Cleaning Copper Oxide Off a Water Block: Ultra Sonic vs. Vinegar

[@gnsteve8846]

Just a secondary channel video of some between-the-scenes stuff that we had to do anyway. Hope you enjoy it. It's mostly just us experimenting like we would normally do off-camera, except we recorded it. Watch our bonus video with Wendell here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKi5c4WZoruGjJI Should note that when it says "Senior Editor," it's referring to written/editorial, not to video editing. Forgot that people get confused about that with KZbin.

[@douglascampbell9809]

You could just pump either vinegar or lemon juice through the rad for a couple days to clean the inside.

[@LawrenceTimme]

I use asda apc and tap water in my loop normally change the water at least once a month.

[@AM-dc7pv]

+1 Lego bucket. I got the red tall one from like early 1990s when I was big into legos...actually, still big into legos right now, ha ha, but I gotta share with my kiddo. And thought you got the ultrasonic cleaner from Louis Rossmann until you said Amazon. Anyways, when using the ultrasonic cleaner, make sure you have whatever you're cleaning lifted off the sides of the tub otherwise, cavitation won't be effectively formed in some areas and you won't get a thorough cleaning and if you're using vinegar to clean tarnish, corrosion and shit off copper and stuff, be sure to add some salt to the vinegar solution...then afterwards, when you've rinsed off the vinegar and salt solution, go over once with distilled water, then a distilled water solution with a bit of baking soda to neutralize any acetic acid left over from the vinegar solution and then a last rinse with distilled water. That's how I clean my tarnished stuff like my ammunition and stuff that gets tarnish and stuff that forms after carrying it EDC for a while and it's worked well for me. Oh, and FYI, to remove vaseline or petroleum jelly, spray and soak the area with WD-40 for like 10 mins and then water with Palmolive Oxy as it's a very effective degreaser without phosphates. Works well with cleaning PCBs, gold plated contacts on PCBs and other stuff as well.

[@skilletpan5674]

@GNSteve After submersing the copper etc in vinegar you should use a toothbrush to clean the copper. Normal water. Also I think baking soda might help with some stains (slightly abrasive etc so it helps to sand off some things). Either way using a tooth brush to clean the vinegar off is a must.

[@peytonhastreiter6866]

Try an use artic fresh (jayz choice) or brasso

[@Asdayasman]

I love how Patrick just looms over like some gentle overseer, softly dispensing good advice like "don't drink it", and removing screws with his bare hands.

[@oscarbanana6159]

He looks half asleep most of the time. Gotta be a chill dude.

[@LunarLaker]

It detergent, it cleans

[@MrMcGreed]

"The problem is, I've got Patrick here to help me with this" :D

[@talkingmudcrab718]

Savage.

[@patrickharrison4421]

Great numbers and graphs on this channel

[@darkfexthefirst]

Hey Steve, sonicate in dilute (0.1 - 1 molar) hydrochloric acid. Gets rid of copper oxide by converting it into copper chloride which is very well soluble in water. Cheers from a chemist.

[@DeusKDuo]

Whats a good one for aluminum?

[@katherinesilens2994]

Aluminum is highly reactive and is basically covered in patina as soon as it touches air so there's not a whole lot of point to it. Weak acids or very dilute strong acids will still work but it's mostly pointless.

[@NovaValentis]

Lol, every chemist ever. Either HCL or HF, solution to everything. :D We used Ant or Citronic accid in our sonic baths for most metals, but ran it for much longer than 50Min.

[@Rashimotosan]

wtf type of measurement is 0.1 - 1 molar?

[@ivantimofeev2233]

usually what we use in the lab to clean metall (pretty much anything) is ultrasonic electrolysis in acidic medium (oxalic acid usually, faaaaar more efficient than vinegar) so basically what we do is an acidic solution, pour it into an ultrasonic bath, and use the piece as an anode at a low amperage

[@sapphie132]

"May cause respiratory *cough cough* irritation." that shouldn't have made me laugh hahah

[@mattsmechanicalssi5833]

You need to use salt and lemon juice to clean the copper. And if you're feeling adventurous, the best way to clean it is with muriatic acid.Be very careful with muriatic acid. Both methods will work to bring back the luster you are looking for on the blocks. You can then polish them with Autosol, to give you a mirror finish. Muriatic acid will also work for the radiators. Do not leave the acid in or on the metals for too long. Make sure to rinse the parts thoroughly with water after cleaning. And again, do be careful when working with muriatic acid. It has an "ANGER WARNING" on the bottle too! I am a Mechanic (30+ years), and I have been using these products for decades to refurbish copper and brass components. Everything from radiators and heater cores, to wiring, ground straps and electrical switches. To prevent future corrosion issues, there is a clear antifreeze/coolant called "Water Wetter", that is used in racing applications. Since you will not be reaching the temperatures of an engine, you could mix it at around 10 to 1 (distilled/deionized water to Water Wetter) to gain the anti corrosion properties. I hope this helps. o7

[@charlie22911]

Exactly this. I would also add, make sure to neutralize acids with baking soda. A corrosion inhibitor is cheap insurance to save yourself some time and money. Also, a biocide alone is not a corrosion inhibitor. In fact, it can make things worse if it’s silver/copper based.

[@zaphodbeeblebrox2202]

The de-gas cycle is to be run on the solution before you add the parts. This is said to remove some of the dissolved gases from the solution. If normal bubbles from these gases form on the parts, those areas will not be exposed to the cleaning cavitation. I had a small Branson that didn't have a de-gs button, however their manual suggested running a cycle without parts in order to prepare the solution.

[@JokerzWildmuse]

RIPJAY/RIPGN is coming back?!?! *gets silly hats, wigs, and pc snacks ready for the ensuing chaos*

[@MengskTV2]

We need more content hosted by Patrick!

[@mark_delight]

Patrick is getting better on camera - great job gents!

[@shaneeslick]

G'day Patrick & Steve, Awesome Job Patrick, you're doing really well presenting in the videos, also that coating on the copper was really interesting, I think my New Years Resolution should be to check my cooling loop

[@UrokLizard]

Since the finish of the cold plate is pretty much done with, the best way to clean up and shine up copper in my experience is any cleaner that uses "Oxalic Acid". The powder cleanser "Barkeeper's Friend" is oxalic acid with extremely fine abrasive powder (talking micron, like polishing compound). Work it into copper with a little bit of water to turn the cleaner powder into a paste and scrub with a toothbrush and it will remove all copper tarnish with ease. Have had copper cold plates get oxidized over time and this spruces them right up. Thing is, BKF needs mechanical action to work properly. It won't do much if the part just rests in water with BKF dissolved. You can also try hot CLR solution. I've used that on steel and zinc parts that have rust stains and it'll dissolve away the oxide stains. It uses a proprietary blend of non-acidic ingredients so it's safe to use on lots of surfaces. CLR works fastest when it is hot. I've microwaved CLR solution periodically to make sure the solution works fast.

[@Splash051]

Why this content not on main channel, kinda interesting.

[@virtualtools_3021]

@@FPL4Y3R uh, no way

[@vator_rs]

@@FPL4Y3R Weird way to describe your own comment.

[@gnsteve8846]

Because the main channel has plenty going on already and we try not to upload more than 1x/day. We can't dilute the content over there for lesser stuff like this. It's also just more fun to make some stuff for this channel since it isn't as gruelling or research-intensive. We can just have more fun with it since we're not under constant and undying scrutiny like on the main channel.

[@fryz]

GNSteve huh I’d love if eventually you guys over there went in depth about your analysis and knowledge of the KZbin algorithm

[@HarithBK]

i have worked as a plumber that black stuff and the floating bits in a heating radiator is actually something you want to see as it means there can't be any bacteria to clog your loop as the entire loop is free of oxygen and the bits will act like a biocide. so just to be clear you want to clean this but the black stuff means you didn't really have corrosion or bacteria in the loop this is just what water dose to copper after a while.

[@alexusman]

18:26 Now we have a sound for the new video meme template where Steve opens his mouth to talk and instead of the voice this sound starts.

[@UnreasonableSteve]

If you've never experienced an ultrasonic cleaner in person, the video does it no real justice - those things are truly earspltting

[@TheMapleDaily]

I wish I worked here, this building looks awesome and the crew has got to be the most hardworking but relaxed looking workers who bring the proper news to the world, SHOW ME THE TECH FACTS !

[@Valfaun]

i like seeing Patrick in videos, he seems like a cool dude

[@richiec7700]

The Branson EC was me Steve. I have the Exact same Ultrasonic cleaner as well. The EC is good for electronics cleaning but haven't tried it for Metal cleaning. There are other solution for pure metal cleaning that is more aggressive. Also Degassing is to be run prior to any cleaning. It removes air bubbles from the solution to make the cavitation effect better. Air is a sound wave attenuator compared to water/liquid.

[@intender3046]

I have done this before and if rinsing it off with the distilled water didn't neutralize the acid the copper will start to turn green after a few hours of being exposed to air. If that happens you need to use a mild base mixed with distilled water to stop the reaction. Soak it in some vinegar again to remove the green scaling then neutralize it to stop the scaling from forming again. I used a few drops of dawn dish liquid mixed in the distilled water and let it soak for an hour or so. You could also use baking soda mixed in water. Just be sure to rinse it well with more distilled water when you are done to remove as much of the soap or whatever base you choose to use.

[@P13llMong]

degas is to get the big air bubbles out, cause everything that isn't fully covered by liquid won't be cleaned

[@tpttecmic]

“3% of 4 gallons is 12% of one gallon” (12% of 128oz is about 15oz so about a pint) proceeds to add a couple drops

[@gainrev]

Michael Mercer they shouldn't have used it at all as it reacted with the copper oxidizing it.

[@gainrev]

​@@wolf001cmd Ultrasonic is physical, meanwhile the detergent is a chemical method to clean that copper piece so one does not imply the other

[@TheIgulfast]

A tip for next time: Lemon juice works because of the citric acid it contains. You can find pure citric acid as a powder in food stores (atleast here in sweden). When mixed with water it will be a clear solution and you can adjust the pH to your preference.

[@arnoldnym2466]

Bit late to the party but this is exactly what I thought about when they showed the ultra sonic cleaner. It's perfect for use in them since you can just add more if the effect is not as desired and it has virtually no downside since it doesn't corrode or produce any toxic fumes. That said you should still not ingest it or bath in it :P

[@skoopsro7656]

Looks like tarnish more than biological growth. Those sonic cleaners are amazing. An electrolysis and sonic cleaners set up can be used to restore firearms recovered from battlefields and historical events. I've seen some unbelieveable transformations done by enthusiasts in their garages.

[@Snuwfer]

Never use a silver kill coil. You'll be better off with a biocide additive, and you're definitely going to want to flush the MORA3 with some vinegar for atleast 24H if it was in the loop, that stuff will be everywhere in the loop.

[@jamhough22]

seems like there could be galvanic corrosion happening in the loop. this is when you have diferent types of metal in the loop that are far apart on the galvanic corrosion chart like copper and alluminium. the metals have diferent charges naturally, if they are all in the loop touching the water, the least noble metal (anodic) will be jubjected to corrosion, conductive water makes this worse, again if they are all grounded together the same thing happens. so with copper and alluminium, the alluminium will corrode. with alluminium and zink, the zink will corrode. i would guess there may be another metal in the loop that is more cathodic in the loop than copper such as brass/bronze/nickel/silver/stainless steel. these are all more cathodic than copper. dont forget that some coppers are a mixture of metals that can make them more cathodic than others. if all the metals are copper then id be looking for the one that is not corroded in the loop and suspect that component to be the issue. you could,clean the loop regularly with distilled water and add a corrosion inhibitor or remove the unaffected component.

[@jons2447]

Hello, Steve; A few pointers to help you clean corroded metal water blocks. 1st: To calculate percentages start w/ a common base unit-you used 4 gallons of water so a common base would be ounces so 4 * 128 oz / gal = 512 oz. To get a 3% solution multiply 512 * .03 = 15.36 oz. So you found out that vinegar worked pretty good. The 2 kinds of cleaning solutions are acid & alkali-the detergent you tried is an alkali like most soaps. The vinegar is an acid which is why it dissolved the oxidation on the water block. Most vinegar is 5% acetic acid mixed w/ 95% water. To get a stronger solution buy straight acetic acid & dilute it w/ water (distilled). If you have to clean another corroded water block try straight vinegar in the sonic cleaner for say 2-3 hours & check it. If its good enough RINSE it off w/ running water. You want to remove ALL the acid completely. You can experiment w/ pennies-leave them in vinegar too long & they'll dissolve. If you had put the water block in the sonic cleaner w/vinegar I think you'd be surprised how well it works. Hopefully helpful. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!

[@anthonyc417]

A dishwasher does a good job of bringing back the luster. It makes my copper bottom pans shine like new.

[@FerralVideo]

I've got a tiny (3L) ultrasonic that I'm learning how to use myself. These are fun! And very loud. The camera does not do it justice.

[@noiani90]

Just as an idea for next time. Try using citric acid instead of vinegar to avoid the smell. In addition you can raise the acidity which I think is the reason that the vinegar worked better than the lemon juice. You can also run the ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water, citric acid and a little bit of dish soap and should have similar results after more or less half an hour. Edit: After reading the rest of the comments I second the idea of neutralising the acid with baking soda.

[@bryandepaepe5984]

The popping bubble cleaning action is called cavitation which can erode metals over time which is the main reason to not have bubbles in a water cooling loop and is a common problem with boat propellers.

[@bryandepaepe5984]

BTW people use Coca-Cola to clean old copper pennies.

[@matthijskkr]

What if they just put vinegar in the ultrasonic and ran that overnight?

[@Moonblade042194]

Black oxides on copper are fine. They don't really do that much for temp deltas.

[@fluffypink90]

Soaked a copper block in vinegar overnight a little while ago. Stayed shiny for a while, but definitely lost some of its lustre overnight - I suspect the acid etching into the grain of the metal gives the dull effect

[@TrailFeatures]

Been thinking of (a smaller) one of these for cleaning bike parts. Would be fun to see you test it out with a bike chain or other drive train parts!

[@anarchangel7]

you can a lot of things to restore tarnished copper. You can polish it a bit if you want that original luster back.

[@georgemcdowell7153]

I’m surprised a good Carolina boy such as yourself doesn’t use the method favored by many of our backwoods neighbors for cleaning rusted motorcycle gas tanks and seized tractor motors. Pour a jar of Grandma’s Molasses into a five-gallon bucket of rainwater. Cover and store downwind from the studio. After about a week, put in the parts to be cleaned. Take them out periodically and wash them off with a jet of water. Don’t know if the offending substance is cupric or cuprous oxide, but it doesn’t matter. The brew frees the oxygen from either compound. When finished, pour the mixture on a tree or bush - it’s great fertilizer.

[@KeppyKep]

I HAD THAT SAME LEGO BUCKET WHEN I WAS A KID!! Sorry, just got really excited there for a moment.

[@virtualtools_3021]

Copper itself should be a biocide by the oligodynamic effect, it it's self sanitizing

[@ВасянНирванов]

lol it is looped system so contamination does not flush away, it is circulating there!

[@Lagittaja]

If you consider trying lemon juice next time, I personally would just buy a bag of citric acid instead from the pharmacy. You can make the solution as weak or as strong as you want. P.S. Neutralise the acid in baking soda solution, then rinse with dihydrogen monoxide.

[@lsylsy2]

"heating" "55 degrees" me:"can it sous vide?"

[@wyattroncin941]

yes, but your food will be very clean and heavily disintegrated.

[@upmytube07]

you have successfully created the flint water crisis in your loop

[@JeffreyGroves]

As was figured-out in the 1980s by contact lens wearers, distilled water was never guaranteed to be free of biological material. Time was when contact lens cleaning was done with distilled water, but it became clear that distilled water was not necessarily bacteria free (read: nasty eye infections). That is when they changed to providing dedicated contact lens solutions instead of providing kits to manufacture your own solution. Distilled water can only be considered low in dissolved solids like calcium carbonate. It cannot ever be considered otherwise "clean". I would never drink distilled water, because all kinds of terrible biology lives in the distilling equipment. You would be best served by highly filtering, pH stabilizing, and biocide treating distilled water. Not necessarily in that order.

[@johnnychang4233]

Time to go Level1 style with Wendell and his old fashioned bathroom for those on a budget ;) Ultrasonic should work better with bigger particles of debris instead of oxide attached to porous uneven surface such as the weathered inside from a water cooling heat to liquid transfer interface.

[@RealRaynedance]

You know, the static from the machine wasn't really the issue. It was the CRT-like high-pitched awfulness behind it. (Headphone warning at 18:15)

[@Marc_Wolfe]

The bubbles it creates aren't bubbles that float to the surface. Vacuum cavitation is the absence of matter, including gasses.

[@awesomearizona-dino]

SAME THING HAPPENS IN CARS...EXPERIENCE, ... Use automotive coolant, ethylene glycol based. Pure water/distilled water acts as a solvent over time. (follwing pasted from clip)During the distillation process, water is vaporized into its gaseous phase, so all its impurities are left behind. These impurities include a number of minerals, including “calcium” and “magnesium,” the two components of water “hardness.” The water is then condensed back into its liquid phase, so the resulting liquid is pure water - in fact, some of the purest water on earth. But the problem is that when water is distilled, or “stripped,” of its minerals and impurities, the resulting solution is composed of chemically imbalanced “ions.” This leaves distilled water “ionically hungry,” so it will actually strip electrons from the metals in a cooling system as it attempts to chemically re-balance itself. As it chemically removes electrons from the metals of cooling system components, distilled water eventually does extreme damage that could lead to cooling system failure.

[@Streetbikerider83]

steve drinks that stuff he will turn into the hulk with a beautiful head of hair

[@jamesquarles8556]

Another way to clean the copper would be using oxalic acid found in Bar keepers friend. It would not have any smell and it is sold as a powder so all you would need is a little water and a toothbrush. It works very well cleaning the oxide buildup on my copper bottomed pans.

[@alexusman]

22:55 hey, that's the case for the cat ITX build.

[@GamersNexus]

Yep! That was before we finished it. We had no idea what we were getting into at the time!

[@EnvAdam]

I just call them heatkiller but their stuff was out of my budget, XSPC, Bykski and barrow are amazing alternatives

[@cl4ster17]

Depends on where you live. In Germany their prices are quite competitive.

[@agenericaccount3935]

Can endorse Bykski. I have a 2080ti block of theirs feeding a 360 thickboi radiator. Getting the card to 100 percent ute through furmark and keeping it there for a while maxed the thermals at about 40c in a 20c room. In gameplay it's obviously much cooler. A lot of that is probably the rad, but cannot overstate the quality of the block. Only complaint is that the backing plate traps heat. I need to put some pads under it the next teardown.

[@cl4ster17]

@@agenericaccount3935 No need for rear pads. The waterblock absorbs so much heat that the only purpose of a backplate is esthetics and maybe physical protection. Thermally it becomes completely irrelevant.

[@agenericaccount3935]

@@cl4ster17 You'd think, but it gets quite warm. While the GPU package stays frosty, there is some climb elsewhere on the PCB where it isn't padded to the backplate. Again though, during a stress test these things happen. For the sake of it, I will pad it up just for giggles and see. There is dead air between it and the PCB. Great way to trap excess heat.

[@cl4ster17]

@@agenericaccount3935 The backplate on my 1080Ti barely exceeds 40°C, maybe 45°C when stress testing even though it has pads contacting the VRM. Case internals are 30-ish°C, water temps 23-25°C thanks to a MoRa 420. With a measly delta of 10K and no airflow there is no meaningful cooling potential for my backplate. The waterblock already does all the work.

[@agenericaccount3935]

Can you guys upload an eight hour video loop of that ultrasonic cleaner running. My tinnitus has never been better 😂 GJ Pat on hosting btw

[@somethingsnowing]

3% of 4 gallons is 15.4 oz or 454ml Could flush the radiator and pump with water. I think jay used some sort of loop cleaner that you run in the loop for a few hours before flushing and running again with water.

[@dexheavy85]

SingularityComputers have been recommending proper Water Cooling Fluids that include corrosion inhibitors, biocide, etc. instead of distilled water for years. I don't know why but all youtubers went with distilled water and failed miserably. Kayle seems to have the worst luck of the bunch. Just use the proper fluid Mayhems, EK, Primochill, whatever. You should also run Mayhems Blitz Kit through that loop. I can't imagine the variety of new lifeforms that developed in there.

Looks like black algea, since it only affects the acrylic block.

[@PainterVierax]

That's what I suggested but Steve is confident so…

@@PainterVierax If Steve would own an Aquarium, he would know 😉

[@cs_mns]

could you clean your loop by running it with vinegar for a few hours? then rinse by running distilled water through it for a few cycles? or would it be too hard on the o-rings etc?

[@toddratson7526]

I don't know what scares me more - watching Jay using power tools or you two using chemicals.

[@hquest]

Vinegar will definitely work much better than lemon juice (won’t smell the same either, but you won’t die). Also, remember to wear gloves afterwards: the oil of the skin in contact with the copper will make it stain again. And depending on how humid the environment is, it will also cause it to stain with time (might take a real while though). If you want to scrub it, make a salt and vinegar paste. Let it over for a few minutes (15-30mins) and use an old toothbrush.

[@Mythricia1988]

You should ALWAYS use some kind of anti-corrosion agent in a loop, no matter if it's all same-metal, no matter if it's distilled water, it doesn't matter. Just put 5% regular boring antifreeze in the water, it's plenty effective - alternatively a proper water cooling premix (i.e. biocide + anti corrosion) from any of the water cooling gear brands. *Always* put that in. That block had some sort of oxidation or galvanic corrosion, and that's exactly why the anti corrosion agents are important. Impurities in different grades of copper is enough to make it happen - there's no such thing as "pure" copper, they all contain various amounts of impurities from other metals. Different grades will have different kinds of impurities, leading to a differential between blocks made out of different grades, and thus you get galvanic corrosion. Easy to clean - but even easier to prevent!

[@DukeShambles]

Ah watercooling maintenance. Everyone loves their loop until they have to do this for the first time.

[@otm646]

You need to add salt to the vinegar and warm it in a large pot. The surface will clean up instantly no more of that dark smut on the surface.

[@BuzzKiller23]

Continuity error: Patrick is wearing a black shirt when he puts the block in the cooler, but when he closes the cooler he is wearing the gray shirt from the next day.

[@nighthawkger93]

EDIT: sorry, should have waited longer for the response. So yeah, I'm pretty confident that this shows what CAN, not necessarily must, happen if you use only destilled water. Curious if the result would be the same of the system would have run the whole time... Next time add some glycol, your pump is gonna thank you too!

[@alexhere1]

Silver coils are terrible, don't use them, especially with nickel-plated blocks - the plating will corrode very quickly. Small silver coils really do not do much for preventing algae, but are quite aggressive in promoting corrosion. For daily use just mix a clear coolant concentrate, it's relatively cheap, and is good for years. I recently drained a loop that had Phobya clear coolant for almost 3 years - no algae or corrosion whatsoever.

[@liljohngamer]

Kinda funny to get a Stadia add before watching a GN video

[@mohmad3o5]

did you try copper polish that is used for cleaning pots and pans?. I use it to clean heavy oxidation on copper and brass and it doesn't eat into the metal but it needs to be washed in hot water afterward.

[@Limeayy]

Vinegar + Ultra Sonic? :D

[@lordsqueak]

@12:30 ish thats a different jetplate from the first card right? , looks like that's the culprit.

[@theotherLewbowski]

@20:15 fs patrick leave the bong at home when ur gonna be on camera🤣🤣

[@OM222O]

Hi steve, just a quick suggestion: use electro polishing next time. It's much faster and yields way better results. The copper will look just like new after that.

[@SteadyShadow]

using the right liquids is important, this guys are about experimenting. Most of his computer builds are disassemble after a few days or hours and used for other videos later on. So using distilled water is fine. I think the problems here was that they didn't clean the loop before setting in the distilled water. Computer parts and loops dont come clean from the factory ( used and re-used part dont help either). And since bacteria loves light, only the parts with clear acrylic took the most damage. Radiator should be fine, just a couple of flush Is good to clean. I would recommend cleaning this with CocaCola for an hour, and then rinsing and brushing with distilled water. Dont believe me??? Try it and see.

[@MaxedHardware]

You guys should see if you can polish it or see how much you can get that shine back.

[@paskowitz]

This is what happens when you only run distilled. A silver coil is also ill advised. That's an outdated solution and a terrible idea if you have any nickel in your loop. It's 2019, use a fluid like Mayhems X1, EK Cryofuel (CLEAR!) or Koolance 702. They are all proven and test in both consumer and industrial applications. In addition, you can use Mayhems Blitz to balance the pH of your system for a further level of "I don't have time to deal with any BS". Blitz pt1 for cleaning out the Mo-Ra. Honestly, given GN's level of technical competence in other areas, it's a bit surprising, and quite frankly disappointing, you guys allowed this to happen.

[@Pheatrix]

I wouldn't say so. Keep in mind this system was intended for cooling with ice to achieve the best thermals you can get without dice/ln2. How does your mentioned fluids behave when close to freezing? Are they freezing earlier than just water? If that's the case that is a problem. What's the thermal capacity / thermal conductivity. Probably lower than just water. The stuff that's in AIOs has a lower thermal capacity and thermal conductivity than plain water. It might not be much, but if you want to get the best out of the system because you want world records everything counts! This system was not intended to run for long periods of time. It was intended to perform exceptionally good.

[@paskowitz]

@@Pheatrix Mayhems X1 and Koolance 702 have a -15c freezing point and virtually equal thermal conductivity to water. EK Cryofuel would be less ideal at 5c freezing point. X1 or 702 would have been superior choices. If they are using a peltier or LN2... that's totally different than a custom loop.

[@alienrenders]

I'm just running plain distilled water in my loop. It still looks clean after several months (1xcpu and 2xgpu blocks). I wonder if the fact that I cleaned my radiators with vinegar beforehand is helping at all? I mean, I did rinse it out, but there's gotta be some left in there. Actually, that's a good question. What would a few drops of vinegar do in a loop? I should probably clean it out and put in the proper red liquid that has biocide at some point though.

[@MrChomiq]

For all you out there, this is what it actually sounds like, since Andrew's mic is sort of picking it up wrong: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5XVdIOqipeUqrc Now imagine having 4 or 5 of these running at the same time in your room. That's the typical setup for lab use. It will give you headache, if you suffer from tinnitus it will increase. In regards to temperature. The vibration causes the liquid to heat up, so if you're running it at 80C with heating you're actually pushing it over the 80C probably if you're run it long enough and you'll end up with a all the water eventually evaporating from all the heat. At our lab we almost never turn the heating on due to the fact that we run the cleaners with timer set to infinity and use ice packs for cooling and refill the water. Switch water to alcohol, like IPA (not the beer), and you'll end up with flammable vapor in your room. We never run it on anything else than distilled water. If you want to dissolve something that's actually does not dissolve in water you take a beaker, fill it with solvent and your substance and then cover the top of the beaker with parafilm (sheet of flexible plastic). Only then you place the beaker in the cleaner. You could probably clean that rad in a big enough cleaner, like the one in the video I linked. Except that's industrial grade stuff and I doubt GN could get their hands on them. Me and my lab buddy used our largest cleaner (think it's a 22L unit) to clean the rad used for cooling the water in a twin-screw polymer extruder, which was about the size of a 420mm rad with fans attached to it. Whoever set it up at our uni thought there's no need to use any sort of water filters and decided to plug it directly to the main water supply. Too bad they weren't there to cover the cost of replacing the water pump which failed from all the built up gunk.

[@MrChomiq]

A mix of lemon juice + ultrasonic would probably work great too. Just make sure to put it in a separate container and use something to elevate the block so it doesn't just sit on the bottom.

[@wirerat]

The discolored heatkiller blocks looks like the copper cold plate was exposed to air for an extended time.

[@SWIRFTV]

when i was locked up, there was a CO that showed me to use ketchup to remove oxidation from the large copper pipes in institutions, you would let the the ketchup sit on the copper for about an hour, and all the crud would just wipe off, might work for this. ketchup is also acidic @GNSteve

[@caseyt8447]

I cant help but wonder if the black stuff is from your hoses breaking down

[@Mattia_98]

I used red vinegar to clean copper coins and they turned out great. Don't know if it makes a difference.

[@JoriDiculous]

to get it shiny again just use vinegar and salt, or lemon+baking soda (quick and not smelly) . Or tomato paste or even ketchup.

[@TheStig827]

I wonder if it's actually just the anodizing from the EK block lifting off and being deposited?

[@LongBarrelJoe]

Another effective method to remove copper oxydation is to use anti-limestone products. I use them to clean heatpipes and they turn out very shiny.

[@GovG33k]

Lemi shine works great for shining up spent range brass. I wonder if it'd help in this situation.

[@thepanduuh]

If you used vinegar to cool the system this stuff wouldn’t happen would it? Could flush it a couple times to break up whatever is in the cpu block or radiator.

[@anthonyc417]

Gallon jugs of vinegar are cheap at walmart. And vinegar is safe in an ultrasonic but you may wanna put it outside or in the garage.

[@Chris623]

Ultra Sonic fluid isn't for every material and if its mixed wrong it even eats small chunks out of the material ( aluminium is extreme)

[@mschild95]

The flow plates look different... The one from the discolored block wasn't aluminium was ist? 😅

[@AwangIlyasAwangMahsen]

Ketchup works pretty well on copper too from my experience

[@jeffm2787]

Vinegar in the ultra sonic....that's the ticket.

[@huzudra]

Vinegar+salt will strip copper tarnish almost instantly with just a dip, rinse with clean water to slow re-tarnishing. Or you can do what Koolance used to do and gold plate the copper blocks, cause nothing says baller computer like gold plated water blocks.

[@Stefan.Stefanov]

My custom loop is only copper but the gpu block also got black color. I've used vinegar for 24h and then the block become again in good condition.

[@Javierm0n0]

I printed those same hose clamps! but I needed them for my washing machine 😂

[@p31952]

Did you try the vinegar in the sonic machine? It might do the trick while smelling like hell for awhile.

[@MrPruske]

it vinegar in the ultrasonic cleaner ok?

[@ChristianStout]

Sounds like a brown noise machine.

[@emmanuelgo9959]

Try Tarn X from Home Depot. It will bring back the bright finish to the copper.

[@steven44799]

if you wanted to bother going to the effort you could get the nice shiny looking surface back by using a buffing bit and some buffing compound with a dremel, just dont go into the fins. though i dont think its worth the effort, the surface finish shouldnt be enough of an issue to matter to the cooling ability.

[@GamersNexus]

If we did want to mess around with it, any suggestions on compound choice?

[@steven44799]

@@GamersNexus brasso is what i would use here, but i dont know if thats sold in the US, any metal polish that is suitable for copper should do the job.

[@Lagghard]

@@GamersNexus I've used some Turtle Wax premium rubbing compound in an 18 ounce bottle that works great for many applications. You could probably completely skip the vinegar cleaning and buff it back to being shiny with the right dremel attachment.

[@abbott790]

Where did that 28 minutes go? Why did I watch this? What was the point? Does this apply to my life in anyway? Is there something wrong with me? Who am I? These are all questions I have after watching this entire grinding 28 minute video. I love you Tech Jesus but I want my 30 mins back.

[@slimdout]

12% = ~⅛ x 1 gallon = 2 cups = 16 oz. Think that's a little bit more significant than you thought, there 😂👌

[@ssl3546]

Gah! I have never before in my life shouted at a GN video. A bald eagle cried when Steve did that.

[@GamersNexus]

@@ssl3546 As if it mattered. We could obviously do the math. It was more entertaining not to and, frankly, irrelevant anyway.

[@kabotteam]

It's not hte bubbles that clean in ultrasonic cleaner, the liquid that you submerge stuff in moves (altough the translation is very small). The liquid then rips the debris off the surface. Think of dense fluid, e.g. honey, submerge something in it, and then moving the liquid can move the stuff submerged. The faster you move fluid, the higher the force on the stuff submerged. So the cleaner moves the fluid *very* quickly, at ultrasonic speed in fact.

[@ballplayer2188]

Why not get a counter top dishwasher and clean the vaseline boards der8auer style?