LOW Budget Water Cooling Setup

CyberBlade · Post by **CyberBlade** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:42 am

At last

Here it is my water cooled rig.

Components:
Zalman WB2 Gold
Fountain pump - 400l/h (100gph)
Tank - 100 CDs case
Hoses - ...
Heatercore - russian car something (very good but was very dirty and alot of cleaning was needed)
No fans - I like it quiet.

But where can I attach some pics ??

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:05 pm

CyberBlade wrote:At last Here it is my water cooled rig.

Components:
Zalman WB2 Gold
Fountain pump - 400l/h (100gph)
Tank - 100 CDs case
Hoses - ...
Heatercore - russian car something (very good but was very dirty and alot of cleaning was needed)
No fans - I like it quiet.

But where can I attach some pics ??

lol nice post

I want to see this thing.

DryFire · Post by **DryFire** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:59 am

how much did you pay for the wb2?

Al + Cu in proximity = bad news.

eander315 · Post by **eander315** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 3:17 pm

That's a WB2 GOLD. There is no exposed copper, thus it should function better, corrosion-wise, when used with aluminum. ANY system with aluminum should have anticorrosives though, as aluminum will corrode even if it's the only metal in the loop.

peteamer · Post by **peteamer** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 5:21 am

CyberBlade wrote:But where can I attach some pics ??

www.imgspot.com or www.photobucket.com will host pics for free.

Pete

veryevilmike · Post by **veryevilmike** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:22 am

eander315 wrote:That's a WB2 GOLD. There is no exposed copper, thus it should function better, corrosion-wise, when used with aluminum.

this review comments about the gold on the outside, but then the comment for the internal picture suggests that it still is copper on the inside. makes for a nice bit of bling but not really doing anything to stop galvanic corrosion if its only on the outside

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/PC-Cooli ... -Review/3/

and here:

http://reviews.pimprig.com/cooling/zalm ... php?page=2

eander315 · Post by **eander315** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:33 am

From SPCR's own review:

By plating the copper with gold they alleviate some of the corrosion risk inherent with having mixed metals in a water-cooling loop. The plated copper with the anodized aluminum should greatly reduce the corrosion potential.

The copper piece of the waterblock is almost definitely electroplated. This would make it extremely difficult to plate only on the bottom, as the entire piece is submerged during the process. Additionally, you can see that the color of the metal on the base is the same as the color on in the interior part of the waterblock. Compare the internal pictures of the gold and copper versions of this waterblock:

Zalman released the gold plated version to correct corrosion problems they experienced with the copper version, which is no longer available. The primary function of the gold plating does not have anything to do with bling or heat transfer properties.

jamesavery22 · Post by **jamesavery22** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:07 am

You guys realize aluminum will corrode by itself in water, correct? Even if anodized. Especially if you have metal on metal threads. Just use the right additives and it will outlast the a usable computer.

As for Gold helping to prevent corrosion? Eh thats dubious. Sure if everything in the loop was gold.

http://www.calce.umd.edu/general/Facili ... easons.htm

Gold on aluminum produces a galvanic couple that can accelerate the corrosion process by providing the driving force for the aluminum oxidation reaction.

Coating copper with gold because you have aluminum in the loop is pretty f'ing stupid. Im sure zalman only did it because the cost of replacing the aluminum tops was greater than just plating the copper with gold, which I still can't believe. Gold has better conductivity than aluminum, but not copper. The wb's base will be fine but that anodization on the top is just going to be eaten away probably at close to the same rate.

eander315 · Post by **eander315** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:30 pm

You guys realize aluminum will corrode by itself in water, correct?

I mentioned that earlier in this thread. Luckily, as you mentioned, the proper use of anti-corrosives should (hopefully) take care of the corrosion long enough that it doesn't matter. This block hasn't been around long enough to see the results of our guesses, but it seems ok given its cost and performance.

veryevilmike · Post by **veryevilmike** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:36 pm

i don't have one of these yet (waiting for zalman to solve the pump probs, hopefully in the rev2 shown in hannover) just going off what the reviews say on the web. i completely agree with all of the above that aluminium in isolation still corrodes and that it would be ridiculous to jsut have the gold on the bottom.

if someone who has one in the flesh can confirm that the inside is gold plated too then i'll happily be proven wrong, just the reviews indicate to the contrary

Post by **Rusty075** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:59 pm

Yes, the inside is in fact gold plated.

The anodization of the aluminum is really the important part in reducing the potential for corrosion in the loop. The gold may prevent general corrosion of the copper in the block, but does nothing for galvanic corrosion of the aluminum in the loop.

I happen to have two Zalman WB's in my possession now, and they make an interesting comparison. They were both used, in separate loops, for almost the same amount of time. My block, which was used only with DI and Water Wetter, is nearly pristine inside. If it weren't for the scuffmarks on the base you would have a hard time telling it from new. The second block was used an equal amount of time in a loop filled only with DI, with no anti-corrosive, per Zalman's instructions. The inside of that block looks like it was retrieved from the wreck of the Titanic. There is so much deposited matter on the gold that I'm almost certain that flow would have had to be restricted. If I think of it later I'll try to snap some pics.

Moral of the story: Put something in the water!

jamesavery22 · Post by **jamesavery22** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:28 pm

Hrmmm any chance someone knows what the threads on the base of the block are? Guessing its metric!

But anyways The block isnt more than 2 - 2.5" in diameter right? You can buy a 2.5" in diameter Delrin rod on ebay for like 5$ if you want to manufacture your own base. Could probably do it with a dremel, a drill, and the right taps. Oh yeah and a hack saw. Would be kool if someone did it for the heck of it. Course are that level of effort Id just get another block

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:38 pm

It's the copper in the block that's the problem, not the aluminum top. Won't make any different to make the block top delrin when its connected to 10 pounds of aluminum reservoir.

And making the block bottom delrin would, um, yeah..go for it.

CyberBlade · Post by **CyberBlade** » Sun May 08, 2005 1:42 pm

Sorry for the long delay guys!

My PC short-circuited and got the whole flat burning!!!

Nah .. just kidding

Here are the long waited pics:

http://photobucket.com/albums/y215/Cryo ... ent=01.jpg

chylld · Post by **chylld** » Sun May 08, 2005 3:03 pm

awesome work! i love it when people have the guts and determination to make something like this with a limited budget - it's a very refreshing change from the increasingly commercialised wc market.

i personally wouldn't worry about corrosion between al/cu since a good anti-corrisive additive will generally fix your problems quickfast. especially given that you didn't have as much luxury with choosing materials for components

LOW Budget Water Cooling Setup

LOW Budget Water Cooling Setup

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