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Mixed metal in a custom loop

post #1 of 49
Thread Starter 
This is my first time doing a custom WC loop and I was wondering how bad is it too run a mixed metal set up. All my blocks and rads are all copper. However my barbs, compression, and a thin plate on my xspc razer waterblock has either stainless steel ,chrome or nickel. I was planning on running a pure distilled water + deadwater. Do I need to add corrosion inhibitor? I researched it and never got a clear answer. I prefer not to add a bunch of additives to the water.
post #2 of 49
well the risk is your blocks and rads can get corrosion. and in terms of algae just get a silver coil, that really all you need for that. but as of the metals im not entirly sure on. i think your xspc razer block is nickel. i havent seen a stainless steel water block before. but if you have aluminum im pretty sure you'll have problems.

sorry if im not much help im learning about custom water cooling as well.
post #3 of 49
Thread Starter 
No aluminum, but the xspc razer has a stainless steel plate on top of the GPU cooper block. I am going to deadwater route for anti-growth because I don't want to add more metals to the loop.
post #4 of 49

Redline water wetter can be picked up from almost anywhere. It has a corrosion inhibitor in it. Trust me when I say this. If you want all your bits to be nice and perfect like the day you got them, four years later, mix only brass and copper, copper sulfate as a biocide, and a little bit of water wetter. The water wetter won't have a negative effect on your system unless you over do it. If you do it perfectly you can even drop 1-2C. Goodluck
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post #5 of 49
It would be rather unusual for watercooling blocks to be plated with or made of stainless steel, so it is most likely nickel although I'd think you could check what it is from the manufacturer's web page.

Otherwise, copper, brass, nickel, and to a lesser extent silver are effectively safe to mix because they only have small relative voltages on the anodic index, which is how metal compatibility is determined. That means that any galvanic reaction will be small and slow assuming your loop is normal (undamaged blocks and plating, non-reactive coolant, etc.). Over the expected lifetime of a standard loop, using those metals, there shouldn't be enough galvanic action to matter (again, assuming that the loop is properly maintained). On the other hand, Aluminum has a more significant relative voltage when matched with those other metals which makes the reactions more vigorous, and thus cause damage a lot faster.

edit: I quickly checked out XSPC's specs on the Razor block and it's not clear from the description or photos whether the stainless steel plate gets wet or not, maybe someone who owns one can shed light on that.
Edited by threephi - 1/28/14 at 10:00pm
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post #6 of 49
Thread Starter 
I looked at that too, then how do people go about running fittings not the same metal as their rads/blocks just with distilled? I believe dead water is copper sulfate. I heard redline water wetter can crack acrylic. How about running propylene glycol? But I heard that also has it's problems.
post #7 of 49
You will be fine with what you have listed. Just be sure to use common sense and do regular maintenance on your loop.

Fittings are usually nickel plated brass or painted brass, the SS plate is not a factor if it doesn't touch water, not a worry anyways as manufacturer's have been using stainless for a few years at least. See Heatkiller, Aquacomputer, & EK. I believe Dead water is copper sulfate. Could go the PHN nuke route.

What kind of radiators did you get? Make sure to do a proper flushing of them to get all of the manufacturing debris / soldering flux out of them before putting into use. This is where I believe, alot of people's problems arise from. As the above chart illustrates, since the different manufacturers do not list the type of solder used in their rads. With the exception of the Aquacomputer modularity system radiators which don't use soldering at all in these rads due to different design. When you think you've flushed them good enough, do it some more, just search "the rad dance" for more info.

Good luck, remember the dumb question is the one you didn't ask. thumb.gif
post #8 of 49
Nothing will beat flushing and cleaning every few months. But if your still interested in being able to do longer runs http://www.overclockers.com/pc-water-coolant-chemistry-part-ii/
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post #9 of 49
Thread Starter 
I defiantly do a lot of maintenance, maybe once every 2 months. My rads is a Alphacool ST30 which is full copper and a XSPC EX240 which is a brass/copper. I will take a look into the chemistry article to get a better idea of what I need to do. Are automotive coolant harmful to plastics?

"Although we have used an acrylic top for aesthetics we have a thin stainless steel plate between the copper base and the acrylic. This allows us to use LED lighting, while keeping the strength and reliability of an all metal waterblock."
Quoted form XSPC. They have the stainless steel plate basically being the top for the block. So it contacts the water and even touches the copper physically I think .
http://shop.xs-pc.com/xsp/XSPC-Razor-GTX690_31722.html
Edited by Earmufifn585 - 1/28/14 at 11:02pm
post #10 of 49
The stainless steel plate kinda sounds like a decorative piece imo

As of antifreeze Idk I'm sure your blocks would be OK but your tubing is another story. Depends what there made of. If they can't handle the chemical then it could lead to problems also the pump could be ruined as well.

But antifreeze is mostly made of water and glycol. I wouldn't trust it still if it'll work.
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