I am thinking of liquid cooling my PC. But I am unsure of how to do maintenance on a custom loop? Should I just replace the liquid every 6-12 months (just drain the system and refill) or is there more to it.
To add, the loop I am considering would have a 360 rad and a 240 rad cooling a graphics card and CPU.
I'm curious, does the amount of rads and blocks in the loop affect the amount of maintenance?
Changing fluid schedule will depend on the fluid. I use (demin + liquid utopia) & change it every 12 months, used to be 6 months, but cbfd these days.
Maintenance ease comes down to the loop design. If you have a drain valve things are going to be a lot easier. Same goes for koolance quick disconnects. However if the loop is essentially sealed, then its still relatively easy. What I do is place the case on its side with its edges on a surface each so there is room underneath (imagine what a car look like on a hoist at a garage). Unplug a hose that is closest to the ground. Let it all drain out into a bucket or whatever. Then flush if need be (only use demin water for this, tap water is too nasty). Then plug the hoses back on, refill loop, leak test. Job done. All up it takes me more time to unplug everything and move the case than it does to empty, refill, leak-test.
Its also a good time to clean away any dust in the case as well, so the whole process is entirely up to you. Ive come across loops that havent had their fluid changed for a couple of years and it was still ok. Just be careful though of any pre-mixed fluid that has organic material - colours etc, after a while it tends to build up and leave pooey deposits tainting the fluid. Demin water + biocide additive is king in my books. If you need colour - grab coloured tubing (even though that can sometimes leach colour into the fluid as well..
TLDR - 6, 12, 18 doesnt really matter as long as the fluid is good to start with, maybe do it say on a holiday break each year.. Number of rads, blocks wont matter. PS. Always flush new wc parts as well to remove any crap from shipping etc.