heater core + over 16psi = explosion?

[tft]

Well, maybe not an explosion, but a broken heater core is what the guy at the radiator place told me. I got an heater core for ten bucks (a pretty good deal I think), and while deciding on the one I was going to buy, he asked me how much pressure I was planning on putting through the it. I told him I had about a 250-300 gph pump, which was pumping about a foot high, and to make a long story short he said that over 16psi might break the heater core. Now I've never heard of this happening, but I just want to make sure. Here's my setup.

Submersible pump-> Maze-2 block (1' high from the pump) -> radiator -> reservoir.

Nothing fantastic, but I just want to make sure that I'm not in any danger of the heater core breaking. Has anyone hear of this happening?

ANY info would be much appreciated

 

[Bender]

Something 250-350 GPH will only do around 2-3 psi so you don't have to worry. You will never hit 16psi with any pump you would want for your pc.

 

[rossd]

I agree. 16 psi is pretty hard to reach, and if you get it, you'll have other problems (e.g. silicone hoses will likely "inflate" and eventually blow up!)

This happened to be last night, though I was able to save the computer.

rossd.

 

[Koooler King]

Well, maybe not an explosion, but a broken heater core is what the guy at the radiator place told me. I got an heater core for ten bucks (a pretty good deal I think), and while deciding on the one I was going to buy, he asked me how much pressure I was planning on putting through the it. I told him I had about a 250-300 gph pump, which was pumping about a foot high, and to make a long story short he said that over 16psi might break the heater core. Now I've never heard of this happening, but I just want to make sure. Here's my setup.

Submersible pump-> Maze-2 block (1' high from the pump) -> radiator -> reservoir.

Nothing fantastic, but I just want to make sure that I'm not in any danger of the heater core breaking. Has anyone hear of this happening?

ANY info would be much appreciated

Well, the key question is what does "broken" mean? If in a pure automotive scenario, a heater core must survive 21+ psi day to day and they are usually tested at 40 psi before leaving the factory. 16 psi should be fine provided it was not a shoddy repair (e.g, epoxy glue or some sort of cheap "leak stopper"). Flow of 180 to 360 gph should not be a problem if the unit is sound. Again, the critical thing is pressure vs. the quality of the unit.

Good luck.

Koooler King

 

[Silver]

Hard to get any real pressure on a mag drive pump.