[SOLVED] Copper Block Oxygen-Free

[Piroca]

Hi, Any block of watercoolers from well known brands are oxygen free as advertised on the Akasa Venom R10 and R20? or does not that make so much difference in the durability of the copper / radiator block and its anti-corrosive liquid? thank you !

 

[Eximo]

Didn't know that was a thing. The stuff marketing teams come up with boggles the mind.

As far as I can tell that is just a fancy term for most high quality copper. Most copper is recovered using electroplating which will have nearly zero oxygen content. 99.99% pure is the typical goal. Oxygen free just indicates the alloy bears less than .001% of oxygen. Basically they are saying that the copper they buy from the supplier is typical...

Different copper alloys behave differently. Pure copper will behave chemically as such. I would think it would be less durable then some copper alloys, physically at least, but that does offer the best cooling potential of copper. I doubt it will change its resistance to corrosion and oxidation from air that much compared to, well I'm not sure what. Even reclaimed copper is often recovered using acids and electroplating.

I think it is safe to assume that any product made from copper will be oxygen free. Considering that most water cooling equipment relies at some point on brass/copper/solder you will never end up with a pure environment. That is why stabilizers, biocodes, and anti-corrosives are used.

For myself, I use a little biocode and a piece of silver to keep plain distilled water free of crud. (Which reminds me, I should probably flush mine in the near future, been a while.)

 

[rubix_1011]

In all honesty, any manufacturer 'claiming' oxygen free copper as a benefit is really stretching for marketing propaganda. These coolers alone cost as much as ONE of the following in a good watercooling loop:

CPU block
GPU block
Pump
Radiator

Needless to say, a cooler built primarily of plastic and aluminum has little leverage when it comes to claims of how pure the copper base is.

 

[Piroca]

Didn't know that was a thing. The stuff marketing teams come up with boggles the mind.

As far as I can tell that is just a fancy term for most high quality copper. Most copper is recovered using electroplating which will have nearly zero oxygen content. 99.99% pure is the typical goal. Oxygen free just indicates the alloy bears less than .001% of oxygen. Basically they are saying that the copper they buy from the supplier is typical...

Different copper alloys behave differently. Pure copper will behave chemically as such. I would think it would be less durable then some copper alloys, physically at least, but that does offer the best cooling potential of copper. I doubt it will change its resistance to corrosion and oxidation from air that much compared to, well I'm not sure what. Even reclaimed copper is often recovered using acids and electroplating.

I think it is safe to assume that any product made from copper will be oxygen free. Considering that most water cooling equipment relies at some point on brass/copper/solder you will never end up with a pure environment. That is why stabilizers, biocodes, and anti-corrosives are used.

For myself, I use a little biocode and a piece of silver to keep plain distilled water free of crud. (Which reminds me, I should probably flush mine in the near future, been a while.)

Interesting, excellent clarification. I believe that only dubious brands use low quality material, including copper; however, the sealed watercoolers have a maintenance and warranty forecast that might be a good reason to think of an air cooler (DeepCool Assassin II, Noctua D15, Akasa Medusa etc ...)? Thankful..

 

[Piroca]

In all honesty, any manufacturer 'claiming' oxygen free copper as a benefit is really stretching for marketing propaganda. These coolers alone cost as much as ONE of the following in a good watercooling loop:

CPU block
GPU block
Pump
Radiator

Needless to say, a cooler built primarily of plastic and aluminum has little leverage when it comes to claims of how pure the copper base is.

I understand, it is really very suspicious of this appeal .. we can also notice that in the tests (the few that exist, akasa r10 and r20) the performance is below the expected for the follow up, being oxygen free copper a good artifice for the advertisement in this case. Anyway, thank you for clarification.

 

[Piroca]

In conclusion, is there any really practical difference in having the liquid cooler pump in the radiator or above the heatsink itself in the case of sealed water coolers? thanks

 

[rubix_1011]

In conclusion, is there any really practical difference in having the liquid cooler pump in the radiator or above the heatsink itself in the case of sealed water coolers? thanks

There is not really any benefit to either configuration, as much of this depends on the build quality and performance of the pump itself and overall design of the cooler.

In traditional watercooling loops, pump placement and loop order do not matter other than ensuring the pump is not allowed to have air enter the impeller, as this can cause cavitation (which can cause pump damage over time) or air locking, which prevents the pump from pushing liquid beyond an air bubble in which the pump head pressure cannot overcome the air pressure introduced by the air pocket.

 

[Piroca]

Thanks for the elucidation, my fear was not to make a good choice, with regard to the pump and even the sizing of the radiator in the future. Big hug, John.