Some newbie questions to water cool for the 1st time

[Tonberry]

Hi everyone,

 

I have some questions,

 

What is the main purpose and function of a reservoir of a water cooler?

 

Can we do custom water cooling setup without using reservoir? If so what are the pros vs cons by not having it?

 

I'm wondering is it possible to make some custom lenght tubings to make a cooler which simply looks like an AIO.

 

My aim is to use a thiccccc 240 rad and connect it directly to the block with custom lenght soft tubings.

[PopsicleHustler]

Because reservoir makes it easy to top off your coolant. You don't have to take apart your loop to fill it up. Just open the reservoir and add whatever coolant you need.  

 

Like how do you imagine filling your DIY AiO?

[Tonberry]

3 minutes ago, PopsicleHustler said:

Because reservoir makes it easy to top off your coolant. You don't have to take apart your loop to fill it up. Just open the reservoir and add whatever coolant you need. 

Aaah.. That's it.. I thought it is just for show.

 

4 minutes ago, PopsicleHustler said:

Like how do you imagine filling your DIY AiO?

That's also my question. How all the company filled their AIO? and I want to know if we can do that by ourselves.

[PopsicleHustler]

1 minute ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

That's also my question. How all the company filled their AIO? and I want to know if we can do that by ourselves.

 They  have their methods. One thing for sure - It will be one hell of a ride trying to get rid of air bubbles from the loop without the reservoir.

 

Normally you would shake your PC or even put it on its side to force air bubbles to travel down the loop into the reservoir.

[Tristerin]

8 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

Aaah.. That's it.. I thought it is just for show.

 

That's also my question. How all the company filled their AIO? and I want to know if we can do that by ourselves.

There are radiators with fill ports to avoid reservoirs (Swifttech I believe)

[Tonberry]

1 minute ago, Tristerin said:

There are radiators with fill ports to avoid reservoirs (Swifttech I believe)

Which exact model?

[PopsicleHustler]

2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

There are radiators with fill ports to avoid reservoirs (Swifttech I believe)

I think EK Also makes rads with fill ports. Problem is, its very tricky to use, especially when rad is installed upside down or in a tight spot.

 

[Tristerin]

1 minute ago, PopsicleHustler said:

I think EK Also makes rads with fill ports. Problem is, its very tricky to use, especially when rad is installed upside down or in a tight spot.

 

Yeah, Ive thought about doing it, figured Id go soft tubing, build the loop, uninstall then fill then install unit into case

[PopsicleHustler]

2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Yeah, Ive thought about doing it, figured Id go soft tubing, build the loop, uninstall then fill then install unit into case

At this point you might as well get pump/res combo and save yourself some brain cells while you're at it. I mean, whats the difference anyway? You still have to get a pump, tubing, a rad and a water block(s). If you're all about minimalism, just get an AiO.

[Tonberry]

10 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Yeah, Ive thought about doing it, figured Id go soft tubing, build the loop, uninstall then fill then install unit into case

So literally we can make that DIY AIO right?

 

Is there any way to bleed all the air out of that ported type rads?

 

What is the model name of that kind of rads?

Could you share me some links?

[andrewmp6]

You could use thishttps://www.alphacool.com/shop/cpu-cooler/intel-amd/20228/alphacool-eisbaer-solo-2600rpm-black?c=20571

Its a block/pump with a small res.But bleeding air with a res that small will be a pain to do.Running a pump dry can kill it/shorten its life span.

[Tonberry]

23 minutes ago, andrewmp6 said:

You could use thishttps://www.alphacool.com/shop/cpu-cooler/intel-amd/20228/alphacool-eisbaer-solo-2600rpm-black?c=20571

Its a block/pump with a small res.But bleeding air with a res that small will be a pain to do.Running a pump dry can kill it/shorten its life span.

Nice stuff..

 

This one can save space, the challange on how to bleed air out of it can be mitigate outside the case and let's take time as long as it needs to get the air out as much as possible.

 

Thankyou all so much!

[Tristerin]

9 hours ago, PopsicleHustler said:

At this point you might as well get pump/res combo and save yourself some brain cells while you're at it. I mean, whats the difference anyway? You still have to get a pump, tubing, a rad and a water block(s). If you're all about minimalism, just get an AiO.

For me its all about...can I and will it.  I do this stuff for fun (just got into custom loops this year...building my third parts on the way now! lol) so its not about taking the extra time that I balk at, just can it and will it lol

 

And I am not a minimalist by any means, my most recent loop has extra reservoir in the mail, thinking of adding a third, and dropping in another 80mm rad for funzies lol

 

@PotatoCanDo! yes you can basically make an AIO.  Im debating using my H100i GTX to make a custom loop using its block/pump as the start (because its integrated with PCB that monitors and controls fan speeds, temps etc etc.  Difference here is if I do it I will be adding a reservoir, redoing the lines and adding more rads.  

 

For example the DeepCool Captain 240 EX AIO comes with a fill port already.  Manufacturer covers it with a sticker if you want to void the warranty.

Or Cooler Master Nepton 280L

 

Another is the Swiftech H220-X where the radiator is also the fill, pump, and res.

 

Or Swiftech MCR140-X

 

If it was me and I was wanting to save space for a tiny build Id find a used AIO pump/block, a radiator with a fill port and run my own lines.  Simple, clean, effective.  The trick here is mounting and running the lines, then removing the loop and filling outside the case so you can bleed air easily without harming your PC parts.  Let it dry and remount, voila tiny loop in a tiny form factor

 

There are a lot of radiators with fill ports, just really expensive btw, google has tons.