Airlock in pump

[JJimmyJ]

Hello

Ok, I've completely rejigged my water set-up, new tubing, radiator etc etc.
Turned it all on, but no water is pumping. Took the pump out, removed the top etc and gave it a quick dry whirl. It works fine.
How do I get water into the pump itself? It seems to be constantly airlocked.
I've tried tipping etc, but it just keeps running dry.
Should I leave one tube free (over a basin) and run it so that the air has room to escape and draws water into the pump, then reconnect it all? I'm just worried that I'll be damaging my pump with all the dry running.

Thanks

 

[JJimmyJ]

Hello

Thanks for replys.
Ok, powering on/off is hard as it means I'm constantly turning comp on/off.
Loop is indeed Res>pump>rad>cpu.
It's at the same level as the res. I've tried tilting, but doesn't seem to make a difference. Thought the pump had died originally, but once I saw it running at full whack with the hood off I figured it had to be something else.
I may just try pouring water directly into the pump manually to see if it pushes through, then somehow try and hook it back up with the water in it??? No idea how.

 

[JJimmyJ]

For turning pump on and off why not just jump the psu? Unplug everything except the pump and on the 24 pin cable connect the green wire to any of the blacks. Personally i use and old piece if wire but as soon as connection is made pump will run then unplug and it stops. No needto boot
pc for that.

As for res same level as the pump, i presume the water level is higher than the pump meaning the pump is still being mavity fed? In which case pulsing the pump or leaving it running for a bit has removed all the air locks from my pump tops.

Ha, a bit of hotwiring. Not sure the mrs would approve knowing my past record with electrics
Water level is higher than pump.
How long should it take for the pump to clear? Are we talking 10-20 mins or should it clear up within just a few mins?

 

[JJimmyJ]

I haven't put it in my case yet. Got everything external so I could run it for a few hours to ensure no leaks.
I think it's deffo got an airlock. I'll try pumping it through to a basin so the air has somewhere to go, that should hopefully clear the block in the pump.
I did run the pump dry

 

[JJimmyJ]

Yeah it's all connected correctly.
Fortunately I still have my fan, so I can run everything outside the case as a test. I'm connecting it using a 4 pin molex. Is it safe enough to just connect and disconnect whilst the PC is running?
I need to properly sit down and have a good go at it. I was kind of rushed yesterday. Never thought it would be so hard to get some water into a pump. Usually ends up everywhere when I'm refilling my reservoir etc.

 

[JJimmyJ]

Why do you keep asking if connecting and disconnecting a pump to a power source from a turned on PSU with other hardware already plugged in is safe or not?

It may work out to be fine but do you really have to take that risk for the sake of simple DIY and identifying 2 wires from the 24pin ATX cable? or better yet getting a jump start plug for £1.50 or less?

And to top it off you say you rushed in to things!

If you want to keep your hardware for sure, then please take some time and go on the longer but safer road!

EDIT:
Why don't you upload an image of your current setup - specially with the RES and Pump setup - to see whats wrong!

Blimey! Calm down

I should have said I was a little pressed for time once I'd put it all together so never really had time to try lots of different things. That's why I left it for the day. No way I'm rushing it and destroying my system.
I'll try and post a pic when I get home.
As far as the jump start plug, I'd never heard of one until now.
Looking at craarcs post though I should be able to have a go at that with an old psu I have lying around (if it still works). Always wondered how people tested pumps etc without powering everything on.

 

[JJimmyJ]

Hello

Thanks for all the help folks. Got it working again. I think there was indeed a blockage elsewhere.
I used the hotwiring technique. That is a wonderful trick, so thanks for suggesting it.
I ran it through with one tube disconnected and running into a basin just to make sure the pump was pumping. It took a good few stop/starts (and plenty of tilting) but it eventually kicked in. I then just connected it back up and away it went. I ran it for a good hour or two to try and get all the air bubbles out (tapping the tubes with a screwdriver).

 

[JJimmyJ]

Yeah I flushed the rad with some deionized water and a funnel. Not the best way, but did the job. I flushed round my cpu plate as well.
I'm using some EK premixed coolant.