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H110i GTX Clogs and Buildup


mmch

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Sharing my experience with the H110i GTX for those having similar problem.

 

I first noticed the problem when my CPU would show temperatures upwards of 100c under medium load but showed no signs of pump or fan failure. One hose was hot while the other was cold so I suspected a clog somewhere in the loop.

 

After reapplying heat paste to no avail and no longer covered by the 5 year warranty I decided to open up the water block to discover the fins on the cold plate were completely clogged with some sort of sediment. There was very little corrosion one would expect from copper and it instead looked like a hard grey substance similar to concrete. Upon popping off the water pump cover I discovered even more buildup which was sticking to everything from plastic to rubber to metal. It had the gritty consistency of hard sand and was very tough to remove without lots of scraping, isopropyl, and vinegar.

 

I flushed the entire system the best I could and replaced the coolant with distilled water. It seems to be running fine and reading temperatures of 30c when idle and 60-70 under load but I am still curious to what caused such a large build up which would completely clog the system. With my fans getting progressively louder I believe this has been happening for a while and I just now noticed the temperatures which is a shame since my warranty ran out months ago. Not that I could afford the RMA cost right now anyways...

 

I suspect its a manufacturing defect or negligence during production which caused these issues. The deposits seemed similar to scale build up one would get in coffee makers except grey but that shouldn't have happened if demineralized water was used in the cooling solution. It makes me question what exactly was used to fill these coolers with. I'm only glad I caught the problem before it caused any major damage to my CPU compared to the few years of life it took from it.

 

Feel free to share your own experiences with the H110i GTX. To me this is unacceptable for the amount of money which was spent on it and the potential damage it can cause to components. Corsair should be offering free replacements to any owners lucky enough to be aware of this problem.

 

Thank you for reading.

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The cooler was more than 5 years old. Do you expect them to last forever?

 

This is due to corrosion. The corrosion inhibitors that are in the liquid don't prevent corrosion, they just inhibit it - that is, slow it down. Hence ... corrosion inhibitor rather than corrosion preventer. The corrosion creates deposits. Not a defect. It's due to mixed metals that are used in AIOs - (just about) all of them. With your distilled water, it'll happen too ... and faster as you have nothing to inhibit the corrosion.

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The cooler was more than 5 years old. Do you expect them to last forever?

 

This is due to corrosion. The corrosion inhibitors that are in the liquid don't prevent corrosion, they just inhibit it - that is, slow it down. Hence ... corrosion inhibitor rather than corrosion preventer. The corrosion creates deposits. Not a defect. It's due to mixed metals that are used in AIOs - (just about) all of them. With your distilled water, it'll happen too ... and faster as you have nothing to inhibit the corrosion.

 

Thank you for the response even if it did come off as, pardon the pun, abrasive.

 

After some research I discovered that copper and aluminum have adverse reactions to each other with the cooling liquid working as a catalyst. This could account for the odd buildup that I don't normally see when working with copper pipes and plain old tap water. It sounds like a design flaw to me with no easy way for a consumer to prevent the damage themselves especially if they don't know any better.

 

No. I don't expect things to last forever. Thats not how the universe works. What I do expect is if engineers were aware of this why didn't the radiator come with warnings and an easier way to change out the coolant. Better yet, why not a sensor which would detect any restricted flow and send a warning to the software to avoid any potentially damaging temperature spikes it may cause.

 

Sorry but simply throwing it out and buying a new one is not sustainable to my wallet nor the environment.

 

P.S. Inhibitors are unneeded in modern custom loops made of only plastics, brass, nickle, and copper. Distilled works just fine with very little corrosion. Most inhibitors themselves can break down, reduce heat transfer efficiency, and actually increase corrosion when past their normal shelf life which is way below the 5 year warranty.

Edited by mmch
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After some research I discovered that copper and aluminum have adverse reactions to each other with the cooling liquid working as a catalyst. This could account for the odd buildup that I don't normally see when working with copper pipes and plain old tap water. It sounds like a design flaw to me with no easy way for a consumer to prevent the damage themselves especially if they don't know any better.

 

 

While galvanic corrosion is certainly a real thing, you are probably looking too deeply into the problem and would not have need to wait 5 years for it to become an issue. All of the AIOs on the market are made with the above construction and by the same small group of manufacturers. Most do not end up like this in the short term. The problem you are describing occurs a little too often in your specific model/series, but not other Corsair coolers. So yes, something was different (past tense), but it's not the aluminum radiator composition or the block. You still can't damage yourself with warm cooler. Your performance is not as good as it should be. In an extreme case, the MB shuts things down, just as it would with any cooler. Since this happened gradually over time, there was an opportunity to notice the change. You did have a sensor to detect that. It's the coolant temperature.

 

 

 

No. I don't expect things to last forever. Thats not how the universe works. What I do expect is if engineers were aware of this why didn't the radiator come with warnings and an easier way to change out the coolant. Better yet, why not a sensor which would detect any restricted flow and send a warning to the software to avoid any potentially damaging temperature spikes it may cause.

 

Sorry but simply throwing it out and buying a new one is not sustainable to my wallet nor the environment.

 

I think you are expecting too much from a product that was not designed for that purpose. AIO coolers are supposed to be inexpensive, easily installed, and offer a high degree of safety in terms of water going someplace you don't want it. Refilling is not part of that and certainly alters the safe and easy approach. It seems clear what you should really be looking at is a custom water cooling system. It meets all of your requirements and if you were able to take apart an AIO and reassemble (not an easy task with those screws), you are more than capable. Obviously the hardware is meant to last for along time and is interchangeable, but all somewhat expensive. Perhaps you may find the long term cost is a better balance than replacing the AIO every few years.

Edited by c-attack
Lost a “not”
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After looking up the manufacturing date I seem to be under my 5 year warranty since the H110i GTX was made in 2015. This means that the unit itself didn't even last the whole term and would cost Corsair more replacing the unit than including a brass watertank and channel or an aluminum cold plate to reduce galvanic corrosion between the copper and aluminum.

 

I understand you're trying to say it was a budget cooler compared to thousand dollar custom loops but even the Deepcool AIO I got for $50 has a drain valve. You get what you pay for but unfortunately I think I received a $180 lemon with the Corsair logo slapped on it.

Edited by mmch
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If you are off the warranty now, then replace your current aluminum radiator to cheapo aliexpress copper 420 mm one or 360 mm and replace all fans to super silent ones, clean everything againg, fill with EK cryofuel and be happy to have system cooler than before, and quiter than before :o:;):
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