When mixing copper and aluminum, ¿Which one is the most affected?

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MegaAgente17

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May 5, 2015
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So i accidentally mixed a Nickel Plated Copper Phanteks Glacier CPU block with some Aluminum radiators (i thought the CPU block was aluminum), and while my Alphacool Nexxxos Full Copper Rads arrive im using the aluminum one by the moment.

How long does it takes to corrosion to take effect? And which one is the affected one when mixing copper and aluminum? Thanks!!!
 
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You're talking about galvanic corrosion. The speed at which it happens is directly affected by the conductivity of the system and the voltage difference between your anode (aluminum) and your cathode (copper).

The less noble anode material, in your case aluminum, is what's going to dissolve into the water.

Can't say how fast it's going to happen, but if you're only using the system for a matter of weeks, it's probably fine, but still not the best idea. Any longer than that, I would look into getting a sacrificial anode to throw into the loop. The purpose of a sacrificial anode is to add a metal with even more negative electrochemical potential than your anode, which will end up corroding instead.

EKWB has a good write-up on...
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tejayd

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Mar 11, 2018
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They both should be effected, I dont know what is more. How long it takes and how much damage it can do in a short time, I'm unsure of. Outside of pc cooling it would take a while to make a good amount of corrosion.
 
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bigpinkdragon286

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Oct 3, 2012
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You're talking about galvanic corrosion. The speed at which it happens is directly affected by the conductivity of the system and the voltage difference between your anode (aluminum) and your cathode (copper).

The less noble anode material, in your case aluminum, is what's going to dissolve into the water.

Can't say how fast it's going to happen, but if you're only using the system for a matter of weeks, it's probably fine, but still not the best idea. Any longer than that, I would look into getting a sacrificial anode to throw into the loop. The purpose of a sacrificial anode is to add a metal with even more negative electrochemical potential than your anode, which will end up corroding instead.

EKWB has a good write-up on the subject if you would like some further reading, and some photos of the sort of damage you can expect over time.
 
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drea.drechsler

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Oct 16, 2017
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This guy's youtube has some very good information that should help you out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nJPMDQTKmQ

 
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