AIO Cooler Stench

Jarius Lee

Reputable
Apr 6, 2015
1
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4,510
I just brought my first liquid cooler, which is the Swiftech H240x. Really nice cooler but it gives off a stench similar to burning rubber / tyre. The cooler seems to be working fine. Had my CPU overclocked with good temps...except for a grinding-like noise but I don't know if its coming from the pump or the hard drive but it seems to be coming from the hard drive area. And no, the cooler did not smell like that when it was running, it smelled like that out of the box. So is this normal for new AIO coolers? Is it like a " new cooler smell " or somthing
 
Solution
The smell you noticed taking it new out of the box? If it's a 'rubbery' smell it's likely just the odor of the rubber cooling tubes. Many different plastics/rubber or other petroleum based product (even foams) can give off an odor. A lot of times it's referred to as 'off gassing'. More than likely strongest at first because being in the box new from the factory the odor's had a chance to build up and intensify with no way to air out. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Hopefully the odor will fade after a short time.

It would be hard to tell what's causing the noise you're hearing, you'll have to use your best judgement and try to determine where the sound is coming from.

This may or may not help you but a cheap way to...
The smell you noticed taking it new out of the box? If it's a 'rubbery' smell it's likely just the odor of the rubber cooling tubes. Many different plastics/rubber or other petroleum based product (even foams) can give off an odor. A lot of times it's referred to as 'off gassing'. More than likely strongest at first because being in the box new from the factory the odor's had a chance to build up and intensify with no way to air out. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. Hopefully the odor will fade after a short time.

It would be hard to tell what's causing the noise you're hearing, you'll have to use your best judgement and try to determine where the sound is coming from.

This may or may not help you but a cheap way to try and isolate where the sound is coming from - find a piece of wood (small obviously) like a piece of wooden dowel. With the pc running, gently (very gently) hold one end against the waterblock/pump of the water cooler and again carefully hold the other end lightly to your ear. Do the same with the hard drive. It shouldn't hurt either component since wood is an insulator (not a conductor) so long as you're agile with it and don't 'jam' it against anything. A solid piece of wood like that will magnify vibrations to your ear and allow you to 'listen' specifically to one location or another. This is just a suggestion, a way a lot of mechanics use to locate noises from various components under the hood if they don't have a mechanic's stethoscope. Obviously a pc is much more delicate than a car engine, take it with a grain of salt if you wish - it's your system, if you don't feel safe doing that then don't. It's what I would try if I couldn't locate a sound's origin but obviously I'd be responsible if anything happened to my own machine.
 
Solution