Well, What about using Listerine as a coolant?

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fenderltd

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - July 2007
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This morning as I got ready for work, I used Listerine and it dawned on me for the 3 years I have been using this product, it's always so damn cold. Then I thought what about using it as a coolant? It kills all the bacteria etc I would say. Just throwing it out there, might be a dumb idea but OH WELL :p

 
I was eying a bottle of Listerine suspiciously the other day. I've run out of coolant.
 
I've heard of some people doing this but I would think it doesn't transfer heat as well. Pure distilled water seems to still be the best.
 
TheGamerZ said:
Doesn't anything alcohol-based dry out and ruin tubing?
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Not tubing so much as plastic pieces (acrylic, lexan, delrin etc.) and rubber O rings.

It's bad news if used over the long run.

Also, since it's mostly alcohol, it would pressurize the loop quite a bit, due to alcohol's low boiling point.
 
only problem would be you would need to get a pump that moves alcohol. it is less dense then water and therefore cannot conduct as much heat though, but this makes it more free-flowing. alcohol doesnt cavitate (tiny air bubbles) like water although listerene has some soaps or chemicals that i wouldnt want in a computer. and it would definately dry out plastics and rubber rings. alcohol only feels cold in your mouth because of the evaporation rate. in a closed loop it is all about thermal capacity, which water wins.
 
Arcy makes a great point, as does ghost. To expound further-

I'm assuming your block is copper, which is a metal that is highly susceptible to corrosion.

From the Listerine website:
Inactive ingredients
water, alcohol (26.9%), benzoic acid, poloxamer 407, sodium benzoate, caramel
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This would probably take a while, but it seems possible-

Caramel is sugar. Sugar + water + time = alcohol fermentation. This process creates CO2 and some free oxygen as a by-product. The CO2 itself is bad enough, but:

Free oxygen + water + copper waterblock + time = corrosion.

Sodium benzoate is a salt. Salt + water + free oxygen + copper = a LOT of corrosion.

So, while you're thinking good thoughts, I wouldn't recommend it.
 
EvilTwinSkippy said:
Arcy makes a great point, as does ghost. To expound further-

I'm assuming your block is copper, which is a metal that is highly susceptible to corrosion.

From the Listerine website:


This would probably take a while, but it seems possible-

Caramel is sugar. Sugar + water + time = alcohol fermentation. This process creates CO2 and some free oxygen as a by-product. The CO2 itself is bad enough, but:

Free oxygen + water + copper waterblock + time = corrosion.

Sodium benzoate is a salt. Salt + water + free oxygen + copper = a LOT of corrosion.

So, while you're thinking good thoughts, I wouldn't recommend it.
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Looking at the ingredients - does anyone still want to put this stuff in their mouth?
 
teststrips said:
Looking at the ingredients - does anyone still want to put this stuff in their mouth?
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LMAO, good point - I guess that depends on what "poloxamer 407" is.

However, sodium bezoate (preservative) is just the salt version of benzoic acid (preservative), and caramel (makes it palatable) is just another form of sugar. All of these are common ingredients in pretty much any food you buy off the shelf these days. What the hell "poloxamer 407" is, well......that's just a mystery. Anyone trolling the forums who works at McNeil/Pfizer?

BTW I didn't list the active ingredients, which may further sway your opinion. Wikipedia:
The active ingredients are menthol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and eucalyptol. Ethanol (grain alcohol) is present in concentrations between 21 and 26% w/v.
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menthol = counterirritant (mild anesthetic - also famous for supposedly giving cigarettes a "cool minty" property, but I don't smoke so I can't tell ya)
thymol = antiseptic
methyl salicylate = oil of wintergreen (in large amounts it's also what gives you a "hot" feeling in liniments such as BenGay, IcyHot, and the like)
eucalyptol in small doses = flavoring agent (in large doses it's also commonly used in products like Vicks to relieve congestion)

So anyway......back to the topic at hand. I still say not a good idea.
 
lol, it was just a random early morning idea! Thanks for the feedback as well. Until next time!

 
Caramel is sugar. Sugar + water + time = alcohol fermentation. This process creates CO2 and some free oxygen as a by-product. The CO2 itself is bad enough, but:
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Just for my eternal quest of knowledge... Does "Caramel" in this sense actually MEAN Caramel, or is it just the extracted pigment from caramel...

Looking a the big bottle of Green listerine in my bathroom... I see no "Caramel" listed, I do see some "Green lake 40s" in there though.

So, this leads me to believe the "Caramel" is simply the caramel colour. But I could be totally 100% wrong.

Any input on this very OT subject?

AAAAAAAAAAAND:

Poloxamer 407 or polyethylene-polypropylene glycol is a hydrophilic non-ionic surfactant. As such, it is widely used in cosmetics for dissolving oily ingredients in water. It can also be found in multi-purpose contact lens cleaning solutions. Its purpose there is to help remove lipid films from the lens. It can also be found in some mouthwashes.

Perhaps adverse to health Reported in The Australian newspaper 18 November 2006 that this common ingredient in toothpaste and mouthwash can cause high cholesterol. A team from the Centre for Ageing and the ANZAC Research Institute in Sydney found that when P407 was given to mice, it coated cells in the liver that control cholesterol levels, leading to a 10-fold increase in levels. The amounts given were not reported in the article.
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Arcygenical said:
Just for my eternal quest of knowledge... Does "Caramel" in this sense actually MEAN Caramel, or is it just the extracted pigment from caramel...
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Well, I guess that's what I get for assuming.... it didn't say it was a pigment or FD&C Caramel #3 or anything, so...... oops there.

Arcygenical said:
So, this leads me to believe the "Caramel" is simply the caramel colour.
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Colour??? Methinks I've spotted a Canuck. Oy, profile confirms it!

Oh, and this scares me a little:
Poloxamer 407 or polyethylene-polypropylene glycol
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Almost sounds like fancy anti-freeze.
 
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