Believe it or not, it isn't a great thermal conductor. THe main reasons why you need to put antifreeze in a car cooling system are the fact that it keeps the coolant from freezing, prevents rust in the iron components of the loop and it lubricates the water pump. It is much more viscous than water and probably places more strain on PC water cooling pumps than they're designed for.

 

As P said it sucks for cooling. Race cars don't run coolant at all because they aren't allowed to freeze. Coolant protects the cooling system from rust and the engine block from freezing. Water actually does the heat exchanging work in the loop of a car. The more water you can run and less coolant the better the temps are in your car.

 

So if you have intel you use dexcool right?

 

There isn't really anything wrong with using car coolant you just wont get the best temps. It probably includes corrosion inhibitors which is a good thing. The downside is that anything other than pure distilled water is actually a lower performance coolant. Distilled will give you the lowest temperatures.

Are you running your system in sub zero temperatures? No? Then why do you need antifreeze?

 

Not a thermal conductor, I was surprised with this!

But I agree with you on the viscousity, car coolant far worst compared to water.

I can now get better temps if i use normal water compared to car coolant in my first water cooled pc, right?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by p-saurus;13640180
Believe it or not, it isn't a great thermal conductor. THe main reasons why you need to put antifreeze in a car cooling system are the fact that it keeps the coolant from freezing, prevents rust in the iron components of the loop and it lubricates the water pump. It is much more viscous than water and probably places more strain on PC water cooling pumps than they're designed for.

This. Word for word.

Also, please remember than Car coolant is usually %50 or more Distilled Water. Cars run coolest with distilled water, Antifreeze is only added to prepare the system for its environment.

So yes, as an anti-freezing agent, viscous lubricant(like transmission fluid), slight anti-corrosive, and far too viscous to be run regularly through a 1/2" space when it normally runs through an area 5x as wide.

I sincerely hope that the antifreeze you used in your cooling loop was at least a premix of %50 distilled water.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epitope;13640207
There isn't really anything wrong with using car coolant you just wont get the best temps. It probably includes corrosion inhibitors which is a good thing. The downside is that anything other than pure distilled water is actually a lower performance coolant. Distilled will give you the lowest temperatures.

Are you running your system in sub zero temperatures? No? Then why do you need antifreeze?

No, not in sub zero. I am only concern on the algae growth. My system seems to be running fine for 2 years now without changing the car coolant, hahaha.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheicel Not a thermal conductor, I was surprised with this! But I agree with you on the viscousity, car coolant far worst compared to water. I can now get better temps if i use normal water compared to car coolant in my first water cooled pc, right?

Yes, and you don't have to worry about your cat dying if some leaks on the floor.

And yes, coolant in cars is supposed to be maintenance free for 5 years or so, preventing oxidation along the way. So it is not surprising that you had no problems, but there is a much better way of doing things.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nytehawk This. Word for word. Also, please remember than Car coolant is usually %50 or more Distilled Water. Cars run coolest with distilled water, Antifreeze is only added to prepare the system for its environment. So yes, as an anti-freezing agent, viscous lubricant(like transmission fluid), slight anti-corrosive, and far too viscous to be run regularly through a 1/2" space when it normally runs through an area 5x as wide. I sincerely hope that the antifreeze you used in your cooling loop was at least a premix of %50 distilled water.

I think most of the car coolant is pre mixed with water anyway right? Its colour is red and feels like a cola when you touch it.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nytehawk Yes, and you don't have to worry about your cat dying if some leaks on the floor.

owww, thanks

 

5-10% solution for color, anti-corrosion, biocide and pump lubrication

straight antifreeze or 50/50 is too viscous and has less thermal capacity

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86 5.0L 5-10% solution for color, anti-corrosion, biocide and pump lubrication straight antifreeze or 50/50 is too viscous and has less thermal capacity

yeah, i am thinking of having 10% car coolant and 90% distlled on my next build.

So this mixture will prevent the growth of any impurities in my loop?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheicel I think most of the car coolant is pre mixed with water anyway right? Its colour is red and feels like a cola when you touch it.

no, its either 100% antifreeze or 50/50 premixed, which is a rip off. I believe red is the same thing as dexcool (iirc) which can cause some issues(again iirc)

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86 5.0L;13640289
no, its either 100% antifreeze or 50/50 premixed, which is a rip off. I believe red is the same thing as dexcool (iirc) which can cause some issues(again iirc)

i will have to verify this one as i probably just got lucky on my first one.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheicel yeah, i am thinking of having 10% car coolant and 90% distlled on my next build. So this mixture will prevent the growth of any impurities in my loop?

or you can just get a biocide and move on...

 

so everybody here uses the biocide?

 

i use engine coolant but i do agree with everyone the more coolant in your loop the worse your temps are. if your going to use coolant mix 8oz or less in one gallon of coolant. i would advise against using dexcool (orange coolant) it clouds up acrylic and tubing really fast and the tubes feel a bit stiffer than usual. i wouldn't trust running it for long. i dont know if it will cause major issues but based on what ive seen i wouldn't want to test it and find out what damage it causes after long term use.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheicel so everybody here uses the biocide?

its the standard, I use 10% green antifreeze, and a few drops of copper sulfate for just incase

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELEKTRIK_BLUE;13640387
i use engine coolant but i do agree with everyone the more coolant in your loop the worse your temps are. if your going to use coolant mix 8oz or less in one gallon of coolant. i would advise against using dexcool (orange coolant) it clouds up acrylic and tubing really fast and the tubes feel a bit stiffer than usual. i wouldn't trust running it for long. i dont know if it will cause major issues but based on what ive seen i wouldn't want to test it and find out what damage it causes after long term use.

cool, thanks. i think i will leave that other system running with engine coolant. my son is using it now.

but with my new one, i will think and take your advice guys.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86 5.0L;13640390
its the standard, I use 10% green antifreeze, and a few drops of copper sulfate for just incase

i might do the same. how long have you been running your water cooled pc?

 

what ever you guys do do not add dye bombs to your coolant it gunks up like crazy. if you really want to add color use small amounts of food coloring

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheicel;13640429
i might do the same. how long have you been running your water cooled pc?

ha like 3 days

 

2 years running a 25% mix with tap water and not a problem to be seen.

Regarding efficiency, That one is a q6600 @ 3.6 and I think 1.45v together with all board waterblocks on a pa120.3 Typical temps are 44 deg crunching. so unless you don't really have enough rad I would say efficiency is not an issue. The reason for using in the first place was playing around with chillers.

My latest setup has mixed metals and has the rad outdoors, it runs a 20% mix ready for winter. this time I used distilled

 

I used distilled water with just enough propylene glycol (coolant) to turn the water a different shade but just barely. So it's about 1-2oz in the loop depending. Because out of all the coolants I have tried have a higher thermal resistance than distilled water. So you add in just enough coolant so you dont have build up. I flush my loop once a year and have been running it for three years now.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JedixJarf;13640204
So if you have intel you use dexcool right?

No AMD only.