Update: My First WC [complete]

Quote:
I'm not too sure to be honest.

I can see the uv dye leaking around the clamps, and just a little leaks onto the tubing.

It's not a bad leak at all, but this is bugging me lol.

I'd like a leak-free system. I might just change the barbs or just re-try putting them on and tightening the clamps.

Do you guys think I should empty the whole loop before I try to change the fittings/re-seat the clamps/fittings or is there a way around this?

Quote:
ok thanks mongo.

What do you reckon I should do with the distilled water and the dye that's in the loop... is it waste now or can I save it?

jam3s

ok so what I did was change the fittings altogether.

I figured it was an incompatability with oring sizes that made the fittings I used before leak (they were stolen from a used apogee GTZ, figures).

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the loop itself is full, I think I put about 1 liter of Distilled through it.

Just wondering, I noticed that from the radiator outlet, it just "dribbles" out and then accumulates down the loop when it reaches the cpu block...

is this normal?

and just as an fyi, my loop order is pump outlet --> rad --> apogee gtz --> tee line (for now) --> pump inlet

Also -- I'm a noob forgive me, how do you "Bleed" the loop?

edit: just a brief update, the rad outlet seems "fuller" now and doesn't dribble as much. I added more distilled water. I also made sure my pump was connected to a dedicated molex instead of being shared with a fan (so as to add more power?)

jam3s

Quote:
Yes, for starting up. You have to get all the air out. Pinch the tubes, tip/shake/rotate the case. Start/stop the pump. Whatever it takes.

Quote:
thanks billa... I noticed when I toggle the pump it seems to get it moving better.

Again I know this might sound noobish, but how exactly do you "bleed" the loop? is there a preferred methodology to be employed or how should I be doing it.

edit: also how long should I leak test my loop? I've heard 12 hours, I've heard 24 hours, what should I aim for

jam3s

Quote:
What? And what goes back in through the opening to replace the air that goes out?

Closed or open makes no differnce. It's easier to leave whatever you fill through open though, since you will be adding more water to replace the air in the bubbles. As I said, tipping, shaking, whatever. You want the bubbles to get to the rez (or T-line if you have one). Also, try to not let the liquid level in the rez or T-tine get to low or air will just get sucked back into the loop again.

ok thanks guys.

I found another small leak, so I re-drained the loop and replaced the clamp on the barb and re-tightened the barb.

I will do a full leak test for 24 hours. I just re-filled my loop, and It's running pretty good so far. I did the shaking of the pump, squishing of the tubes, and shaking the rad to get out most of the bubbles.

Since the water is ozonated, there will always be little microscopic bubbles in my loop, correct? What is the goal here, to eliminate ALL of the bubbles, or just as much as possible?

If I can get out the majority of the bubbles in my loop, I should be fine right?

Also, I am running a Tee line so this could be why bleeding (or priming) is taking a while.

One last question -- I just filled the loop (including the tee line up to the fillport) about an hour ago... if i'm leak testing for 24 hours, how often should I check the loop, and when will it be appropriate to add more water.. --- I'm at my girlfriends house so I'm not actively watching it leak test, so how often should I be checking up on the loop..

jam3s

Quote:
Thanks Ira, I was hoping you'd help...

My Tee line is about 1 foot in length or so, and goes up to my fillport.

So I went home after leaving it for about 3 hours and when i went to check on the loop the fluid in the tee line was about 1/4 full, meaning it had drained about 3/4 in roughly 3 hours.

I also had a very minor leak on the inlet of my rad, so I tightened the worm clamp as much as I could, and as tight as I think i could, so I'm hoping this will fix the leak -- I will check up on it in a couple more hours, only time will tell I guess...

As far as the bubbles, I think I have the majority of them out, or bled into the tee line. I have a swiftech mc-res v2 on order, and some more tubing and some fittings but I won't change them I think until I upgrade to a gpu-waterblock... no point changing the tee line if it works, right?

Thanks

jam3s

It just takes a little longer bleeding a t-line thats normal. I use them a lot for little side loops that I don't cut into very often and use a res on my main loop.

Those little Swifty res are amazingly good for there size. I've run dual hi po pumps on them before and they would bleed in no time.

Quote:
Do you just have plain barbs with a o-ring, not the kind with a recess for the o-ring? If they are I usually just take the o-ring off and use some clear silicone or Permatex red RTV on the threads, screw them in real snug and let it cure out for a day or two before I use them. Only use it on the top 3/4 of the barb or so, you don't want any getting into your loop.

Another little trick since you have it all together is to wrap Teflon tape around the threads and then a couple more wraps on up over the o-rings fairly tight. That kind of helps to keep them from deforming as much and causing leaks. With the tape don't go all the way to the end of the threads, just go about 3/4 of the way down them, you don't want any to get loose and possibly get sucked into your loop.

I bet you might be leaking aroung the o-ring instead of the barb to tube union since its still leaking

Really anymore I'd grab some of those Danger Den "Fat Boys" that have a o-ring capture so you can tighten them down properly from the start.

You'll get it going, theres always some little stuff thats going to go wrong, always..

Quote:
Thanks ira-k.

I have the DD fatboy's on order from petras (same order as MC-res v2, Yate loons, and some spare tubing.)

So anyway, after tightening the clamp on the rad inlet, I no longer had a leak. The barb is just a straight fitting with an o-ring. I've been running the loop now for about 3 hours (just checked it 30 mins ago) and so far, no leaks have formed.

Also, all the bubbles are going straight to the fill line in my tee line, so that's good news. At least all of the big bubbles are gone, while the small ones are still accumulating in the tee line. Good news is that the loop itself is becoming very pure...

The distilled in the fill line also hasn't gone down in about 3 hours so I think that is good.

I also figure that when my petras order comes in, I'll just wait until I get the MCW-60R2 GPU block (in another couple months when I get the cash) before I change out the tee line for the reservoir and do any adjustments at a later date.

Thanks for you help, ira-k and ocn. Any other suggestions/comments/tips/thoughts please send them my way!

jam3s

update:

alright guys so it's been just over 6 and half hours since I started to leak test (successfully, that is).

There are no known leaks anywhere on the loop and the loop looks primed/bled properly.

There are minor bubbles making their way to the top of the fill line on my tee line but other than that, the rest of the loop looks really clear. Would it be fair to say that my loop is fully bled, or will i have to wait until the fill line absolves itself of any tiny bubbles?

I plan to leak test for 24 hours so I still have another ~18 hours or so to go but do you guys figure that from here it's just going to be clear sailing, or do you think it's very possible that another leak can still arise..

loop flow is like this pump-->rad-->cpu-->tee line-->pump

I also only have 2 Medium Speed Yates currently, so it will be interesting to see how the MCR320 performs with only 2 fans when all this leak testing is said and done with. (i have some on order, dont worry)

Again, if you guys have any tips/hints/suggestions, anything at all, please don't be shy..

jam3s

Quote:

You should be able to get fine temps with 2 fans. I can run my C2D with no fans and pump at half speed and the temps never go over 40c on a hot day.

Quote:
In my mind, I would probably lose 1-2c using a 2 fan setup instead of 3.

I got impatient! lol.

Thanks for the advice... I just hope to god it passes the 24 hour mark, and then I'm going to just go for it.

edit: for all those interested, I will be adding pics to the OP tomorrow when I get this all sorted out with.