Stainless Steel Filter in Loop

[Jokester]

It isn’t electrons that flow in conductive solutions it’s charged ions dissolved in the liquid ie your electrolytes that are the “current”.

It’s why distilled / de-ionised water isn’t as nearly conductive as normal water becuase they don’t contain any ions.

 

[Smffy]

It isn’t electrons that flow in conductive solutions it’s charged ions dissolved in the liquid ie your electrolytes that are the “current”.

It’s why distilled / de-ionised water isn’t as nearly conductive as normal water becuase they don’t contain any ions.

But corrosion can still occur is the point though, best course of action is to avoid mixing metals and of course coolants or additives which are corrosion inhibitors. What you’re saying is true but it’s really a slowing down of a process so should be careful anyone doesn’t read those posts and make a big error...

 

[Jokester]

Corrosion can occur regardless yes, but it won’t be galvanic if you follow sensible guidelines - like don’t put aluminium in physical contact with copper.

 

[WantoN]

It isn’t electrons that flow in conductive solutions it’s charged ions dissolved in the liquid ie your electrolytes that are the “current”.

It’s why distilled / de-ionised water isn’t as nearly conductive as normal water becuase they don’t contain any ions.

My understanding was that de-ionised water rips ions from the metals in the loop to re-ionise itself. It’s why I use only distilled water.

And if the water becomes conductive, or is conductive, then they would be in electrical contact, which is all that seems to be required for galvanic corrosion besides the electrolyte and dissimilar metals.

 

[Smffy]

My understanding was that de-ionised water rips ions from the metals in the loop to re-ionise itself. It’s why I use only distilled water.

And if the water becomes conductive, or is conductive, then they would be in electrical contact, which is all that seems to be required for galvanic corrosion besides the electrolyte and dissimilar metals.

It will re-ionise over time yes, generally what we are all saying is we bought the filter coz we maybe fancied trying it but will probably replace the mesh to be on the safer side

Have you seen the aqua comp filter? Interesting design as you can shut off the liquid and clean without draining...

 

[Distracted]

It will re-ionise over time yes, generally what we are all saying is we bought the filter coz we maybe fancied trying it but will probably replace the mesh to be on the safer side

Have you seen the aqua comp filter? Interesting design as you can shut off the liquid and clean without draining...

Thats the one I've got, it's a bit fussy but being able to isolate the filter and access the mesh to clean it does mean you don't need to drain the loop.

 

[Smffy]

Thats the one I've got, it's a bit fussy but being able to isolate the filter and access the mesh to clean it does mean you don't need to drain the loop.

I looked at it and pretty much decided it was annoying but a good idea

 

[ubersonic]

Ok. Why do people warn against dissimilar metals in the loop?

Because back in the early days of water cooling in PCs a lot of people didn't know what they were doing, and so there was a lot of horror stories/pictures from people who had mixed aluminium/copper then filled their loop with tap water and wanted to blame everybody but themselves.

Mixed metals is (in general) not an issue because any half decent coolant will have a corrosion inhibitor and as long as it's changed when the manufacturer specifies it will be fine.

To put it in perspective, the average PC water cooling loop will contain copper, brass, tin, steel and often nickel and/or aluminium. It's just not an issue because most users these days don't even know they have all those metals and their coolant keeps it safe.

 

[WantoN]

Because back in the early days of water cooling in PCs a lot of people didn't know what they were doing, and so there was a lot of horror stories/pictures from people who had mixed aluminium/copper then filled their loop with tap water and wanted to blame everybody but themselves.

Mixed metals is (in general) not an issue because any half decent coolant will have a corrosion inhibitor and as long as it's changed when the manufacturer specifies it will be fine.

To put it in perspective, the average PC water cooling loop will contain copper, brass, tin, steel and often nickel and/or aluminium. It's just not an issue because most users these days don't even know they have all those metals and their coolant keeps it safe.

I was under the impression that copper, brass and nickel plating are all fine because they’re similar enough that corrosion is imperceptibly slow. Whereas aluminium is dangerous.

What I find odd is that EKWB seems to agree, they specifically state that you cannot use their aluminium ‘gaming’ line with their other products.

Just goes to show there’s a lot of disinformation online.

 

[ubersonic]

I was under the impression that copper, brass and nickel plating are all fine because they’re similar enough that corrosion is imperceptibly slow. Whereas aluminium is dangerous.

They are "safer" than aluminium, but that's like saying that being shocked by 230v domestic mains voltage is better than being shocked by 440v industrial mains voltage, it is true but ideally you don't wanna get shocked by either.

As a point of note, copper and aluminium are ~ just as dissimilar as nickel and tin, but water cooling forums aren't awash with warnings not to use nickel blocks because they will react with the tin solder holding the radiator together, because it's not an issue as pretty much everybody these days uses proper coolant.

What I find odd is that EKWB seems to agree, they specifically state that you cannot use their aluminium ‘gaming’ line with their other products.

You have to remember that EKWB are a company and when dealing with customers have to account for the lowest common denominator, it's the same reason that McDonalds put "Danger, contents may be hot" warnings on their hot apple pies and fresh coffee

If you use an EK aluminium CPU block with an EK copper GPU block and just distilled/deionised water you'll experience the full might of corrosion, if you use decent coolant you will be fine for years.

 

[LePhuronn]

Pretty sure stainless steel isn't an issue. Watercool and XSPC use stainless steel bodies over their bare copper blocks. I have an Aquacomputer DDC top that has a 304 Stainless Steel cover on it (confirmed the grade with them when I made my own cover).

But yes, corrosion inhibitor is your friend if you want to be really, really safe, and that's a standard component of modern, high-quality fluids.

 

[Harpss1ngh]

Well at least I'm not the only one

There must be someone on the forum who's run one of these and let us know.

I had one for 2 years in my loop. When I drained my loop and pulled it apart, it was full of all sorts of crap, the res I used was made of plexi and acetal and the plexi was all stained with a rust colour and I had to throw it away. There was buildup around all my fittings, res had some sort of white algae growth. My blocks also had wear on them. I had enough problems with the loop as it was before wondering whether the little steel mesh caused any issues hah!

Afterwards I used the Aquacomputer mesh filter, I cleaned it regularly and I'm pretty sure its a steel mesh. Looks like a large version of those steel mesh filters you can get with the aeropress coffee press things.

 

[pastymuncher]

I have been running a inline filter for a few years now. The picture below is the current one and is a fair size which I got from Ebay for £6.99. The filter itself is nylon and the bowl and top are plastic. I got the top and bottom G1/4" adaptors from BES and the whole thing cost me just under a tenner. I have been running this version for just over a years and have had no problems with it. It's a bit of a pain to bleed but it doesn't hurt the flow at all.

 

[Harpss1ngh]

Also, following on from my last post I took apart an EK waterblock for my GPU to clean it last night. The Strix 980ti block from EK has a thick stainless steel plate on the top next to the plexi, that covers a channel that runs from the main block to the one that cools the VRM's, all I needed was to give it a gentle wipe, no sign of corrosion. It was in a loop for 2 years. The nickel was little rusty looking which I took care of with a bit of toothpaste and a toothbrush, it looks like new. Temps were fine when I was running it.

That top plate is a nice thick sheet of steel and adds weight to the block, yet something that large didn't have adverse effects on my loop. As long as you use a fluid with inhibitors and check and change the fluid every so often, really there isn't anything to be worried about, as long as temps are fine that is all that matters