Last week we covered Igor’s Lab materials scienceinvestigationsinto sixAIO liquid coolerradiators. Igor has followed up by dissectingfour more models. Interestingly, this time he found one radiator featured such heavy use of lead that he comments, “Sales in the EU should be stopped immediately.” Wallossek reached out to German tech retailer Caseking about the problematically toxic and RoHS-violating Barrow Dabel 28b Slim 120mm, and it hasremovedall Dabel series products from sale until its own investigations are completed.
The four new radiators tested by Igor’s Lab include the aforementioned Barrow Dabel 28b Slim 120mm, theCorsair Hydro X-SeriesXR 5 120mm, theThermaltake PacificSR-Series 360, and the Kafuty Aluminum radiator 120mm. Igor put the radiator component materials through his exhaustive testing regime, checking the radiator chambers, inserts, channels, cooling fins, solder, and screws for composition. He also provides comments on the cooling liquids and product workmanship.Of the new radiators tested, only the Corsair passed with flying colors. We have reviewed manyCorsair AIOsand they have a name to live up to, so it isn’t that surprising they are among the best-rated here. The only potential cause for concern highlighted was that some component materials (channels, chambers) weren’t listed in the official specs.Both the Thermaltake and Kafuty brands also fared quite well, though they both drew fire for having paint residue in the inlet channels. With these latest four radiators, Igor didn’t have such harsh criticism regarding brands claiming to use one material but instead using another (often cheaper) option.
Last but not least, the analysis of the headlining Barrow Dabel radiator is perhaps the most interesting. The Barrow’s spec sheet and the actual materials used seemed to be in line, but no mention was made regarding the solder material. Igor’s Lab tests revealed that the Dabel radiator solder was 70% lead, and it is used as both a solder and filler material. That is “far too much,” according to Igor, and would cause alarm at consumer safety and standard organizations like Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA).
After I found considerable amounts of prohibited lead in the radiator of the Barrow Dabel 28b Slim 120 mm, I naturally informed Caseking in advance Caseking immediately reacted in an exemplary manner by suspending the sale of the offending model.https://t.co/vQX2aWdJG3 pic.twitter.com/wSkz6zVwhmMarch 12, 2024
Happily, distributor Caseking has swiftly withdrawn all its Barrow Dabel radiator products from sale. It will beaccepting customer returns"regardless of the date of purchase and the purchase price." Caseking also said it would be liaising closely with Barrow about the issue. This is one more reason that it is wise to use ‘local’ retailers rather than global outlets like Aliexpress.
Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom’s Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
