Heatercores vs. Commercial Solutions

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

Ok, I know I will probably get yelled at for this... but...

Why are heatercores so wonderful?
What makes them better than the commerical products?
I think this really ought to go in the FAQ or get it's own sticky.

There are lots of places that sell radiators claiming that they are for water cooling systems (BlackIce, Pro Core, etc....) But it seems that most people here preffer a heater core.

Does anyone have any experience with the Innovatek Dual Fan Radiator? (It looks pretty sweet)

It seems to me that the commercial versions have the benefit of ease of use... shrouding and what not. I know they make shrouds for Chevette Heatercores... but what about other models?

I guess what it comes right down to.... is there are best performing radiator/heatcore? My setup is going to be external so size doesn't really matter.... I reall like the looks of the Innovatek and the ProCore.

nikhsub1 · Jan 13, 2004

A few things here, first the procore IS a heater core! So is the Black Ice. It is really about size. Heater cores are usually brass and copper, just what we want. They typically have low flow restriction and cool very well for their size. The best heater cores are single pass units, they have about 1/2 the flow resistance of a dual pass core (procore, black ice etc.). If you have ever seen a heater core with an inlet on one end (top) and an outlet on the other end (bottom) this is a single pass core. Generally single pass core's are bigger than chevette size cores. I am looking into getting some single pass chevette cores. The thing you really want to stay away from are aluminum radiators, and like I said, most heater cores are brass and copper.

Randy · Jan 13, 2004

nikhsub1, why do you say stay away from aluminum radiators?

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

Ohhh ok.

Procore and Blackice are Dual Pass?

So if a single pass core is usually larger than a chevette core what do you do about shrouds? Do you have to make your own?

The only reason I ask is because I don't really have much in terms of tools. Also my manufacturing skills are nill.

So I guess the Innovatek is also dual pass... shame. I like the idea of build in shroud, with the possibility of 4 fans (in push/pull configuration)

nikhsub1 · Jan 13, 2004

Randy said:
nikhsub1, why do you say stay away from aluminum radiators?

Corrosion

As most are using copper (some silver) water blocks, with aluminum in the loop you are guaranteed corrosion! A 50/50 mix of distilled and anti freeze will slow it down, but it will happen.

UberBlue · Jan 13, 2004

I have never seen a comercialy available core, marketed as a water-cooling radiator, that is single pass.

Fedco 2-342 is the most common single pass used around here. It is dimensionaly twice as long a a Chevette core.

As far as a shroud...

Got some scisors and heavy card stock. A passable shroud could be made from that. And duct tape, gotta love duct tape.

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

UberBlue said:
As far as a shroud...

Got some scisors and heavy card stock. A passable shroud could be made from that. And duct tape, gotta love duct tape.

Egad! As long as you are not also looking for style. When I get this done I would like something that I can sort of show off too

nikhsub1 · Jan 13, 2004

Here is a thread by Cathar on making a shroud... you must be registered to view it though.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49874

oRIDDLERo · Jan 13, 2004

I use dual BlackIce radiators and very happy with my temperatures. I really like how they have the built in mounting bracket /shroud it sure saves a lot of space and will be far easier to implement into a mid-tower chassis then a heater core/shroud combination. Just my two cents. I think a single black ice extreme could handle a heavily overclocked cpu, but i would not try to add in the GPU/chipset without another rad.

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

So this is the single pass fedco heatercore...

Fedco 2-342

I think some modding would have to be done on that bad boy to make push/pull

Does anyone know what it is made of?

AngryAlpaca · Jan 13, 2004

WOO! DUCT TAPE! So, Black Ice Extremes are exactly the same as heater cores, barring size? Interesting. A shroud DOES offer an improvement even on a BIX, gofastman.

nikhsub1 · Jan 13, 2004

MrMOSFET said:
Does anyone know what it is made of?

Brass and copper...

johan851 · Jan 13, 2004

WOO! DUCT TAPE! So, Black Ice Extremes are exactly the same as heater cores, barring size? Interesting.

They are, at least mechanically. The thing is, the BIX has a pretty different size, like you mentioned. It's thinner overall, probably has thinner channels, and uses smaller inlets and outlets. Add that to the cooling area, and there's a pretty big difference. It would work fine for a single CPU or something, but you're still going get better results from something like a Chevette core.

FYI, the Pro core isn't just "A" heatercore, it's essentially a modified Chevette heatercore. So get a Chevette core, paint your own, don't worry about flow restriction from the barbs, and save cash.

rogerdugans · Jan 13, 2004

Bang for the buck, baby!

Can't beat a $20 USD core that does the same or better than a $40 commercially modded core for bang for the buck, especially since my idea of barbs is to cut the existing tube ends off and clamp my tubing on the ends.
Much less restriction than the barbs on the commercial units.

Basically, I see it coming down to three things:
Bang for the Buck Rules!- Heater core.
Looks are King!- painted, pre-modded commercial unit.
Just don't want to mod a core- pre-modded commercial unit.

None of the above reasons are bad, just different choices being made.

Bon3thugz43v3r · Jan 13, 2004

Well my "Pre-Modded" Black Ice Extreme Pro came premodded with screw holes that dont line up with a 120mm fan. Makes me wish I woulda bought one for $20 rather than $40.

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

How can you tell what material a heater core is made from? I haven't found any sites out there that tell you what they are made from! It is quite annoying. I mean... if I order a Chevette core I want to make sure there is ZERO aluminum in them. I just know that if I asked "Joe Auto Parts .com" they probably wouldn't know the material they are manufactured from.

Same thing goes for pump... a lot of companies sell pumps, but they do not list electrical specs. grrrrrr....

nikhsub1 · Jan 13, 2004

MrMOSFET said:
How can you tell what material a heater core is made from?

They are made of brass and copper, you don't need to worry about aluminum if you order a HEATER CORE. Just stay away from oil/tranny coolers.

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

nikhsub1 said:
They are made of brass and copper, you don't need to worry about aluminum if you order a HEATER CORE. Just stay away from oil/tranny coolers.

Really? That is WONDERFUL! I guess it makes sense... oil/transmission coolers have oil in them which would prevent corrosion.

AngryAlpaca · Jan 13, 2004

Heater cores have been standardized for many years. Electrical specs aren't all that important when buying pumps, and, I think (I could be wrong) that you want the oil out of the cooler.

MrMOSFET · Jan 13, 2004

AngryAlpaca said:
Heater cores have been standardized for many years. Electrical specs aren't all that important when buying pumps, and, I think (I could be wrong) that you want the oil out of the cooler.

Well there is a big difference between 220 VAC @ 50 Hz and 120 VAC @ 60 Hz. Thats all I meant by specs.

And as for the oil I was just thinking outloud why a oil cooler could be made out of aluminum without corrosion.

Heatercores vs. Commercial Solutions

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