Corsair H100i..Failure

Hi...

My H100i has been troublesome lately, it would overheat my cpu significantly even though the fans are running full speed
so...since the local distributor doesn't warranty liquid cooling...I decided to open
it (I opened the copper base):


then I emptied the liquid into a vase....I was surprised to find little amount of liquid inside, with what seems as white salty thingys floating in it....





Anyhow...I want to reup the liquid, I have no alternative liquid available and don't know the required level of filling... I "think" it is not possible to order cooling liquid online do to customs restrictions.

What I'm thinking, I live in a hot country where no possible ice-cold climate can occur, we are using a cooling liquid in our cars radiators rather than anti-freeze....any idea if that fits? or any alternatives?

wow that looks nastyyyy. I just ordered a h100i for my mates new build and in all honesty i said i would never do it, but it seems they have got better in the last 5 years ( all in one loops).

If you want to replace the liquid its simple. Fill it with distilled or deionised water with biocide in it. But first, rinse it out (WELL!) with distilled/deionised. shake it about the rad and get all that nasty stuff out. Do it three time just to be sure. Then as mentioned fill with pure distilled/deionised and a few drops of biocide for good measure to stop algea. Logistically I dont know how you fill up a all in one cooler, but i am sure goggle can sort that.

Also where do you live that would restrict distilled and biocide? I should be relatively easy to get hold of.

what you mentioned is available, what I meant if I as a person went and bought a closed bottle of some liquid...it wouldn't go through.... especially if it is uncommon liquid.

How do I know I should stop filling?
And what would cause the liquid to go like that....,my pc is always running in air-conditioned environment!

expert87 said:

what you mentioned is available, what I meant if I as a person went and bought a closed bottle of some liquid...it wouldn't go through.... especially if it is uncommon liquid.

How do I know I should stop filling?
And what would cause the liquid to go like that....,my pc is always running in air-conditioned environment!

Click to expand...

That looks like a manufacturing fault. I dont know what kind of liquid they use inside but it looks terrible, get the above mentioned, no idea about filling it up, google "refilling corsair h100i" and i am sure something will come up. As i mentioned MAKE SURE you rinse it out. pour the distilled in and shake about the rad etc pour it out, rinse and repeat. Then refill it.

OP: You need distilled water, a biocide, and a 30% per the amount of water of anti-freeze (glycol). You must use a anti-corrosion agent (glycol). You will also need to get some sort of reservoir now to bleed the loop since you opened it or you will never be able to remove the air.

Conumdrum said:

OP: You need distilled water, a biocide, and a 30% per the amount of water of anti-freeze (glycol). You must use a anti-corrosion agent (glycol). You will also need to get some sort of reservoir now to bleed the loop since you opened it or you will never be able to remove the air.

Click to expand...

why would he need antifreeze?

Copper heat plate, aluminum rad. Anti-freeze was the one to use long ago, Toyota or Volkswagen was the fave due to the red/blue color.

Anti-freeze is glycol etc. And somewhere I remember reading that Corsair said it was a glycol mix.

Conumdrum said:

OP: You need distilled water, a biocide, and a 30% per the amount of water of anti-freeze (glycol). You must use a anti-corrosion agent (glycol). You will also need to get some sort of reservoir now to bleed the loop since you opened it or you will never be able to remove the air.

Click to expand...

reservoir?? what is that and why?....what if I run the unit without it?

You'll never get all the air out. Standard watercooling unless its an unopened AIO unit like yours but you opened it.

Basically, since you've opened the unit, it isn't sealed anymore, which is why the all-in-one loops are easy. You have to treat this pike a custom water cooling loop, which requires a bit more maintenance.

Really sorry but I didn't get the complete picture here

I get that, since I opened it; I allowed the liquid/air balance to break.
What I'm supposed to do now (other than refill it) ? and how?
what if I don't do that?

Please read the beginners water cooling sticky.

You'll understand how these WC loops work and knowing the basic SCIENCE is always good.

You need a res to BLEED the loop, they have some method at the factory, I have no idea so don't ask. When you opened it, you ruined the factory fill. You don't have access to how they do it. Others buy a res who have done things like that. $30 will get you a nice Swiftech Microres that will work. Ohh you'll need to buy the right size fittings possibly and the proper liquid too.

Conumdrum said:

Please read the beginners water cooling sticky.

Click to expand...

+1

Suggest to get a real WC "beginners/starters" kit.
Almost every "big" name offers one - Swiftech, Alphacool, XSPC, even EK (~shudder~) , stay away from ThermalTake!

Trash the H100 and write it off as the price one pays for a learning experience

RnRollie said:

+1

Suggest to get a real WC "beginners/starters" kit.
Almost every "big" name offers one - Swiftech, Alphacool, XSPC, even EK (~shudder~) , stay away from ThermalTake!

Trash the H100 and write it off as the price one pays for a learning experience

Click to expand...

Except: He lives in Lebanon or some place, so getting the good stuff might be silly crazy to start with.

OK I read that post....I understand I'll need the reservoir to kick out extra air/air bubbles.
but that means I'll need extra tubing from the reservoir to the pump....

So now:
1- I see that the fittings on the original pump/block can't be replaced (in my opinion), how to overcome that?
2- the original issue was that the cpu would overheat, and with the amount of liquid I saw in it I expect the pump ran dry....is it still functional? can I check that before closing up the system?
3- the tubes' measurements are based on diameter right??

And by the way....I'm in Saudi Arabia not Lebanon

expert87 said:

so...since the local distributor doesn't warranty liquid cooling...I decided to open

Click to expand...

How long have you had your H100i? I am going to assume you still have the manufacturer's warranty. You made a HUGE mistake by opening it. Your local distributor might have a 30 day policy to deal with defects or is shaddy. I don't know. If your local doesn't follow through you always have the main manufacturer. 5 YEAR WARRANTY! I think you missed that part or at least didn't read the warranty card in the box it came with. Well, you just voided the warranty and is all yours to repair since you opened it.

expert87 said:

the original issue was that the cpu would overheat, and with the amount of liquid I saw in it I expect the pump ran dry....is it still functional?

Click to expand...

Did you ever hear the pump make funny or loud noises? If it was anything but a humming tone than it's very possible that it was working dry at times. Did you check and see the bearings of the bump to see if there's any buildup? Give us a nice shot of the inside of the pump. When you rinse it all out use hot water.

Hope you get this resolved,

1-I know corsair offers 5 years warranty...but I also found out it will cost me almost the price of a new unit just to send it to them! Anyhow, I'm running on a Zalman liquid cooler which I found better than the corsair build and quality wise...but lately (only few days ago) some of my friends just told me they know a cheaper method to mail parcels.

2-As for opening it, I only opened the copper plate which has no warranty-like seal, and that is where I'm working on it, I "think" in that case, If I just "put" everything back (I even still have the original liquid) It couldn't be noticed (don't think it would be visible I've opened it except for the bleeding,will the system is almost dry of liquid anyways so it won't perform will at testing, what do you think??)

3-No, the local distributor doesn't provide warranty liquid cooling (maybe for what I've faced). And I bought less than 8months ago!

4-As for the sounds....when I first got it I installed the rad up side down, I heard some clicking noises coming from the pump, I fixed the rad position in the clicking noise went away....there were no other sounds coming from the pump as of my knowledge..last time I ran the pump, the cpu almost overheated and I felt one of the tubing hot and the other is cold.

as for opening the pump itself,I don't mind that, but if there is still hope in warranty (point 2) I'd rather not do it, if not I'm learning anyway so I would do it...I need your opinion there

If you took it apart, I really doubt Corsair will honor the warranty.

I tried ordering an RMA....
It didn't allow me to select any normal RMA (not the normal or the express RMA, only Accessories RMA "maybe has something to do with sending a part...I'll wait and see")...I think that occurred after checking my ip address....
I think that means corsair doesn't warranty its' products outside its territory....

Conumdrum said:

Copper heat plate, aluminum rad. Anti-freeze was the one to use long ago, Toyota or Volkswagen was the fave due to the red/blue color.

Anti-freeze is glycol etc. And somewhere I remember reading that Corsair said it was a glycol mix.

Click to expand...

The glycol is what makes it "anti-freeze", but not what imparts corrosion protection. Similar corrosion protection can be had from coolant additives such as "Water Wetter" and similar. Since those other products don't contain glycol, you get better heat transfer than using automotive antifreeze. Automotive antifreeze is cheaper and will do if you can't get anything else though.

I asked a Valvoline rep what the minimum concentration for corrosion protection was with Zerex G-05 (commonly used with aluminum head, iron block motors), and they told me 30% was the minimum to get corrosion protection. It does work, it's just not my first choice.

Whatever you do, mix it up in a small plastic bottle (quart sized is good) with proportions according to directions. Typically, it's around an ounce or two per quart. Add your biocide per instructions, mix, then fill using a funnel.

You're definitely going to need a resevoir of some kind, I'd suggest new tubing as well.