Radiator cleaning

DigitalReaper · 13 Jun 2016 at 23:02

I have two coolgate 420mm radiators here, I ran hot water through them for about an hour but they were still very dirty inside:

So I filled one of them with citric acid (10%) for 30 minutes and here are the results:

It's obviously still not clean inside but I'm a little concerned about how much copper is being removed and I don't know how to proceed. Should I refill it with acid for another 30 minutes or am I risking damage?

If I leave it as is am I going to end up with nasty stuff in the loop or is what's left in there pretty well stuck in place? This is my first watercooling build and i'm starting to get a little lost...

queeg · 13 Jun 2016 at 23:17

just keep flushing with plain hot water until theres no more bits coming out and the water is clear then rinse with distilled

Glanza · 14 Jun 2016 at 08:51

Tried running a Blitz kit through them?

Aberfala · 14 Jun 2016 at 08:56

Glanza said:
Tried running a Blitz kit through them?

Yeah, the Blitz kit did a great job of cleaning my rads.

MorleySA · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:34

Glanza said:
Tried running a Blitz kit through them?

I'd try using the Blitz kit too, i'll be using it for my radiators very soon.

Pyr0m@nI@]{ · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:39

I'd recommend the mayhem blitz kit too.

BluD · 14 Jun 2016 at 20:28

Yup me too, i always just used vinegar and water but i used blitz last week and it made a great job of cleaning mine out.

Trunkey · 14 Jun 2016 at 22:02

I've never bothered before :eek:

Perhaps the two ne EK 360's arriving tomorrow will be cleaned before use

DBT85 · 15 Jun 2016 at 08:17

Trunkey said:
I've never bothered before

Perhaps the two ne EK 360's arriving tomorrow will be cleaned before use

I'll be doing my pair for sure!

tyler_jrb · 15 Jun 2016 at 13:00

I just stick a compression fitting on mine. Take it outside and attach it to hosepipe. Open it up and let it run for a good 10-15 minutes.

Not full pressure but enough to keep a good constant flow through the rad to wash away all the crap.

DigitalReaper · 15 Jun 2016 at 16:58

Blitz kit it is then

I was looking at the pro version (which I assume is what everyone meant) and noticed that it states "Do not use on plated products". The plugs on the radiators are plated (black nickel I think), will that be an issue or is it just a cosmetic thing?

The rads did come with some plastic plugs to keep dirt out but I doubt they'd hold water without modification. I only have 4 plugs anyway and the rads have 5 ports.

For reference these are the rads I have: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/coolgate-cg420-420mm-radiator-black-wc-016-cg.html

Trunkey · 22 Jun 2016 at 20:11

Just rinsed my new EK-PE 360's with water vinegar solution and got some flux out of them, never bothered on my Alphacool and just run pain water that has never discoloured