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what's inside a heatpipe

G

graysky

Senior member
Anyone know what material is inside a typical heat pipe on a HS? I found a wikipedia article suggesting alcohol or ammonia. I know that all sealed systems eventually leak; I wonder what the predicted life span is of a "premium" HS like my Ultra-120 Extreme... and at the end of life, what will come out to drip all over my hardware 🙂
 
The rate at which the fluid inside the pipe will leak out would be so slow it would evaporate before it had a chance to pool or damage your electronics.
 
Probably true, I was thinking of a high boiling liquid, but from what I've read, they are pretty low ones (and flammable too)!

Here's a link with some great info.
 
I think Arctic Cooling claims that their Freezer pipes have some kind of sintered metal - probably would never leak. Most others have some type of liquid.

.bh.
 
Water isn't particularly useful as a coolant except in forced flow systems (pump). You need something for a heatpipe that changes volume adequately to pump itself. I have no idea how the sintered metal would work.

.bh.
 
I actually emailed Arctic Cooling about what was in their heatpipes (I had to slightly bend one of them to get it to fit in my case with the 120mm side fan)...they replied that it was just water, nothing dangerous like mercury.

I think the other makers probably do the same and just use water inside the pipes.

Oh and here's the email just for kicks:

Dear Sir

The heatpipes only contain water! You can try to bend the pipes, although we do not recommend this as this may cause the pipes to leak and thus stop working properly

arctic team
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Water isn't particularly useful as a coolant except in forced flow systems (pump). You need something for a heatpipe that changes volume adequately to pump itself. I have no idea how the sintered metal would work.

.bh.
Click to expand...
The sintered metal is the wick, which allows the heat pipe to work in any orientation. Water can definitely be used in a heat pipe.
 
as far as i understand it, heatpipes work by storing a liquid inside a tube with a relative vacuum inside. because of the low atmospheric pressure, the liquid boils at a lower temp and re-condenses at the cooler end of the pipe thereby transferring heat. the sintering is just microgrooves running the length of the tube that create capillary action.

water is generally preferred for its non-toxic and heat transfer properties. as long as it is de-ionized water there is little chance of short circuit.

you can read more at wiki.
 
just to twist this thread a bit...

has anyone seen the performance of a heatpipe hsf decloine over time, or after being swaped around a bunch of times?

i seem to be having an issue with one of my ninjas... it has just stopped cooling very well...

could the guts of the heatpipe degrade over time/use???
 
It's normally some mixture of water and ethyl alcohol, although the exact composition will vary wildly depending on the temperatures the heatpipe is designed to work at.
 
Originally posted by: Diogenes2
Water boils.
Changes to steam. ( vapor )
Condenses back to water when cooled.
Rinse, repeat ..
Click to expand...

If water is boiling on your cpu something is very wrong.
 
Originally posted by: Zolty
Originally posted by: Diogenes2
Water boils.
Changes to steam. ( vapor )
Condenses back to water when cooled.
Rinse, repeat ..
Click to expand...

If water is boiling on your cpu something is very wrong.
Click to expand...

I agree. Let's hope it stays inside those little tubes...
( where the pressure has been reduced to lower the boiling temperature.. 😉 )
 
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