tarnished SP-94

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

That's right folks... there is tarnish on my brand new SP-94. Green stuff between the heatpipes and the base underneath where the fins are located. Not really sure how much is in there, but I'd say not a huge amount.

Is this anything to worry about?

Restorer · Sep 24, 2003

Did you spill anything on it? Get it cold then leave it out to get wet by condensation? Sweat on it? That could speed up the process of oxidation of the copper.

As long as the fins aren't tarnished, it's not the end of your heatsink, but cleaning the tarnish between the fins will help your temps.

Silversinksam · Sep 24, 2003

Restorer said:
Did you spill anything on it? Get it cold then leave it out to get wet by condensation? Sweat on it? That could speed up the process of oxidation of the copper.

As long as the fins aren't tarnished, it's not the end of your heatsink, but cleaning the tarnish between the fins will help your temps.

Try finding some Bartenders Friend. Its like Ajax for brass. Its awesome stuff for cleaning, Copper, Brass and most importantly, SILVER. Its normally found in the supermarket or at Wal Mart, get a toothbrush or a pot scrubbing brush and you'll have a shiny heatsink in no time

fafnir · Sep 24, 2003

use a dishwasher and/or a jewelry cleaner just big enough for it after soaking the thing in some tarnish remover, should come out all sparkle-ly or something; just don't use any jet-dry

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

The tarnish is in the recess between the fins and the heatpipes where I can't really get to it... it's a good idea to try and soak it though. I think I might RMA it though, there's no reason it shouldn't be perfect the 1st time around.

I didn't do anything to it, it came this way out of the package.

AllenSmoker · Sep 24, 2003

Definatly RMA it. If the green stuff is corrosion it could mean that the unit leaked during testing.

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

Leaked? This isn't a waterblock, it's an air cooling device...

FIZZ3 · Sep 24, 2003

Are you sure it isn't just copper oxidation? Copper tends to do that in contact with air, and it's not supposed to be a big problem for it's cooling properties as far as I know.
It doesn't really sound like a faulty product to me in any case.

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

I don't think I made myself clear as to the magnitude of the oxidation, localized though it is...

It's a clearly defined splotch of corrosion/oxidation on a brand new heatsink the likes of which I have never seen before. It would be a tall order to hack this thing off with a chisel. And it's in a really, really odd place: If you've seen the SP-94, you will notice a little crevasse in which the heatpipes contact the base of the heatsink. This crevasse is filled with said oxidation... the stuff is a nice, crusty deep blue-green, and the heatsink is otherwise shiny and new. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. I'd take pics, but I don't have a camera.

AllenSmoker · Sep 24, 2003

So are their "Heatpipes" hollow or just solid copper to make it look nifty?

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

They're functional heatpipes I believe... thermalright doesn't do stuff for the sake of making it look nifty... it will serve a purpose or they won't utilize it.

Anyway, here was my response from thermalright:

Dear John,

That is not tarnish. I specifically requested our factory to over solder the areas where heatpipes contacted fin and base to ensure 100 % conduction. And a little discoloration on copper from excess heat when soldering. If you want your SP-94 to be extremely shinny, you can use a little toothpaste with a small strip of cotton cloth and polish those area the way you polish dress shoes. The discoloration will not effect the thermal performance enough to be determine.(we are talking 0.00x °C/W, and that translate to 0.1~2°C on an extremely overclocked P4 3.0C at ~3.6GHz) Thank you for choosing Thermalright products.

Sincerely,

Jim Wei
Thermalright, Inc.

Now, that would explain a great many things. But here's what bothers me... As I said, this discoloration is a crusty splotch of blue-green matter resembling corrosion and I think it would leave permanent scars if removed. It occupies the small nook where the heatpipes are soldered to the core and also emerges from it on the outer fins.

And that's a result of a little welding?? I doubt it...

FIZZ3 · Sep 24, 2003

Well if it has noticable volume like it seems from your description, then I'd rather be on the safe side too. Such a condition may indeed cause decreased thermal transfer- sufficient grounds for RMA.

//edit:// crossposted- all this provided that you do not believe their explanation of the phenomenon.

AllenSmoker · Sep 24, 2003

Well if its a functional heatpipe then it is filled with a liquid medium used for transfering the heat. The liquid gets hot (at the base)and turns to vapor that travels to the other side(the fins) where it dumps the heat, returns to a liquid state and returns to the other side to start the process over.

Depending on what they used to fill the heatpipe, I dont see it being unreasonable that it slowly leaked out, and on contact with air, corroded the spot in question, seeing as how the spot you are descriping is right by the end of the pipe.

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

FIZZ3 said:
all this provided that you do not believe their explanation of the phenomenon.

Well, Jim's a pretty cool guy, I've had lots of dealings with him. I think it is more a matter of miscommunication, i.e. he didn't fully understand what I was talking about when I originally e-mailed him. It could also be that this crud on my heatsink is the same thing that he is referring to but I sincerely doubt that.

substratus · Sep 24, 2003

AllenSmoker said:
Well if its a functional heatpipe then it is filled with a liquid medium used for transfering the heat. The liquid gets hot (at the base)and turns to vapor that travels to the other side(the fins) where it dumps the heat, returns to a liquid state and returns to the other side to start the process over.

Depending on what they used to fill the heatpipe, I dont see it being unreasonable that it slowly leaked out, and on contact with air, corroded the spot in question, seeing as how the spot you are descriping is right by the end of the pipe.

Oh dear.

stan03 · Sep 24, 2003

if it is copper oxidation, it wouldn't be bad to remove it... happens to cheaper jewlery all the time. Why don't you try asking them again? and say it looks very much like oxidation... (does the green look like the Statue of Liberty?)

funko · Sep 24, 2003

why dont you takre a picture of it and send it to them

stan03 · Sep 24, 2003

funko said:
why dont you takre a picture of it and send it to them

substratus said:
I'd take pics, but I don't have a camera.

substratus · Sep 25, 2003

Ok, I checked with William at heatsinkfactory. He has checked other SP-94s and apparently this discoloration is normal. I have got two people confirming that it's due to the copper reaching very high temps when welding, so it is a normal thing. If it's normal, it doesn't bother me... well that was a big scene... end of this thread!

tarnished SP-94

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