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bobkoure · 03-18-2005, 08:39 AM

Because aluminum will corrode, even in the absence of an electrolytic loop. You could have the surfaces anodized (essentially boiled in acid and then in a filler substance - usually colored). There will be corrosion anywhere the anodizing didn't cover (or gets worn/scratched away from).

The zalman manual didn't specify anti-corrosion because, well, it was wrong (and the anodizing will probably keep things just fine in the short term). Do a search here (or over at the Silent PC review watercooling forum ) for reserator and corrosion - or simply post a question here like "reserator OK without corrosion inhibitor?". I think you might have to go to the silent forum for folks who have actually used 'em without corrosion inhibitors - and either were fine or suffered some consequences - go see if it's OK.

BTW, the warmer your coolant is the more effectively a passive radiator will be able to shed heat. All pumps add heat to the loop (friction, mostly) so you want to stay with as low powered a pump as you can (there's a good discussion in this thread about pumps, heat, and radiators).
Both of these factors mean that you are going to want waterblocks that are as efficient as possible (expressed as (c/w)/flow) to keep your CPUs as close to coolant temp as possible for the least amount of flow/pressure. Currently, that's the Swiftech 6000 series - and these are all copper (or maybe some brass sheet in the top).

You could also have a look at Airspirit's posts here. He's watercooling a number of PCs (don't remember if they were in a rack) with a single cooling system. He's gone the high-performance, high-noise route, but you may still find useful information...

03-18-2005, 08:39 AM	#5
bobkoure Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: USA - Boston area Posts: 798	Because aluminum will corrode, even in the absence of an electrolytic loop. You could have the surfaces anodized (essentially boiled in acid and then in a filler substance - usually colored). There will be corrosion anywhere the anodizing didn't cover (or gets worn/scratched away from). The zalman manual didn't specify anti-corrosion because, well, it was wrong (and the anodizing will probably keep things just fine in the short term). Do a search here (or over at the Silent PC review watercooling forum ) for reserator and corrosion - or simply post a question here like "reserator OK without corrosion inhibitor?". I think you might have to go to the silent forum for folks who have actually used 'em without corrosion inhibitors - and either were fine or suffered some consequences - go see if it's OK. BTW, the warmer your coolant is the more effectively a passive radiator will be able to shed heat. All pumps add heat to the loop (friction, mostly) so you want to stay with as low powered a pump as you can (there's a good discussion in this thread about pumps, heat, and radiators). Both of these factors mean that you are going to want waterblocks that are as efficient as possible (expressed as (c/w)/flow) to keep your CPUs as close to coolant temp as possible for the least amount of flow/pressure. Currently, that's the Swiftech 6000 series - and these are all copper (or maybe some brass sheet in the top). You could also have a look at Airspirit's posts here. He's watercooling a number of PCs (don't remember if they were in a rack) with a single cooling system. He's gone the high-performance, high-noise route, but you may still find useful information...