- Joined
- Sep 5, 2007
Things to note when assembling a water cooler & miscellaneous things to note of.
Table of content
1) Importance of thorough cleaning
2) Washing procedures
3) Installation procedures
4) Important notes
5) Credits
1) Importance of thorough cleaning
Watercooling parts contain manufacturing residues or particles which can clog up the system and may result in higher temperatures or damaged components. In other words, left over solder flux from the manufacturing process needs to be removed. Unfortunately, this aspect is often overlooked and not pointed out to individuals new to the watercooling world. A proper preparation job will ensure that the watercooling loop is clean, and hence reduce risk of problems. Note that the WC loop still has to be cleaned every year. This annual maintenance is the time one must be prepared to devote.
2) Washing procedure
Play with how the barbs work. Get a 'feeling' on how a tight barb tightening is right. The same goes for putting hose onto the barbs/compression fitttings. An inch or two is enough. Get some rest for a while, as conundrum puts it, "Take a long break. Get away, do something else, gives a fresh outlook."
If a small leak appears, tighten the barb and/or check the clamp, depending on where the leak appear to originate from.
Should a major leak occur and wet the computer, dissemble the computer (meaning Mobo, GPU etc). If the coolant contains dyes (strongly unrecommended), use alcohol and scrub using a clean toothbrush. Then blow dry on LOW heat, and leave to dry for at least 24 hours. Pay close attention to the PCI slots as they get full of liquid. Compressed air helps to blow them out.
4) Important notes
5) Credits
Table of content
1) Importance of thorough cleaning
2) Washing procedures
3) Installation procedures
4) Important notes
5) Credits
1) Importance of thorough cleaning
Watercooling parts contain manufacturing residues or particles which can clog up the system and may result in higher temperatures or damaged components. In other words, left over solder flux from the manufacturing process needs to be removed. Unfortunately, this aspect is often overlooked and not pointed out to individuals new to the watercooling world. A proper preparation job will ensure that the watercooling loop is clean, and hence reduce risk of problems. Note that the WC loop still has to be cleaned every year. This annual maintenance is the time one must be prepared to devote.
2) Washing procedure
Radiator
Pump
Blocks
Just rinse the block(s) with distilled water. It is not recommended to take it apart as you may not have the right tools, or may face difficulty re-assembling it.
Note: Before opening the blocks, be sure to wipe your hands with alcohol as the oils on your hand will cause oxidation on the copper surfaces. However, do not let alcohol come into contact with acrylic; it will crack it. So keep the alcohol far away. Alternatively, as pcarini mentioned, you can use gloves.
Note: Remember to remove the plastic cover at the bottom of the block during installation as some have a plastic cover on the block bottom.
3) Installation procedure- Boil sink water and let it cool for ~5 minutes.
- Pour the hot water into the radiator until it is completely filled up. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Drain ~1/2 of the water into a clear container. This creates some air space and allows you to check the cleanliness of the water.
- Shake and rotate the radiator for at least 5 minutes. After which, drain it into the clear container.
- Repeat steps 2-4 until the water is crystal clear, and that no gunk forms once the water settles.
- Repeat steps 2-4 two more times with distilled water.
Pump
- Open and take apart the pump.
- Inspect for dirt and packing material.
- Rinse it with distilled water.
Blocks
Just rinse the block(s) with distilled water. It is not recommended to take it apart as you may not have the right tools, or may face difficulty re-assembling it.
Note: Before opening the blocks, be sure to wipe your hands with alcohol as the oils on your hand will cause oxidation on the copper surfaces. However, do not let alcohol come into contact with acrylic; it will crack it. So keep the alcohol far away. Alternatively, as pcarini mentioned, you can use gloves.
Note: Remember to remove the plastic cover at the bottom of the block during installation as some have a plastic cover on the block bottom.
Play with how the barbs work. Get a 'feeling' on how a tight barb tightening is right. The same goes for putting hose onto the barbs/compression fitttings. An inch or two is enough. Get some rest for a while, as conundrum puts it, "Take a long break. Get away, do something else, gives a fresh outlook."
- Install the barbs/compression fittings on the block(s), radiator(s), pump(s) and other components first.
- Install the blocks onto the respective PC components.
- Install one end of the hose and measure the amount of tube required to reach the other barb. I suggest cutting it longer than required; you can cut it shorter later on.
- Inspect the clamps for over-tightening and inspect the tubes for kinking.
- Your hands will be sore at this point so take a break. After which, inspect again.
- Unplug the PSU from everything except the pump and unplug from the wall power. Jumper the 24 pin PSU by connecting the green wire to any black wire. Make sure the PSU is OFF before plugging back the power cable.
- Add distilled water to the reservoir till it’s full.
- Turn on the PSU. The pump should run dry in a second or two. Turn the PSU off. This process is called bumping. Do not let the pump run dry for too long (not more than 10sec) as the ceramic bearing needs water to stay cool.
- Repeat steps 7-8.
- Rotate the reservoir and case in all directions. Tap the side of the radiator with a screwdriver handle to break bubbles loose. Also tap and pinch the tube to remove small bubbles accumulating on the inner walls of the tube. A big bubble may appear when inverting the radiator. At which point, fill up the reservoir again.
- The loop will appear to be full and the bubbles will disappear after an hour or so, depending on the layout and position of the reservoir.
- Wrap paper towels around every fitting and beneath it too. Let it run for a day. This is called leak testing.
If a small leak appears, tighten the barb and/or check the clamp, depending on where the leak appear to originate from.
Should a major leak occur and wet the computer, dissemble the computer (meaning Mobo, GPU etc). If the coolant contains dyes (strongly unrecommended), use alcohol and scrub using a clean toothbrush. Then blow dry on LOW heat, and leave to dry for at least 24 hours. Pay close attention to the PCI slots as they get full of liquid. Compressed air helps to blow them out.
4) Important notes
- I strongly advocate learning how to put the hose over the barb and clamping before installation to familiarize yourself with this process. This helps you build-up confidence and reduce the risk of damaging your PC. Exercising the clamps or compression fittings by opening and closing them several times to make them smoother is also recommended.
- Tighten down the barbs using your finger until the o-ring makes contact and tighten it further by ¼ to ½ turns. Do not over-tighten barbs especially those which are installed on acrylic materials (like the reservoir) as it may crack and leak. Try to use barbs with recessed O-rings like bitspower's fat boy so the chances of squished/deformed/pinched O-rings maybe reduce. This is my opinion and not widely accepted. According to martin,
- Ensure that the radiator screws are of proper length. If it’s too long, be sure not to over-tighten or it will puncture the fins and cause a leakage in the radiator. This mistake is often committed. Also ensure that the screws and holes go together. Difference in threading may cause the screw to break in the bracket.
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- Before opening the blocks, be sure to wipe your hands with alcohol as the oil will stain the copper blocks. However, do not let alcohol come into contact with acrylic; it will crack in time.
- Don't add too much PT_nuke (active ingredient: CuSO4). Use at most 2 drops for a normal system. It may cause green gunk to form on blocks, pumps, barbs and radiators. Happened to this guy.
- Try to use new tubing as PVC plasterizes after a while. Some tubes are more susceptible to this than others. It's really up to you though.
- Don't use dyes. Only use distilled water and PT_Nuke or silver. If you want colour, use coloured tubes.
- If possible, try to connect the pump to the part(s) and run it with distilled water for a day or so. The water flow could help to dislodge particles not removed during rinsing.
- Using vinegar is not recommended to clean the radiator. Just use hot water.
- Use isopropyl aclohol to remove oxidised copper. It will appear on copper parts. Eg, base of the CPU block.
5) Credits
Credits to Conundrum for most of the information here, including washing procedures and link to the picture. This is the original thread.
Credits to myself for formatting.
Credits to myself for formatting.
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