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Self made waterblock... Need help

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max_clock

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Location
Braga, Portugal
Im building my own watercooling system. The big problem is the waterblock. As the retail waterblocks are very expensive, Im thinking about building my own waterblock. Well, the waterblock is almost finished but my question is about the metal that I used. I made the waterblock with aluminum, It has the water in, and that "tube" splits itself into thiner "tubes" right in the middle of the waterblock. Should I trust in the material? or those copper waterblocks are much better than aluminum ones?
 
copper is better than aluminum, but not by a huge amount as far as the actual cooling is concerned.

The bigger problem that you might run into is corrosion if you have mixed metals. If your radiator is copper or brass it will react with the aluminum and form build-up. This can be reduced or stopped by water additives and antifreeze, but it is still better not to mix.

If you keep an eye on build up or corrosion, you should be fine. Just remember to use an anti-corrosive additive.

Good luck with your loop!
 
For an un anodized Al waterblock I'd recomend an above average level of antifreez in the system, around 15%. Otherwise you will end up with a large amount of corrosion in your system pretty fast.
 
seamadan000 said:
copper is better than aluminum, but not by a huge amount as far as the actual cooling is concerned.

The bigger problem that you might run into is corrosion if you have mixed metals. If your radiator is copper or brass it will react with the aluminum and form build-up. This can be reduced or stopped by water additives and antifreeze, but it is still better not to mix.

If you keep an eye on build up or corrosion, you should be fine. Just remember to use an anti-corrosive additive.

Good luck with your loop!

Can I use the antifreeze liquid from my car? Its a green liquid that I use in the radiator with destiled water to freeze the engine. Im planing to use an radiator from a motocross bike, I think they are all made with aluminum
 
yep, that's the stuff. IIRC, corrosion is only a problem when mixing metals, if you're using all alluminum, you shouldn't have to worry too much about corroding.
 
As long as you put some antifreeze in, you'll be fine.

Also, please post some pics of the block and cooling results when you get done. I have always wondered how well bike radiators would work, as they are the perfect size for dual 80mm or 92mm fans.
 
Most people use a 90:10 ratio of distilled water to antifreeze, then you should also add a drop or two of iodine to help kill the bacteria the antifreeze won't.
 
My question is ... what type of aluminum block did you use?

Pure aluminum or an alloy? Cast or extruded?

The reason I ask is because most cast aluminum has roughly 50% the
thermal efficiency as extruded (forged) aluminum. Why? Because the typical
casting process produces micro pores within the metal which inhibit thermal transfer.

Same goes for alloys. For instance "6061", a fairly common alloy, is 1%
magnesium and .6% silicon. With smaller amounts of copper & chromium.
Which might not seem like much yet even a very tiny amount of alloy can
have a significant effect on thermal efficiency.
Which is where the study of metallurgy comes in.

Personally, my choice for a water block would be "101 OFHC" copper
(Oxygen-Free High Conductivity). Then "110 Copper". Which is easier to machine.
 
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5|*42 said:
Most people use a 90:10 ratio of distilled water to antifreeze, then you should also add a drop or two of iodine to help kill the bacteria the antifreeze won't.

Iodine??? I this is the first I've heard of using it as an anti bacteria agent. I thought something like water wetter would be enough?
 
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