How reliable is watercooling?

[Snomad]

I tried this once few years back and it ended bad, used a PC mag with step by step on how to do it (big mistake) and i destroyed all my parts as it burst after the first few minutes. At the time i didn't have a clue why this happened but it put me off for life....until now, i seen this section of forum its making me consider getting one but what i want to know is

1. Reliability - pro's and con's
2. Is it relatively easy or difficult
3. what to look out for when installing water cooling

Thanks guys

 

[pgi947]

It's as reliable as the person installing it tbh.

Take it slow check everything more than once and keep your finger on the power switch when filling, kitchen roll is essential, use lots of the stuff.

I've had a few leaks filling but have always prevented damage.

If you spill something don't apply power to the system, clean up and let it dry for a few days first, using good premix like mayhems is very un-conductive too.

 

[Snomad]

Okay cool, just undecided at the moment. I just think it would look cool especially with the different color fluid you can buy. Im more of a show off when it comes to gaming rigs, i like to see flashing lights etc hahaha

 

[Pabl0]

I find it hard that you could mess it up really, as long as all your pipe cuts are square, pushed on and tightened up I can't see how it would fail. I do have a lot of experience with plumbing though but really if your unsure your best of asking us lot questions then just jumping straight in.

 

[Snomad]

yeah that was my thinking too mate, i do have a mate whos a plumber actually so if i do run into any issues i could get advice from him lol

 

[Woden]

My current rig is my first water cooled build and no leaks yet. Well I did have one, but that was just during leak testing so I see that as a plus, what's the point leak testing if there's no leaks! It probably tripled my normal build time (not counting overnight leak testing I did), measure twice and cut once and all that jazz.

Temps are awesome though. I am at stock, under full load folding and my CPU's hottest core is 19c over room temp. And is damn near silent.

 

[liquidfire]

Use compression fittings (I think they're safer personally)

As long as you follow common sense you'd find it hard to screw up.

I found useing a mole grip and pliers to get the compression fittings nice and tight they won't leak.

Rules of leak free;

1)measure twice cut once
2)square off all cuts
3) make sure pipe fully pushed on
4) tight fittings
5)all seales are fitted correctly
6)leak test outside case

If you can happily cover all of those there's no reason for a leak. It tends to be human error(guilty)

 

[Ripshod]

Water cooling is as reliable as the person installing it.
Take your time!!
Make sure your cuts are square.
Run the cooling setup out of the case on newspaper to check for any leaks (I suggest a good 12hrs at least).
Never use tap water no matter how desperate.
Any questions ask. Don't be afraid to ask the most trivial questions, the smallest things can cause the biggest problems.
One thing. Though we say make sure the fittings are tight ffs don't use tools on them. Get them as tight as you can by hand. if one leaks an extra 1/4 turn using a cloth for grip is the most you should tighten them. Any more will damage them.
Oh, and take your time!!

 

[darrant1234]

ive had my pc water cooled since about 2003. it last got setup on my XP2600 mobile chip about 2005/6 from memory. I haven't done anything with it since other than top up with tap water (yes bad I know, used distilled when I cared what went in there)

 

[Pabl0]

I didn't do any leak testing or use anything incase it did leak, just used the mobo jumper to fill it and remove air, didn't have a single drip and no problems at all and it's been running for a month now.. It really is very simple.

If your mate is a plumber he's bound to have a plastic pipe cutter, it will cut pipes very easily and importantly they will be square, it took me about an hour start to finish, longest part was fixing the radiators and cpu socket.

 

[Exsurgo]

My current rig was my first foray in WC. Used 7/16 tubing over 1/2 barbs, with koolance clips for extra security. No leaks during testing or for nearly one and a half years of operation. I am dreading the day when I have to get those clips off, very difficult to do by hand.

Just used kill-coil and that's it, water is still 100% pure to the eye. I was careful to sterilise everything before building the loop.

 

[V F]

ive had my pc water cooled since about 2003. it last got setup on my XP2600 mobile chip about 2005/6 from memory. I haven't done anything with it since other than top up with tap water (yes bad I know, used distilled when I cared what went in there)

I'm curious, what about boiled tap water once it's cooled down? I thought boiling kills all the chemicals?

 

[passey89]

I'm curious, what about boiled tap water once it's cooled down? I thought boiling kills all the chemicals?

boiling doesn't get rid of all ad stuff will cause it to build up gunk.

If you can't get distilled (its really hard to get and i couldn't find any) use de-isonised. You can get that from halfords as its fro car batteries.

 

[MichaelM]

I did my first watercooled setup just over a year ago with one of the OcUK kits and it didn't leak during testing or daily use. I've regularly checked the water level and it's never dropped so there is definitively no leaking over this time.

A good interference fit between the tube and barb (barb's OD being larger than the tubes ID) seems to be good enough but I also stuck jubilee clips on all barbs to be extra safe. I flushed all tubing and parts with de-ionised water before finally filling it with the Mayhems clear water supplied in the kit which is still crystal clear in the res without any biocide or silver kill coil.

Before doing it I watched a very good video on Overclock3D where Tom was assembling a water cooling kit, add the knowledge you get from those kinds of videos with the common sense mantra's repeated here and you shouldn't have any issues.


AS far as I understand, boiling water kills germs but the minerals still stay in the water. Distilled and to a lesser extend de-ionised water reduces the minerals and conductivity from the water.

 

[gavbon]

It's as reliable as the person installing it tbh.

Take it slow check everything more than once and keep your finger on the power switch when filling, kitchen roll is essential, use lots of the stuff.

I've had a few leaks filling but have always prevented damage.

If you spill something don't apply power to the system, clean up and let it dry for a few days first, using good premix like mayhems is very un-conductive too.

pretty much this tbh

a good workman never blames his tools

i tend to prefer compression fittings over barbs, and they look better too!

 

[MikeTimbers]

Leak testing is often forgotten in the impatience of seeing it all work.

Hotwire the PSU connection to get it all working without any power to any of the actual computer components.

Lots of tissue under any joint to see if there are leaks.

Shake the system around to see if anything leaks under stress.

Never had a leak that caused a problem.

 

[3t3P]

First time water Cooling too. No leaks. 7/16 tubing heat fitted onto 1/2" barbs. No safety connectors. Completely reliable and quiet, love it.

 

[eddyr]

A bit more on water, boiling may kill germs (though not necessarily their spores) but leaves minerals and organic matter, so is excellent for growth. De-ionised is better and is easier and cheaper to buy so is often reccomended but will still leave some organic compounds. Distilled is best, may cost a few pounds more per litre but order yourself a 5litre container for a decent bit cheaper rather than the small 1 litre ones from W/C companies and you wont have to worry about it for some time unless you're a habitual tinkerer.