Is using an AIO risky?

[Ted Bundyberg]

I’m thinking of getting a cooler master masterliquid 240mm RGB liquid cooler and was wondering what are the chances of it leaking or breaking and will I still be able to move my system around like a did before and finally does the Coolant in the cooler ever go Mank because I heard in custom loops you need to replace your coolant every 6 months to a year

[shanqs]

Bad_Motha님이 먼저 게시:

Back in the day we even used regular car radiator fluid, but u had to ensure to use the "green" environment friendly stuff.

And used car heater cores as rads... Sure don’t miss those days of having to bleed the loop every so often and using aquarium anti-algae drops. You guys got it easy today with the quality of AIO.

[HoboHandsome]

There is defiantly an adaptive added to the distilled water, gly something, to lazy to look it up. But still mostly distilled water and still non conductive as it is the minerals in water that conduct electricity and not the water itself.

Also closed loops can get build up inside of them from time to time as they can on occasion get contaminants in them when being built.

Also the amount of time it would take for the distilled water to become contaminants enough to become conductive far exceeds the life span of its pump so I would not worry about it.

[Morethan2Letters]

A custom waterloop is something you do when you have run out of stuff to upgrade, lol. Then you realize when you want to change a GPU or CPU that an AIO would of been easier and better.

[mister-WU]

i have an antec h1200 pro and it runs very nice and quiet and cool can recomend that =)

[RGX12]

AceTheSpaceCase님이 먼저 게시:

There is defiantly an adaptive added to the distilled water, gly something, to lazy to look it up. But still mostly distilled water and still non conductive as it is the minerals in water that conduct electricity and not the water itself.

Also closed loops can get build up inside of them from time to time as they can on occasion get contaminants in them when being built.

Also the amount of time it would take for the distilled water to become contaminants enough to become conductive far exceeds the life span of its pump so I would not worry about it.

Most fluid used in closed cooling loops are some blend of purified water and ethylene glycol (the same alcohol commonly used in automotive antifreeze/coolant), the ratios of which are considered "proprietary" and usually not published by the manufacturers. That accounts for the bulk of the fluid, with a very small amount of biocide to inhibit fungal or algal growth.

And I wouldn't be excessively trusting of the whole "non-conductivity" thing. While it's true that the distilled water isn't itself conductive, once it gets out of its enclosed 'circuit' there are plenty of contaminants inside the computer case and on the electronics which will happily dissolve in the water (things like household dust, metal dust and shavings, oils and waxes left over from board manufacture, electrolytic component leakage, galvanic films and corrosion, soldering metal and flux residue, etc.). Consider that even a small droplet of water on a PCB would span many contacts, and if it was left to sit there, it wouldn't be too long before you'd have a problem.

[Revelene]

The risk of a decent AIO cooler ruining your PC is no more than all the other risks that you take every day that could damage a PC.

[Arya]

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

The risk of a decent AIO cooler ruining your PC is no more than all the other risks that you take every day that could damage a PC.

True that. It doesn't get mentioned very often, but large air coolers also put your PC at risk. All of that untethered mass can theoretically damage the PCB if the PC is suddenly dropped or jolted hard.

Not that I've ever seen a confirmed case of that, mind you. But it's theoretically possible.

[Astro_80 (WASH YOUR HANDS!)]

Chung-Hao Lao님이 먼저 게시:

I’m thinking of getting a cooler master masterliquid 240mm RGB liquid cooler and was wondering what are the chances of it leaking or breaking and will I still be able to move my system around like a did before and finally does the Coolant in the cooler ever go Mank because I heard in custom loops you need to replace your coolant every 6 months to a year

Are you planning on overclocking? If not, it's not worth the investment.

[HoboHandsome]

RGX12님이 먼저 게시:

AceTheSpaceCase님이 먼저 게시:

There is defiantly an adaptive added to the distilled water, gly something, to lazy to look it up. But still mostly distilled water and still non conductive as it is the minerals in water that conduct electricity and not the water itself.

Also closed loops can get build up inside of them from time to time as they can on occasion get contaminants in them when being built.

Also the amount of time it would take for the distilled water to become contaminants enough to become conductive far exceeds the life span of its pump so I would not worry about it.

Most fluid used in closed cooling loops are some blend of purified water and ethylene glycol (the same alcohol commonly used in automotive antifreeze/coolant), the ratios of which are considered "proprietary" and usually not published by the manufacturers. That accounts for the bulk of the fluid, with a very small amount of biocide to inhibit fungal or algal growth.

And I wouldn't be excessively trusting of the whole "non-conductivity" thing. While it's true that the distilled water isn't itself conductive, once it gets out of its enclosed 'circuit' there are plenty of contaminants inside the computer case and on the electronics which will happily dissolve in the water (things like household dust, metal dust and shavings, oils and waxes left over from board manufacture, electrolytic component leakage, galvanic films and corrosion, soldering metal and flux residue, etc.). Consider that even a small droplet of water on a PCB would span many contacts, and if it was left to sit there, it wouldn't be too long before you'd have a problem.

distilled water not filtered water, they are totally different processes. I did say there was and additive to it but typing on my phone at work makes it tough to look things up to verify the name.

oil, wax and dust should not be conductive and metal dust? Maybe if you are in a metal workshop.

It is the minerals in water that make it conductive not contaminants.

[RGX12]

AceTheSpaceCase님이 먼저 게시:

RGX12님이 먼저 게시:

Most fluid used in closed cooling loops are some blend of purified water and ethylene glycol (the same alcohol commonly used in automotive antifreeze/coolant), the ratios of which are considered "proprietary" and usually not published by the manufacturers. That accounts for the bulk of the fluid, with a very small amount of biocide to inhibit fungal or algal growth.

And I wouldn't be excessively trusting of the whole "non-conductivity" thing. While it's true that the distilled water isn't itself conductive, once it gets out of its enclosed 'circuit' there are plenty of contaminants inside the computer case and on the electronics which will happily dissolve in the water (things like household dust, metal dust and shavings, oils and waxes left over from board manufacture, electrolytic component leakage, galvanic films and corrosion, soldering metal and flux residue, etc.). Consider that even a small droplet of water on a PCB would span many contacts, and if it was left to sit there, it wouldn't be too long before you'd have a problem.

distilled water not filtered water, they are totally different processes. I did say there was and additive to it but typing on my phone at work makes it tough to look things up to verify the name.

oil, wax and dust should not be conductive and metal dust? Maybe if you are in a metal workshop.

It is the minerals in water that make it conductive not contaminants.

Who said anything about "filtered" water? I think it was clear from my post that I was talking about distilled water, aka 'purified' water.

No, you do not have to be operating your computer in a machine shop. There is microscopic metal dust and vapor deposited on PCB's as a result of the soldering process.

And to say that it's minerals but not contaminants doesn't make any sense, apart from the fact that "mineral" isn't even a precisely defined term. ANYTHING that gets dissolved in water--any element, any chemical, can contribute to its conductivity, or not. In an aqueous solution, an electrical charge is carried by the ions which migrate through the water. Conductivity depends on the type of ions present, as well as their concentration. As a general rule, the higher the concentration of ions, the higher the conductivity. But consider that the conductivity of your average tap water comes from just a very small amount of dissolved salts.

As for your "mineral" concept: the *hydrogen* ion is the most mobile ion in aqueous solution. Pretty sure no one would classify hydrogen as a mineral. Solutions of acids such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, have the highest conductivity for a given concentration of the carrier ions– in this case, the hydrogen ion. Aqueous sulfuric acid is one of the most conductive fluids there is, which is precisely why it's used in your run-of-the-mill lead-acid car battery. It wouldn't take much to turn a small amount of water on the electronic components in your computer case acidic, and hence conductive; there is enough residue from acid-core solder and flux present to do this.

But hey, you don't have to pay my argument any heed at all. If you want to test out your theory that distilled water can do no harm, knock yourself out. Go ahead and run some tests and publish your results. In the meantime, I'll continue to keep water-- of any kind-- away from my computer gear.

(Edited to correct typos)

[HoboHandsome]

The TDS of water is what dictates it's conductivity, are you saying the solid particulates would dissolve instantly upon contact with the water?

[RGX12]

AceTheSpaceCase님이 먼저 게시:

The TDS of water is what dictates it's conductivity, are you saying the solid particulates would dissolve instantly upon contact with the water?

No, I wouldn't expect anything to happen "instantly". But the speed and degree to which it would occur would likely depend on variables like the amount of potential residue/particulates, their fineness, their solubility affinity (for water) as a chemical property, if the parts in contact with water contained live current or not, and of course the actual amount of liquid involved...probably among other things.
But the point is, how fast, slow, if, when...all of these would be extremely difficult to predict, and personally, I would prefer to err on the side of caution and not have a false sense of security about it.

[Revelene]

All this fear over the danger of water cooling... I wonder if you all thought about the many other things that you risk daily.

Putting the system together, you are taking a risk. Plugging it in, you are taking a risk. Turning it on, you are taking a risk. Turning it off, you are taking a risk. Having dust in the system, is a risk. Moving the system, is a risk. Having it plugged in during a storm, is a risk. Having it inside, where pipes can burst, is a risk.

I could go on and on about "what ifs" and risks... but what would that achieve? The point is that we encounter many things that can ruin a PC, but we just take caution. No sense in getting all worked up over "what ifs".

You could contract something nasty, potentially deadly, from just going out into the public... are you a shut-in? I'd say you probably aren't. You take risks every day, without much thought about them.

[RGX12]

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

All this fear over the danger of water cooling... I wonder if you all thought about the many other things that you risk daily.

Putting the system together, you are taking a risk. Plugging it in, you are taking a risk. Turning it on, you are taking a risk. Turning it off, you are taking a risk. Having dust in the system, is a risk. Moving the system, is a risk. Having it plugged in during a storm, is a risk. Having it inside, where pipes can burst, is a risk.

I could go on and on about "what ifs" and risks... but what would that achieve? The point is that we encounter many things that can ruin a PC, but we just take caution. No sense in getting all worked up over "what ifs".

You could contract something nasty, potentially deadly, from just going out into the public... are you a shut-in? I'd say you probably aren't. You take risks every day, without much thought about them.

LOL, you're preaching to the choir. There's not too much I fear, least of all something like watercooling. And as far as any "danger"...well, as long as it's not done haphazardly, there really isn't much.

[Revelene]

RGX12님이 먼저 게시:

Revelene님이 먼저 게시:

All this fear over the danger of water cooling... I wonder if you all thought about the many other things that you risk daily.

Putting the system together, you are taking a risk. Plugging it in, you are taking a risk. Turning it on, you are taking a risk. Turning it off, you are taking a risk. Having dust in the system, is a risk. Moving the system, is a risk. Having it plugged in during a storm, is a risk. Having it inside, where pipes can burst, is a risk.

I could go on and on about "what ifs" and risks... but what would that achieve? The point is that we encounter many things that can ruin a PC, but we just take caution. No sense in getting all worked up over "what ifs".

You could contract something nasty, potentially deadly, from just going out into the public... are you a shut-in? I'd say you probably aren't. You take risks every day, without much thought about them.

LOL, you're preaching to the choir. There's not too much I fear, least of all something like watercooling. And as far as any "danger"...well, as long as it's not done haphazardly, there really isn't much.

There is always danger. It doesn't have to be done "haphazardly", either.

Simply picking up hardware, no matter how safe you are, can result in damage. ESD, natural oils on your hand, sweat, etc. There are even a ton of possible electrical issues, which are common in the average home (especially if an older home), that can ruin a PC. Even typical tasks, like plugging something into an outlet, can cause issues.