Stay away from silvertsone all-in-ones

[KenjiUmino]

so after 2 years my silverstone watercooler failed.

 

the CPU had like over 70 C just sitting in the bios screen for a few minutes and one tube of the cooler was hot while the other wasn't even warm.

 

i disassembled the whole thing in an attempt to somehow "revive" it, found out the pump has died but i kind of expected that.

 

what i didn't expect and what totally shocked me was the sight i got when i removed the copper plate at the bottom of the CPU block.

 

what the fuck, silverstone ? how could this happen to a closed loop ?

 

what is this? is this corrosion from mixing the wrong metals (aluminium radiator)? is this some accumulated gunk from using a wrong additive ?

 

[Billy_Mays]

What series?

[For Science!]

20 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

 

Most definitely some sort of corrosion between the aluminium rad and copper. I don't think it's a problem specific to Silverstone per se but most AIos. but most don't get opened up

[Arc_Jester]

That's what happens when you mix two metals(Aluminium and copper) in a loop, it's not Silverstone specific. In fact, most AIOs have an aluminum radiator and a copper base plate/fins.

 

They basically use anti-corrosion additives to prolong the AIO's life to 2-3 years since it's cheaper than using a copper radiator.

 

P.S. I think you have the same AIO I do, is it the TD03.

[For Science!]

It looks like some copper oxide mixed into some jellied up coolant. I think the corrosion would be more evident inside the aluminium radiator.

[KenjiUmino]

27 minutes ago, Arc_Jester said:

That what happens when you mix two metals(Aluminium and copper) in a loop, it's not Silverstone specific. In fact, most AIOs have an aluminum radiator and a copper base plate/fins.

 

They basically use anti-corrosion additives to prolong the AIO's life to 2-3 years since it's cheaper than using a copper radiator.

well, looks like their anti-corrosion additive didn't do a good job.

 

but if other manufacturers do the same shit, how can i sleep at night again knowing that the cooler master AIO i put in to replace the silverstone is rotting away as well.

 

32 minutes ago, Arc_Jester said:

P.S. I think you have the same AIO I do, is it the TD03.

yes, it's a tundra series TD03-Lite

[Arc_Jester]

1 minute ago, KenjiUmino said:

well, looks like their anti-corrosion additive didn't do a good job.

 

but if other manufacturers do the same shit, how can i sleep at night again knowing that the cooler master AIO i put in to replace the silverstone is rotting away as well.

 

yes, it's a tundra series TD03-Lite

What model CM did you replace it with?

[KenjiUmino]

5 minutes ago, Arc_Jester said:

What model CM did you replace it with?

oops ... confused brands ... my bad .. just checked again and it is not a CM. it's a Corsair Hydro H90

[Arc_Jester]

6 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

oops ... confused brands ... my bad .. just checked again and it is not a CM. it's a Corsair Hydro H90

That one is also copper and aluminum so the same thing will happen eventual, with this type AIO you're basically guaranteed 2-3 years and anything after that is pure luck but the thing with Corsair is when it does fail you will most likely still be under warranty.

[KenjiUmino]

9 minutes ago, Arc_Jester said:

That one is also copper and aluminum so the same thing will happen eventual, with this type AIO you're basically guaranteed 2-3 years and anything after that is pure luck but the thing with Corsair is when it does fail you will most likely still be under warranty.

even if i bought it B-stock off ebay ?

[Arc_Jester]

12 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

even if i bought it B-stock off ebay ?

Maybe..I'm not too sure but on the bright side, even with the flaws in the dual metal design a fair amount of these AIOs last up to a decade or more.

[KenjiUmino]

4 minutes ago, Arc_Jester said:

Maybe..I'm not too sure but on the bright side, even with the flaws in the dual metal design a fair amount of these AIOs last up to a decade or more.

that silverstone sure didn't last that long  

 

i could take the 120mm aluminium radiator to start my first ever custom loop ... what do you think ? 

 

can someone recommend some cheap parts (reservoir, pump, aluminium CPU block) 

[For Science!]

Fluid gaming series is the only aluminium kit worth it out there. Although I would not use the radiator out of AIO because it has been in contact with the copper for a long while and may propagate into the loop. 

[KenjiUmino]

1 minute ago, For Science! said:

Fluid gaming series is the only aluminium kit worth it out there. Although I would not use the radiator out of AIO because it has been in contact with the copper for a long while and may propagate into the loop. 

oh ... so giving it a good flush is not enough to clean it inside?

 

what could happen? never built a custom loop before

[For Science!]

28 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

oh ... so giving it a good flush is not enough to clean it inside?

 

what could happen? never built a custom loop before

I guess more corrosion, perhaps itll be okay, but although Aluminium kits are cheaper than copper thwy are still a few hundred euros and so personally it's not worth the risk for adding a 120mm radiator (the kit comes with a 240mm rad)

 

You can't but the parts separately yet. but yeah I would start fresh to be honest. I don't know whether you have standard fittings either.

[W-L]

3 hours ago, KenjiUmino said:

-SNIP-

Looks like the fluid has gone bad and has some copper oxide build up, I wouldn't call that galvanic corrosion really since the fluid has done it's job and that copper is still intact, if there was severe corrosion there would be nothing left of the copper fins. 

[KenjiUmino]

1 hour ago, W-L said:

Looks like the fluid has gone bad and has some copper oxide build up, I wouldn't call that galvanic corrosion really since the fluid has done it's job and that copper is still intact, if there was severe corrosion there would be nothing left of the copper fins. 

the fins are indeed not damaged at all. i rinsed the gunk off and dried the copper plate ... but i guess i will never use it again either way because the pump built into the block is dead and it seems like i can't just remove the pump and use it as a regular CPU cooling block.

 

2 hours ago, For Science! said:

I guess more corrosion, perhaps itll be okay, but although Aluminium kits are cheaper than copper thwy are still a few hundred euros and so personally it's not worth the risk for adding a 120mm radiator (the kit comes with a 240mm rad)

 

You can't but the parts separately yet. but yeah I would start fresh to be honest. I don't know whether you have standard fittings either.

the barbs on the radiator are not removeable. i managed to fit a 6mm diameter tube on them but it's tight AF. i guess 8mm will still be ok.

 

my new plan is to use the radiator as a base for a ghetto build using the cheapest possible parts i can find.

you know ... those 9.99 parts from amazon with typos and bad grammar all over the description

 

because i don't want to go wild and spend a lot of money on my first try at custom loop watercooling.

 

i might throw that ghetto loop into an old pentium 4 rig just for the fun of it and maybe make a video of the process.

 

if that turns out ok, i might invest a bit more and do a loop for my main rig using "proper" brand name parts. is alphacool stuff ok?

[xHadrian]

17 hours ago, KenjiUmino said:

the fins are indeed not damaged at all. i rinsed the gunk off and dried the copper plate ... but i guess i will never use it again either way because the pump built into the block is dead and it seems like i can't just remove the pump and use it as a regular CPU cooling block.

 

the barbs on the radiator are not removeable. i managed to fit a 6mm diameter tube on them but it's tight AF. i guess 8mm will still be ok.

 

my new plan is to use the radiator as a base for a ghetto build using the cheapest possible parts i can find.

you know ... those 9.99 parts from amazon with typos and bad grammar all over the description

 

because i don't want to go wild and spend a lot of money on my first try at custom loop watercooling.

 

i might throw that ghetto loop into an old pentium 4 rig just for the fun of it and maybe make a video of the process.

 

if that turns out ok, i might invest a bit more and do a loop for my main rig using "proper" brand name parts. is alphacool stuff ok?

Yes, alphacool is an excellent company for watercooling products. However their radiators are notorious for not being very clean out of the factory, so make sure to rinse the rad before putting it into your loop, if you ever purchase one.

[KenjiUmino]

3 hours ago, xHadrian said:

make sure to rinse the rad before putting it into your loop, if you ever purchase one.

how is the ideal way to do this?

 

can i take a garden hose, put it to one hole and turn the water on until the fountain that comes out of the other hole looks absolutely crystal clear? 

[For Science!]

16 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

how is the ideal way to do this?

 

can i take a garden hose, put it to one hole and turn the water on until the fountain that comes out of the other hole looks absolutely crystal clear? 

Yes thats fine, I would recommend running it under a hot tap for like 10-30 minutes and shaking it around every now and then.

 

However it is very important that you give it a rinse with distilled water (preferably a few times) before drying it. This will rinse out any minerals/salts that are in normal water.

[hotbrass]

Same thing happened to me but mine only lasted a few weeks.  It also fried my asus maximus viii hero and I thought I had lost my i7-6700 too.  Silverstone USA cant even speak english.  Wouldn't do anything for me after I sent pics like yours.  I took it apart which voided the warranty.  They suck!

[KenjiUmino]

20 minutes ago, hotbrass said:

Same thing happened to me but mine only lasted a few weeks.  It also fried my asus maximus viii hero

sorry to hear that. why did it fry ? because overheating or did it leak? 

[hotbrass]

1 hour ago, KenjiUmino said:

sorry to hear that. why did it fry ? because overheating or did it leak? 

It leaked. The experience ended any trust I have in AIO cooling. It was a very expensive lesson.  I think it may have damaged my CPU also.  It runs well now but I had some problems with it even in a new mobo after the first mobo fried. I have three computers with custom water cooling loops and I have more confidence in them since I connected each fitting and picked each part.  After doing some research, all AIO coolers have reported leaks, some more than others.  So I would never recommend any AIO cooling.

[KenjiUmino]

12 hours ago, hotbrass said:

It leaked. The experience ended any trust I have in AIO cooling. 

i know it probably will not change your mind about AIOs but let me tell you the H90 that replaced the silverstone is working perfect since i installed it, despite the fact it was B-stock and a little beat up to begin with ... it looked like whoever used it before just threw it back in the box without giving a shit ... screws flying around loose in the box, bent fins and stuff 

[FloRolf]

On 1.8.2017 at 3:31 PM, KenjiUmino said:

one tube of the cooler was hot while the other wasn't even warm

you DO know how a watercooler works though, do you?