Lysrin
Well-known member
Right ok that is good to have that confirmed. I need to keep more notes! 
Yes I have the EK Cryofuel concentrate to add to distilled water.
Yes I have the EK Cryofuel concentrate to add to distilled water.Completed Meshify C, 8700K - my journey to a custom loop
- Thread starter Lysrin
- Start date
Lysrin
Well-known member
Had some time on vacation to get the CPU block changed out. Water cooling is a PITA!!
I took the opportunity to change the fan set up. So now pulling cool air in over both rads, and single exhaust from the back. Temps are better again, maxed at about 83 C after about 20 min running full Prime95 and Furmark at the same time.
Some pics of the block change journey because I love pics!
Draining was a bit of a struggle. The fitting worked great but getting the larger flex tube in at the right angle with limited space while threading the fitting in was tricky. It put more stress than I wanted on the fittings and tubing below the GPU. Had to be very careful. But all survived, and good thing because I had to drain twice! More to follow...
Here are a few pics of the cracked block.
Side view that allows you to see the cracks nearest the edge. Not perfect focus but you can see them just above the "macy" in Supremacy. Not deep, but not comfortable to see either.
Top view; lots of cracks out from the ports. Sure looks like I over-tightened but they didn't even feel that tight when I was taking the fittings out. But what can I say? Can't explain it other than over-tightening or a flaw that I can confirm.
This pic shows the depth. You can see the cloudy looking spot at the top of the block; that is the depth of the cracks. So not all the way through.
Then we get to the painful part! All back together, refilled, about 10 minutes in... LEAK!!!
It was at the inlet on the new block.
Drain... take it apart again. All the washers and fittings looked fine, but I did see a little deformation in the end of the tubing (we talked about that being a risk) and the fit of that tubing wasn't quite perfect. Little more angle than would be correct.
Pull out all the bending gear and do up a new 90 degree piece for there. All back together, refill, SUCCESS!! No leak after 6 hour test, and none since.
More work than I hoped, but performance seems better, and I actually like the look of the black block better in my build than the acrylic one. Matches the backplate of the GPU better imo.
Yes, it is installed upside down. More noticeable because of the "Velocity" label but I can live with that. Didn't want to redo my tube layout. If in the future I upgrade the GPU and stay with water then I'll rejig then.
Last thing, I added a spacer in the tubing that runs from the CPU block outlet up to the top rad. That let me fix my slightly off 90 degree tube and get that 90 degree fitting coming out of the CPU block lined up correctly. That compensated my OCD for the upside down block ...a little!
Pic of the spacer. Made it easier to install the fans too because it was just a bit too tight before:
Final pic, PC up and running again in its natural habitat. So this build is complete... again!
Thanks again guys for helping me work through this new wrinkle! Much appreciated as always.
I took the opportunity to change the fan set up. So now pulling cool air in over both rads, and single exhaust from the back. Temps are better again, maxed at about 83 C after about 20 min running full Prime95 and Furmark at the same time.
Some pics of the block change journey because I love pics!
Draining was a bit of a struggle. The fitting worked great but getting the larger flex tube in at the right angle with limited space while threading the fitting in was tricky. It put more stress than I wanted on the fittings and tubing below the GPU. Had to be very careful. But all survived, and good thing because I had to drain twice! More to follow...
Here are a few pics of the cracked block.
Side view that allows you to see the cracks nearest the edge. Not perfect focus but you can see them just above the "macy" in Supremacy. Not deep, but not comfortable to see either.
Top view; lots of cracks out from the ports. Sure looks like I over-tightened but they didn't even feel that tight when I was taking the fittings out. But what can I say? Can't explain it other than over-tightening or a flaw that I can confirm.
This pic shows the depth. You can see the cloudy looking spot at the top of the block; that is the depth of the cracks. So not all the way through.
Then we get to the painful part! All back together, refilled, about 10 minutes in... LEAK!!!
It was at the inlet on the new block.Drain... take it apart again. All the washers and fittings looked fine, but I did see a little deformation in the end of the tubing (we talked about that being a risk) and the fit of that tubing wasn't quite perfect. Little more angle than would be correct.
Pull out all the bending gear and do up a new 90 degree piece for there. All back together, refill, SUCCESS!! No leak after 6 hour test, and none since.
More work than I hoped, but performance seems better, and I actually like the look of the black block better in my build than the acrylic one. Matches the backplate of the GPU better imo.
Yes, it is installed upside down. More noticeable because of the "Velocity" label but I can live with that. Didn't want to redo my tube layout. If in the future I upgrade the GPU and stay with water then I'll rejig then.
Last thing, I added a spacer in the tubing that runs from the CPU block outlet up to the top rad. That let me fix my slightly off 90 degree tube and get that 90 degree fitting coming out of the CPU block lined up correctly. That compensated my OCD for the upside down block ...a little!
Pic of the spacer. Made it easier to install the fans too because it was just a bit too tight before:
Final pic, PC up and running again in its natural habitat. So this build is complete... again!
Thanks again guys for helping me work through this new wrinkle! Much appreciated as always.
Glad to hear / see you got it sorted out, and having a leak during the test of the re-install is a rite of passage... You now have enough points to collect your "seasoned water cooler" badge.
You now have enough points to collect your "seasoned water cooler" badge.
Valkyrie
Well-known member
Good to see it's fixed up. Lookin' good.
Have you considered sending your story and pics to EK? It still looks to me that those cracks were initiated during machining. It takes sharp tooling and patience to machine acrylic and they know it. Best case they'll send you a new cover and you'll have a saleable block.
Have you considered sending your story and pics to EK? It still looks to me that those cracks were initiated during machining. It takes sharp tooling and patience to machine acrylic and they know it. Best case they'll send you a new cover and you'll have a saleable block.
Lysrin
Well-known member
Good point. Certainly wouldn't cost me anything to send it along to them. I won't really ask for anything because I can't conclusively say I wasn't the cause, but they'll likely know when they see the pics and can respond as they see fit.
Lysrin
Well-known member
Sent EKWB a support message with a link to the thread post above. I'll report back if they have any input about the cracked block.
Valkyrie
Well-known member
It may help to also send them full res pictures. For me they show up quite small unless logged in, which they probably won't do.
Lysrin
Well-known member
I wasn't able to find a way to send them pics via the support page. Perhaps if they follow up with an email response or create a full support ticket I can do that. Agree that would have been better. Their support form didn't provide it as an option; no attachments I could see.
Lysrin
Well-known member
Well, EKWB's conclusion? I must have over tightened the fittings in the plexi block.
They asked about excessive high temps affecting the plexi. They defined that as 90 C or more for extended periods. I've never had that. They also said if that was the case usually the plexi will get more cloudy before cracking, and I don't see that in my block.
They asked about the coolant type; again thinking about degraded plexi I would guess. I only have distilled water and their own cryofuel additive. So that's not an issue.
They said they have no record of issues or flaws in that batch of plexi tops. So all fingers point back to me and over zealous finger tightening I guess. Lesson learned... Well actually I think I'll just stick with metal tops from now on; little more forgiving for me perhaps
They asked about excessive high temps affecting the plexi. They defined that as 90 C or more for extended periods. I've never had that. They also said if that was the case usually the plexi will get more cloudy before cracking, and I don't see that in my block.
They asked about the coolant type; again thinking about degraded plexi I would guess. I only have distilled water and their own cryofuel additive. So that's not an issue.
They said they have no record of issues or flaws in that batch of plexi tops. So all fingers point back to me and over zealous finger tightening I guess. Lesson learned... Well actually I think I'll just stick with metal tops from now on; little more forgiving for me perhaps
Bartacus
Well-known member
Don't listen to them Lysrin, EK has been making crap products for years now, that get a lot of exposure from shill YouTubers. Their products are JUNK pure and simple, I don't care what anyone says. I've also seen similar cracks on plexi blocks where I KNOW I didn't over-tighten the fittings, so don't let EKs 'diagnosis' make you feel like you were at fault.
