Can't get rid of an airlock.

iB CoMpL3XiTy

iB CoMpL3XiTy

iB CoMpL3XiTy

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Hi all,

I've had my loop up and running for a few days but I'm having trouble removing a large airlock, the loop goes like this:

Res>Pump>GPU2>GPU1>120.2>CPU>120.3>Res

The airlock was inbetween GPU1 and the 120.2 radiator, today I tilted the case in all directions, shook it like a mad man and was turning the pump on and off, loads of air moved out of the 120.2 rad and went through the CPU block into the 120.3 rad.
I can't for the life of me get the air out of the 120.3 rad, I literally turned the case upside down but still nothing.

Since moving the air along abit the temps have increased by about 10C on the CPU under load.

Before: 78C max under OCCT
After: 87C (before I stopped the test)

So any tricks of the trade I dont know about?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks. ;)
 
Giggz said:
Have you ran it with the cap off your res yet?
Click to expand...

Yep, it sometimes makes a difference (coolant level decreases) but it didn't help this time.

Hakanese said:
Have you tried to bleed it out of the rads by using the 1/4 plugs? Also is your resevoir filled to the top?
Click to expand...

If I unscrew one of the plugs won't coolant come pouring out ? :p

Res is pretty much filled to the top, not really much more I can put in there.
 
iB CoMpL3XiTy said:
Yep, it sometimes makes a difference (coolant level decreases) but it didn't help this time.
Click to expand...

I ran my system for 24 hours with the cap off whilst gaming etc to get it all warmed up and topped the coolant up when needed (less then a shot required)

Leave the cap off and run a game or something to get your water a little hotter and see if that clears your lock.
 
I I didn't mean just unscrew a plug and turn the pump on. Some rads have a bleed screw to help clear air in the rad. I think you'd have have less problems releasing the airlock if your resevoir wasn't filled up to the top
 
Giggz said:
I ran my system for 24 hours with the cap off whilst gaming etc to get it all warmed up and topped the coolant up when needed (less then a shot required)

Leave the cap off and run a game or something to get your water a little hotter and see if that clears your lock.
Click to expand...

Ok yeah I'll give that a go then, thanks.

Hakanese said:
I I didn't mean just unscrew a plug and turn the pump on. Some rads have a bleed screw to help clear air in the rad. I think you'd have have less problems releasing the airlock if your resevoir wasn't filled up to the top
Click to expand...

Oh right, I'm not sure if my rads have bleed screws, they are alphacool nexxxos monsta rads, I'll do abit of research and see if I can find out, cheers.
 
I had a bit of an ordeal bleeding my 360 monsta too.

I found that *slightly* loosening one of the uppermost caps and switching the pump on allowed air to escape until a bit of water squirted out. You have to be fast, and don't loosen it too much or it could pop off and you'll have water everywhere.

If you do it right, the spillage should be very minimal.
 
Uncle Petey said:
I had a bit of an ordeal bleeding my 360 monsta too.

I found that *slightly* loosening one of the uppermost caps and switching the pump on allowed air to escape until a bit of water squirted out. You have to be fast, and don't loosen it too much or it could pop off and you'll have water everywhere.

If you do it right, the spillage should be very minimal.
Click to expand...
That's what I meant by bleed the rad.
 
This is why I'll be building my loop outside of the... oh bugger my cpu block is already fitted on my bundle.. >. <
I hope you get the bubble sorted out Compl3xity.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys :)

Firstly opening the bleed port didn't really help, infact the coolant level in the res rose suggesting that air was being forced into the loop.

After much shacking and titling (literally having the PC on it's front) I got most of the air to move into the 120.3 to Res line, here's a picture:

66ro.jpg


Look at that mother flippin' airlock, I managed to remove a lot of air, even had to re-fill the res but temps haven't really improved :(

There might still be air in the rads, might give it another go abit later on.
 
what pump are you using? And I don't even want to think about if you're going to need to turn the case upside down just to get the bubble into the res
 
Hakanese said:
what pump are you using? And I don't even want to think about if you're going to need to turn the case upside down just to get the bubble into the res
Click to expand...

It's a D5 vario, even on max performance (setting 5) there's no visible movement in the Res, I think the loop is really restrictive.

And yeah it's not easy to bleed :p
 
I had a pretty brutal air bubble like that when i redid my loop the other week. After faffing trying to get rid of it i found a fitting not quite tight enough where i could hear air getting into the loop, but not so bad water was escaping. So, have you made sure all the fittings are tight enough that air isn't getting in?
 
I make sure that my loops pump bottom up so air naturally flows upwards to top parts of the loop. This helps.

Also worst case, I fill my res, seal it tight, switch on and move the case on it's side and back upright to force the air to move. Each time I level I open up the res to release any pressure built up and repeat until complete.

A brutal way, but sometiimes the only way. Just remember to seal the res properly.
 
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