Rattling noise from BeQuiet Silent Loop

Soldato
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I've had my Silent Loop since October and it's been absolutely silent until recently where I've noticed a very quiet rattling coming from my case. I've investigated by eliminating all other sources of noise and the rattling stops when I unplug the pump.

My machine is pretty quiet and while the rattle is only slight, it's audible over the rest of my system.

I've given the pump a twist and shake to eliminate any trapped air but the noise is still there. It seems to start as the system warms up. My temps are still good so I know the pump is working but the noise is annoying.

Google doesn't bring up any results for similar issues (which I guess is a good thing) but I'm wondering if anyone on here has had any pump noise. There definitely wasn't any until recently.

I've tried recording the sound but my phone doesn't really pick it up over ambient noise.

Is a bit of pump noise normal (bearing in mind this is a rattle rather than a hum) or is there more to it? I'm currently sat about 7ft from the machine at the moment and the noise is distracting over the TV on low volume.
 
Associate
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A rattle in a pump normally means worn bearings.

I have absolutely no idea if its possible to change out anything out in a bequiet unit thou.

My Ehiem you can buy new impellors for (Not that I have needed to in the year and half of daily service) which contain new silicone bearings as such.


Not sure any of that helps you thou sorry.
 
Soldato
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Thanks VKleita.

It's only 3 months old so I won't be replacing anything. I've had custom loops before so have heard pumps whirring and humming under normal operation. This has very recently started and sounds more like a rattle than a hum.

I'm going to remove the cooler from the case to eliminate any chance of vibration and will go from there. Seems like it's a rare occurrence though.
 
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I've had a similar problem with mine, it's only a few weeks old so hopefully not a worn bearing. Need to try some 'maneuvering' to see if it's an air bubble somewhere in the pump otherwise it's going back, hopefully it's a rare occurance and I'll try another and it'll be fine. Wouldn't mind but it sounds like an old hard drive whirring!
 
Soldato
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Because of the design, any air bubbles in the block sound aweful !
Try mounting the block upside down, top port is inlet and fill port is above . flipped mines upside down and stops any air bubbles getting caught and had a lower tempt .

Think in terms of recalls they have had about 7 so far since launch to beginning of Jan, if it is defective it'll be pulled apart like no tomorrow .

Will pass along this thread to Alphacool , BeQuiet are useless
 
Soldato
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Cheers guys, glad I'm not the only one.

I've not really had chance to investigate this further. It seemed to go quiet for a week or so but has started happening again. You do get a slight rush of water/bubbles as the pump powers up so this is probably trapped air rather than a failing pump.

I'll take it out of the case tomorrow and do some experimenting.
 
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Any luck OP? Mine has just started to do the same and is only a couple of months old. I don't mind taking it out if it'll help, but remember how fiddly fitting the cpu block was compared to other AIOs.
 
Soldato
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Is there anyway for you to adjust pump speed? Dial or pwm? One of my pumps was like that at a higher speed, it would start to rattle. Reducing/increasing the speed may help.

Other than this the above comments, could be some air in the pump which can cause a similar noise.

Unlikely the bearing as they only run on a single ceramic ball, it's pretty new too.
 
Soldato
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Still not got around to removing the system. Just so busy in the week, don't get home until 8:30 most days and then have my son at weekends. Will do it on Monday!

I don't think it's the pump either but want to get it outside of the case so I can rotate the pump and radiator. Even now, I get a bit of gurgling when powering up the machine so there could be an air pocket that moves around.

It's a fixed speed pump, can't remember if it's a 3 or 4 pin connector but I've never noticed the RPM drop.
 
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No worries agw_01, I can understand that :). I've now tried taking the cooler out, and also running on it's side for a lengthy period without success. It's definitely the pump in my case as if I unplug the pump the noise stops.

The unit uses 3 pin connector, and I've been looking for advice on whether it's safe to undervolt the pump but have found conflicting viewpoints as to whether it might cause damage to the motor. Edit: The 3 pin voltage can be adjusted on my board, so can try this if it's not risky.

I've got no issue with cooling performance and no RPM drops, just the constant and annoying noise.
 
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I don't mean to hijack OP, but thought you may be interested in this. I've taken the plunge and under volted the pump using a 70% DC duty cycle on a sysfan header. This has cured the grinding sound issue and leaves the pump spinning at ~1800rpm. It's also made no difference at all to the cooling performance, presumably as the coolant remains in the rad slightly longer.
 
Soldato
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No, not at all. I appreciate you taking the time to investigate.

I removed my pump tonight and managed to get a video of the rattle. No amount of rotating/twisting/shaking made any difference to the noise.

Reading your post, I ran my pump at 7v (not sure if I can adjust the duty cycle on my board) and I found the same as you, no rattle.

Slightly annoying tbh. I was hoping for better things from BeQuiet.
 
Soldato
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No, not at all. I appreciate you taking the time to investigate.

I removed my pump tonight and managed to get a video of the rattle. No amount of rotating/twisting/shaking made any difference to the noise.

Reading your post, I ran my pump at 7v (not sure if I can adjust the duty cycle on my board) and I found the same as you, no rattle.

Slightly annoying tbh. I was hoping for better things from BeQuiet.

worth checking if your unit was filled up as well. 5p works well for unscrewing the cap . I was able to transplant the block and tubes to an EKWB rad without spilling a drop
 
Soldato
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Thanks orbital. I'll check the fluid level first and then go from there. Temperatures are good and stay consistent so I don't think it's a lack of fluid.

FWIW, here's the video I captured...


You do have to listen carefully, but the rattle is audible over the normal pump hum.
 
Soldato
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does sound loud! very loud. considering its meant to be the most silent pump in watercooling at the moment .
If opening the port and topping up with it installed upside down doesn't work. diff RMA it.
would also recommend ditching the fans, they are actually louder then standard version ones, and sticking Silent Wing 3s on :D
 
Soldato
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That was with my phone right up to the pump/block. Sat at my desk with PC in its normal place you can't hear the pump whirr at all, but the rattling is definitely audible from a good few feet away.

My pump is mounted upside down anyway due the way I've had to mount the radiator, otherwise the pipes would be under some twisting forces.

I agree about the fans. The 2 included Pure Wings fans are louder than the 3 120mm Shadow Wings at the front of the case.

I'll check the fillport level but due to how consistent the temps are, think this one will be going back. I bought it from OcUK. Would you recommend speaking to Bequiet/Alphacool first?

What you doing about yours Zola? I guess they have a decent warranty if it starts getting noisy at the lower speed in the future.

Cheers guys.
 
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My experience is pretty much the same agw, the pump noise itself is not bad at all it's just the rattling which is audible from anywhere in the room really. Mine is running with the pump in the normal orientation, but after removing it from the case and running it for an extended period it appeared that the orientation made no difference in my case. I've not checked the fill level, but that is a possibility as there was no noise for the first few weeks.

I've not yet decided what to do, I bought this unit as a replacement for a H100i RMA that took far longer than it should have. I could swap to the H100i v2 I eventually received and RMA the Be Quiet, but given that it's functioning perfectly well whilst under-volted I have little motivation to pursue an RMA again so soon.
 
Soldato
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Say both give OCUK shout for RMA , will link Ed from alphacool , contact for BeQuiet so least they can see issues have popped up, will that a video of time tomorrow. So sound what so ever at full speed
 
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