Exos Owners Beware

In life, there sometimes exists some amazing little coincidences that can truely boggle the mind. Like when a got a new (and much better) job offer the same day I hear a rumor I am about to be let go OR like how my cars (VW) check engine light went on just 2 MILES after the 40,000 mile mark...necessitating the 40,000 mile maintenence (not covered by warranty)...and finally this. Over the last few days I had noticed that my EXOS was making some funny noises after I cleaned the water. I assumed that after 2 years of normal operation, it was simply working out the air pockets like the so many times before. However....every time I capped off the system.....the water level would return to a pretty low level. Now I have the original system where the fill cap is on the bottom....so again...i just thought there was a lot of air. Finally yesterday morning I awake happy I do not have to go to work...I fire up the system and the gurgling sounds are louder than ever....this of course will have to be investigated. So i detach the hoses from the back face plate (they always leak a few drops anyway) and take the cooler downstairs....upon opening the chassis of the EXOS I GASPED IN HORROR....on of the barbs connected to the resevoir had been broken clean off and was hanging by a small amount of warped plastic. So I did what any one would do....TRY TO SALVAGE THE $200 cooler. Off to the nearest hardware store for some industrial strength epoxy. I set it....and let it dry for 20 hours and this morning I awoke with glee as I reattached all of the hoses...leak tested for 8 hours and reinstalled into my system. It was a great feeling, new distilled water and water wetter mixture....cleaned up some cableing in my system. All was going just fine until I went back to the HW store for a toilet plunger (dont ask!)...when I returned...system was off....water was everywhere....barb and hose were clean detached. Now...this seems a bit strange to me...but it gets wierder.....I like the exos.....i like its x-ferability to different systems and I like ease of use.....so I go to order a replacement only to find that within the last week.....koolance has released A NEWER REVISION!!!! I caved in and ordered the new EXOS-2 and I will let you all know how it works out! Until then....be careful with your W/C systems.

(No hardware was damaged in this ordeal...though my 2.4c @ 3.7 is just not gonna happen with stock cooler!)

M

Sorry to hear of your misfortune

Koolance always rags on everyone about putting stuff in their system besides what they sell. You are the second person I have heard who has had hardware breakdown that might be associated with certain chemical compounds. Although I find this interesting as the Colder quick disconnects are made out of stuff that should last a 100 years doing what we do with it. Where exactly on the system did it break?

Check out this thread on the Koolance EXOS II

It broke where the barb meets the resevoir (inside the exos). It was one of the hoses attached to the radiator. What makes me kind if upset is that they had plenty of space to add an absorbant mat at the bottom of the unit....but they didn't add it...not even as a failsafe. Its in the trash now.....and I really did get some good usage out of it.

Get it out of the trash!!! I want it!!!

It broke where the barb meets the resevoir (inside the exos). It was one of the hoses attached to the radiator. What makes me kind if upset is that they had plenty of space to add an absorbant mat at the bottom of the unit....but they didn't add it...not even as a failsafe.

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If that's the case (no pun intended) I would be screaming bloddy murder to Koolance and demanding a warranty replacement. The only way that could have happened is if it was stressed or a hair line crack was made when they crimped on the hose clamps. You should see what they did to my EXOS radiator when they crimped on the tubing. They crushed the metal nipple about 33%. All Koolance said was that was within normal tolerance and they couldn't do anything about it so long as it cools properly. I had to unbend it myself

Top Nurse said:

If that's the case (no pun intended) I would be screaming bloddy murder to Koolance and demanding a warranty replacement. The only way that could have happened is if it was stressed or a hair line crack was made when they crimped on the hose clamps. You should see what they did to my EXOS radiator when they crimped on the tubing. They crushed the metal nipple about 33%. All Koolance said was that was within normal tolerance and they couldn't do anything about it so long as it cools properly. I had to unbend it myself

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it was crimped shut 33% of the way and they said that was "normal tolerance"? Were they at least laughing when they said that?? LOL - can you imagine san ace or panaflo sending you a fan with a third of the blades missing and saying "yep - that is normal tolerance -- you won't miss the airflow - as long as it blows some air, you are good to go"??

about the warranty, does koolance even offer a warranty on their products after over 2 years of use? Great idea about putting a little absorbant mat in the bottom of the unit though...I think Koolance should get a deal with maxi pads or something lol. But seriously, if they could find a way to put some absorbant pads in the bottom and some kind of moisture sensor to tell you that you may have a small leak could be a good feature. For all you know you may have had a small leak for a while now which was just exacerbated when you cleaned out the system.

I doubt the warranty lasts longer than 1 year. BUT, it depends on what caused the problem. If this problem started its life as an improper installation of a hose clamp then I would be all over it as the problem was created and became a problem while it was under warranty. Legal BS, but I have often found that the squeaky gear ALLWAYS gets the grease!

I had something similar happen to my original Koolance system when I started using water wetter. The plastic reservoir disintegrated - as in pieces of plastic falling away from it!

I know exactly what the problem was, Water Wetter. The stuff is good, but it simply was not ment for water cooling. It wares away plastic. And it just happend to you, after time, plastic was worn down so much, it just broke.

Dont use water wetter!!

I guess that doesn't say much for the plastics they use in their reservoir/pump assembly. People use water wetting agents all day in a plastic/aluminum car radiator with no ill effects.

Top Nurse said:

I guess that doesn't say much for the plastics they use in their reservoir/pump assembly. People use water wetting agents all day in a plastic/aluminum car radiator with no ill effects.

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C-Systems says specifically not to use water wetter with their pumps because it is damaging in some way. Using water wetter in your loop voids your c-systems warranty...so there must be something wrong with it.

This really sucks. I cannot believe that this is the first I am hearing of WW problems. I will be absolutely sure not to use it with my EXOS II (which shipped today). So I guess what happened is that the WW weakened the plastic and the pressure from the hose curvature+clamp cracked the barb. What a shame.

M

Mysogonist said:

This really sucks. I cannot believe that this is the first I am hearing of WW problems. I will be absolutely sure not to use it with my EXOS II (which shipped today). So I guess what happened is that the WW weakened the plastic and the pressure from the hose curvature+clamp cracked the barb. What a shame.

M

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Yeah...I've heard of people hurting Bay-Res reservoirs with water wetter, so kind of doesn't shock me that it hurt your Koolance.

That...and maybe I'm crazy, but IMO Water-Wetter reeks. If someone invented a smell for "old fungus laden sweatsock" for a scratch and sniff sticker, that's IMO what water-wetter smells like, artificial chemical trying to imitate a moldy sock smell.

Koolance does send that 600ml of stuff in a foil bag with an EXOS or case/watercooling kit setup, or you can always buy the coolant concetrate from Swiftech, and mix it with distilled water...I'm pretty sure that the junk in Koolance's foil bag is pretty much the same as the Swiftech stuff once it's mixed with water, only difference being the color of the dye...Koolance switched from green to blue, Swiftech is still anti-freeze green, I think both are UV reactive.