H100 coolant leak from radiator

I bought an H100 less than 2 weeks ago and installed it into a corsair 650D Case in with top-mounted radiator. It has not been mis-handled in any way and all parts included in the package were installed as per the included instructions.

 

I noted that the screws intended to mount the fans onto the radiator were long, and therefore intruded into the thin radiator fins by design.

 

Today i looked inside my case and can clearly see leaking of fluid droplets into one of the radiator fans from above, causing the droplets to accumulate in a circle as they hit the spinning fan blades and are "flicked" around to the sides. The second fan showed no signs of these liquid drops.

 

I have immediately removed the cooler from the chassis and am currently assessing the damage to components that were positioned under the leaking area.

 

I am not happy about this as I have been a longstanding corsair supporter and this has really shaken my confidence. It is a brand new build, and I can't use it again until I have a cpu cooler.

 

Apart from the leak I really like the H100!

 

Corsair please correspond with me about this. I will open a ticket from your web support. I would like to hear if other users have had this issue, and if there is a danger to my other components.

 

Pretty worried

 

Tim

Australia

 

photos of fan once removed from radiator:

From what i can see of your pics that looks more like bearing oil being flung out of the fan , i'd be tempted to clean it up and run the fans outside the case and see if any more comes out of if or if you can see any leak on the rad as your pics dont show it at all or where you have the pipes .

From what i can see of your pics that looks more like bearing oil being flung out of the fan , i'd be tempted to clean it up and run the fans outside the case and see if any more comes out of if or if you can see any leak on the rad as your pics dont show it at all or where you have the pipes .

 

There is your answer. andyvee is right it's just the fan bearing oil. As you can see in the pics as it makes a full circle. If it was leaking there would be drops on your components already. If you want to be sure remove the fans and put the H100 on a paper towel. Leave it overnight and see if there are any drops to do this just remove the fans from the radiator and thoroughly wipe where the tubings are connected.

ok thanks for the feedback- yes i couldnt see any drips on the radiator itself and i assumed it would only be vivisble when the pump was running due to the pressure generated... I will do the paper test- with radiator on top and leave it overnight !

 

God I feel stupid if you are right....like i swallowall the hysteria about the very rare leaks you hear... i touched some of the fluid and it was 'wet' ie i could smear it around so I assumed it was from the radiator.

Its oil from the fan.. so not a biggy I'm sure you can fill out a RMA and get a replacement.

Corsair sent me a new 200mm fan without any issues.

have applied for rma

 

another thing- does the h100 still have screws which are so long they penetrate the radiator fins? or do new ones fix that? I know it's a minor issue but it would be easy for corsair to fix as well.

The fins you are referring to, which run horizontally between the main liquid containing fins/channels (parallel to the radiators sides), are very thin and delicate, and do not contain liquid. Bending a few of those behind the screw holes will do nothing to impair the performance of the radiator, or cause it to leak. Before mounting the radiator, I push the fins behind the screw holes out of the way with a toothpick or jewelers screwdriver.

 

The screws provided are 1 1/4" in length. The Corsair 120mm fans are 25mm deep/thick (1 inch = 25.21mm), the standard size of 95% of 120mm fans. When inserted in a fan, the screws have only 1/4" to connect with the radiator. Anything less than that risks being to short, particularly when the screws are inserted through a PC case first, and then through the fan.