Questions about Fedco 2-342

Hey, folks.

I decided to jump on the raft and go water cooling. I did a bunch of research (and please bear with my questions coming in the next couple weeks) and opted to purchase this stuff;

Fedco 2-342 (0909) Heater Core
Swiftech MCP650 Pump
Copper Storm/G4 CPU Waterblock (When they're back in stock)
Undecided on GPU block. Suggestions welcome.

Now, I just received the heater core, and lemme tell ya, it stinks, literally. I think it's the oxidized copper, but it smells more like scratch and sniff underwear. I really don't know, but it's terrible. What should I use to clean it? How should I clean it?

The bases of the inlet and outlet are also shaped like ovals. After reading a bunch of posts, I found a bunch of people take out the whole tubes and add their own. Does this make a large performance difference?
Since I am completely stupid when it comes to soldering and welding (Plus I cannot afford the tools, so it's not a lack of willingness to learn), what kinds of professionals should I seek for inexpensive welding?

I may be able to build the shroud since I found a pretty nice tutortorial online on how to do it, but since this heater core is so popular I'm hoping someone may know of someone who custom builds shrouds.

A school metal shop

Baalzevuv said:

it smells more like scratch and sniff underwear.

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Lol, try CLR to clean it out.

Baalzevuv said:

The bases of the inlet and outlet are also shaped like ovals.

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Mine aren't, top is about 1/2 and bottom is 3/4. I just got a small butane torch thats rated around 3100 deg F and removed some barbs from my old Infinipro NO.5 wb. Worked well and only cost $10, might work on the HC, but i'm not sure.
As for the shroud, i made one from fiberglass resin and pantyhose, but, the outer plexi frame fell to pieces when i tried to drill mounting holes, i built this instead(not painted yet):
It's made from aluminum and has thin plywood siliconed and riveted between the fans and shroud for less noise.

I may be able to build the shroud since I found a pretty nice tutortorial online on how to do it, but since this heater core is so popular I'm hoping someone may know of someone who custom builds shrouds.

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can u give me the link?

as for the heatercore i would return it and try to find one with the round tubes

Chances are you won't find a better core, since nearly all places in any given area usually sources from places that get their main supply from the same big factory. Meaning...what you get is what you get. Auto supply isn't like ordering most things, since the item usually has to just plain work.

Cleaning can be done with almost any harsh cleaner, from Coca-Cola to CLR to salt&vinegar. They don't clean them out after they finish mfg'ing them, but its only flux and oxidization that needs to be removed. The best thing to do after the initial first soak is get a 5gal bucket & an inline filter (like a 100-mesh boat filter), fill the bucket with diluted cleaner, then run the system w/that res bucket (filter on intake). With any luck, nothing will clog up my G4 Storm.

As for soldering fittings to the rad, try the automotive section at a local technical college, since its cheapest there. I highly doubt you'll find a 2-342 that doesn't have oval inlets - I couldn't, so I just ground out the holes to 3/4" and soldered 1/2" to 3/8" reducers (they have a 3/4" OD) into the holes. With most of the small end removed, they fit snug and allow you to solder in a 1/2" pipe (5/8" OD). My 2-342 has a lot done to it, and if I ever get my maze4cpu( ) from the mail, I can slap it to my gpu (cpu-to-gpu conversion) and post pics.

guess i got lucky then i got my with round tubes cut them down and heated tubing over them

or if u dont want the hassle, buy the 2-302 very close performance. heres a link to it click

sorry for the thread hijack!! but i have had this question about the 2-342 for awhile!!
Do all 2-342's have copper tanks/sides?? or do you have to open the box at the part store and make sure that's the kind you get??

Copper or Brass, the performance is about the same. You don't have the tools required to measure the difference, it's so small.
Brass and copper have no trouble residing together in the water system.

But yeah, you can look in the box if you're buying locally.

Thx diggrr for the info... i think i would rather have the copper just for peace of mind! as Baalzevuv stated before, does anyone at these forums make custom shrouds for 2-342??

Philup_Bowls said:

Thx diggrr for the info... i think i would rather have the copper just for peace of mind!

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The only thing thats going to be brass is the tanks and the sides. The core is always copper. Brass is made from mostly copper anyway(55-95%).

I had same concern for my heatercore.
What I did was saw off the copper tubes until about 1 inch left from brass tank.
Took 2 1/2" 3/8" NPT barbs and grouned the thread off so it inserts in the copper tubing nicely.
Then I used some marine goop. let it dry, then i used a 3/4 piece of heat shrink to form tight around barb when it was heated.

I have been using this heatercore for about a year with no problems. Its sketchy way of adding barbs to that heatercore, but Its a makeshift job for a makeshift watercooler.

As for the copper tubes being oval at the base where it is soldered to the tank... yea, I noticed that too. The diameter of the hole is no less than 1/2" ID, so It really isn't bottlenecking the whole cooling loop; thus it is no reason to be concerned.