XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant

1. Introduction & Information2. MSDS - Chemicals & Safety3. Mixed in PETG Tubing4. Mixed in Acrylic Tubing5. Black6. Blood Red7. Blue UV8. Clear9. Clear UV10. Green UV11. White12. Summary13. View All

Introduction & Information

Today we have XSPC’s ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant to check out. This will be more of an information sharing exercise than an actual review as we have no real way of scientifically testing the product. We’ll do some basic pH testing but that’s about as far as we can go, so we’ll make up for it with heaps of photos with different tubing and lighting. We do have a system which is due for maintenance and a coolant change, so we’ll service that and refill with some ECX and at some point in the future publish an update on how it’s going in the system.

XSPC have again stepped up by providing “review” samples of the ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant. Extreme Rigs is grateful of XSPC’s ongoing support which enables us to publish the reviews and information for our readers to make informed purchase decisions.

Lets begin by examining the key points on the label.

On the front we find the following information and we have highlighted the key 3 points.

“XSPC ECX is a high performance concentrate coolant for PC water-cooling. Each 100ml bottle will make 1litre of coolant when mixed with purified water. ECX offers superb protection for copper, brass, steel, nickel, aluminium and has been tested with a range of acetal and acrylic plastics.”

The back of the label offers the following information:

ECX is a concentrate, so obviously the end user has to dilute prior to filling their system. 100ml is supplied in each bottle , so using the advised 1:9 mixing ration, 1 liter of “Performance Coolant” can be made from each bottle of concentrate.

Low Electrical Conductivity: In an ideal world this would be NON Electrically Conductive, but what can we expect when mixing with 9 parts water anyway. As always leak check thoroughly after filling before powering on you system.

High Thermal Conductivity:  This can only be a good thing as we want to transfer heat from various components to our radiators for heat dissipation.

Freezing Point – 6C:  More than adequate for passive (non chiller) systems at room temperatures.

Long Life Corrosion Inhibitors: Considered by many as an essential component of any good coolant to prevent mixed metal corrosion, aka Galvanic Corrosion. Galvanic corrosion occurs when two different metals are in contact in a corrosive environment and one of the metals experiences an accelerated corrosion rate. The different metals form a bimetallic couple because of their different affinities (or attraction) for electrons.Thankfully the vast majority PC water cooling manufacturers know about this and for the most part, our water cooling components are made with similar enough materials (Nickel, Brass, Copper and Stainless Steel) to be called compatible with each other. However, given some of the nickel plating issues we have seen in the past we feel the peace of mind that a corrosion inhibitor coolant offers is worth the admission fee over using “distilled & biocide” and hoping things go OK.

Effective Biological Inhibitors:  While some may consider corrosion inhibitors for PC water cooling optional these days, some form of biocide is essential to prevent algae and or other biological growth in the loop.

Non-Toxic and RoHS Compliant:  More info and our comments are on the next page: MSDS – Chemicals & Safety.

85% Bio-degradable in 30 Days:  We should always try to find the most environmentally friendly product which is suitable for the task at hand. ECX Concentrate is based on refined vegetable extracts and therefore gets our green tick of approval even if we’re not sure what happens to the remaining 15% after 30 days. Still, appropriate environmentally safe and approved disposal of used coolant is a responsibility that we must all take seriously.

2 Year Shelf-life: This is great BUT nowhere on the bottle or label is a manufacture date. For “2 year shelf life” to have any meaning and give buyers confidence they have bought “fresh” coolant, a date must surely be included on the packaging.

Overall we are impressed with the key points of the concentrate. Everything that we would want for a custom loop coolant is present, however we notice that a recommended service time is not provided. Some manufactures advise 12 months while others claim up to 3 years between fluid changes.
As a safe rule we would suggest a 12 monthly service interval, but feel XSPC should offer an expected working life for the their “Performance Coolant.”

Mixing ratio and the actual color of the coolant after diluting as per instructions.

We mixed a small batch of each ECX sample received at the specified ratio of 1:9 by adding 20ml of ECX Concentrate into 180ml of Distilled water.

A sample of each mixed color was then transferred into both XSPC 14mm OD clear PETG and 14mm Acrylic tubing and set up for side by side display. Additionally two types of soft tubing are utilized on each of the individual color pages.

You may think that some of the photos in the following pages look the same, and yes some certainly appear similar, however there are variations in placement of the lighting such as lighting at the front only, at the back only, front and back, additional overhead lighting and UV lighting.

Additionally, most light options were photographed with both light and dark back-grounds, which for some coolant colors makes a huge difference in it’s appearance.

The white LED lighting strips we used are G-Vans Sunlight Sticks which seem to be no longer available, likely due to a naming rights issue with Logisys. Unlike the Logisys Sunlight Stick which is enclosed in acrylic, the G-Vans version featured a low-profile Aluminum casing with 18 LED’s and even though diffused, produces a cool, bright white light.

The UV lighting photos for the most part are done with a Bitspower 30cm UV Cold Cathode Lamp, with the occasional use of UV LED “spotlights”. These were total darkness shoots with exposure times exceeding 15 seconds in most cases.

Next up we we’ll begin by taking a look at the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and see what we can determine about ECX Concentrate.

MSDS – Chemicals & Safety

Chemicals & Safety

The MSDS for XSPC’s ECX coolant concentrate covers the Red, Green, Blue and Clear “colors” in the ECX range, but we could not see any mention of Black, White, Orange or Purple.

All the MSDS documents we’ve ever had to read advise seemingly over the top safety precautions and the ECX MSDS is no different. We are not going to stand up and say that we follow all the safety precautions advised because we don’t, however reading the MSDS will make you more informed about the product you are going to use.

Having read the MSDS could save valuable time in case an accident does occur and at the very least the end user should be informed about correct storage and disposal.
ECX Concentrate is classified as and labeled as NON TOXIC.

However we believe that Cooling System Fluid of any type is toxic, no matter what classification it receives or labeling is on the container. The first aid advice contained in the MSDS seems to back up our belief.
If you are a parent of, or have young children visiting where you have excess/spare cooling fluid, please take precautions so that young children can not gain access to your storage location.

Page 1 of the MSDS deals with the safety side of things, while Page 2 covers everything else including safe disposal. Let’s begin by taking a look at Page 1 and we’ll highlight some of the key points we think we need to know about.

There are quite a few points which we want to point out and have highlight those we think are most important for users to have knowledge of. This is not the complete MSDS documentation which can be viewed in the spoilers or clicking the link at the start of this page.

2. COMPOSITION / INFORMATION
Hazardous Components for EC:  Propane-1,2-diol with corrosion inhibitors.

Let’s examine that for a moment. Propane-1,2-diol is also known as Propylene Glycol.  So while ECX is based on refined vegetable oil extracts as we highlighted in the next section it does contain a type of glycol. The important thing to note about this is the glycol type.  Ethylene Glycol & Propylene Glycol are both used in coolants to effectively lower the freezing point, alter the viscosity and increase thermal conductivity.

Ethylene Glycol is usually superior for each of those characteristics, but not required for a PC water-cooling system as apposed to a vehicle engine or home and industrial heating/cooling which most literature available on coolant types relates to.

Propylene Glycol we believe is the better option as an additive for PC water cooling fluid simply because it is less toxic and safer. We do not need the added performance that Ethylene glycol offers.

ECX is a “low oral toxicity proprietary antifreeze formulation based on refined vegetable extracts and non-toxic corrosion and scale inhibitors.”  This tells us that ECX is a much safer and more environmental responsible choice.

“Classified as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) as a food additive and not classified as harmful for handling or transport purposes.” “However we recommend good working practices are employed and personal protection gear is worn when handling any chemical.”

3. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION
Not classified as a hazard or environmental hazard under current legislation.

4. FIRST AID MEASURES

Health effects –
Eyes – Wash eyes promptly and rinse for 15 minutes. Get medical attention.
Skin – Remove affected person from source of contamination. Wash skin with soap or mild detergent.
Ingestion – Get medical attention. Rinse mouth thoroughly. DO NOT induce vomiting.
Inhalation – First Aid – Remove person to fresh air at once. Perform artificial respiration if breathing has stopped. Keep the affected person warm and at rest. Get medical attention.

6. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES

Environmental Precautions – Prevent the material from entering drains or water courses without pre-treatment.
Spillage’s – Clean with absorbent material and dispose.

7. HANDLING AND STORAGE

Handling – No special measures necessary.
Protect against fire and explosion. – Take precautionary measures against static discharge.
Storage Containers should be tightly sealed and dry.

8. EXPOSURE CONTROL/PERSONAL PROTECTION
Respiratory Protection – if there is a risk of exposure to high vapor concentrations.
Hand Protection – PVC gloves
Eye Protection – Chemical goggles or face shield must be worn.
Body protection – Wear overall or apron.

We will assume PPE mentioned above is for process workers who are exposed to the large volumes of the product on a daily basis, because there is no way that any end user, ourselves included are going to be donning this sort of protection for a coolant fill or fluid change during regular maintenance.

9. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Physical State – Liquid.
Colours  – Red, Green, Blue, Clear.
Odour – Almost odourless
pH at 500g/l, 20’C – Range between 7.5 – 9.5
Density (g/cm3) – 1.04 – 1.10 depending on inhibitors

10. STABILITY AND REACTIVITY
Stability – Stable under normal conditions.
Conditions to Avoid – Heat, flames sparks.
Materials to Avoid – Powerful oxidising agents

11. TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Acute Toxicity LD 50/oral/rat:>20000 mg/kg
Irritancy – Eyes This material is irritating to mucous membrane/eyes.
Irritancy – Skin This material is non-irritant (Draize test) to the skin.

12. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Mobility The product will dissolve rapidly in water.
Ecotoxicity – The product is rated as:
Algae EC50 (72h):>100mg/l.
Fish : LC50 (96h):.100mg/l, Oncorhynchus mykiss
Bacteria: >1000 mg/l Daphnids (acute) EC50 (48h):>100mg/l

13. DISPOSAL
Product Disposal Dump according to local regulations use EWC-no: 070104
“070104 – other organic solvents, washing liquids and mother liquors.”
Container Disposal – Containers should be cleaned by appropriate methods and then
re-used or disposed in same manner as contents.

15. REGULATORY INFORMATION
According to EEC directives – not subject to labeling

Footnote
“The above information is believed to be accurate.
The sole purpose of the datasheet is to provide guidance on the safe handling and use of the respective product. It does not form part of any product specification or contract. It is not practical for the information to
cover every conceivable application of the product.
It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the information for their own particular purpose.
In no event shall the company beheld liable for any injury, loss or damage resulting from its use.“

Having had an enjoyable read, now it’s time for some visual stimulation in the form of some photos and first up let’s see some of our small batch mix in some XSPC PETG tubing.

Mixed in PETG Tubing

XSPC 14mm OD PETG Tubing

Very little image editing was done on the photos in this review to give you the most realist view / perspective possible of the coolant colors. Variation in coolant color between photos is therefore due to differences in lighting and background.

ALL the photos with assorted colors in PETG or Acrylic tubes are ordered the same, left to right:
Black, White, Blood Red, Blue UV, Green UV, Clear UV, Clear.

First up a few white background shots:

Above: LED light in front is the only light source.

Only using LED lighting makes the backdrop look grey, but the coolant color is accurate.

Below: LEDs front and rear.

The UV green often appeared very washed out with a light background, while the other colors had good intensity or clarity.

Black backdrop and overhead lighting:
LEDs front and back.

CC UV Lighting at rear.

The intensity of the UV effect was dependent on placement of the light source:

It might appear in some photos that the White fluid (2nd from the left) has a UV reaction, but it does not.

CC UV Lighting at front:

To finish off, the CC UV is placed directly above:

Next we set up Acrylic tubes and see each color side by side again.

Acrylic tubing has much better clarity than PETG so we’ll get a better look at the mixed colors, and besides so many hard-liners (including ourselves) run Acrylic that we couldn’t leave it out.

Mixed in Acrylic Tubing

14mm OD Acrylic Tubing

Before we start a quick reminder – Variation in coolant color between photos is due to differences in lighting and backgrounds used.

ALL the photos with assorted colors in PETG or Acrylic tubes are order the same, left to right:
Black, White, Blood Red, Blue UV, Green UV, Clear UV, Clear.  Again we’ll start with white background photos.

LEDs at front and back is first up:

The fluids have nice colors with LED lighting, except the green which looks horribly washed out.

Next up is UV lighting with a white background:
No real UV effect can be seen here with the UV light at the front or back. The acrylic tube photo shoot was done first and because no UV effect was observed with the white background, I did not do this backdrop/lighting combination for the PETG tubes. It was only later that I realized that it was the acrylic tubes which seemed to cause less UV reaction than the PETG as you will see in the individual color pages for the UV active samples.

Perhaps the Green UV has a slight reaction, but you would be disappointed with this outcome if you did not know better before installing/filling:

Now to the Acrylic tubes with black background.

LED at the rear:
Green looks much better now with the black background.

LED at rear and overhead lighting:
White looks much better here.

LEDs at the front:
Clears are both super clear, and the rest look great. Deep dark black, crisp bright white and deep intense red and blue.
UV at the rear:

Green has the most UV reaction out of the three UV samples.

UV light in front:

The following photo is the exact same as the one above BUT light filters have been tweaked to show up the UV. This clearly shows that the white does not have a UV effect even though in some photos it may appear that it does.  Additionally we can clearly see that green has the most UV reaction, followed by Clear UV and Blue UV does not have much UV reaction at all compared to the other two samples.

Next – we’ll take a closer look at each color a little more closely.

First up is Black…

Black

Black

Is black even a color ?

Are Black & White Colors?

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.
With a black background we see (or not) just how black the mixed Black coolant is.

A white background more effectively shows the “blackness.”

The mixed Black ECX photo shoot was a short one, because using a black background seemed pointless and it is not a UV reactive coolant so only a few photos with white lights and a white background were taken.

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the Black sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube,
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Mayhems Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Primochill Adv. LRT soft tube.

LED lights only front and back:

The Ultra-Clear tube which has a blue tint in it does not appear to show a faithful black color as the other tube types do.

Pumping up the lights with extra overhead lighting the Mayhems tube again looks dark grey rather than black:

In the other 3 tube types and the reservoir, Black ECX looks very black indeed with no hint of bleed through or a brownish tint we have seen with another black coolant. This is really black!

Next Up: Blood Red

Blood Red

Blood Red

As with all the ECX colors, Blood Red is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant. The key points on the label we addressed on the Introduction and Information page, so no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the Blood Red ECX Concentrate was 8.3.
The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.
When mixed Blood Red is a very deep shade of red and with a black background it is hard to distinguish from the background.
With a white background we get an idea of the deepness of the red color, and in matching it to an X11 color  it is closest to Dark Red or Maroon when in a reservoir BUT Red as seen in tubing.

The darker shade becomes more obvious when put side by side with another brand of PC coolant:
In the bottles above, the color is similar to how it will look in a tube reservoir, but will appear a significantly lighter shade of red in any sort of thin tube – as seen below. We like the darker red which results in a great looking vibrant red fluid in the tubes.

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the Blood Red sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

First up is Overhead lighting with LEDs at the rear:
The next photo is similar, but it has an additional LED bar angled up so we can see how the fluid color changes with lighting directly behind it:
No photos were taken of the Blood Red in tubes with a black background because the color is not distinguishable as seen in the sample mix bottle above. No photos with UV lighting were taken because it is not a UV reactive fluid.

Next up is Blue UV.

Blue UV

Blue UV

As with all the ECX colors, Blue UV is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant. The key points on the label we addressed on the Introduction and Information page, so there is no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the Blue UV ECX Concentrate was 8.2

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.

With a white background we think the tint is a great looking Blue OR Medium Blue when comparing to the blues in the X11 color chart.

As with the Blood Red ECX, Blue UV is darker than other blue PC coolants, and for the same reason we think it is a good thing, as it will appear lighter in tubing:

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the Blue UV sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

First up LEDs at the front:

LEDs at the rear:
With white background and UV lighting the UV effect was minimal. Of interest is that the acrylic tube produced even less (virtually none) of a UV effect than the other tubes:

Even the additional 6 UV LEDs pointing at the tubes made no difference:

Now let’s look at the black background shots then with the LED bar placed at the front first up:

The Ultra-Clear soft tubing looks like crap in comparison to both the hard-line tubes, while the clear winner for clarity and color representation is the acrylic tube.

The next is possibly my favourite photo of the shoot, with both LED bars at the back:

Again we see that Acrylic wins on clarity when UV isn’t involved.

With a black background The UV effect is quite impressive. These photos were taken in a pitch black room, so the effect may be somewhat exaggerated when compared to how it might look in your room:
Again the acrylic tube shows less of the UV effect.

So far so good, next up is the Clear.

 

Clear

Clear

As with all the ECX colors, Clear is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant. The key points on the label we have addressed on the Introduction and Information page, so there is no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the Clear ECX Concentrate was 8.1.

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.

The black background gives a better indication of the coolant color/clarity than the white background. In either case the Clear coolant is very clear with no hint of yellow which we sometimes see in clear coolants:

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the Clear ECX sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

White background with LEDs front and back:

The acrylic tube shows off the clear coolant best because it has fantastic clarity itself.

With a black background, white lighting and clear fluid the haziness of Ultra-Clear soft tube becomes more obvious:

Clear is not UV reactive but it is very transparent.

Next up is Clear UV, will it be as transparent?

Clear UV

Clear UV

As with all the ECX colors, Clear UV is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant.  The key points on the label we addressed on the Introduction and Information page, so there is no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the Clear UV ECX Concentrate was 8.1.

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.
It certainly appears as though the Clear UV is just as clear as the regular Clear we looked at on the previous page.

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for each of the ECX samples:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

First up is LED lighting at the front and back:
Acrylic again is the clear winner for regular lighting.

The next pic adds additional overhead lighting with just LEDs at the front:

Using a white background and the UV lighting there is very minimal UV effect and again the acrylic tubing has next to no effect.  UV light at the front:
UV light at the back:

With a black background we see things with a bit more clarity. Speaking of clarity, this photo with LED lights at front and back gives us the best view yet at the difference in clarity of the tubes:

Next up is UV lighting with a black background:
The best UV effect is achieved with the UV light in front of the tubes as seen above.

Even with additional UV LEDs at the front, the effect with the UV Cold Cathode tube at the rear is still weaker than the UV alone in front.

Next up we put Green UV under the lights.

Green UV

Green UV

As with all the ECX colors, Green UV is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant.  The key points on the label we have addressed in the Introduction and Information page, so there is no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the Green UV ECX Concentrate was 8.1.

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.
We had very different outcomes in terms of the color appearance with Green UV depending on the background color and light source.  The black background makes the coolant look suitably green, but with the white background it looks much more of a fluorescent yellow:

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the Green UV sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

Here is a white background with 2 LED bars and overhead lighting:

It makes the green look very washed out and in our opinion, not the most attractive color option.

In the next shot Green UV appears different again when viewed from lower (level with the table) LED at the front and rear, but the rear LED is set lower than the “stage” the tubes are attached to.

Now let’s keep the white background but change to UV light:
We suspect that Green UV has more of the UV additive than the other UV color samples we have, and that UV effect is present with a white background lends some credit to our suspicion. Again the UV light in front of the tubing gets the better result:
Black backgrounds are where the UV effect is at it’s best though:

Again PETG seems to beat Acrylic for UV purposes, while dark backgrounds and minimal ambient lighting will also help the UV to maximize it’s potential.

Next up is our last “color”, White.

White

White

As with all the ECX colors, White is packaged in a 110ml capacity plastic bottle that is filled with 100ml of the Ultra Concentrate Coolant. The key points on the label we have addressed in the Introduction and Information page, so there is no need to go over it again here.

The MSDS advised that ECX Concentrate has a pH level between 7.5 – 9.5.
Using a Bluelab pH pen, the reading we got for the White ECX Concentrate was 8.2

The 100ml provided is enough to make up 1 liter of solution when mixed 1:9 as instructed on the labeling. For the review we made a small batch using 20ml of ECX Concentrate mixed into 180ml of distilled water.

White has a great contrast on a black background, not so much White on White.

Left to right the following tubes are set up to help show color and clarity for of the White sample:

1. Acrylic Res Tube
2. 14mm OD Clear PETG tubing
3. 14mm OD Clear Acrylic tube
4. 3/8 x 5/8 Ultra-Clear Soft tube
5. 1/2″ x 3/4″ Adv. LRT soft tube.

First up on the stage is White featuring both LED bars and a white background:
Now let’s add some overhead lighting:
Primochill’s tube always has a slightly yellow color and doesn’t seem to be quite as good a match as the Ultra Clear tube.

In the first black background shot both LED bars are in place along with overhead lighting:
The next shot has the overhead lighting turned off and the front LED was set back from the fittings:
ECX White does not have a UV effect as shown in the group shot of all the colors:

Our summary for XSPC’s ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant is up next.

Summary

Summary

First of all we hope you found our ECX “review” informative and have reached this point more informed about coolant in general than when you arrived. If you skimmed past the the first two pages without reading the text we urge you to have a read as we think we have provided some useful and important information about PC coolants that is not just specific to the ECX Concentrate that we have been focusing on.

XSPC’s ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant has all the right things we look for in a coolant for our custom loops: corrosion protection, biological growth protection, good color range and it uses a Propylene Glycol as the performance additive.

The available color options are excellent. Although we did not have samples of Orange UV or Purple UV we were impressed with all 7 of the samples we did have. Green UV under white lights was not very attractive, which was a trade off because it had the best UV reaction under UV lighting.

It is not the cheapest available coolant concentrate, but still represents very good value for money, particularly if you do your ordering online. The reduced weight and bulk of the 100ml ECX concentrate bottles will considerably reduce the shipping cost when ordering as opposed to 1lt pre-mixed coolants. We know that distilled water is not easily available in all locations and can be expensive in some areas, so we advise to check availability and pricing of distilled water in you location before making a purchase decision.

To round things up we mentioned at the very beginning we needed to perform a service and coolant change on one of our systems. The old coolant had an Ethylene Glycol additive, so so we were happy to change over to the safer, more environmentally friendly ECX which has Propylene Glycol as it’s “performance” additive. The old coolant can be seen on the Blue UV page. The system now looks refreshed and while not using UV lighting, the ECX Blue UV coolant looks great in the acrylic tubes of the loop.

 

Where to Buy

Performance PCs:  $11.99 USD + Shipping from US

Note: Orange and Purple are not currently stocked by PPCs but are available from the XSPC Shop (links below):

XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Black 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Blood Red 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Clear 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Clear UV 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant UV Blue 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant UV Green 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant White 100ml

 

XSPC Shop: £7.49 ex VAT + Shipping from UK

XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Black 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Blood Red 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Clear 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Clear UV 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Orange 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant Purple100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant UV Blue 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant UV Green 100ml
XSPC ECX Ultra Concentrate Coolant White 100ml