants) that wrecked my clear XSPC tubing. Went green, nasty etc. No overall net impact to performance and blocks were by and large, fine. No major clogs. More context can be found here if you want to go down the rabbit hole: https://www.overclock.net/threads/what-is-plasticizer.1380775/  Really wont matter if you use EPDM tubing or something like Primochill Advance LRT tubing. Which is why most enthusiasts who water cool just fast forward to EPDM. Low maintenance. 

 

Honestly, for this build, I wouldn't overthink it.

 

Cleaning it: Many guides out there. IMO doesn't really matter how you clean it, just do it well, especially radiators, and then finish with distilled to minimize any microbials sitting in the loop. The more acidic the cleaning solution, the more harsh it can be on the finish of a block, like nickel plated. I usually just do hot tap water and dish soap. Some rads will be dirtier than others. https://www.titanrig.com/blog/post/how-to-flush-a-pc-radiator#:~:text=Plug the radiator's ports and,will be ready for service. If you want to go more in-depth, there is Mayhem Blitz. Never tried it but I'm not sure how many water cooling threads ive responded to in my history, but most of the time Sir Beregond has responded before me, and he's recommended Blitz in the past many, many times. I trust the guy, even if I've never met him XD so I'm sure its good alternative if you want to spend money. 

 

 

[pio]

10 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

Tyson A-60-G is literally just industrial tubing. I imagine you might be able to find a more generic, less expensive EPDM style from a local hardware store, so it's worth a look. And such a tubing would be easily maintainable. I don't know if Ace actually does, I'm just suggesting you take a look though if the goal is "cheap" and "lots".

 

Yeah I've never used car antifreeze and distilled water, so don't really know the "right" ratio. I imagine a 25/75 or even 80/20 would be fine. You don't want too much glycol in there to slow the flow rate.

 

Faucet attachment? Probably, nothing I know about unfortunately.

 

Y splitters can either be an actual Y-splitter or something as generic as a block with three G1/4 opening such as this:

Alphacool G1/4 Round TEE Connection Terminal - Black (17030) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

 

 

Or you can do more traditional actual Y-fittings such as this:

Alphacool G1/4 Revolvable 45° Y-Connector - G1/4 - Black (17063) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

Alphacool G1/4 Revolvable Y-Connector - Black (17066) ModMyMods.com - PC Watercooling Parts and Accessories

MODMYMODS.COM

---

Alphacools's fittings go new ways in looks, quality of manufacturing, colours and choice. The inner diameter of these fittings truly deserves the „high flow“ attribute! The first three colours, Chrome, Deep Black...

 

With either style, yes you'd need 6 compression fittings.

 

You know what, I forgot all about mod my mods.  I just put everything I need in the cart, and I'm at like $90.  Very not bad.  I'll re-measure what I have here, make sure I"m picking up the right stuff as far as sizes and looks go so it all matches.  Those AlphaCool small 3 way "generic block with G1/4 openings" I think match something I have, so I'll pick those up (and I like that they're smaller and cheaper).

 

9 hours ago, damric said:

I'm curious as to why use y-splitters?

 

Because I'm putting in a fill and drain port in the loop.  Due to space, I only have 2 ports available on the res, also I cannot GET to the res fill port.  So was going to Y it right behind the res between it and CPU, and run a line up to the top for a fill port, keep the water level higher than the res, and it should fill up.  Same thing for drain port, figured if I was going to that extreme to fill it, might as well plumb in a drain port.

 

 

8 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Different automotive antifreezes have different inhibitors for specific components in a vehicle. Some of them are too harsh for different tubing types. For the context of the build (budget, FX build) I don't think it matters all that much. 80/20 (4:1 ratio) is probably a safe min. 50/50 (1:1 ratio) is max. Goal of using antifreeze in a PC is to prevent mixed metals from going into galvanic corrosion mode. Unless you're running this loop outside, sub-ambient temps, you'll be fine with the min. Just cross check what tubing you're using first IMO. 

 

I've had a bad experience with an ethylene glycol (primary additive is most automotive coolants) that wrecked my clear XSPC tubing. Went green, nasty etc. No overall net impact to performance and blocks were by and large, fine. No major clogs. More context can be found here if you want to go down the rabbit hole: https://www.overclock.net/threads/what-is-plasticizer.1380775/  Really wont matter if you use EPDM tubing or something like Primochill Advance LRT tubing. Which is why most enthusiasts who water cool just fast forward to EPDM. Low maintenance. 

 

Honestly, for this build, I wouldn't overthink it.

 

Cleaning it: Many guides out there. IMO doesn't really matter how you clean it, just do it well, especially radiators, and then finish with distilled to minimize any microbials sitting in the loop. The more acidic the cleaning solution, the more harsh it can be on the finish of a block, like nickel plated. I usually just do hot tap water and dish soap. Some rads will be dirtier than others. https://www.titanrig.com/blog/post/how-to-flush-a-pc-radiator#:~:text=Plug the radiator's ports and,will be ready for service. If you want to go more in-depth, there is Mayhem Blitz. Never tried it but I'm not sure how many water cooling threads ive responded to in my history, but most of the time Sir Beregond has responded before me, and he's recommended Blitz in the past many, many times. I trust the guy, even if I've never met him XD so I'm sure its good alternative if you want to spend money. 

 

 

I think I'm sold on just running the sink through it, I'll have to assemble a hose with a funnel and G1/4 fitting at the end anyway to go into the fill port.  So why not just screw that into the rad, and double check it!   

Noted about EDPM.  Will make sure that's what I order.  I need to order some RC race car parts too......  

Edited May 8 by pio

[Fluxmaven]

15 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Mayhem Blitz. Never tried it but I'm not sure how many water cooling threads ive responded to in my history, but most of the time Sir Beregond has responded before me, and he's recommended Blitz in the past many, many times. I trust the guy, even if I've never met him XD so I'm sure its good alternative if you want to spend money. 

 

I have met him, and while he is a pretty shady character, he's right about Blitz. I've used it many times and also recommended it many times 

 

Blitz just takes the guesswork out. You can do the same thing with a bit of vinegar (diluted with distilled)... Flush, then use a bit of baking soda with distilled to bring the PH balance back in line. Usually aiming for around 6-8. Blitz kit comes with basic PH test strips and a chart to determine the value. I'm sure you can get the same thing in the pool aisle at Ace hardware.

 

@pio take one of those fittings to the hardware store and see what size tubing they fit. I had dumped all of those fittings from the boxes into my fittings bin and just grabbed 6 of the same size so IDK if what's printed on the box is the actual size of them. They should be either 10/16mm (3/8" ID, 5/8" OD) or 12/16mm (7/16" ID, 5/8" OD). 

 

In hindsight, to make this all a bit more easy to figure out and budget friendly for expanding the loop, probably should have just went old school with barbs and clamps. I doubt Ace will have EPDM tubing in an appropriate size. Likely it will just be some clear PVC tubing. All of which will get cloudy over time, but it's cheap so you just swap it out every once in a while. 

 

 

[damric]

Right so perhaps instead of a y-splitter, maybe a couple of those cheap plastic flow indicators that have 3 ports. They sell them on ebay, ali express, ect. There's even ones with coolant temp readout and they are all cheap asf.

[pio]

6 hours ago, Fluxmaven said:

 

I have met him, and while he is a pretty shady character, he's right about Blitz. I've used it many times and also recommended it many times 

 

Blitz just takes the guesswork out. You can do the same thing with a bit of vinegar (diluted with distilled)... Flush, then use a bit of baking soda with distilled to bring the PH balance back in line. Usually aiming for around 6-8. Blitz kit comes with basic PH test strips and a chart to determine the value. I'm sure you can get the same thing in the pool aisle at Ace hardware.

 

@pio take one of those fittings to the hardware store and see what size tubing they fit. I had dumped all of those fittings from the boxes into my fittings bin and just grabbed 6 of the same size so IDK if what's printed on the box is the actual size of them. They should be either 10/16mm (3/8" ID, 5/8" OD) or 12/16mm (7/16" ID, 5/8" OD). 

 

In hindsight, to make this all a bit more easy to figure out and budget friendly for expanding the loop, probably should have just went old school with barbs and clamps. I doubt Ace will have EPDM tubing in an appropriate size. Likely it will just be some clear PVC tubing. All of which will get cloudy over time, but it's cheap so you just swap it out every once in a while. 

 

 

I have a set of calipers here, I can just measure the fittings I have on hand.   I'm PRETTY SURE they're 3/8 ID / 5/8 OD, but I'll double check the measurement before ordering.  Just going to order 9x more fittings that look close enough to these ones, that'll fit the 2x Y splitters (3x each), and the fill and drain ports (last one is for the funnel fill tube).  I have EXACTLY enough fittings as is to fit everything else (CPU block, rad, res).  This is just simply because I'm trying to go above and beyond on this loop with the fill / drain ports that I need more.

I think because of where these parts all came from, just a simple hot water sink cleaning should be sufficient, and then rinse with distilled.  So I'm not AS worried about that anymore.  Also, as I said last post, I need to fabricate a hose with a fitting on the end, and a funnel on the other anyway for filling it.  I'll just hook the kitchen sink up with that.

Edited May 8 by pio

[pio]

edit - dp - please remove

 

Edited May 9 by pio

[pio]

Where I'm sitting at right now about to pull the trigger:

[Avacado]

@pio

 

Don't forget to flush that rad multiple times. I promise that it will clog your blocks if you don't clean it right. 

[Sir Beregond]

4 hours ago, Avacado said:

@pio

 

Don't forget to flush that rad multiple times. I promise that it will clog your blocks if you don't clean it right. 

Well in that case, I'm going to suggest you do it properly with a Blitz kit @pio.

[pio]

14 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Well in that case, I'm going to suggest you do it properly with a Blitz kit @pio.

So hooking it up with an intake hose with a funnel, directly off the tap isn't gonna work?  

[damric]

this little guy looks fun for $10

 

 

Link

[Sir Beregond]

4 hours ago, pio said:

So hooking it up with an intake hose with a funnel, directly off the tap isn't gonna work?  

I mean should hopefully be fine, in fact I think @Avacadohas a video on here he called "poor mans radiator flushing" or something where he hooked it up to a sink. 

 

Just the way he commented on the rad was thinking maybe a Blitz cleaning was in order.

[neurotix]

Interesting thread. Subbed. Good luck pio

[The Pook]

PM'd 

 

just don't tell @Avacado what I said about him