considering colored liquid, need help

[Nurf]

In the past I've thought that I'd only stick with clear liquids after hearing all the bad things about colored coolants and dyes. Now I have a situation were I want color, but don't think colored tubing will look as good as colored liquid.
Problem is I know nothing about this. The health of the loop is a high priority and seems like mayhems would be the way to go, but I have some very basic questions that need answering first.
1) With dyes you get what ever color you want, but are there any downsides to them when compaired to premix liquids or is premix just an idiot proof solution? (mayhems dye vs mayhems X1 premix)
2) How will using these vs clear liquid affect rads and blocks and their maintenance? (affect on tubing doesn't matter)
3) Will these stain clear acrylic reservoirs at all?
4) Is there a solution where I just change the liquid every X months and I won't have to worry about any of this and if so how short is this time period?
5)Mayhems vs others, should I just stick with mayhems or are there other brands I would have any point in considering?

 

[Reily234]

I would just go with mayhems die with coolant that doesn't corrode the components. There isn't that much about dyes that make them worse, so in my opinion, its worth it for the look. So i recommend using any color of mayhems dye you see fit and just use a coolant that doesn't corrode.

 

[S_I_N]

Mayhems dyes are great stuff but be warned a little goes a long way. I used his blue dye once prolly a tad to much of it but hey I wanted it DEEP Blue. Anywho when I went to flush the rads and blocks for a cleaning cycle, or to change parts cant recall. it took me several flushes to get the water clear. but it finally ran clear and i stuck with it being clear after that. Funny thing is when i went to flush it again later when changing tubing for white tubing I flushed again and OMFG!!! more blue came out not as hard as last time but non the less it was easy to tell it was blue. My personal recommendation is get colored tubing and be done with it. I'm partial to Primochill LRT to date 2 flushes later I have seen no break down in the hose. I'm about to redo my loop next week or two when my new Switch 810 top get here (I'll be adding a drain as well this time) And I plan on replacing the tubing as well. Simply cause its over a year old now.

 

[Nurf]

So as long as I use something like mayhems and common sense, I should be fine? I can totally see myself adding a bit too much so thanx for the warning S_I_N.

 

[Reily234]

I would use mayhems if i wasn't going to change or reuse parts of the loop, if you are going to be changing the loop you might want to go for the colored tubing. You only need a drop or so of mayhems dye per liter, so you do have to be careful. If you are uncomfortable with that, just save yourself the stress and get colored tubing. You could also try premixed coolants if you still want the look of colored coolant.

 

[S_I_N]

oh and to date I have not seen mayhems dyes affect the rez's as in coloring them. I have seen it tinge the tubing some but in mayhems defense on that it was rather cheap tubing.

 

[Nurf]

I would use mayhems if i wasn't going to change or reuse parts of the loop, if you are going to be changing the loop you might want to go for the colored tubing.

Is the reason for this just the fact that cleaning the parts will take longer or is there something more like not being able to get all the dye out of the rads even if using moderate amounts of dye?

 

[Reily234]

It is harder to clean dyes out of your loop. It will take more flushes or rinses, whatever you want to call them. And you also have a possibility of staining the tubing, that's why i say you should use if you want a one time deal kind of thing. If you are going to change parts, just save yourself the time and effort and use colored tubing. But, if you don't mind the work and want the looks, just go for the dyes then. That's what i would do at least.

 

[ccaution]

( ^ this staff keeps me away from watercooling, for such a long time now )

 

[Nurf]

Don't know what I'll end up with, but atleast I now have some info to help me out. Thank you for the help guys.

 

[Reily234]

No problem, if there is anything else you need just ask.

 

[NRG!]

You should assume the dye will stain everything at all times. It's easy to rectify though. Lots and lots of flushing if you're changing colours. I ran plain di water no additives (changing every 3 days or so) for just over two weeks to help clear staining when I changed my coolant colour. Blocks can be cleaned with a toothbrush and some ketchup. (well, that's what I use.)

Mayhems dye will not clog up a system. The premix coolants are x1 clear and pastel white with dye added.

 

[Nurf]

I figured that the blocks would be easy just because you can, like you said, use a toothbrush and the rads are the hard part. The running plain di water gave me the idea that during maintenance I could run my computer with stock cpu cooler and no gpu, giving me the chance to make a rad-only loop outside my case and still have basic use of my computer for as long as I can live with that setup.

If/when I decide on getting the dye, I have a feeling that when I add it, the top drops and the entire bottle empties into the system or some other freak accident happens. :lol: I'd probably be flushing the parts for the next year.

But in truth, I'm not that worried, just want to have the facts before deciding.

 

[| raVen |]

I watercool my pc for I think over a year, and I always been using colored coolants. I have to say that if you running one color for long time( 8 months ), the rads will be really hard to flush, but all the rest components are pretty easy to clean. I spend pretty much one whole day trying to get rid of the old blue coolant that I used before, to be able to have white one now. I think that using just water is not good for everyone, because is just plain and not pretty, but you don't have to spend whole day on flushing rads, but I think that is worth it to have colored coolant just for look.

 

[Choklitmlk]

premix is just easy, you can do yourself no worries, and get the exact level of colour you want.

and yea, mayhems... nothing else compares