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Conductivity of water/coolant

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  • Conductivity of water/coolant

    I seem to be reading about this "non conductive" coolant stuff a lot.(non, a word sometimes used in marketing to bend the truth)

    And it occured to me it was time to do some research on the topic;

    Here is a good synopsis on the conductivity of water, ultra pure water, distilled water, and the like;
    http://www.biophysica.com/conductivity.html

    It basically says that yes, "distilled water/pure water/dionized water" is not a GOOD conductor by any means, but it is not completely NOT conductive.

    So how does this apply to our situation?

    Lets say we buy some distilled water and some pt nuke (the ever popular combo) which is actually copper sulfate.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper%28II%29_sulfate

    Wait, copper? copper sulfate? copper is a good conductor. So is salt, especially salt water. And essentially that is what you are getting, copper salt water. Wave goodbye to water as an insulator, or non-conductivity in any way shape or form.

    Next up is probably the best and probably cheapest solution - Water and Ethylene Glycol (automotive coolant). In order for an EG solution to be effective in our application, it must be no more than 20% EG/water. The laing pumps recommend a maximum of 20% EG due to EG being more oil-like (its level of viscosity) and harder to pump, although it helps with keeping the pumps lubricated. (over plain water) EG is absolutely wonderful at killing molds, and killing algae, but its mostly used to prevent boil over and freezing of the mixture. Usually along with EG, coolants add several different anti-corrosives to the mixture. Here is a great video that will explain all that you will ever need to know about coolants, or anything to do with EG. (yes its a prestone video, but surprise, its the same thing as PC coolants)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffpe8aVvb2c

    Now, would I trust this chemical cornucopia as non-conductive? Would I pour it over my 120V mains power outlet? In a word, F... NO! (two words actually)


    So, "non-conductive" = B/S.

    It's something you shouldn't worry about. All coolant is conductive, some may be worse (PT nuke solution) some may be less (maybee new PHN pt nuke??? idk)

    Don't get coolant on electronics when they have power flowing through them! If you get away with it, cool, good job. Don't test your luck. A little leakage when filling is no biggie, just dry it up and make sure the leakage isn't really a heavy soak. And of course, the longer you use coolant, the more conductive it gets, but who cares, its already damn conductive enough if you are using anything but laboratory pure water with no additives (a daft idea in it self)

  • #2
    Up soon, blind side-by-side comparison with mayhems dyes and standard food coloring. (on paper, same thing) Whenever I'm bored I will make a youtube video I suppose.

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