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Water Cooling - Mixing Metals

post #1 of 16
6/22/12 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I have a fairly large loop and wanted to ensure that all metals that have been used should not cause me any concern.

What made me think about this more in depth was a small printed sheet of paper that I recently got with an EK water block. Which is...

EK FC7970 DCII Full Cover Waterblock for ASUS design Radeon HD 7970 DirectCU II Graphics Card : EN Nickel Acetal
- Base Material Nickel
- Top Material Acetal
Here is what the paper said:
700

I also read on the Koolance web site this....
Quote:
Koolance's product warranty does not cover the use of 3rd-party coolants, coolant additives, or corrosion. Koolance LIQ-702 or LIQ-705 coolants are strongly recommended to help avoid issues with mixed metals or biological growth. Additionally, do not use aluminum with bare (unplated) copper or bare (unplated) brass in the same system. Do not use silver with nickel in the same system.
The Silver with Nickel I was also concerned about.

Here is what I have...

Koolance RP-452X2 Dual 5.25in Reservoir V2.0
- The materials used on this reservoir are a classic mix of Acetal, aluminium and acrylic.

RADS:
Koolance HX-240HL
- Copper Fins, Brass Construction

Koolance CU1020V
- Copper Fins, Brass Construction

XSPC RX Series
- Copper Fins, Brass Construction

CPU BLOCK:
XSPC Rasa CPU Waterblock
- Base Material Copper
- Top Material Acetal


GPU BLOCK:
Koolance VID-AR797
- Base Material Nickel Plated Copper
- Top Material Nickel Plated Copper & Acetal

FITTINGS:
Koolance Dual VID Connector Adjustable 2-3 Slot
- made of brass

Koolance 1/4" Thread Black Barb for 1/2"
- Nickel Coated Brass

Koolance 1/4" Thread Rotary 45 Degree
- Nickel Plated Brass

Koolance 1/4" Thread 90 Degree Rotary
- Nickel Plated Brass

OTHER METALS:
Silver Kill Coil (in res)

Should I remove the Silver Kill Coil? To prevent issues with Nikel?
The silver coil has a discolouration to it which as far as I know is normal as this is the protection build up (?)

Is there any potential threat to what I have in my loop corrosion wise?

Any advice great fully appreciated.
Edited by MikeGT2 - 6/22/12 at 7:45am
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post #2 of 16
6/22/12 at 8:28am
None. However, EK is in the habit of shifting blame to everything else except their own nickel plating for it's high-tendency to flak and look like hell. If you are still scared of the possibility add a lot of inhibitor and-or pray to whatever deity of fortune you believe in. biggrin.gif
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post #3 of 16
6/22/12 at 9:15am
  • GingerJohn
  • The trick to flying is to fall and miss the ground
You are very unlikely to get significant galvanic corrosion with your components.

It is interesting that Koolance say not to use silver and nickel in the same loop, on the anodic index silver and nickel are closer together (0.15v) than silver and copper (0.2v). Being closer on the anodic index means that galvanic corrosion is less likely or slower.

Having said that EK have recently had a poor track record with the quality of their nickel plating, and have chosen to blame kill coils or copper sulphate.
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post #4 of 16
6/22/12 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GingerJohn View Post

You are very unlikely to get significant galvanic corrosion with your components.
It is interesting that Koolance say not to use silver and nickel in the same loop, on the anodic index silver and nickel are closer together (0.15v) than silver and copper (0.2v). Being closer on the anodic index means that galvanic corrosion is less likely or slower.
Having said that EK have recently had a poor track record with the quality of their nickel plating, and have chosen to blame kill coils or copper sulphate.

It's not galvanic corrosion in the case of nickel and silver. You're usually also missing a key component for galvanic corrosion, an electrical connection BESIDES the electrolyte solution. People often suspend their kill coils.

You have to use the standard electrode potential. There is a potential difference between silver and nickel.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/electpot.html

However, there's such an insignificantly small amount of silver in the loop, to have visible corrosion would take quite a long time on a properly plated block. Longer than the components in your computer will last.


Nickel plating with pitting already present will flake away no matter what you have in your loop.
Edited by earthwormjim - 6/22/12 at 4:00pm
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post #5 of 16
6/23/12 at 8:11am
Thread Starter 
So,

There is no advice to suggest Kill Coils are unsafe to use where Nikel is involved?

Here is something that makes me wonder...

If you move to 2:30 in this video..
Is this not a new res from EK?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxbP3...7&feature=plcp
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post #6 of 16
6/23/12 at 8:35am
If Koolance say not to use it then you shouldn't , they why not just use a premix? To keep your warranty on your koolance stuff you should use one of their coolants with nothing else added to it.
Edited by spixel - 6/23/12 at 8:37am
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post #7 of 16
6/23/12 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spixel View Post

If Koolance say not to use it then you shouldn't , they why not just use a premix? To keep your warranty on your koolance stuff you should use one of their coolants with nothing else added to it.

Yes that doesn't seem at all fishy...


You will be fine running just straight distilled plus a kill coil. If you have flaking in your loop, it is not due to what coolant you are running, it is due to a shoddy plating job.


This is not a brand new hobby, there's already more than a decade of precedence of people running straight distilled and silver in their loop with no issues.
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post #8 of 16
6/23/12 at 3:51pm
A kill coil only prevents algae, what about corrosion? Op mentioned copper, nickel, aluminium. If Koolance say do not use nickel + silver, they must have a reason. Some people think they know better than the manufacturers and then wonder why their loop ends up in a mess. ( not defending EK and their nickel problems, just in general) Why drop a lump of silver into your loop when there is premixes available (even without dye, in case blockage is a worry)
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post #9 of 16
6/23/12 at 7:06pm
  • GingerJohn
  • The trick to flying is to fall and miss the ground
Quote:
Originally Posted by spixel View Post

Op mentioned copper, nickel, aluminium.

There are no wetted aluminium parts in the OP's loop. The only mention of aluminium is the RP-452X2 res which has an aluminium face plate - not in contact with the water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spixel View Post

If Koolance say do not use nickel + silver, they must have a reason. Some people think they know better than the manufacturers and then wonder why their loop ends up in a mess.

Doesn't have to be a legitimate reason, they may just want to cover their arses in case or they may be trying to sell more of their products (their own coolants). People have been using silver and nickel for a while now with no adverse affects.


Quote:
Originally Posted by spixel View Post

Why drop a lump of silver into your loop when there is premixes available (even without dye, in case blockage is a worry)

I don't know about anyone else, but I can tell you the reasons I use distilled + kill coil:

1. Cheap - the cost of buying and shipping a few litres of coolant is a lot more than grabbing a gallon of distilled from the grocery store
2. Convenient - if I have to drain and re-do my loop for whatever reason I can grab some more water whenever I want, I don't have to wait for a pre-mix to be shipped to me.
3. Effective - I have had no corrosion, gunking or performance issues with distilled + kill coil

To be fair I don't run and nickel plated parts - I prefer the look of copper anyway. I also accept that the copper parts will eventually tarnish no matter what I run, and I really don't care that much if they do.
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post #10 of 16
6/24/12 at 1:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spixel View Post

A kill coil only prevents algae, what about corrosion? Op mentioned copper, nickel, aluminium. If Koolance say do not use nickel + silver, they must have a reason. Some people think they know better than the manufacturers and then wonder why their loop ends up in a mess. ( not defending EK and their nickel problems, just in general) Why drop a lump of silver into your loop when there is premixes available (even without dye, in case blockage is a worry)

None of the aluminum in his loop is touching water...

It's not hard to fathom some of the people in this hobby knowing more than the manufactures. These are not huge companies with unlimited R&D budgets.

Just look at the god awful "research" EK published.

The "reason" for their draconian warranty terms is they don't want to follow through on legitimately offering warranty service, and they want you to buy THEIR coolant.


Premixes are a complete and total rip off. I refuse to pay $15 a liter for something that I can buy for $1 a gallon. They're often quite hazardous too, I hope you aren't dumping them down your sink when you drain your loop (unless it specifically says non-toxic).

Anti-corrision additives are cheap too if you really feel the need to use them.

Don't forget the convenience element, which pre-mixes are definitely not convienent.

I'll drop a lump of silver in my loop because it is one of the least hazardous biocides you can use.
Edited by earthwormjim - 6/24/12 at 1:38am
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