Slime in the tubes including a long-term test – Particle filter, do-it-yourself filter and the follow-up costs of PVC tubes

Rinse, rinse, rinse again…

In general, of course, anything that is clean can not contaminate the system! For the pressure flushing of supplied parts such as radiators, pumps or even coolers already in use, I use the tube of the unscrewed hand shower and the high water pressure on the first floor (Office). Here I can rely on very soft, almost lime-free water and a flow rate of well over 1200 l/h. This loosens pretty much everything from the last crack, which is almost loose or already peeled off.

And who wants to know how I clean really dirty things: citric or acetic acid. Copper becomes shiny again almost by itself, but you should not clean the circuit in one piece, but only individual components! I soak some things in a bowl first, but again, beware: things like aggressive household cleaners are to be strictly avoided. Even normal dishwashing detergent should not be used, because it will foam. In an emergency, use dishwasher tabs because they do NOT foam. And anything that contains ethanol is off limits anyway. This also applies to aggressive solvents of all kinds up to acetone.

But that is not all. This is because all components must be very thoroughly cleaned again of all cleaning residues after basic cleaning. So again rinse excessively (the last rinse cycle is always distilled water for me) and then dry properly first.

Summary and conclusion

If you want to rely on tubes, then you really only have two options. Either use BPA-free PVC tubes if possible (they do exist) and ensure filters and good coolant, or use tubes made of EPDM or EPDM/PP right away. Or made of Teflon, which is also available for a lot of money. However, if you want to use EPDM or EPDM/PP, you need to know about the grommet and clamp issues. Because not everything holds then as well and firmly as with the PVC tube.

Extra soft, transparent and brightly colored tubes are certainly visually quite nice, but nothing for permanent use in a PC. The parts I use in the tests are always cleaned after use and hang (much to my wife’s chagrin) in the lab’s bathroom like a firehouse. Firstly, they then hang out again somewhat and kinks and bends from the insert disappear again and they also dry off completely. The plasticizer therefore remains in. Since the bathroom has no window, UV light is also not an issue. I have used these tubes for over 4 years and they are still like new.

 

Images such as this slimed CPU block can be avoided, at least to some extent, with a fine-mesh filter in the inlet. You certainly won’t catch everything, but you will catch most of it.

And then I come at this point again to the faction of pump throttlers. It is almost like a body of water with a water cooling system. The quieter, the muddier and smellier it gets. Based purely on experience, I would never want to run a system with a flow rate below 75 liters / h. If the pump is too noisy, then you bought the wrong product. Throttling is then only combating a symptom, but not the cause. You can either hate the thing or love it: the Eisball from Alphacool is a good option for sound insulation.

I’ve been using filters for a long time, but was always looking for a really fine mesh part. I have now been able to solve this well with the self-build project. However, the normal user will do just as well with a large inline filter like Alphacool’s ES or Aqua Computer’s UltiTube D5 expansion tank including filter. But a filter is a must, especially with lower flow rates and PVC tube. This is because much of what the user thinks is algae is actually chemical decomposition products of the plasticizer. If then some verdigris is added, the (sometimes even foamy) slime quickly looks greenish and is mistaken for algae.

Actually, I just wanted to show you today how much effort you have to put in when you have to run several systems every day and never know what kind of secretions some of the components that are lying around for testing are emitting. And I wanted to tickle some ambition to try it with a decent filter. The lazy man lets down and tilts, the wiser man filters. This is also much more sustainable and financially even more favorable. A good filter quickly paid for itself. My tip for ttube who want to use a pump-balance tank combination anyway is the UltiTube D5 from Aqua Computer.

This combination with integrated filter works in my portable water cooling system with 960 radiator surface. Because I’m stingy and don’t always start the chiller right away if the temperatures don’t have to be maintained exactly. But I will certainly write a separate article about this one day. That’s all for today, we can discuss the rest in more detail in the forum. I am always here 🙂

Further articles and analyses

I had already written several articles on coolant, oxidation and residues. This also covers some of the areas that I have left out today.