Broken EK Rad Barb

I see you have decided to go with a different product.


It does seem like a decision you made very early on though (based on your curt and steadfast replies to anyone offering help or great suggestions that may have actually fixed this for you)
but hey, voting with our wallets is about the most powerfull way to send a message to manufacturers.


I dissasembled a rad last weekend with a fitting just like the one you have that broke, and although it is rather thin (for the internal hex feature to tighten it) the one I had, at least, was perfectly adequet. I have also pulled apart my EK GPU and CPU cooler as soon as I got them and for this price-point was really impressed by the design, attention to detail, and quality of workmanship.


Its worth pointing out:
- Decisions like having brass for some parts is about getting a good machined finish and accurate tollerance at reasonable machining speeds.

- Compared to sheet/foil the cost of making and transporting big lumps of copper, only to machine a high percentage away again as swarf, is ludicrously unviable.

- What may look like an unrequired extra part (the piece that broke, in your case) may allow a manufacturer offer one radiator solution that can have G1/4" or G3/8" fittings, reduces the overall cost.

The new noctua are the successor to the gentle typhoon. I swapped to them myself.

"Most rads are all copper if they state copper rad not EK's so even if a hardware labs radiator cost a hair more at least it's not as complicated in materials used

EK rad Material:
- Copper fins
- 90% copper tubing(H90)
- Brass chambers
- Aluminum/Steel housing

100% copper would be so costly(and too soft) that it wouldn't be worth manufacturing.



But... here is my problem with your opinion. NO Radiator is 100 percent copper. Manufacturers use brass for the tanks in quality built Radiators.



Other than the flexible outer shell EK rads are reasonable. I have a couple and they flex when there are no fans mounted but as soon as there are the flex is gone. Their casings are aluminum. Not steel. Not that it matters because no coolant comes into contact with casings unless there is a leak.



I suspect (and I could be wrong) the OP may have either ham fisted his fittings too tight driving the Radiator port fitting deeper into the thread or he may have dismantled the Radiator and done the same with his 9mm key when putting it back together and installing fittings caused the port fitting to crack and reveal itself when the fitting was removed from the Radiator. What I am seeing from the OP pics is something called a stress fracture.



I am not suggesting it was intentional by any means. But it can happen and I believe that here it did. The core slipped because their are only two mounting points so when he removed the fitting causing the Rad port to tag along the core tilted. When he removed the other one to get that picture the other side slipped a little.



EK manufactures these to allow the casings to be removed should you wish to paint them. That's the beauty of them. Novice Modders don't take i to consideration just how soft 100% copper fins are when they prep a Radiator for paint. Fins are easily bent when just holding one by the wrong place. So naturally a removable core can be gently pulled from the casing and placed on a soft surface while the painting process is being done.



And on the HWLabs quality? They're slipping. They USED TO put steel fin protectors under the fan mounting points. No more. Their Radiators are still good but you better make sure that all the screws are there and that they are the correct length for the fan you are using and don't go further into the mount than 5mm. Otherwise you're bound to puncture that quality unit.



So dude please dispense with the theatrics. You're entitled to your opinion afterall but you obviously don't know what you're talking about when you say quality Rads are 100% copper. My old Stealth 360 had Brass casings and steel fin protectors and I still don't know everything about Radiators. But I do know they are NOT 100% copper.



The only way EK can solve this issue to 100% satisfaction is to reverse tap the Rad and the Rad ports. This way the fittings couldn't drive them beyond their intended seat causing the stress fracture. I can remove a port from a fitting. What I cannot do is fix a stress fractured port.



~Ceadder

And on the HWLabs quality? They're slipping. They USED TO put steel fin protectors under the fan mounting points. No more. Their Radiators are still good but you better make sure that all the screws are there and that they are the correct length for the fan you are using and don't go further into the mount than 5mm. Otherwise you're bound to puncture that quality unit.

Bolded for emphasis above. Could that be model specific (e.g., the newer models)? My older SR2s do have the fin protectors, but they're a few years old now. Also, the screw length issue has always been a problem as far as I know ( @VSG makes note of that in his reviews). They can be cut to length though.

I know in older GTS reviews the protector plate is noted but unless I was just being blind the two I purchased last year didn't have them. I don't think there is a tube directly below the screw holes anyway so its largely a non issue.



Edit: actually after seeing VSG's pics I might have just missed them. I'm tinkering today anyway so I'll take a look.