[maxSaleen]

Guys: just give this thread a chance and let me know what you think.

Every element is capable of absorbing/dissipating a certain amount of heat. Copper is clearly better at absorbing and dissipating heat. If all else were to be equal, Copper would clearly be a superior choice for heatsinks.

Aluminum has several advantages over copper, however. Aluminum is much stronger meaning that it can be machined at higher speeds, have tighter tolerances, and have thinner walls. Not to mention it is cheap. If aluminum is used throughout the system, lower costs can be achieved.

This is what got me thinking....

There was recently a thread on the forums about someone who had purchased a heater core that they thought was made of copper. It turns out it was made of brass. The individual was concerned about the effect such an inferior conducter would have on performance. Several members (most of which were "pros") commented that the walls were so thin that the effect would be minimal.

Interesting....

Everybody has sworn high and low that copper is the best material for radiators (for our uses) yet most automotive rads are made of aluminum for cost and durability reasons. I think Marci could probably give us an idea of how much easier it would be to work with Al instead of Cu when such thin walls are used. Think of Koolance systems. Does anyone seriously believe that their radiators are the limiting factor? Heck no. In fact they are fairly nice single pass rads on their own (they used to sell one with 3/8"id compression fittings for about $32, I really wish I had bought one).

Getting to my point....

Maybe we are looking at Al blocks the wrong way. I, personally, don't feel that anyone has ever properly capitalized on the strenghts of Al. Think about it this way: Al has a specific heat that is roughly 2.5 times that of Cu. If one were to make a block out of Cu, and then, with a similar design, create one out of Al with 2.5 times the surface area. Which do you think would perform better? I think the two would be very close assuming flow rate remains constant.

An interesting experiment...

I don't have the time to machine my own blocks. I wish I did but I don't. Hell I hardly have time for the article I'm writing for VH (month overdue). All I have time for is spitballing ideas at you guys. For those who can make blocks I suggest this: Make three jet impignations blocks. The first two being of identical design (very thin base for our puproses ~1mm) one being Al the other being Cu. Then make a third block with the base being as thin as possible (less than 1mm if possible, good luck).Test the three blocks. I would bet that the first and the third would be within 1C of each other.

And what would this prove?

That we should all move to Al jet impignation blocks because some wacko on the proforums with a strange name derived from a car said so? ..... Inhale .... No. Of course not. I'm just suggesting that it might be worth while to investigate the strengths of aluminum and how they can be used in water block design such as thinner walls, more numerous and thinner pins, and possibly different flow patterns (I'm still pushing for 45 degree inlets and outlets). Let's hear what the rest of you have to say.