EKWB Issues Recall For All First Edtion XLC Predator Coolers

[kcarbotte]

EK Water Blocks has issued a recall for the XLC Predator pre-filled and pre-assembled liquid cooling systems. The company has discovered a critical issue and is urging customer to discontinue use immediately.

EKWB Issues Recall For All First Edtion XLC Predator Coolers : Read more

 

[Gam3r01]

Interesting, I would have expected a bit better quality out of them. (Obviously it happens sometimes)
Good on EKWB for offering full refunds or exchanges on the units (And especially damaged components)

 

[clonazepam]

Yeah, EKWB was great. They replaced my CPU block's plate, and 3x GPU block plates, as well as one GPU's acetal cover, free of charge. They were all out of warranty too. Issues come up and they work closely with the reseller and get them handled quickly. Great bunch.

 

[Shankovich]

Good on EKWB for acknowledging this. Considering the time frame they narrowed down, it's not going to be a massive recall. I'm sure other companies would try to bury this instead.

Case in point, I have a Gigabyte R9 390 G1 Gaming that has an issue with preventing shut down and sleep; seen the complaints on new egg, amazon, etc. Called Gigabyte and they kept ignoring my concern, returned my RMA, etc.

 

[kcarbotte]

Interesting, I would have expected a bit better quality out of them. (Obviously it happens sometimes)
Good on EKWB for offering full refunds or exchanges on the units (And especially damaged components)

Defects will happen. It's how the company handles things that makes the big difference.
EKWB seems to be handling things in the best possible way. Covering all damages, and replacement costs, and being transparent and up front about it.

any reasonable person couldn't possibly ask for more.

 

[Gam3r01]

If I owned one of those coolers I would not be upset in the slightest.

 

[chicofehr]

This makes me want to buy one of their coolers. This is something that makes you trust a brand.

 

[problematiq]

"Good guy EKWB"

 

[synphul]

Kind of a mixed bag. I would have expected more in terms of quality control from ekwb and can't help but wonder how such an issue happened. It's not like they were caught off guard as a first time venture, water cooling is literally what they do.

I still give them props for the handling of it and the swift action to admit fault and provide full damage coverage to their affected customers. That's still an important aspect and yes it's true, bad things can happen with any company/product.

Proper and persistent QC should have caught this ahead of the customers rather than just a confirmation after the fact.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

EKWB looks like the EVGA of the watercooling level.

 

[Scotty2307]

I actually do own one of these coolers. I am not particularly upset by the recall, though I would most likely have been very upset if it had leaked, and damaged my computer. What bothered me far more, was finding out two weeks after purchase, that they now offered the 240 series cooler with quick disconnect fittings. I have an email in to EKWB to see if I can pay the difference to upgrade to the unit with QD fittings.
I can say that I have been happy with the performance of the cooler, as it has allowed me to get nearly 4.6Ghz out of my 5820K on an Asus X99 Sabertooth board.
The only negative I have for the unit is that the pump whines a bit at idle, and it is at a frequency that makes it sound even louder when I put my headphones on, It is only at a certain pump speed that this happens, and it is completely covered by any audio I am listening to.

 

[Calculatron]

And this is why I still use air-cooling.

 

[kcarbotte]

If I owned one of those coolers I would not be upset in the slightest.

This makes me want to buy one of their coolers. This is something that makes you trust a brand.

Failures happen with all brands. EKWB took the stance of, "Let's not sweep this under the rug. Tell the world what happend, and fix it."

If that doesn't give you trust in the brand, so be it. It says a lot about how the company treats its customers though, and to me that's the most important thing.

Kind of a mixed bag. I would have expected more in terms of quality control from ekwb and can't help but wonder how such an issue happened. It's not like they were caught off guard as a first time venture, water cooling is literally what they do.

I still give them props for the handling of it and the swift action to admit fault and provide full damage coverage to their affected customers. That's still an important aspect and yes it's true, bad things can happen with any company/product.

Proper and persistent QC should have caught this ahead of the customers rather than just a confirmation after the fact.

EKWB is a small shop with a small work force. If the blocks aren't leaking when they leave the factory, how exactly do you expect them to find out without customer feedback?

When making products like this, things can go wrong. Clearly there was a defect that showed up after the hardware was in customer's hands. Recalls happen all the time. At least EKWB has made an effort to notify its customers.

when a car gets a recall you generally only find out when you go back to the dealership. If you even go back at all.