Alphacool eisbaer 240 dead pump ? Bought in june of 2018

nuht6

New member
Hello everybody, I hope I can get help please.
In june of 2018 I bought an Alphacool Eisbaer 240 on Amazon . On the box I just checked there is 3 years warranty written.

Everything was running fine since I started to use it and then two weeks ago I changed my cpu for a ryzen 3800xt, I also put new thermal paste. It was running fine at like 50° in idle, around 55 in game and like 63° after 1 hour of occt test. But tonight I noticed a very slow computer with almost nothing opened, I tried a game and I had 20 fps. I checked the cpu temp with hwmonitor and it told me 82°...

On hwmonitor I can see all fan rpm, I visually checked they are all moving. To be sure I switched the alimentation of all fans they are still moving.
After I tried again to start the computer and cpu temp was already 70° and went quickly to 80°.

What can we do ? Is my pump broken ? Is my cpu broken (He was running fine for two weeks). I really cant notice if the pump is fine or not visually and from sound. I have a recording of the pc at boot https://voca.ro/1nnvIMCS8mRT at 8s there is a strange noise, I think it's the pump.
I've always heard some strange noise from the pump sometimes like buble in it but it was working fine.
I attached two screenshoots, one is at start, all fan with rpm and already 57°, 5 minutes later it went to 70+. Second screenshoots is another one with switched power alimentation for fans you can see the high rpm one changed his name, they are still working and temp went high quickly also.

Thanks, I'm very lost but I need my computer for work ?.
 

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Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
Where did you connect the pump? Can you read out the rpm of the pump? Do you have a picture of your system? So we can see how you mount everything?
 

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
In the second picture from HWinfo the rpm of the pump is than only 1600rpm. That is not enough, it should be ~ 2600rpm like on the first screenshot on HWinfo. Seems the pump is running with too less rpm. Can you check your bios settings for it?
 

nuht6

New member
In the second picture from HWinfo the rpm of the pump is than only 1600rpm. That is not enough, it should be ~ 2600rpm like on the first screenshot on HWinfo. Seems the pump is running with too less rpm. Can you check your bios settings for it?
On the second picture the pump is auxfanin0 and not cpu fan like first picture, that was just before I switched where it was plugged into the cm. So the pump was always with fine rpm, always superior to 2600rpm.
 

nuht6

New member
Hey is the support very busy these days ? I still got no answer, sorry for being impatient but my computer is needed for my work ?.
 

DaveS

New member
Hey is the support very busy these days ? I still got no answer, sorry for being impatient but my computer is needed for my work ?.

Have you resolved this issue? I am having the same experience with the same product bought at nearly the same time.
 

DaveS

New member
Yes I did, here was their reply
" did you clean the system in the 2 years, since you are using it? When the pump runs then is the copper plate clogged. You can simply clean it with a soft tooth brush and distilled water "

I replied with what copper plate? Where is it documented what annual maintenance has to be done?
 

Thomas_S

... the nice marketing guy next door
Staff member
It is not documented. However, it is advisable to regularly (once a year) keep a watchful eye on the water cooling system and, if necessary, top up the coolant. If the cooling capacity decreases, the system must be flushed, cleaned and refilled. However, this is not unusual - water can tip over and contaminate the system - this applies to everything from swimming pools to washing machines. The copper plate refers to the plate of the cooler.
 

DaveS

New member
" water can tip over and contaminate the system "
What?
This is a sealed water cooling system. How does water tip over and contaminate anything? What is the water tipping over into? What part of the pump, lines and radiator are being contaminated by water?
 
Last edited:

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
I guess that's difficult to translate here. When water is in circulation and changes its pH value due to various influences, this is called "the water tips over" in German.
This can be caused by impurities in the system, it can happen when you fill the system and the smallest particles of dirt get into the circuit, etc.
Therefore, it is always important to check and control the water regularly and to replace it immediately if something is noticed. This is a basic rule in the water cooling sector. There are systems that run for 4-5 years without anything happening, but something can also become apparent after just 2 weeks. It can also be that the plasticiser from the hoses (all PVC hoses have plasticisers) flushes out and then forms flakes in the circuit or makes the water milky. This in turn can settle in various places in the circuit and clog the radiator nozzles, for example. There are many possibilities for what can happen to the water.
 

DaveS

New member
Hey thanks for the quick response and all. So you are saying that the radiator nozzles are clogged and I have to clean the system, which is a lot of work to uninstall and reinstall the cooling system. At this time I don't know how to flush the system and I have lost faith in your products. I bought, no invested, in alphacool products because of their quality. I chose the sealed system to avoid contamination, I spent over $50 just to import a litre of your companies coolant water to avoid this situation.
I am very unhappy with this situation and your products. I am just going to purchase a different companies cooling system and install that rather then sink more time and money into alphacool.
 

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
I think you see it a bit too complicated. As I said, every water cooling system from every manufacturer needs maintenance. It doesn't matter who you buy products from. It is a basic rule with water cooling systems that you always have to maintain them. Just like a car and any other machine with moving parts or fluids needs regular maintenance and cleaning.

All you have to do now and then is to drain the water, rinse everything with desitilled water (never tap water). You don't have to disassemble the system to do this. It is enough to drain the water, fill it with distilled water and let the circuit run for a while. Then you can drain the water again and refill the system with new coolant. I only do this if I see the first flakes or crumbs or anything else in the water that doesn't belong there. Sometimes after a year, sometimes after 2 or 3 years. But every few months you should just take a look in the expansion tank.

With all machines and vehicles, fluids have to be changed regularly, which always involves costs. This also applies to water cooling.
 

DaveS

New member
Ok so this is how it's supposed to go..
1) remove pump housing from mother board by loosening the 4 thumbscrews.
2) remove radiator and fans from case by removing 8 mounting screws
3) drain system by removing fill plug from pump housing, keeping radiator above pump housing allowing gravity to drain it.
4) fill system as shown in youtube video
5) reinstall radiator to case
6) clean cpu free of thermal paste, reapply new thermal paste to cpu
7) reinstall pump housing
8) run system
9 repeat steps 1 to 8 again.

is this what you are instructing me to do?
 

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
No, not that elaborate.

I don't know how your system is set up. But in a classic setup, you have a drain port built in through which you can drain the water.
If you don't have a drain port, but a system with hoses, I would simply detach the AGB so that it can be tilted. Then you just dump the water out. This will only work to a limited extent, because you have a vacuum in the system. So you have to open a connection somewhere so that air can get in and the water can drain off better.

Then you fill it with distilled water, let it run for a while and dump the water out again the same way and fill it with normal cooling water. That's it.

Of course, if you have waited so long that the coolers are already completely clogged, then you will indeed have to disassemble everything as you described. But it should never come to that.
 

DaveS

New member
This discussion is about the alphacool-eisbaer-240 product. It is a sealed system filled from the factory as a ready to go solution. It is pretty much marketed as a low/no maintenance product.
There is no drain port, only a refill port
I don't know what an AGB is, and the pump housing is directly attached to the cpu and AFAIK (As Far As I Know) cannot be detached from a copper plate on its CPU contact side. The only way to drain an alphacool-eisbaer-240 is to remove it from the computer, remove the fill plug and shake out the water while holding the radiator at a hhigher elevation than the pump housing.
Are you familiar with the alphacool-eisbaer-240?
 
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