XSPC Kit Question

[MahoganySoapbox]

Back in March of this year I purchased an XSPC EX360 kit to make my transition from AIO or Tower Coolers to the full loops everyone loves. The decision to purchase a kit was made to simplify my installation and reduce and complications while having compatibility with future changes. Now that some time has past I feel it time to second guess my decisions, as I cannot leave things unchanged for too long.

My concern is in regard of the 750 BayRes/Pump combo that is included in this kit. I was casually told, while on a preemptive trip to MicroCenter to evaluate their selection, that the 750 Combo in the XSPC kits can fail within two years. The person who told me this claimed to have had a bad experience with a pump failure from a similar XSPC kit.

Is the 750 pump failure a real concern within 1 to 2 years?
How often should I change/flush my coolant when I am currently using XSPC EC6 UV?

 

[Tsumi]

Yes, the 750 pump is notoriously known for premature failures around here. Don't count on it lasting long.

I would use distilled water. I have never flushed my system except for doing system upgrades/maintenance, which happens at least once a year. Most will recommend changing it once or twice a year.

 

[AceGoober]

I've owned three XSPC 750 BayRes/Pump combos and two have failed; one was brand new out of the box as a replacement for the first one that failed. Both units failed due to the impeller coming loose. After that happened I stopped using XSPC and went all custom.

I flush my custom loop every 3 years.

 

[NickJames]

XSPC is garbage. Bought a single bay res/pump and it failed after a month, the replacement failed after 8.

 

[Agenesis]

I've had two 750 pumps failed on me and the last one almost took my old 1366 system with it. The pump failed and the water inside the waterblock got so hot that it softened the tubing and made it collapse. Thankfully it bsod due to the cpu overheating so I was made aware of it before it did any damage.

My recommendation is to buy a D5 with a rpm output that allows you to monitor any pump failure or better yet get the pwm version.

 

[MahoganySoapbox]

I assume that the reservoir configuration isn't as important as the pump with the excaption of unusual custom builds. I will make the move to a PWM D5 and probably stick to a BayRes to have more open space in my case. I am currently using, and very happy with, a windowless Bitfenix Shinobi XL.

 

[Tsumi]

There are a number of bay reservoirs designed to be integrated with pumps. I would recommend one compatible with the D5 pumps, and choose based on whichever looks more aesthetically pleasing to you. I would, however, avoid the Koolance RP-452 V2, as those are a pain to bleed.

 

[MrCaffeineX]

Perhaps it is serendipitous that I found this thread while researching before I take the plunge into custom water cooling.

A friend of mine gave me an XSPC kit that appears very similar to the one being discussed here, right down to the ill-fated 750 pump/reservoir that made him get rid of it in the first place. I'm looking at replacing the tubing that has been stained with some colorant that was in the loop when he owned it. My plan, after digging a bit deeper into this stuff, would be to use distilled water with no colorant and instead some colored tubing to match the build I'm considering setting this whole contraption up inside.

Now for the questions:

Should I go with a kill-coil like this one or is it better to use an additive to prevent algae growth?

Is it worth adding an anti-corrosive additive, since as far as I can tell, there will be mixed metals in the configuration, or will semi-annual system flushes be sufficient to prevent the breakdown of the materials?

My case has ample space for pretty much whichever pump/reservoir combo I end up getting, but am I better off getting a combo unit like this one or going with independent components like this and this?

The setup came with 3/8" barb fittings. I have plenty of tiny hose clamps from various other projects and aside from what will be on the CPU block, I don't think they will be visible inside the case anyway, but to be safe, should I just order a different kind of fitting or do you think these would be okay to continue using?

To help narrow things down, I am planning on just running the CPU on the loop for now, since I am completely satisfied with the factory cooling solution on the video card, and I don't mind having to scrap the pump/reservoir in the future if I do decide to hook the GPU or any other components into the loop.

 

[twelveparsex]

Perhaps it is serendipitous that I found this thread while researching before I take the plunge into custom water cooling.

A friend of mine gave me an XSPC kit that appears very similar to the one being discussed here, right down to the ill-fated 750 pump/reservoir that made him get rid of it in the first place. I'm looking at replacing the tubing that has been stained with some colorant that was in the loop when he owned it. My plan, after digging a bit deeper into this stuff, would be to use distilled water with no colorant and instead some colored tubing to match the build I'm considering setting this whole contraption up inside.

Now for the questions:

Should I go with a kill-coil like this one or is it better to use an additive to prevent algae growth?

Is it worth adding an anti-corrosive additive, since as far as I can tell, there will be mixed metals in the configuration, or will semi-annual system flushes be sufficient to prevent the breakdown of the materials?

You can flush your system every week and it will still corrode if you've got mixed metals. A kill coil will work just as well as an additive to prevent algae growth

 

[MrCaffeineX]

You can flush your system every week and it will still corrode if you've got mixed metals. A kill coil will work just as well as an additive to prevent algae growth

I wasn't sure if the corrosion was a result of the water itself, or of the impurities in it (like conductivity). Thank you for the information.

Is there a consensus for best anti-corrosion additive?

 

[Tsumi]

What kind of mixed metals are you talking about? If it's brass, copper, and/or nickel, they're close enough that you don't need to worry about corrosion. The only metals in watercooling where you need to worry about corrosion is copper and aluminum. Frankly, if you're using an aluminum watercooling part, it is likely a piece of junk that should be replaced with something better.

Best corrosion inhibitor is basically car antifreeze.

I use a killcoil because it doesn't need to be replaced each time I flush the system.