Thermochill PA120.3 ruined, need advise for new rad.

[TAOTAO161]

hello all,

my PA120.3 is ruined and i search for new rad, the question is if their is a rad better then the pa120.3 ? i use 6 Yate Loon D12SM, all my rig is on the signature.

thanks ahead,

[ultimeus]

Better I don't think so , quite same yes : Feser rads are goods too.

[RealRedRaider]

First, how did you ruin your PA120.3?

IMHO, not a better built rad on the market, period.

PA rads sides aren't flimsy like the Feser rads...:eek:

[Xilikon]

First, how did you ruin your PA120.3?

IMHO, not a better built rad on the market, period.

PA rads sides aren't flimsy like the Feser rads...:eek:

Agreed, built like a tank :)

Explain in what sense the PA120.3 is ruined and we might give you some advice to fix it.

[hotdun]

Get 2 Swiftech MCR320's for the price.... See Martin's review comparing the MCR320 to the PA120.3....very close in performance.

[SoulsCollective]

Probably holed a pipe. It's quite easy to do, if you're using long screws and aren't paying attention.

[Xilikon]

Probably holed a pipe. It's quite easy to do, if you're using long screws and aren't paying attention.

It's a fixable thing. Just bring it to a car radiator repair shop and they will surely fix it for a small fee (or free if they are generous).

[TAOTAO161]

Probably holed a pipe. It's quite easy to do, if you're using long screws and aren't paying attention.


yes, i replace some wiring, and when i screw the fans again i forget that the screw are long, and "wallah" two holes.

no i stock with non working rig, so you say order another PA 120.3 ?
some one can give me advise for screws, that i can avoid this mistake again :(

[WaterFlex]

I would prefer Feser quad.

[RickCain]

Wouldn't it be easier to just get another TC rad as the spacing will be different with TFC or Swiftech?

[RealRedRaider]

I bought a Rivet Nut Gun and inserted Aluminum rivet nuts threaded to 6/32...:up:

Piece of cake to install...:up:

All props go to our very own Big_Daddy, for the idea...:up:

[Big_Daddy]

Yeah, and send me the old pa120.3, I'll give it a good home. No really. Well fed, and taken care of.

[Factotum]

yes, i replace some wiring, and when i screw the fans again i forget that the screw are long, and "wallah" two holes.

no i stock with non working rig, so you say order another PA 120.3 ?
some one can give me advise for screws, that i can avoid this mistake again :(hmmmmm
so get hole in my swiftech. Soldering iron and acid saved my radiator, now it work nice
heat radiator on the gas burner up to 200 degrees and then soldering hole with acid

[RealRedRaider]

Yeah, I recently parted with one of my PA120.3's that had some minor fin damage (soldered up and pressure tested by my main man GS), for a good price to a fellow XS Member that frequents the Liquid Cooling Forums...:eek:

It will be replaced this week, along with (2) additional PA120.3's...:D

[skinnee]

yes, i replace some wiring, and when i screw the fans again i forget that the screw are long, and "wallah" two holes.

no i stock with non working rig, so you say order another PA 120.3 ?
some one can give me advise for screws, that i can avoid this mistake again :(

For 120mm X 25mm Fans, use 1.25" (31.75mm) screws, perfect length. You bend the shell before you get the screw close to puncturing the rad tubes.

[pika198]

get a feser quad radiator or feser tri radiator or wait for the new feser tri raidiator with 140mm fans

[rally9x]

I just used JBweld or something like that after I did the same thing when I first got my 120.3. I may have blocked off one pipe but I don't think I did. One of my screws had an imperfection on it so that it had an extra piece of metal on the end which punctured it. Thermochill has the correct size screws on their website in the FAQ (it shows up as a choice if you google Thermochill I believe). Its a bit tougher if you have fans that don't let you screw in from the middle (like Yate Loons). To make sure I didn't hurt anything I ended up dremeling out the extra plastic on my Yate Loons so that I could do it easier (but had to be careful not to take too much plastic away to let the screws go to deep).

My other problem is the first time I did leak testing in a bucket of water and the radiator got fairly deep in water and has some corrosion on the fins I can't fix.

[skinnee]

Good point...I should clarify. 1.25" (31.75mm) screws for 25mm closed corner fans.

[KaptCrunch]

hello all,

my PA120.3 is ruined and i search for new rad, the question is if their is a rad better then the pa120.3 ? i use 6 Yate Loon D12SM, all my rig is on the signature.

thanks ahead,


here a pic how to mount rads

[Herc130]

I'd just get a depth gauge and measure how deep I need. Then get a machine screw that is slightly longer then what I measured and add whatever thickness I need to keep it a comfortable distance from fins by using a washer and if you can't find the correct thickness from a single washer, use more. I would not go with a jamnut right where the fan should contact the rad as that just makes another area that the air can travel through....besides going through the rad. Unless you also account for this by sealing it up.

If you don't want to get a depth gauge, get a wire and feed it through your fan, shroud or whatever else, till it's through the mounting hole of your rad and at a safe distance from the fins. Then measure the wire length with a ruler and order the correct screws and washers based on that.

[septim]

lots of good advices on how to mount a radiator to case and fan to radiator.

for the OP, probably a good idea to get another PA120.3 for the screw holes to align properly. or if no problems with screw holes, you may want to try another brand like 2 Swiftec MCR320s perhaps...

[Martinm210]

Contact thermochill.

There was a guy on here a few months back that literally blew the bottom end tank off the bottom of a PA120.1 and they replaced it for him. He wasn't even the original owner, and the rad look pretty abused, yet TC still stood behind their product and replaced it. You might be surprised and end up getting a free replacement out of it.

Screwholes are also fixable, I did that with an MCR320 a while back. Just need some flux and a soldering iron and you can permanently fix any pin holes pretty easily.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

I would prefer Feser quad.

just a quick question Waterflex, on what whim did you buy the parts in your sig? I see some pretty questionable decisions as far as parts go....

[evilsponge]

Wow that sucks its an expensive rad

-sponge

[Giannis86]

if everything fails and you decide to buy a new one, i would buy 2mcr320s as suggested above (IF the space allows it). Otherwise i would get a HWlabs GTX360. It should benefit more than other rads from using 6fans

[KaptCrunch]

Screw holes are also fixable, I did that with an MCR320 a while back. Just need some flux and a soldering iron and you can permanently fix any pin holes pretty easily.

Martin is correct, rad empty and dry about 15mins your done good as new:up:

clean damaged area with sand paper or scrape off paint with sharp knife to metal

heat damage area with iron (60-80watts) then use potable flux an solder hole closed

after soldered get out the paint while still warm ;)

[CyberDruid]

There's nothing better than a PA 120.3 IMO. I've tried every rad except the Feser rads.

I would use 6-32 all-thread rods or long machine screws with the head nipped off, a jam nut and some loctite threadlocker. Run the jam nut up about 1/8" up the All-thread rod and put a drop of threadlocker on the exposed thread and spin that into the rad hole (pre-tapped to 6-32) until just a bit of the thread comes through the tab. Snug up the jam nut and you are good to go. If the gap bothers you use a bead of silicon or some weatherstrip material or if you like puzzles :D put the the nut on from underneath using a needle nose pliers...fun. The gaskets supplied with the PA 120.3 seem to be trouble and often end up jamming a fan.

But I would see about fixing it first as Martin suggests.

[TAOTAO161]

thanks all, i order new one, because i prefer not demage the flow and the quality of the rad with soldering.
i see maybe in the future i repair the old one.

[KaptCrunch]

thanks all, i order new one, because i prefer not damage the flow and the quality of the rad with soldering.
i see maybe in the future i repair the old one.

nope just exterior blemish, need to really look to find it

note: pic is end view

[KaptCrunch]

if you like puzzles :D put the the nut on from underneath using a needle nose pliers...fun.

your handy CD make a wrench out of sheet metal, thin as the nut an a dab of solder to prevent from falling out of hex hole

sure would speed things up on the next build.....no need for glasses, bright lights..... just feel ;)