Lessons in how not to ship a watercooled pc

kcmastrpc

kcmastrpc

[H]ard|Gawd
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I was pretty excited to get my first true water cooled PC. It turns out that UPS can be gorillas. Opened up the box and there was red coolant everywhere. Turns out this stuff stains. Trial by .. water? It turns out the reservoir wasn't secured to anything so naturally the fitting to the bottom radiator (where I'm sure all the extra coolant was sitting) came loose.

Clothes ruined -- check.
Everything in the box covered with this stuff -- check.
4 hours to take everything apart, spray down with alcohol and wipe up -- check
Electrocuting myself -- just kidding

I've managed to post the machine, everything seems OK.

Buyer has been very responsive and seems genuinely upset that this happened. He's offering to credit $100 or pay for return shipping. Does this seem fair?
 
Yes it seems fair. Can't fault the seller for UPS being rough with it although he should have drained it before sending it your way.
 
I can't even imagine why you would A) Ship a water-cooled PC with liquid in it and B) Ship any PC at all with parts unsecured.

Shipping services treat boxes like crap, especially big heavy ones: news at 11.

Snarky responses aside, shipping a heavy gaming PC takes some serious planning and packing to get it there without issues. This is expensive, and why I always try to sell locally and part out long before I would ever ship a full unit. I would personally try to clean everything and see if anything died before worrying about shipping it back, its only going to get more ruined that way. As long as the fluid is non-conductive you should be able to clean it up and let it dry for a while and get it going. You've put lots of effort into cleaning it already so I don't see why you would want to send it back unless it is physically damaged or failed parts, and even then I would just RMA (MSi boards are by serial #, etc).

Thats just my opinion, everyone else will probably say send it back.
 
If you are happy with its condition after the clean up, keep it. He has offered very fair compensation.
Shipping back risks further damage which you could be liable for.
 
Thanks for the responses. It was a mess, but I did get it cleaned up, the fittings back on, filled back up and played some Doom this morning. Everything seems alright.
 
Did anything break? Or did the coolant just come out because the box likely wasn't upright during the trip + loop wasn't sealed?
 
Serious question. Is this the kind of thing where you lay plastic inside the case and stuff it with packing peanuts/put some kind of spray shipping foam in the box?

I've kinda wondered how you're supposed to ship an assembled gaming PC, but never really inquired about it. I know "standard" PCs are just stuck in a box with foam around them ,but they dont' have heavy heatsinks on everything. And if Dell ships you a borked PC, its straightforward for them to just ship you another one. That's not really an option for Jim Bob selling his stuff online.
 
W. :banghead:

T. :eek:

F. :ROFLMAO:

I would definitely make the seller pay you for your multitude of patience, hours of labor cleaning everything up, and plus a little for the frustration & disappointment factors.

AND for me, that would mean ALOT more than a measly $100 :)
 
We all make goofs sometime or another, and he is willing to make it right. Don't see any need to judge the guy so harshly. Who here hasn't had a derp moment or 10? :D

OP - if it works fine, and you are happy with it (and the $100 compensation), I say keep it, and move on.
 
bonehead123 said:
W. :banghead:

T. :eek:

F. :ROFLMAO:

I would definitely make the seller pay you for your multitude of patience, hours of labor cleaning everything up, and plus a little for the frustration & disappointment factors.

AND for me, that would mean ALOT more than a measly $100 :)
Click to expand...

Disagree.

Soon as the buyer made the conscious effort to clean after receiving an offer, the labor time becomes his. I applaud the buyer for his patience, and if this wasn't his first water cooling rig I assume he would of probably taken the shipping credit back because of the risk/reward.
 
They make some spray electronic cleaners you can buy at places like Auto Parts store or Electronic stores. I would get one of those and spray the crap out of stuff and it will air dry clean usually.
 
ive shipped 3 or 4 water cooled pc with fluid still in the loop with no issues but make shure everything is mounted not just dangling like it sounds like the res was. I used static free bubble wrap and filled the case as much as possible to hold componmets in place then used foam around the outside of the case.
 
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