Official EK statement - Nickel Plating Issues

[shazza]

Just a word of caution ... I'd like to thank Kayin for doing his testing, and hope we'll see others do some work as well.

BUT, let's not jump to conclusions about what the results of any particular tests mean with respect to the overall quality of materials used, or the plating process.

[Interitus]

Just to add to the time reference...

I finally said screw it and opened up my block. It's definitely got issues just from looking at it. Especially in the pin area, you can clearly see areas where the copper is showing through the plating. Outside of the pins there's quite a few places where there are strange faded swirls in the plating as well. The area where the O-ring is seated is pretty bad too.

Anyways, this is just for a time-frame reference, I bought my block November 21st 2010.

[Erklat]

That part of the world is known for doing shady stuff and there's no way to know for sure if Edvard knew or not..

Ease down with the stupid comments or I will dedicate my immediate future to pursuing the goal of getting you banned for some time based on the breaking of counts 1,2,9,12 of the forum guidelines. Make your pick.

true that,

is there a way to check what batch each block belong?

Not on the block itself. Maybe there is some numbers on the original packaging from which you might make it out?

[.::NeO::.]

Just to add to the time reference...

I finally said screw it and opened up my block. It's definitely got issues just from looking at it. Especially in the pin area, you can clearly see areas where the copper is showing through the plating. Outside of the pins there's quite a few places where there are strange faded swirls in the plating as well. The area where the O-ring is seated is pretty bad too.

Anyways, this is just for a time-frame reference, I bought my block November 21st 2010.

damn... feel sorry for you dude

just a question: did you notice some nickel floating in your reservoir?

i mean, Kayin here

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=271913

is saying that he got some nickel in his loop... So i was just wondering if the reservoir is clear and the water is clear, does it mean that the blocks are safe?

[RoadconeTuning]

on a positive note... my nickle plated EK block on my 5850 still looks fine and its had F1 Acid Green in it for a year or more now..

[Aedubber]

So 1 statement ,18 pages later , and still NO other response from Eddy ? There have been a few tests done , talked about , exposed , and still no Eddy around to even give a response? Now that's AWESOME customer service !

I think everyone is jumping the gun here a bit on Kayins testing , we cant look away now and assume the problem might be the copper now . Appreciate your tests man , but i still think something is going on with the plating process itself rather then saying the copper isnt 100% copper , i may be wrong but i dont wanna stray away from our initial thoughts .

[Interitus]

damn... feel sorry for you dude

just a question: did you notice some nickel floating in your reservoir?

i mean, Kayin here

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=271913

is saying that he got some nickel in his loop... So i was just wondering if the reservoir is clear and the water is clear, does it mean that the blocks are safe?

Mine's never been installed, so no. It's brand new, fresh out of the box. First time I've opened it.

I'd show some pics if my camera would play nice with the nickel reflections. It's too bright in here right now, maybe tonight I'll try to take some.

[.::NeO::.]

My loop is full EK (HF Nickel/Acetal + Full Cover Rampage 3 Extreme block Nickel/Acetal + EK 360 Rad + EK DCP 4.0 + EK Fittings and EK 250 advanced res.). Didn't tore my loop apart but i can tell that my reservoir looks clear, my tubing is clear, water is clear (i use Aquacomputer Double Protect Ultra Clear) and from the little red plexy of my MB block i can't see anything wrong with the nickel plating...

loop is 1 month old

[Sauron_Vie]

using my block since Feb with destilled water, DP-ultra protection and a shot of isopropylalkohol and the reservoir is clear since then.

[theseeker]

So 1 statement ,18 pages later , and still NO other response from Eddy ? There have been a few tests done , talked about , exposed , and still no Eddy around to even give a response? Now that's AWESOME customer service !

I think everyone is jumping the gun here a bit on Kayins testing , we cant look away now and assume the problem might be the copper now . Appreciate your tests man , but i still think something is going on with the plating process itself rather then saying the copper isnt 100% copper , i may be wrong but i dont wanna stray away from our initial thoughts .

You miss the point. The plating will not "stick" to the copper no matter the process if the copper is a mixed bag of metals.

[shazza]

OK - time for another request that people calm down. Also - don't fight with each other in this thread. You can disagree with someone's comment, but do it without attacking.

As for Eddy not responding to comments or questions ... as of now there are 439 posts in this thread alone. It's going to take some time to digest everything, and he is most likely doing additional work to sort things out.

[Doglips]

Maybe Eddy should make a comment that after 439 posts he's been reading this and looking into these issues? Something from Eddy would be good at this point.

[shazza]

OK - I've just deleted a couple more posts. If you can't be civil then take a break and don't post for a while.

What part of "don't fight with each other" is not clear?

[theseeker]

Shazza,

This topic has resulted in more deleted posts and deleted members than any that I can remember.

[coolmiester]

I think at this point all anyone wants is clarification from the man himself on issues such as what happens next in terms of their individual circumstances.

From what i have read, the general consensus throughout most forums is that the EK report isn’t worth the paper its written on yet it seems the only person not to “get it” is Eddy himself yet rather than take the damage limitation stance which for sure would have cost a few €€€’s in the short term but at least given some customer satisfaction, Eddy is taking a massive gamble on suggesting its user error which isn’t going down too well from what i am reading and i guarantee he will have lost a lot of customers for ever over this which could be his downfall long term and i wouldn’t imagine the vendors with EK stock on their shelves are too happy with his stance either.

I honestly think Eddy’s handling, or lack of this whole monumental debacle is what is annoying folk most and i don’t doubt for one second he’s not keeping up to speed with forum feedback but to say nothing isn’t doing him any favours at all.

Eddy, do what the Toyota president did back in February and at least come out and make a public apology which at this point in time may play an influential part to how your business transpires over the coming months.

[Petra]

BUT, let's not jump to conclusions about what the results of any particular tests mean with respect to the overall quality of materials used, or the plating process.

Agreed. Kayin's experiment brought up an interesting possibility... However, until proper testing is done (e.g. mass spectrometry), most of the conversation involving this alternate explanation/contributing factor is little more than speculation.

[dejanh]

I think at this point all anyone wants is clarification from the man himself on issues such as what happens next in terms of their individual circumstances.

From what i have read, the general consensus throughout most forums is that the EK report isn’t worth the paper its written on yet it seems the only person not to “get it” is Eddy himself yet rather than take the damage limitation stance which for sure would have cost a few €€€’s in the short term but at least given some customer satisfaction, Eddy is taking a massive gamble on suggesting its user error which isn’t going down too well from what i am reading and i guarantee he will have lost a lot of customers for ever over this which could be his downfall long term and i wouldn’t imagine the vendors with EK stock on their shelves are too happy with his stance either.

I honestly think Eddy’s handling, or lack of this whole monumental debacle is what is annoying folk most and i don’t doubt for one second he’s not keeping up to speed with forum feedback but to say nothing isn’t doing him any favours at all.

Eddy, do what the Toyota president did back in February and at least come out and make a public apology which at this point in time may play an influential part to how your business transpires over the coming months.

Eddy is aware of Kayin's findings and is looking into the possibility that he is being supplied sub-par copper (he replied to my email). With that said, if at the end of everything this does turn out to be the case of bad supply, what would everyone expect EK to do? If they do not resolve the bad supply problems any replacement you get may have the same problems as the originals. As before this is still a very tricky situation and one that requires careful handling. Personally I think it is being handled as best as it can be considering the circumstances.

[Cyndre]

The current advice I have received from EK is to use corrosion inhibitors containing ethylene glycol.
This is for an EK Supreme HF block Full Nickel.

I profess I am not great expert on water cooling but and enthusiast enjoying the hobby. I am currently sitting on the unopened block and to be fir cannot say I see any external problems.
I am also to understand opening the block invalidates the warranty.

What is frustrating is not knowing what to do. The community response is enough that I am not confident on using the block in my loop for fear the issue develops (a problem I can ill afford). I am also unhappy using Anti freeze in the loop due to its poisonous nature and having a young daughter in the house.

Has anyone got any advice for those of us holding relatively (4 months old) new blocks and unsure what to do with them?

For reference I already have bought and received 5ltrs of Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 and have a kill coil on order.

[NaeKuh]

Has anyone got any advice for those of us holding relatively (4 months old) new blocks and unsure what to do with them?

no because we dont know whose telling the truth, and who has complete information.

Its like this:

1. If its just the nickle process, then that is fixable... if u have a nickle block, a RMA to the new nickle would work.

2. If its bad copper, then no, that is not fixable, nor should you try to fix it.
If the copper has impurities, and has other galavinic metals inside it, then its just opening a new can of worms.

3. if people are taking a razor to the nickle and scratching it for attention, well, then it means this entire case was bs. (but too many people would need to take a razor to the nickle and scratch it).


Right now we dont know which side is correct, and which side has the most info.

Until you we get proof on who is correct, in all honestly, its just too dangrous to run a possible impure copper block.

To be honest, id rather go back on AIR until this whole situation is sorted if you must have EK.

[thegcpu]

The current advice I have received from EK is to use corrosion inhibitors containing ethylene glycol.
.

I have used ethylene glycol "HydrX" with two EK nickel blocs for 18 months with no issues.

[zalbard]

Eddy is aware of Kayin's findings and is looking into the possibility that he is being supplied sub-par copper (he replied to my email). With that said, if at the end of everything this does turn out to be the case of bad supply, what would everyone expect EK to do? If they do not resolve the bad supply problems any replacement you get may have the same problems as the originals. As before this is still a very tricky situation and one that requires careful handling. Personally I think it is being handled as best as it can be considering the circumstances.

I am glad that Eddy is looking into it. Thanks for letting us know.
I'd expect at least shipping the replacements to us to be free of charge. That's common courtesy.
Also, getting replacements and shipping to a nearby reseller instead of dealing with EK directly would be a great way to save time and money for both us and EK.

[stangracin3]

Also, getting replacements and shipping to a nearby reseller instead of dealing with EK directly would be a great way to save time and money for both us and EK.

it appears that is what he is planning

[Charles Wirth]

This thread is closed soon and rolled back to first post.

Thanks EK for acknowledging the problem as well as offering some resolve, the only suggestion I would have is to extend the RMA period to six months to a year and that should satisfy everyone.

A non issue now that EK offers an RMA to those who purchased that block.

NOTE: this is a water block, not a heart valve...