Particle filters and pointless precious scrap
First, of course, we should consider what we actually want to filter out. Galvanically spoiled coolant MUST be replaced and the system thoroughly cleaned, it definitely cannot be salvaged by conventional means. Yes, you can precipitate a lot again, but the effort is immense on the one hand and on the other hand you never catch everything anyway (and the coolant is then usually spoiled differently afterwards). Mold is also not to be trifled with, although one has to ask where it actually comes from. Biological warfare agents have no place in the circuit and here, too, everything must be cleaned and completely replaced. And a big request: Do not use aids from aquaristics, this almost always only makes it worse (“algae death”).
However, what should and can always be filtered out, as in my case, are two things. First, we would have the really annoying particles (airborne particles) that can separate from various components over time and that come in various sizes. Something like this clogs cooling fins and is poison for the pump if it settles there and gets stuck. The bowl in the picture below shows the sediment from my chiller that settled there in the lower part within a year.
For such smaller particles very fine mesh filters are suitable and not something like in the picture below, which can be purchased quite cheaply as a simple inline filter and can also be installed quickly. These very coarse filters do not really help, because they let almost everything through at higher flow rates and are therefore not worth the money. I had such a thing firmly mounted on the chiller and the sediment has just shown that from about 80 l / h and more everything just flows through. This is then shredded at most, but not filtered away.
![](https://www.igorslab.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Noname-Filter-Small-980x584.jpg)
Second, all too often you also find nasty slime in the system as a residue of chemical reactions or a plasticizer party. This can also settle in narrow cooling fins and clog them to the point of ineffectiveness. With a finer and, above all, larger filter, you can also filter out such disgusting shimmers.
![](https://www.igorslab.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Alphacool-Partikelfilter-Used-980x405.jpg)
Alphacool ES Big Inline Particle Filter
I got two of these filters as cheap B-ware, because blemishes in the plastic corset of the filter insert do not affect the function. Here, of course, you can take anything that can be easily installed and screwed on. The larger such a fine mesh filter is, the better. We’ll find out why that is in a moment.
![](https://www.igorslab.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Alphacool-Partikelfilter-Box-980x736.jpg)
The original filter insert is already quite fine-meshed, but can temporarily be further pimped with the remnants of a discarded fine pantytube. Simply pull it through, fold it over, pull it over and fix it with a rubber ring for the time being. If the filter and insert are then screwed back together tightly, the thin fabric at the top and bottom clamps itself bombproof to the sleeve. This works really well for fine cleaning, but clogs up quickly. So it is nothing for continuous operation.
The filter is very quickly unscrewed, cleaned and screwed back together. Since the filter is very large and offers a very large filter surface, the pressure drop is manageable. Some shrinkage is of course always, especially with the tights variant. But it is only used now and then for fine cleaning, otherwise it works without it. The part in the picture has normal 1/4″ female threads, so it fits perfectly into the system.
By the way, I use the filter on the chiller in a vertical position, which is not the usual orientation, but does not add any pressure loss. But I can better see the contents and the settled stuff from above this way. In my case, this is even better for changing, because when it is switched off, the Coolant sinks so far that I can unscrew the lid without loss and nothing leaks out. Highest point even.
![](https://www.igorslab.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Alphacool-Partikelfilter-Running-980x662.jpg)
The picture above shows one of the two chillers after regular cleaning. Also good to see is the rigid, BPA-free tube, which by now also has three years under its belt and still does. Only with the bending radii you have to calculate very generously. But this also has a nice side effect, because this tube virtually does not bend or buckle. What the tube looked like on the other chiller at the back was already the subject of the first page.
However, I have now replaced the pantytube method with a large homemade filter that I can hang in any circuit using quick disconnects. Please scroll on!
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