Hello all. I'm in the process of pulling my loop apart to clean the algae out and have discovered it's very difficult to drain, as it's not been very sensibly laid out. It was also difficult to fill, had a radiator with air in for the life of the install, and made moving components around borderline impossible. I've put together a few thoughts on this, but I'd like to learn from some other peoples mistakes as well as from my own for a change.
So, what advice can the community offer on how best to lay out a watercooling system?
1/ Using a reservoir makes filling a lot easier, especially if you run a length of tubing to the fill port, wind this tubing outside the case, and use a funnel. A t line works the same, but you have to top it up more, and a t line and reservoir less loop is far more hassle than its worth (some of you may remember my first thread asking about watercooling where I was convinced a sealed loop was the way to go. While higher performance, the effort involved is excessive).
2/ Compression fittings are more difficult than they look. Suggest the following strategy for fitting them. Fit barbs to components without nuts, then cut tubing the length based on these. Then take the barbs out and fit them to the ends of the tubing using spanners. Screw one end into a component, then twist the tubing up by three to five revolutions (based on the thread length of the barb), fit into the other component, and let the tubing untwist as it bites into the second component. Tighten up a bit and all is well.
3/ Air collects at the highest point. In my case, this was a radiator. Ideally have a reservoir or T line at the highest point to deal with this. Any vertical radiators should have the barbs at the top to prevent this. Draining water is more difficult than expected. You want the drain line at the lowest point, and any vertical radiators to have the barbs at the bottom. It's useful for the drain line to be a short distance after the pump, so you can use the pump to empty the reservoir if it doesn't empty itself.
4/ Algae does grow if you forget to use biocidal things and leave it exposed to sunlight. This doesn't seem to matter. Dye (in things like feser one) comes out of solution and turns up in cpu blocks, leading to distress. As such water with something that kills bacteria is much lower effort than dye. Coloured tubing is the way forward.
Paraphrased and abridged from shadowscotland, his original post is [post=15895168]here[/post]. Thanks for your contribution mate.
5/ Barbs are easier to install than compression fittings and will allow you to use any block, compressions can be too wide at the base to fit some waterblocks. Tubing is measured by inner diameter when only one value is given, barbs by outer diameter as the tubing fits over the barb. If using barbs, 7/16" (ID) tubing over 1/2" barbs is a popular choice and tight fit, you can heat up tubing end in hot water to help assembly. If using compression fittings, which are probably more reliable, you must match the tube size to the fitting exactly, 11/8mm tubing requires an 11/8mm compression fitting.
6/ It is important to decide why you want to watercool before starting, as this will dictate which components you want and whether, like most people, you'd be happier with air cooling. Air is easier than water after all. If you've come up with a convincing reason to spend/invest eighty to many hundreds of pounds, then it's best to read lots before you buy. Asking a forum a specific question based upon reading and trying the search button will yeild useful results, but "spec me watercooling plz" generally wont.
7/ Second hand watercooling is likely to increase hassle, especially if buying acrylic (clear) parts as they are vulnerable to prior misuse. They crack under torque or when alcohol is nearby. Second hand radiators and acetal (black) blocks are likely to be indistinguishable from new and an excellent idea. I'd go slightly further than SS and say avoid acrylic altogether.
8/ Shiny does not imply best (see acrylic), the best is dependent on why you are watercooling. Watercooling generally only means quieter if you have fewer, lower rpm fans than when using air cooling, and that silent watercooling is every bit as difficult as silent air cooling is.
Courtesy of Bubo, advice on draining a loop [post=15898008]here[/post].
9a/ If you're having trouble draining a loop and need to take a partially drained tube off a barb prior to rotating the case, you can temporarily block the open end of tube with a battery of the appropriate size. You can also buy dedicated plugs for this purpose. Once you have blocked one end off, you can attach a long length of tube to the now free barb and trail this out of the case and have fun turning the case around the get water out of this now free barb.
9b/ Also note it is much easier to drain a system if air can get in at some point to replace the water leaving. When using a drain valve as the only means of draining it will be a slow process as air has to get in through the same valve. If your rad has a bleed screw, rotate the case so this is the highest point, then open this screw, air will rush in through this screw when you open the drain valve. Alternatively, depending on your style of res you can do the same using the res fill port. You can use the long length of tube trick here as well so that you "extend" the fillport to keep it as the highest point as you rotate the case to get the water out.
That's all I've got so far, I'm really hoping people can add to it, I'll add to the op as required. By low hassle I mean the thing bleeding nicely, draining nicely, not leaking, and preferably allowing access to the things in the case.
Thanks to shadowscotland, Bubo
So, what advice can the community offer on how best to lay out a watercooling system?
1/ Using a reservoir makes filling a lot easier, especially if you run a length of tubing to the fill port, wind this tubing outside the case, and use a funnel. A t line works the same, but you have to top it up more, and a t line and reservoir less loop is far more hassle than its worth (some of you may remember my first thread asking about watercooling where I was convinced a sealed loop was the way to go. While higher performance, the effort involved is excessive).
2/ Compression fittings are more difficult than they look. Suggest the following strategy for fitting them. Fit barbs to components without nuts, then cut tubing the length based on these. Then take the barbs out and fit them to the ends of the tubing using spanners. Screw one end into a component, then twist the tubing up by three to five revolutions (based on the thread length of the barb), fit into the other component, and let the tubing untwist as it bites into the second component. Tighten up a bit and all is well.
3/ Air collects at the highest point. In my case, this was a radiator. Ideally have a reservoir or T line at the highest point to deal with this. Any vertical radiators should have the barbs at the top to prevent this. Draining water is more difficult than expected. You want the drain line at the lowest point, and any vertical radiators to have the barbs at the bottom. It's useful for the drain line to be a short distance after the pump, so you can use the pump to empty the reservoir if it doesn't empty itself.
4/ Algae does grow if you forget to use biocidal things and leave it exposed to sunlight. This doesn't seem to matter. Dye (in things like feser one) comes out of solution and turns up in cpu blocks, leading to distress. As such water with something that kills bacteria is much lower effort than dye. Coloured tubing is the way forward.
Paraphrased and abridged from shadowscotland, his original post is [post=15895168]here[/post]. Thanks for your contribution mate.
5/ Barbs are easier to install than compression fittings and will allow you to use any block, compressions can be too wide at the base to fit some waterblocks. Tubing is measured by inner diameter when only one value is given, barbs by outer diameter as the tubing fits over the barb. If using barbs, 7/16" (ID) tubing over 1/2" barbs is a popular choice and tight fit, you can heat up tubing end in hot water to help assembly. If using compression fittings, which are probably more reliable, you must match the tube size to the fitting exactly, 11/8mm tubing requires an 11/8mm compression fitting.
6/ It is important to decide why you want to watercool before starting, as this will dictate which components you want and whether, like most people, you'd be happier with air cooling. Air is easier than water after all. If you've come up with a convincing reason to spend/invest eighty to many hundreds of pounds, then it's best to read lots before you buy. Asking a forum a specific question based upon reading and trying the search button will yeild useful results, but "spec me watercooling plz" generally wont.
7/ Second hand watercooling is likely to increase hassle, especially if buying acrylic (clear) parts as they are vulnerable to prior misuse. They crack under torque or when alcohol is nearby. Second hand radiators and acetal (black) blocks are likely to be indistinguishable from new and an excellent idea. I'd go slightly further than SS and say avoid acrylic altogether.
8/ Shiny does not imply best (see acrylic), the best is dependent on why you are watercooling. Watercooling generally only means quieter if you have fewer, lower rpm fans than when using air cooling, and that silent watercooling is every bit as difficult as silent air cooling is.
Courtesy of Bubo, advice on draining a loop [post=15898008]here[/post].
9a/ If you're having trouble draining a loop and need to take a partially drained tube off a barb prior to rotating the case, you can temporarily block the open end of tube with a battery of the appropriate size. You can also buy dedicated plugs for this purpose. Once you have blocked one end off, you can attach a long length of tube to the now free barb and trail this out of the case and have fun turning the case around the get water out of this now free barb.
9b/ Also note it is much easier to drain a system if air can get in at some point to replace the water leaving. When using a drain valve as the only means of draining it will be a slow process as air has to get in through the same valve. If your rad has a bleed screw, rotate the case so this is the highest point, then open this screw, air will rush in through this screw when you open the drain valve. Alternatively, depending on your style of res you can do the same using the res fill port. You can use the long length of tube trick here as well so that you "extend" the fillport to keep it as the highest point as you rotate the case to get the water out.
That's all I've got so far, I'm really hoping people can add to it, I'll add to the op as required. By low hassle I mean the thing bleeding nicely, draining nicely, not leaking, and preferably allowing access to the things in the case.
Thanks to shadowscotland, Bubo
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well, can you comment my thread – about first time filling system – or I was make something stupid with my water cooling setup.
