It wasn't yellow gunk in my WC build

Martini1991 · 22 Sep 2011 at 16:15

The PC would shut down before damage is caused.
My pump stopped working previously while I was watching the big bang theory, I glanced over and noticed steam in my tubes, the PC shut down after a while. I've now RMA'ed that pump/res

My block's fine, as I would predict the OP's to be from the same situation. But OP's pipe only melted, nothing else, that is a problem with the pipe, if it was hot enough to melt the "same material pipe" the res would have melted too.

:(Rhodri:) · 22 Sep 2011 at 16:15

Theres no way he was running above 100 degrees as the water would have boiled. The melting point of acrylic should be 160 degrees - I'd expect a fire long before then.

Mayhems · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:36

Some how you CPU block has been blocked this has caused build up of heat in you hole system then the tubes well they seemingly have melted. Fluid XP is Glycol Based but much thicker than Fesser (just happens That EK's new liquids are all so Glycol based) so if the glycol has failed and blocked you CPU block then eventually there own liquids could possibly do the same. This is theory ofc not fact.

Glycol based pre-mix seems to have a lot to answer to as of late and im wondering if its all the stress its being put under in the new impingement blocks that is causing it to separate due to the violent nature were the liquids are forced though the injection plates and very fine channels.

Martini1991 · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:39

People are mis-reading the OP.
It's not his tubes that have melted, rather the pipes inside the res.

Jokester · 22 Sep 2011 at 18:44

To be honest, I think it's chemical - the inside of your CPU block looks like there's been a chemical reaction between the copper block and the small jet plate that fits in the hollow. Plus the copper is completely black inside the block as well.

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 20:12

The only thing in my loop was fluid XP Ultra +.
CPU temps never went above 75c and yes, I left my PC on overnight now & again (although not often).
There is a blockage in my CPU block, it wasnt stopping flow or anything, just hindering it. That blockage was molten plastic from my res.
I dont think fluid XP Ultra + has any chemical in that will react with copper like that? Even if it did, that wouldn't explain the molten pipes in the res...

Sin_Chase · 22 Sep 2011 at 20:30

Looks chemical to me, it looks almost like residue. If it melted surely it would just re-solidify as it cooled and be in hard plastic suspense, not some gel like that?

Hard to tell from the pics really.

Bubo · 22 Sep 2011 at 20:34

Why not try putting a bit of one of the tubes in a pan of boiling water and see if it fully melts. This will at least give you a clue if it is purely temperature related or solvent/chemical related. Has news of this hit Xtreme Sytems yet btw? It will really kick off then.

PhillyDee · 22 Sep 2011 at 20:34

mlwood37 said:
Some how you CPU block has been blocked this has caused build up of heat in you hole system then the tubes well they seemingly have melted. Fluid XP is Glycol Based but much thicker than Fesser (just happens That EK's new liquids are all so Glycol based) so if the glycol has failed and blocked you CPU block then eventually there own liquids could possibly do the same. This is theory ofc not fact.

Glycol based pre-mix seems to have a lot to answer to as of late and im wondering if its all the stress its being put under in the new impingement blocks that is causing it to separate due to the violent nature were the liquids are forced though the injection plates and very fine channels.

With the high melting point of acrylic, and the fact that the tubes are in the res, it means that the whole loop would have to be very high for this to happen. Far higher than the shut down cpu temp. It would have flagged up a problem as the CPU melted.

Jokester said:
To be honest, I think it's chemical - the inside of your CPU block looks like there's been a chemical reaction between the copper block and the small jet plate that fits in the hollow. Plus the copper is completely black inside the block as well.

This sounds spot on to me. Perhaps there were residues of the manufacturing / plating process that were not fully removed, or the coolant itself was faulty. If I was EK, I would be requesting the whole lot sent back and get chemical analysis done. Including the coolant used (actual bottle, and any excess).

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:20

Sin_Chase said:
Looks chemical to me, it looks almost like residue. If it melted surely it would just re-solidify as it cooled and be in hard plastic suspense, not some gel like that?

Hard to tell from the pics really.

It isn't jelly, it is hard and had cooled in plastic suspense but that came apart when I opened it. I then still didn't realise it was plastic, I hadn't even considered it until I took the pipes out & broke big chunks of molten plastic off the lumps you see in the pics.

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:27

rjkoneill said:
EK are a brilliant company and have been around for a long time.
it is companies like them that have encouraged today's watercooling to grow to such a high standard
their customer support is superb considering how small the company actually is.

lets give them some time to assess this situation before we overreact.

I think it is good they have encouraged todays water cooling to grow to such a high standard but unfortunately have to disagree on their customer service. The replies I have received from them for example "the pipes are not made of sugar" just show how terrible their customer service actually is. Maybe I am emailing the wrong person but so far all I have received is a cheap attempt at patronisation. He has even said he will take a pipe home with him and place it in hot water to see if the same thing happens, if that is their product testing and attitude I doubt I'll ever buy anything from EK again.

Martini1991 · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:34

It's impossible for it to be temperature related, you know this yourself.

Press on this, make sure you stand firm, they've said the pipes are the same material as the res, which hasn't melted.

panyan · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:38

no_1_dave said:
if that is their product testing and attitude I doubt I'll ever buy anything from EK again.

ooh dear, this is worrying

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:41

panyan said:
ooh dear, this is worrying

Tempted to post all the emails just to show people what their customer service is really like...

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:45

Martini1991 said:
It's impossible for it to be temperature related, you know this yourself.

I wish I did know this.
I can't think what else could have done it. See my build log (link in op) and tell me what is in the loop that could do this (and explain how)? Also, why does this molten acrylic(?) go soft when placed in hot water? I have managed to scrape a good amount of it off the inside of my res simply by soaking it in a sink of hot water, not boiling or anything as I had my hands in it...

Martini1991 · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:50

My pipe doesn't melt under kettle water, I gave it a check.#
Also, as EK have told you, Res and pipe = Same material, yet haven't behaved the same, ergo, something's up.

no_1_dave · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:54

Martini1991 said:
My pipe doesn't melt under kettle water, I gave it a check.#
Also, as EK have told you, Res and pipe = Same material, yet haven't behaved the same, ergo, something's up.

You are right.
Something must be up because the res didn't react the same. But then it is also thicker.
I will send 1 of the pipes to EK tomorrow, i'll keep hold of the other one because I don't trust them at all.

Martini1991 · 22 Sep 2011 at 23:57

Thickness wouldn't prevent a reaction, just the severity.
Like I said, my pipe doesn't melt under kettle water (Freshly boiled)

EDIT : With the pictures I took of my nickel flaking, they questioned the "scratches", those "scratches" were just the CNC manufacturing highlighted with my flash.
I like EK products, but things like this are worrying.

no_1_dave · 23 Sep 2011 at 01:39

Although freshly boiled kettle water once isn't the same as 75c water for a year.

Bubo · 23 Sep 2011 at 08:43

It is as far as determining melting point is concerned. Also can you cornfirm for sure that your *water* has been at 75°C? I.e. when you put your hand on your res it felt that hot? Are you not confusing cpu temp with water temp? Water in my loop barely gets above 30°C. Even so, this problem being solely down to temperature in any casse seems to be virtually impossible. If a chemical reaction has taken place, e.g. with some kind of solvent, then I guess it is likely that the "melted" product may behave differently to the original becuase it may have undergone a complete chemical change altering its physical properties, i.e. soft when warm.