• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Extremely Quick Thermal Paste Degradation, 15°C Increase - Bad Batch?

Knoxx29 said:
Maybe the distilled water you added?
Click to expand...
These small "re-fill-ments" that i did couldnt have been more than 100ml over the whole time, usually even 5ml was enough to fill it back up. Plus over time as i added new radiators they were also pre-filled with their liquid so the effect of the added distilled water should be even smaller. But as far as i can remember the liquid in it was pure and looking like water, even before i did anything with it as the reservoir has quite huge window.

Vario said:
If its copper then try using ketchup and a toothbrush. Ketchup cleans copper really well. Of course, clean the ketchup off with first soap and water and lastly isopropyl.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice, ill remember this for future events but im really not looking to "fix" the old waterblock, the pump is almost dead and the "fins" barely covered half of the IHS.

Im really just trying to find out if i should look more into it for some extra protection, i checked the technical details of the 360mm rad and 280mm, both state copper but the XT45 120mm radiator seems bit odd as the site describes it as "Material internal: Mostly copper ". I really dont know what to think after seeing that to be honest. I dont want the same thing to happen to my Supremacy MX block.
Source: https://www.alphacool.com/shop/radi...acool-nexxxos-xt45-full-copper-120mm-radiator
 
Knoxx29 said:
rofl.gif


Sorry i couldn't resist
Click to expand...
It cleans copper really well, trust me.

You could use Antifreeze and distilled water mixture that was used back in the day, I believe the automotive antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors in addition to polyethlyene glycol, I think it was 20% PEG antifreeze to 80% distilled water mixture but I could be wrong. This was from like 15 years ago when I fooled with watercooling.
 
Last edited:
Wet_Paint said:
but the XT45 120mm radiator seems bit odd as the site describes it as "Material internal: Mostly copper ".
Click to expand...
The majority of radiators use copper fins and tubes with brass end caps or just copper fins and brass tubes & end caps. Though I believe the XT45's are all copper.
 
DR4G00N said:
The majority of radiators use copper fins and tubes with brass end caps or just copper fins and brass tubes & end caps. Though I believe the XT45's are all copper.
Click to expand...
After further inspection i found out that the 120mm radiator isnt exactly the same as the one on their site. It has only one "hole" with plastic screw-in plug, dimensions and appearence are exactly the same. I couldnt find anything like this anywhere on their site.

If all parts are made from copper then the corrosion cant happen, right?
 
Last edited:
It's hard to tell from the pic as the plate appears to block view of the channels. Here's a pic of an extreme case

https://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/copperaluminumcorrosion.jpeg

On aside note, the owner of Mayhems can tend to be a bit explosive and has agressively commented on the quality of Alphacool post production QC... they have a "Blitz Kit" that is recommended for acid cleaning radiators before use with Mahems products.... my Mayhmes red pastel changed from red to purple to black over time.

Bronze is "mostly copper". The above link is exerpted from martin's article here. So no, it's not all copper but it's perty down close.

https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

So when we talk corrosion, we have three major issues to discuss between CLCs and custom loops:

1. We are looking at a galvanic potential of any bronze parts of 0.35 for the copper block and 0.40 for the copper/ brass radiator which thereby has a galvanic corrosion potential of 0.05. With a CLC and aluminum rad, those numbers are 0.35 and 0.75 which has a a galvanic corrosion potential of 0.40 ... 8 times greater. The higher number acts as the electron donor or 'sacrificial anode" and it corrodes away, the electrons comining with any impurities to form the gunk you see in the channels of the water block.

2. So ya already starting out in a condition that has 8 times the rate of corrosion. On top of that, all systems would (should) have a corrosion inhibitor present in the coolant. These have an effective useful life of 18 - 24 months. Much like today's political scene, this disadvantage, is proclaimed as a "feature" ... "no maintenane required".

The automotive equivalent would be no drain in ya car's oil pan. Crud builds up in the system reducing performance... sometimes so much so that they system explodes from over pressure due to restriction. But the bean counters have calculated that failures during the warranty period won't be that great and the cost of replacing those that fail is part of the purchase price. With a custom loop or an OLC type AIO, you have access to either change out the system with resh coolant or just adding a few drops of inhibitor every 18 monthsor so.

3. The CLCs weak pumps generally about 10% of the flow of a custom loopl or OLC model are a bit better at keeping any settled out particles in suspension.
 
John Naylor said:
It's hard to tell from the pic as the plate appears to block view of the channels. Here's a pic of an extreme case

https://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/copperaluminumcorrosion.jpeg

On aside note, the owner of Mayhems can tend to be a bit explosive and has agressively commented on the quality of Alphacool post production QC... they have a "Blitz Kit" that is recommended for acid cleaning radiators before use with Mahems products.... my Mayhmes red pastel changed from red to purple to black over time.

Bronze is "mostly copper". The above link is exerpted from martin's article here. So no, it's not all copper but it's perty down close.

https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

So when we talk corrosion, we have three major issues to discuss between CLCs and custom loops:

1. We are looking at a galvanic potential of any bronze parts of 0.35 for the copper block and 0.40 for the copper/ brass radiator which thereby has a galvanic corrosion potential of 0.05. With a CLC and aluminum rad, those numbers are 0.35 and 0.75 which has a a galvanic corrosion potential of 0.40 ... 8 times greater. The higher number acts as the electron donor or 'sacrificial anode" and it corrodes away, the electrons comining with any impurities to form the gunk you see in the channels of the water block.

2. So ya already starting out in a condition that has 8 times the rate of corrosion. On top of that, all systems would (should) have a corrosion inhibitor present in the coolant. These have an effective useful life of 18 - 24 months. Much like today's political scene, this disadvantage, is proclaimed as a "feature" ... "no maintenane required".

The automotive equivalent would be no drain in ya car's oil pan. Crud builds up in the system reducing performance... sometimes so much so that they system explodes from over pressure due to restriction. But the bean counters have calculated that failures during the warranty period won't be that great and the cost of replacing those that fail is part of the purchase price. With a custom loop or an OLC type AIO, you have access to either change out the system with resh coolant or just adding a few drops of inhibitor every 18 monthsor so.

3. The CLCs weak pumps generally about 10% of the flow of a custom loopl or OLC model are a bit better at keeping any settled out particles in suspension.
Click to expand...

Woah that was a lot of information. I didnt know that alphacool is that bad but yeah the radiators have been flushed 2 times so that should be taken care of, i hope. Isnt the Mayhems X1 corrosion inhibitor? Or are there some special ones needed? If so, which one do you recommend?

Ive read about issues with Mayhem's products but as far as i know its only related to those fancy ones, the X1 was marketed as anti-algea and anti-corrosion, it was also the cheapest one. When i had the loop opened i didnt notice any "gunk" in radiators or the tubes, thats why i was shocked when i saw what was inside the coldplate.
Is there any way of being able to tell that stuff is going bad before it goes as bad as it went with the alphacool waterblock?
 
Wet_Paint said:
Woah that was a lot of information. I didnt know that alphacool is that bad but yeah the radiators have been flushed 2 times so that should be taken care of, i hope. Isnt the Mayhems X1 corrosion inhibitor? Or are there some special ones needed? If so, which one do you recommend?

Ive read about issues with Mayhem's products but as far as i know its only related to those fancy ones, the X1 was marketed as anti-algea and anti-corrosion, it was also the cheapest one. When i had the loop opened I didnt notice any "gunk" in radiators or the tubes, thats why i was shocked when i saw what was inside the coldplate.

Is there any way of being able to tell that stuff is going bad before it goes as bad as it went with the alphacool waterblock?
Click to expand...

I didn't say they were... Mayhems did :)

I like Alphacool rads .... screw protectors, 7 connections, great performance. But I do acid treat and flush them before using ... as i would any rad.

You can take the block apart and clean it ... I use a solution of vinegar and hot water, or you could use the Mayhems Blitz Kit. An Aquarium gravel cleaner suction kit makes great flushing device.... close the suction port to use in "fill mode".

https://www.marineandreef.com/Python_Aquarium_Gravel_Vac_python_no_spill_clean_and_fill_s/174.htm

1. Flush rads with tap water in kitchen sink or tub.... 2 minutes hot / 2 minutes cold / 2 minutes hot
2. Fill with vinegar water solution, let sit 2 hours. (or use Blitz Kit as per instructions)
3. Repeat Step 1.

For the water block....

1. Disassemble and wipe clean with towelette to remove grease on O-rings and points of contact.
2. Disassemble and place parts in bowl with vinegar solution for 2 hours.
3. If any remaining crud, dip toothbrush in solution and scrub clean.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 with new solution, till satisfied ... usually won't be needed to repeat and 10 minutes should suffice.
5. Give them a water bath in distilled water....
6. Let dry, lubricate O-Rings with a food grade silicone grease such as Trident LP20 and reassemble.

https://www.ekwb.com/blog/how-to-clean-water-blocks/

If desired you can also flush an entire system using that fish tank thingie before doing any of the above... . Without connecting to faucet as yet, I connect the end to the top radiator and fill the aquarium tool tube to avoid air pockets before connecting to faucet. I then connect a 2nd tube I made from the same tubing with a QD fitting which connects to a QD drain port on the bottom rad. I start the faucet slow flow rate and then the pump with a small 12v power supply w/o stating up puter.

After disassembling and blocks and treating / cleaning rads ....

1. Fill the system with DW and run for an hour using 12v power supply so system remains off
2. Repeat step 1
3. Fill with coolant
4. Bleed system thru reservoir top port leaving small air gap at top (1") to observe any changes in water level.
5. To the tilty thing to shake loose any trapped air bubbles.
6. I use a fill tube attached to the top port on the top rad with a 40mm brass riser which extends rad port to just below top case grille, then 12" acylic tube riser, valve and funnel.
7. With say 6" of water in the 1/4" riser tube, will let it run 24 hours after which level in tube will drop. Fill as necessary to make sure water level can be seen in tube.
8. Once satisfied that no air remains in system, will crack the valve on the resrrvoir top just a hair so that remaining coolant in riser tube gradually drops then close reservoir valve so that fill tube is empty and water level is just below the top of the 400mm brass riser. Shut down and remove the acrylic riser and cap the brass riser. At this point will be visible 15 - 35mm air gap in 250mm reservoir which can be monitored with a glance over time. Air will continue to 'outgas' from th coolant in small amounts over time. This will get trapped in the 40mm riser9s) on top of the rad and the void replaced by the coolant which was occupying that space. You can check it every 6 months or so and 'top off' witha squeeze bottle .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top