How much Anti-Freeze for water cool setup

[cracker009]

I just got my Leufken socket water cool setup and the instruction says to add a little bit of anti-freeze but how much is enough. What else should i add to the water. One more question, do I really need a GFI to plug the pump into? Thnxs.

[krusty the klown]

Well on the packet of antifreeze, it should say what concentrations will protect the engine down to what temperatures (they do in the UK anyway!). Have a look at some in a shop/garage.

I can't see a reason for adding anything else to the water other than antifreeze.

I'd reckon that even if you plan to stay above zero that say a 10% solution of antifreeze would be sensible, as antifreeze should contain corrosion inhibitors and frequently in peltier setups, there are dissimilar metals used (e.g. copper and aluminium).

Sorry, dunno what a GFI is m8...?

[ThiemeMD]

I just ordered a product called "Purple Ice" from Jegs.com
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...219%202220#top

It is supposed to prevent corrosion/erosion like antifreeze, but peform best when used with just straight water. It also claims to improve the thermal transfer properties of water. I've been using just distilled water for over a month now, and no problems yet. Can't wait to see if this stuff helps any...
But, like Krusty said... if you're going to use a peltier and get below freezing... a bit of antifreeze would be a good idea.

Good Luck!

ThiemeMD

[Target]

I agree with Krusty, the antifreeze is really only meant to be used to inhibit corrosion, and only a small amount is necessary. In fact, using a 50/50 mixture like you do in cars might actually decrease the cooling effectiveness slightly.

On other thing you could do, is use distilled water instead, and add a small amount of chlorine bleach. Distilled water has many of the minerals removed from it, and the bleach will act as a bacteria preventative, as well as a perfect indicator should a leak develope in your cooling system (meaning you will smell bleach if it leaks sometime down the road).

[GunHo]

gfi= ground fault interupt....your running a pump (water) if it springs a leak and shorts the mtr,the gfi will kick out much quicker than a fuse or breaker to keep from giving you a shock.their pretty cheap and will replace a standard wall outlet.