Cooling Never believe fluid that says "non conductive"

Okay, so I was just changing the fluid in my computer, no leak, no problems...or so I thought. All was fine and dandy until I turned it on, and then all hell broke loose. I heard a sizzling, saw smoke, and then a fire came from the bottom of one of my PCI slots.... Never saw a leak, but I was apparently wrong. Sorry. Just needed to vent. Kinda pissed right now.

 

Even "Non conductive fluids" still have some conductivity in them. This kind of thing is why i don't bother with water cooling.

 

Never had a problem before. It was a routine flusg

 

Non-conductive fluid is just that; however all reputable sources will tell you, in large letters on the bottle, that the fluid does become conductive over time...

TSB

 

That sucks, but I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing a lesson learned.

 

Ouch, that sucks man. What board was it? RMA it saying it just blew up on you?

Any fluid based on water will always be conductive to an extent. The H2O molecule is covalent and will establish temporary dipole charges throughout the volume of water. That just means that each H2O molecule will be slightly charged relative to the next one.

Some liquids can be totally non conductive, but the advantage of water is that it has an excellent specific heat capacity and is readily available. Some oils are non conductive.

 

Not sure about here, but a lot of forums really hate people suggesting that. People doingt hings like that just make real RMAs harder to get, and makes manufactures more suspicious of users

 

Please don't. Not only is this dishonest (and somewhat fraudulent), if you turned the tables and had a retailer perform in a like manner - you'd be furious and trying to get brothers in arms here on the forums!

As said, it also makes legitimate RMAs that little bit harder to get for the people who aren't at fault...

TSB

 

the fluid may very well be non conductive but the moment it enters the loop or even spills on to a surface it becomes contaminated, ergo conductive to some degree.

 

I don't plan on RMAing it. Its just the reason I needed to justify building a new computer to my parents.

It was an Asus lga 775 board with a core 2 duo. Nothing too spectacular.

Besides, Once I blew the fire out and the board stopped sizzling, it still worked, minus a PCI slot, so it'll do until the new board comes which will do until I buy a new computer

 

besides, after I blew out the fire and the sizzling stopped, it's working, just minus the PCI slot, so it didn't hurt me too bad. just ordered a cheapo mobo to hold me over until i pay off my car and can go all out.

 

It sounds like you've been just lucky enough to get away with it. I don't trust anything wet with electrical stuff, no matter what the label says. But that won't stop me from water cooling my rigs.

 

Exactly. My next computer will still be water cooled. I made a mistake and have no one to blame but myself. I just live and move on and don't make the same mistake twice.

 

It's worth being completely honest when asking for an RMA. When I fried my Foxconn Bloodrage (by shorting the 3v with the 5v), I just told them straight. The guy I spoke to basically called me an idiot and agreed to send me a replacement board.

Suffice to say the replacement doesn't work, but at least they gave it some effort!

 

Its the thought that counts

 

Alright, I was out of line there. I've literally just been jerked around with an honest RMA recently so i'm feeling a little rebellious.

 

I don't even bother with RMA's anymore. WAAAY too much of a hassle, and I'd end up paying for shipping, and then I'm stuck with waiting, and with the cost of computer equipment nowadays, it's almost cheaper and easier to hop on TigerDirect or Newegg and order replacements.

 

Regardless of what fluids tell me... I do not believe them. Only solids tell the truth.

 

Um....not quite what my computer did. It was just a few sparks and a little flame. Lol. Also, the funny thing is i'm a firefighter/emt. My fire department had a field day with this issue I had.

This whole experience has been a blessing in disguise.