My Corsair H60 EXPLODED!!

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caesparktom

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ok, I have been using my an corsair h60 water cooler for over a year now without incident. I returned home from extended trip and noticed a dried puddle around the base of my computer. I opened the case up and to my horror realized that the h60 had exploded--the plastic face with corsair logo on it had apparently been blown off and there was dried coolant splatter all over the inside of the case. The video card got it worst. Splatter patterns suggests that following the explosion coolant ran out of of the head and pooled up on the video card before running down all sides of it, onto the power supply, and finally out the bottom of the case.

I have a couple of questions. First of all, WHAT THE HELL!? My only theory is that it got very cold one night without me there to maintain the room temp and the pressure in the containment rose as the coolant began to freeze resulting in catastrophic failure. Anybody know what is the freezing pt of water-based coolant is? This theory of course sounds ridiculous, but this is the best one i have. Also, I was getting some work done in the apartment during my absence, so there is a small chance that one of the workers found there way into my office and started the computer up or something?

My other question is how do I clean the components, specifically the video card and motherboard? If the explosion did occur when the computer was not running then it seems to me like the components might be fine, right?? I heard of people soaking there board in distilled water and letting them dry in rice--not sure i have the balls for that though. Or should just do my best with alcohol and qtip.

Really appreciate your help
 
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mazty

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Looks like Corsair have a really good replacement and refund program.
Would like to see some photos though of just how much damage there is. If the components were not on when the leak occurred, nothing may be damaged and will just require thorough spot cleaning.
 
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caesparktom

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Pics



http://www.imagebam.com/image/2b6aa3228372453
http://www.imagebam.com/image/7bc4b4228372476
http://www.imagebam.com/image/78af86228372500
http://www.imagebam.com/image/d3bf49228372523
http://www.imagebam.com/image/f2de49228372541
http://www.imagebam.com/image/2bd749228372570

Specs:

MOBO: ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION
CPU: i7 2600k
GPU: NVidia Quadro 4000
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL --- x2(16GB)
SSD: OCZ vertex 3 （120GB）
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB ---x2(2TB)
DVD: Sony Optiarc AD-7240S
LCD: Dell UltraSharp U2410
Case: Corsair 650D
PSU: Corsair HX750
COOLER: Corsair H60
 
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mazty

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Holy crap that's a mess...
Contact Corsair ASAP as they may be able to replace parts/suggest the best method to remove the coolant as there's a lot of it there, rather then one or two drops.

Is it possible that one of the workers carrying out the work in your apartment hit the case? I wonder if something like the weight of a toolbox colliding with the case knocked it over and dislodged the cooler...
 
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noob2222

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First off, remove the battery from the motherboard before cleaning.

rubbing alcohol (90%), denatured alcohol, or de-ionized water. I used to work for a water damage restoration company and we have cleaned 100s of computers. you can use a soft toothbrush to clean the components.

To dry the parts after cleaning, put them in the oven at its lowest setting with the door cracked open. most ovens this is usually 150-170f wich is 75C, cooler than most overclocked cpus run, so no it will not damage the thing.

If you think I crazy, almost all electronics are washed in purified water when they are completed.

http://www.empf.org/empfasis/aug04/nuclean.htm
 
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mazty

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However does the H60 use merely water as the coolant/does it contain additives that could cause further issues?
 
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caesparktom

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toothbrush and alcohol,...really? how careful should i be? should i take apart the video card and really get in there with the brush or what? also, i don't have an oven, would be ok to simply air dry for a few days? how risky do you think a thorough cleaning is vs risk of turning on without completely removing all the coolant residue?

@mazty - not really possible that it was hit with toolbox, office is not in the line of traffic. i guess i can check the event log eventually to see if it was turned on.
 
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caesparktom

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I have 95% ethanol medical-grade alcohol. a google search on the topic makes me think that isopropyl may be a safer solvent for circuit boards. Do have an opinion on this matter? I assume the concern is with the denaturing additives, but i don't have any experience with cleaning pcbs.
 
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mazty

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Just contact Corsair - they'll give you all the info you need.
 
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noob2222

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I am not familiar with trying to clean with ethanol. The reason for isopropyl is it leaves no residue when it dries and it is non conductive.

Id suggest not turning the computer on till after cleaning, chances are it may not damage anything, but it could, and here is why.

the water mixture in the h60 id bet is non-conductive. the problem with conductivity is any outside "additives" can cause it to turn into a conductive substance. turn it on and something possibly shorts out, not likely, but possible. A conductive substance could be as simple as dust that was sitting on one of the components, when mixed with water made a conductive mixture. (the 2 separate cause no issues) Mineral water for example is very conductive

for me, better to be safe than sorry, but I also have experience in cleaning pcb. If I knew nothing about it ... Id probably test my luck and turn it on.

As far as cleaning with the toothbrush, you really can't damage anything unless your hitting it with the plastic handle although I would suggest being really careful on the lga socket if it needs to be cleaned. if it looks clean under the cpu, just leave it, those pins will be easy to bend. as far as the video card, id remove the rear plate and see if it got wet under it. if its clean, its probably better to try and not move the heatsink as you would need to reapply the thermal paste.

Air drying would be ok, the alcohol will evaporate pretty quick.
 
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cz_the_day

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My 2cents ( as a looong time electronics hobbiest only )

Window cleaner (aka Windex,etc) using a fine paint brush where reachable, followed by (distilled) water rinse, followed by 95+% isopropyl or methyl alcohol rinse (in a well ventilated area, as is volatile/flammable ), followed by canned air and/or active air (fan) drying (several hours)...minimize contact with the cpu socket and realize that BGA ICs - like NB/SB chipsets - have hundreds of solder points within a small gap/footprint that can wick liquids, making them contaminate traps...

The real question - to me anyways - is was this caused by; boiling? freezing? or mechanical stress within pump housing? or even the computer becoming self-aware and secretly viewing pron?...hmmm

Good Luck !
 
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caesparktom

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well, I have finished a round of cleaning with 95% ethanol (someone convinced me this would work fine). I used a qtip and toothbrush, the dried coolant (water + ethylene glycol?) proved very resistant to the alcohol. I was forced to scrub much harder and more rigorously than I would have preferred and the board still has some build up and visible residue, but I feel like the board is pretty clean and i'm not really comfortable with another round a scrubbing unless those with experience really think i should. Otherwise, I am just going to reseat the heatsink on the gpu and install the cpu stock cooler and fire her up.

@cz_the-day - thanks for outlining your process for me. your question is my question too. assuming the computer was off, freezing is the only possibility. though i can't image it getting that cold in my appartment. I do live in beijing, and the heating is centrally controlled. so it would turn on even in my absence, however it turns on a specified day, so if the temperature outside was way below freezing for many consecutive days before the heat turned on (for the winter), its conceivable that it could have dropped below freezing inside my appartment. If I were there, I would have used electric space heaters until the centralized heating turned on.

@noob2222 - thank for valuable info, really helped. would have used isopropyl, but can't find it anywere in beijing. was not easy to find the ethanol for that matter; the label is in chinese, and i can't read most of it. I'm only about 95% sure that it is in fact 95% ethanol.

@matzy - im still waiting to hear from corsair...

fyi, this is my first build and only workstation for my freelance work here in beijing. cross fingers for me. lots riding on this...
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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CRC QD Electronic Component Cleaner will clean to literally new condition, it will not hurt any computer components, and will remove all the residue and crud, from places nothing can get into to clean.

You can get a can of it from literally any Auto Part Store, I've used it myself for a water cooling leak cleanup, it was the only thing that could remove the crud from inside my PCI-E slot.

It is flammable, it's a spray can so use it outside the home in open air, it dries almost instantly.

If any residue at all is still there it needs to be removed it is caustic, usually the first leaking goes straight to your PCI-E graphics slot and contaminates the little contact fingers inside the slot.

I'm not sure what Corsair uses inside their H60 as coolant, but if it has any anti-freeze properties like Ethylene Glycol you have got to completely get rid of the residue and CRC QD Electronic Component Cleaner will do it.
 
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caesparktom

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thank you, it will take some doing to find that product in china. probably have to find online seller to ship internationally. any other electronic component cleaners that you recommned so i can broaden my search terms. also, would you also recommend that i not start computer untill all residue is removed. really need to get system up and running asap for work. of course, if risk of damage too great, I will wait. However, if corrosion is my main concern at this point, seems like i might be ok to use it for a couple weeks (assuming i am reasonably sure that residue will not short anything on startup) then when crc cleaner arrives, give another thorough cleaning. what do you think? I understand that i am weighing risks here. need help deciding what is reasonable.
 
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caesparktom

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ethylene glycol is anti-freeze?! there goes my only theory as to how the h60 could have exploded while the computer was off for months in a "locked room"...
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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:eek: China?, I guess that will be a problem acquiring the product, it's the composition of CRC QD ECC that makes it parts friendly to electronic components, it's a harsh cleaner to the residue but not the board composition or plastics.

If it must be run just make sure there is no corrosion left on any of the PCI-E card slot contacts and just try it and see what happens.

That's pretty much all you can do, until you can acquire a cleaner on the level of CRC QD.

I do not know what the Chinese equivalent is but you may be able to do a product comparison, I'm sure China has something on the equivalent level?

You've experienced a very unusual situation have you contacted Corsair support and made them aware of what has happened?

I'm curious as to what they would tell you?

And also curious as to how it happened in the first place?

That computer or the Corsair cooler has not been flown at high altitudes by any chance has it?
 
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caesparktom

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same stuff, right? --> http://www.360buy.com/product/1005367341.html
 
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