wheres the leak???

vectisitch · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:31

i have noticed that the water in my res is slowly getting lower over the course of about a week and needs topping up.i can't find any water leaking anywhere and the pc is working fine.where the hell is it going???? checked all connections their all tight with no apparent leak so i'm stumped.has anyone else had this and what was it ?

Jokester · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:36

Have you just built it? Even though it doesn't look it, there can still be air in the loop that can take a few days to bleed out. Alternatively you do get evaporation through the walls of the tubing so depending on the size of the res it might be apparent over the course of a week.

OLDPHART · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:40

Jokester said:
Have you just built it? Even though it doesn't look it, there can still be air in the loop that can take a few days to bleed out. Alternatively you do get evaporation through the walls of the tubing so depending on the size of the res it might be apparent over the course of a week.

+1

vectisitch · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:40

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18192499
heres the link to my wc build.since then i have added another gtx470 and changed the 240 rad to an ek one.but it can't be air as it's been running for a while.

Jokester · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:44

Well it certainly looks like you've done everything right in terms of leak checking when you built it, did you check the new joints when you swapped it around the last time?

Looks like it's just evaporation to be honest.

vectisitch · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:50

did'nt happen before though.just had a good look at each joint and there is no water so i don't know.i'm running it with the side off to keep an eye on the level and it's gone from the top of the res down to almost the bottom in a little over a week

Jokester · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:52

Hmm, in that case that doesn't sound good, I was thinking maybe 10mm or something. Try wrapping some tissue paper round each thread and checking it after a few hours. It could just be a weep that's not forming a drip before it's evaporating off, but still enough water loss to have that effect after a week.

Cleeecooo · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:53

vectisitch said:
did'nt happen before though.just had a good look at each joint and there is no water so i don't know.i'm running it with the side off to keep an eye on the level and it's gone from the top of the res down to almost the bottom in a little over a week

Well the weather has been pretty hot recently. Maybe that could be causing the evaporation.

If you've added a 470 then that will add a bit more heat aswell.

My recommendation would be to put tissue paper EVERYWHERE inside your comp and wrap the tubing in it and run for 12 hours. Any leaks should become apparent.

vectisitch · 16 Jul 2011 at 11:55

ok,thanks fellas i'll do that and report back

koooowweeee · 16 Jul 2011 at 12:17

Jokester said:
Have you just built it? Even though it doesn't look it, there can still be air in the loop that can take a few days to bleed out. Alternatively you do get evaporation through the walls of the tubing so depending on the size of the res it might be apparent over the course of a week.

+2

Didn't even need to read the full post.

Give it a good shake and squeeze the tubes that can help get the air out. Took about 3 week for my loop and still gone down about 10ml

vectisitch · 16 Jul 2011 at 18:59

i use deionised water only but i had to top up so i used some green feser 1 to colour the water so it showes up on the white tissue.can't see anything yet though

update: i've had the feser 1 in all day with paper towels around all joints.just checked it at 11pm and there is not one bit of towel with water or green stains on.where the hell is it going???.i've topped up to the top of the res and i'll keep an eye on it over the next couple of days

Lunawolfy · 17 Jul 2011 at 09:51

I know it sounds ridiculous but perhaps your computer is REALLY that hot

Doubtful though, run your system really hot for like an hour or two, proper CPU/GPU burning then shut down and see if the inside is tacky or if any of your components have dew forming.

Sounds extreme but maybe you have a REALLY bad evap problem

Danm54 · 17 Jul 2011 at 09:59

Did you tip your case up when filling to get the air of of the rads?

I know with mine I spent most the night and the next day running the pump and tipping the case various ways to aid in getting the air out, its surprising how much gets trapped, especially in the top rad of yours.

Activ8 · 17 Jul 2011 at 23:45

Tipping the case, starting and stopping the pump. Doing this took all of 30 mins. No air left in system and coolant is totally clear. I doubt you'd get evaporation through the tubes especially in such a short space of time.

Get the air out the system.

Kainz · 18 Jul 2011 at 05:17

It has to be air. My recently built WC'd rig gave me a surprise after exactly one week by burping LOUDLY during a minecraft session. I looked down at the res to see a large air bubble flowing upwards. It was enough to drop the res below halfway.

jorzeh · 18 Jul 2011 at 14:41

Pro Tip Flick the water lines with your finger while the case it turned on it's side often loosens bubbles, Although i suspect this is alittle bit of Air and evaporation, If there is no sign of the liquid just keep topping the Res up xD.

vectisitch · 18 Jul 2011 at 16:46

thanks so far but this rig has been running for weeks,so how can it be air??

Activ8 · 18 Jul 2011 at 20:43

Possibly a pocket of trapped air in the radiator? Tilt the base unit around ensuring that the water level in the reservoir does not drop below the outlet which would then let air back into the system.

If you can, and have enough play on your hoses, hold the reservoir so that the water level remains as level as possible whilst rotating the PC.

It took me next to no time to do that and all air was expelled.

Duesix · 19 Jul 2011 at 10:46

The res is small and you have a lot of rads, i have a similar set up but with the larger 250 res. If i fill it up to the top after a fresh install or hardware upgrade after a week the 250 res will be half full because of air being pushed through the system. When i take the blanking plug off my res to fill it up again i get a little hiss of air from the res being slightly pressurised due to trapped air and hydraulic lock.

That is what you are getting but on a much smaller res hence why it looks almost empty. I get it every time no matter how hard i try and shake the case in order to move air bubbles.

vectisitch · 19 Jul 2011 at 17:05

thanks.i've just bought me a nice shiny sandybridge motherboard and cpu so i'll be refitting everything anyway.now all my fittings are angled would i see better temps with straight fittings?or is it not worth it what with going sandybridge as i understand the temps will be lower.i do intend to overclock it to it's max though