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Galvanic corrosion

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Bugsmasher

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Location
Oklahoma City, Ok
Quick question for some experienced watercooling people....

I have been looking at a way to shorten some of my tubing runs while avoiding any possible kinking in my WCing setup. I have found a fairly neat little fitting which is a smooth curve elbow. Here is the part number from Mcmaster.com - 5670K19

Instead of a standard 90 degree elbow its a smooth curve which should allow direction changes without causing too much of a flow restriction. The curve is only slightly more than some of the tubing curves I already have in my system.

The problem is that the only material I have found this made of so far is stainless steel. I currently have brass and copper in my loop which shouldnt cause too much of a galvanic corrosion problem. My worry is by introducing 4 of these in my loop the stainless + copper + brass may end up being a problem. I am using a Hyperlube + Distilled Water solution for my coolant. Hyperlube is supposed to be anti-corrosive but just to be safe I am wondering if anyone has input on how this would effect my system.

Even better would be if someone knows a source for this type of smooth curved elbow in a 'plastic' type fitting. I have seen pictures of them but so far have been unable to locate them online or at Lowe's or Home Depot.
 
I dont know about corrosion but Im guessing as long as you use a corrosion inhibitor Im sure you'll be ok. Would be good if someone else verified that copper to stainles steel doesnt cause the same or as much corrosion as copper to aluminum.

But as for the fitting why are you getting something like that? If its that gradual of a bend why not juse bend tubing? If your tubing kinks in that radius drop it into some boiling water, bend it, and put it under some cold water as you form it...
 
I was hoping for something a bit more rigid to hold its shape and curve. These fittings work nicely by relieving the pressure on the tubing so I was thinking if they dont effect flow very much and the use of the stainless steel wont bring about corrosion problems then they would be worth using.

Here is a somewhat blurry pic of my system as it currently stands. The primary tube I am looking at using those fittings on is the one from the reservoir to the intake on the pump. Its the rather long tube that leads in a long curve from the bottom of the case to near the top. I tried using the hot water molding trick but it largely straightened out due to the tension in the tubing.

Tubing pic

This pic was actually taken to show how bright the coolant got after using some of the ink from a highlighter marker. Hence the 'dark' photo and the blurry quality. The tubes however are fairly visible ;)

I can eliminate the need for one of the smooth curved fittings by mounting my pump 'on its back' so the pump inlet tube goes straight up through the case. I will still however need to make a 90 degree turn to connect it to the back of my reservoir.
 
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