Nickel plating

Necrofire · Dec 6, 2007

Why are some heatsinks (namely Zalman) nickel-plated? Isn't copper a better heat exchanger than nickel?

I've also heard that silver and gold are better heat conductors than copper, but platinum sucks. Is this true?

Has anyone ever thought of a gallium-tin cooling system? I think it would be cool.

largon · Dec 6, 2007

Nickel plating is only for aestheticals, the material itself has very poor heat conductivity.
Silver is better heat conductor than copper, but gold is much worse. You're right about platinum, it's worse than nickel.

Necrofire · Dec 6, 2007

So why does Zalman insist on plating their top-end coolers with nickel?

intel igent · Dec 6, 2007

Necrofire said:
So why does Zalman insist on plating their top-end coolers with nickel?

like largon said for aesthetics (looks)

on the same note why does zalman mix copper/alu in their W/C products?

Necrofire · Dec 6, 2007

Well, aesthetics are stupid, I really don't care what the thing looks like, I just need performance.
Mixing copper and aluminum is also stupid, aluminum may be lighter and cheaper, but it doesn't transfer heat as well as copper.

And have any of you guys ever heard of someone modifying an air-cooled heatsink (probably a small one) to have a liquid flowing through it?

TUngsten · Dec 7, 2007

Nickel plating is a protective coating that is extremely resistant to corrosion and oxidation. It's much harder than copper and can serve as a very strong polished surface resistant to scratches. Copper is extremely soft, and readily oxidizes.

Typical thickness would be 0.002 inch and would have no noticable detriment on heat conductivity.

Copper is also extremely poor for machining, so I am generally skeptical about some of the "copper" heatsinks and machined elements I see, for example I can guarantee you that the VRM/ramsinks that I see on most videocards are not 100% copper but some other alloy.

Basard · Dec 7, 2007

I used to work with zinc plating. It's so thin that it probably has next to no effect on the heat dissipation. It looks pretty cool though, and probably helps keep corrosion down. I'm not sure how long it would take one of those pure copper cooler to turn green--it probably has something to do with how much you man-handle it and get you greasy fingers on the copper.

They probably use a copper/aluminum alloy because copper absorbs heat fast, but dissipates it slow, and aluminum absorbs it slow, but dissipates it fast. The allow combines the best of both worlds, I often wondered why they never made an alloy of the two 5 years ago.

Man you guys type fast.... I can't even be the cool guy with all the answers.

newtekie1 · Dec 7, 2007

TUngsten said:
Nickel plating is a protective coating that is extremely resistant to corrosion and oxidation. It's much harder than copper and can serve as a very strong polished surface resistant to scratches. Copper is extremely soft, and readily oxidizes.

Typical thickness would be 0.002 inch and would have no noticable detriment on heat conductivity.

Copper is also extremely poor for machining, so I am generally skeptical about some of the "copper" heatsinks and machined elements I see, for example I can guarantee you that the VRM/ramsinks that I see on most videocards are not 100% copper but some other alloy.

This.

Necrofire · Dec 7, 2007

Well, it is possible to machine copper. I'm thinking you are right though, can' you plate aluminum with copper? Electroplating?

Copper is soft, I have bent the hell out of my cpu heatsink. Speaking of oxidizing, does oxidation effect heat conductance? My stock AMD x2 6000+ cooler has a copper bottom that's been sitting there for a while and has darkened. Will a light sand paper and a polish fix it up enough?

EDIT: Wow, two replies in before this post, man do I take forever to post these things.

TUngsten · Dec 7, 2007

Oxidation is also thin, but I'd wager it has a much more severe impact on heat dissipation as it doesn't always develop evenly across a piece of metal.

The lightest sanding will remove light oxidation.

newtekie1 · Dec 7, 2007

The biggest problem with oxidation is on the fins of the heatsink. It really hinders the ability for air to remove heat from the heatsink. The small layer of nickel is a lot more conductive compared to oxidation.

The small layer of nickel has no real affect on performance, you can see this in the Zalman NCPS9700, which comes in both a nickle plated version and a copper version.

EnergyFX · Jan 23, 2008

I have aluminum radiators in my cooling loop. Plating is the most logical way to run a performance copper waterblock without the copper/aluminum corrosion issues.

I paid $25 to get my D-Tek Fuzion block Nickel Plated. I'll post pics in a few days in the Overclocking & Cooling section.

intel igent · Jan 23, 2008

EnergyFX said:
I have aluminum radiators in my cooling loop. Plating is the most logical way to run a performance copper waterblock without the copper/aluminum corrosion issues.

I paid $25 to get my D-Tek Fuzion block Nickel Plated. I'll post pics in a few days in the Overclocking & Cooling section.

dont bet your house on it. i would keep a close eye on that

alu/cu mix for L/C = 100% galvanic corrosion :cry:

now how bad/fast it will affect ur block is yet to be seen.

nickel plated blocks look SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

one thing i could suggest (from memory-not 100% shure) to you is to affix a small ground strap from your rad to your case (make shure clean contact) that should help to slow the corrosion down

:toast:

Namslas90 · Jan 23, 2008

Necrofire said:
...And have any of you guys ever heard of someone modifying an air-cooled heatsink (probably a small one) to have a liquid flowing through it?

TPU member Caveman 1990 did it;

Thread here;
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=27967

The case mod with the modded cooler here; http://www.techpowerup.com/gallery/details.php?id=682

EnergyFX · Jan 23, 2008

intel igent said:
dont bet your house on it. i would keep a close eye on that

alu/cu mix for L/C = 100% galvanic corrosion

now how bad/fast it will affect ur block is yet to be seen.

nickel plated blocks look SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

one thing i could suggest (from memory-not 100% shure) to you is to affix a small ground strap from your rad to your case (make shure clean contact) that should help to slow the corrosion down

Asthetics aside, all my research has indicated that introducing a non-copper barrier between the coolant and the copper surface inhibits the galvanic corrosion process. I've even discussed this with industrial plating companies.

Gold plating is how Koolance purportedly gets away with their aluminum radiators. All their waterblocks are gold plated copper.

I'm not calling you wrong, I just want to hear a bit more of your line of thought. I am by no means an expert in this.

intel igent · Jan 24, 2008

all i have to say is: GTX COPPER TOP.

why? think about it

FYI koolance is even starting to get away from mixed metals bcuz of the fear of corrosion, its too much for the average user to take all the proper precautions and perform regular maintenance on the cooling system to ensure that there is no/reduced corrosion.

AFAIK koolance/zalman are the ONLY manufacturer still currently mixing metals and that trend is changing.

eg : my loop no mixed metals 2yrs+ no service

a loop with mixed metals needs service (id say to be 100% safe) every 1-2 mths :twitch:

if you must mix metals PLEASE TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS :respect:

Silverel · Jan 24, 2008

Gallium based liquid metals are extremely corrosive to most things you would find as a cooling solution. It's not horribly reactive and explosive, but likes to eat right through aluminum and copper. Glass can hold it indefinitely, but isn't a great conductor of heat... I've thought of using some kind of Gallium for a long time, but aside from using stainless steel, and changing your block every couple weeks, probably not gonna happen.

MrW · Jan 24, 2008

Nickel is VERY resistive to corosion and oxidization. It's what makes stainless-steel stainless.

Lazzer408 · Jan 24, 2008

MrW said:
Nickel is VERY resistive to corosion and oxidization. It's what makes stainless-steel stainless.

What? Stainless has chromium in it which 'rusts' (oxidizes) instantly when exposed to oxygen. The oxidation layer itself is what protects the metal from 'rusting' any further. Same goes for aluminium and titanium ect. Put some mercury on aluminium to eat off that protective layer and watch the fun.

MrW · Jan 24, 2008

Lazzer408 said:
What? Stainless has chromium in it which 'rusts' (oxidizes) instantly when exposed to oxygen. The oxidation layer itself is what protects the metal from 'rusting' any further. Same goes for aluminium and titanium ect. Put some mercury on aluminium to eat off that protective layer and watch the fun.

Correct. Chromium inhibits the oxidizing process altogether. Nickel helps reduce stress-corrosion cracking since it reduces the brittleness of the steel. This makes the surface less able to hold debris and oxidizing substances. "Stains" include, but are not exclusive to rust.

EnergyFX · Jan 24, 2008

So... question:

How much of a corrosion issue do I have if there is no exposed copper (all copper is either gold or nickel plated) in my WC setup that has a significant amount of exposed aluminum?

Or is this something that is a bit of a mystery... in which case I will be the TPU test rat.

TUngsten · Jan 24, 2008

what parts are aluminum? just the radiator components? or do you have an aluminum block?

EnergyFX · Jan 24, 2008

TUngsten said:
what parts are aluminum? just the radiator components? or do you have an aluminum block?

4 aluminum radiators and 4 aluminum HDD coolers. Numerous anodized aluminum splitters.

Laurijan · Jan 24, 2008

Necrofire said:
Well, aesthetics are stupid, I really don't care what the thing looks like, I just need performance.
Mixing copper and aluminum is also stupid, aluminum may be lighter and cheaper, but it doesn't transfer heat as well as copper.

And have any of you guys ever heard of someone modifying an air-cooled heatsink (probably a small one) to have a liquid flowing through it?

I read that copper tranferes heat better to the cooler and that aluminium dispatches heat better to the air with the help of a fan - when you heat up aluminium it cools down much faster then copper would do - so thats why they produce aluminium-cooper heatsinks i concluded..

anonymous098 · Jan 24, 2008

Necrofire said:
Well, it is possible to machine copper. I'm thinking you are right though, can' you plate aluminum with copper? Electroplating?

Copper is soft, I have bent the hell out of my cpu heatsink. Speaking of oxidizing, does oxidation effect heat conductance? My stock AMD x2 6000+ cooler has a copper bottom that's been sitting there for a while and has darkened. Will a light sand paper and a polish fix it up enough?

EDIT: Wow, two replies in before this post, man do I take forever to post these things.

Plating aluminum with copper or vise versa for that matter is a really bad idea. As far as corrosion issues are concerned, the galvanic series is the best way to determine what metals are compatible with each other. If you google glavanic series you should be able to find a chart. Basically, the more space there is between metals on the chart, the more you want to avoid putting them together, and copper and aluminum are about as far apart as you can get. If you put them together without insulating or protecting them (with a passive metal like nickel) and then introduce any sort of slightly electrolytic environment, your basically creating a metal battery. One will act like an anode, the other a cathode and they will eat each other up.

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Nickel plating

Necrofire

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