Watercooling ... getting cold feet (hopefully not wet ones)

tribz

tribz

tribz

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So I've got my water cooling bits but I'm missing some parts so I've put the project on hold until next weekend.

I might be getting cold feet though. Has anyone had any leaks that killed their kit? I tend to leave my rig on all the time and would hate to come down to it one morning to find coolant sprayed all over my components.

I will be doing the initial 24hr leak test via a second PSU but is it definately reliable enough to be leak and trouble free?
 
about 6 months ago i went for my first watercooled setup. the key is to take your time putting it together. dont rush it, i myself whilst putting it together realised that i needed a few extra fittings to help with corners here and there, so ordered them and waited. it took me about a week to get things up and running, a lot of checking and re-checking. i used compression fittings and they have been quite reliable so far, i did the leak test as well but i kept it all in the system and just had a bypass plug for the psu.

my advice is to check out linus tech tips on watercooling setup, as well as the other various videos on youtube that assist with it, if anything they will make you a bit more confident in undertaking it all yourself.

i highly doubt you would have coolant sprayed all over your parts unless you had a massive failure, but if you at least check your fittings 5 times over making sure its all tight, and that the flow is right, ( i drew many diagrams to help try to visualise the loop itself )

good luck with it all! just remember not to rush things and what would even be more helpful for you, is to create a build log in the case section under build logs, and take lots of photos while you are making it, and update your thread. that way others can see what you doing as well, there have been cases where someone on the forum has saved others from wrong doing and mishaps by photos :)
 
so long as you make sure everything is fitted correctly and nice and tight you wont have any issues, i was a little apprehensive when building my first loop, but it turned out to be a relatively simple and trouble free process, just remember to keep on top of it, checking fittings every so often, especially if you have any tight angles in your tubing where it may strain on the fittings, if using compression fittings try to avoid twisting the tube when tightening the compression nut on.
if you are going to get leaks it will become aparrant very quickly during leak testing.
 
I've had my CPU + GPU loop on 24/7 since last September so nothing to worry about as long as you take your time and check everything
 
Posty turned up early doors with my missing bit so I cracked on this morning and finished it off. Had it on leak test for about 6hrs and all fine.

Particularly pleased with the 7970 temp under load and idle compared to stock cooler.

tempsgu.jpg

By tribble56 at 2012-02-13
photo13022012164244.jpg

By tribble56 at 2012-02-13
 
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The red liquid looks really good, only thing I can't check that well on the picture is whether there is a slight kink in the tube between gpu and cpu. Otherwise looks like a solid job, well done.
 
Sir SpankalotUK said:
The red liquid looks really good, only thing I can't check that well on the picture is whether there is a slight kink in the tube between gpu and cpu. Otherwise looks like a solid job, well done.
Click to expand...

Thanks :D Heres a better angle of the CPU/GPU ...

Only thing I wish I could have done slightly better was the long return tube. Would have liked that a little neater.

photo13022012104120.jpg

By tribble56 at 2012-02-13
 
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Thanks, it took me around 5 hrs on Saturday and 3hrs this morning. The kit is ...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-122-EK&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-165-EK&groupid=962&catid=1520&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-136-OK&groupid=962&catid=1529&subcat=2229

And the coolant is http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-MH&groupid=962&catid=1531&subcat=
Tubing is 13/10mm

I might as well come clean. The 'missing bit' was a new radiator. I used too long bolts and holed it :eek: Fortunately I knew what I'd done so I set up a loop on the kitchen table and watched the water coming out of the rad. That was what prompted my first post about leaking! :) The replacement rad is a Hardware Labs Black ICE GT Extreme 360

Cost was £335 which includes £83 for the replacement rad ... DOH
 
Nah, it was mine. There was 2 packs of bolts in the box and I didn't notice that 1 bag was slightly longer than the others. There was a bit of paper that warned about using the wrong size bolts bit it didn't mention that the supplied ones were different sizes. My fault for not paying close enough attention.
 
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I want the same coolant but OCuK have been out of stock for a while it seems, rather annoying because I have to go and order my entire basket (250 quids worth) somewhere else now just because of 1 item.
 
tribz said:
Nah, it was mine. There was 2 packs of bolts in the box and I didn't notice that 1 bag was slightly longer than the others.
Click to expand...

Yes, not sure why they give you those longer screws, I wish I had more of the shorter ones, because when doing my push pull, I had to use short screws, so I could still mount the unit in the case using normal fan screws.

TBH it's poor design, I dont understand why if the internal workings of the radiator are in the way of the screw holes, they aren't capped to prevent this type of thing.
 
24 hours is way over the top. If its going to leak it will leak when you turn it on, or even fill it up. Just tighten things up as you go, that way you wont forget a fitting and work your way around the loop.

Just make sure you dont rest any tubes on hot surfaces.

I always had a dodgy 45 on my mosfet block on my first loop but spinning the 45 around sealed the leak, i was always paranoid about it but it never leaked on me! But dont let this story throw you :P

To be honest watercooling has come a long way in the last 4 years.. and its basically idiot proof now... just like overclocking :D

Have fun doing the loop, and dont let it play on your mind too much.
 
Wrexad said:
24 hours is way over the top. If its going to leak it will leak when you turn it on, or even fill it up. Just tighten things up as you go, that way you wont forget a fitting and work your way around the loop.

Just make sure you dont rest any tubes on hot surfaces.

I always had a dodgy 45 on my mosfet block on my first loop but spinning the 45 around sealed the leak, i was always paranoid about it but it never leaked on me! But dont let this story throw you :P

To be honest watercooling has come a long way in the last 4 years.. and its basically idiot proof now... just like overclocking :D

Have fun doing the loop, and dont let it play on your mind too much.
Click to expand...

Thanks :) I think with holing the rad, we might need to redefine idiot proof :D

I'm having to top it up a little every day. There are no leaks so I'm assuming its just air bubbles working through.

I also re-did the CPU thermal paste last night. Wasnt really happy with that big star that EK recommend doing so I did the usual grain of AS5 and thats got my idle and load temps down further.
 
Yeh i only do the X on gpu's, Tho im sure a pea size blob wouldn't matter there aswell!

Also as the water gets warm the air will find its way out but after a week or so you shouldn't have to top it up again.

Btw what tube is that?
 
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