Accidentally Opened AIO

[PotatoDave]

I'm helping a buddy through his first time building his own PC.  He has a Corsair AIO and in trying to remove the Intel bracket he unscrewed the copper plate and opened the loop.  A few drops of liquid escaped and some air probably got in the loop.

 

This is over my head, I'm not sure if he should try and bleed the system, not sure if the air will collect in the top of the radiator (top mounted) and not be a problem, I'm just not sure.

 

My immediate advice was to pull the AIO from the system and at least wrap the block in a paper towel overnight to make sure it's not leaking.

 

I was hoping some other tech nerds could help me welcome him into the pc building community and offer a bit of advice on what to do next :)  I figure we've all been there at least once or twice.

[EndoliteMatrix]

There is going to be air in there anyways. It needs air to push it. It's not a completely filled system. 

 

However I would reach out to Corsair Support to see what they say on the matter. Determine if this voided warranty, or can cause adverse effects to the sealed environment in ways I can't think of.

 

Hope this helps.

[PotatoDave]

That's interesting, do you know if Corsair includes a bacterial growth inhibitor?

[EndoliteMatrix]

3 minutes ago, PotatoDave said:

That's interesting, do you know if Corsair includes a bacterial growth inhibitor?

Unfortunately I do not know. This is why I would stress reaching out to support. 

[Bombastinator]

Derp.  This is a big oopsie.  

[Bombastinator]

51 minutes ago, EndoliteMatrix said:

There is going to be air in there anyways. It needs air to push it. It's not a completely filled system. 

 

However I would reach out to Corsair Support to see what they say on the matter. Determine if this voided warranty, or can cause adverse effects to the sealed environment in ways I can't think of.

 

Hope this helps.

Disagree with this.  It might be why every one I ever bought had super annoying bubble sounds though.  Air makes noise.  Lots of it.

[RonnieOP]

Its possible to refil an aio but its not easy. Ive seen it done plenty of tiems when people replace the tubes.

 

He could be fine with just not as good performance.

 

But hes basically screwed that aio up.

[EndoliteMatrix]

7 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Disagree with this.  It might be why every one I ever bought had super annoying bubble sounds though.  Air makes noise.  Lots of it.

Just curious to see what you disagreed with? trying to make sure I'm not getting something wrong.

[Bombastinator]

7 minutes ago, EndoliteMatrix said:

Just curious to see what you disagreed with? trying to make sure I'm not getting something wrong.

Presence of air.  My information is that you don’t want any air at all if possible.  It’s the only shot they have at being quiet.

[EndoliteMatrix]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Presence of air.  My information is that you don’t want any air at all if possible.  It’s the only shot they have at being quiet.

Oh, understood. I was just stating that there is already air in the loop. It needs some to push things around. Not much. As well, yes its what causes that bubbling noise unfortunately. 

[Danioki]

what if you refill it in a vacuum chamber?, just saying 

[Bombastinator]

Just now, EndoliteMatrix said:

Oh, understood. I was just stating that there is already air in the loop. It needs some to push things around. Not much. As well, yes its what causes that bubbling noise unfortunately. 

Shouldn’t need it though.  Watercooler systems are old.  Much older than computers.  One of the big things is getting the air out.  It’s why there are bleed valves on radiators.  Makes them quieter and more efficient.

[EndoliteMatrix]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Shouldn’t need it though.  Watercooler systems are old.  Much older than computers.  One of the big things is getting the air out.  It’s why there are bleed valves on radiators.  Makes them quieter and more efficient.

Indeed. This is why I recommended OP contact Corsair. I'm not sure on the particulars of cracking the environ on an AIO.

[Bombastinator]

Just now, Danioki said:

what if you refill it in a vacuum chamber?, just saying 

Vacuum affects water too.  Makes it boil at much lower temperature.  That’s how heat pipes in air cpu coolers work.  They’ve got water in a partial vacuum in them.

[PotatoDave]

Yeah, big oopsie.  We've all been there I'm sure.

 

My big fears are the block seeping water because the seal was broken, too much air in the system, or bacterial growth.  Since I've never been brave enough to open up my own AIO it's kind of beyond me.

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, EndoliteMatrix said:

Indeed. This is why I recommended OP contact Corsair. I'm not sure on the particulars of cracking the environ on an AIO.

I don’t understand why the things don’t have bleed and fill valves.  They’d make the things much better.

[Danioki]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Vacuum affects water too.  Makes it boil at much lower temperature.  That’s how heat pipes in air cpu coolers work.  They’ve got water in a partial vacuum in them.

you are right, but i mean it just for re-filling the loop.

 

on-topic: if he lost some liquid then he will have much more air inside the loop now, that will affect thermals and noise, the best thing to do i think is to refill the loop completely.

 

 

[EndoliteMatrix]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

I don’t understand why the things don’t have bleed and fill valves.  They’d make the things much better.

I think the whole purpose is because they are in a controlled environ from the start. I get what you're saying though, wholly. However, the intention of the AIO is to be a one stop shop. Nothing will compete with a custom loop. 

[Spotty]

- Threads merged -
Please do not cross post in other boards or post the same post multiple times.

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Danioki said:

you are right, but i mean it just for re-filling the loop.

 

on-topic: if he lost some liquid then he will have much more air inside the loop now, that will affect thermals and noise, the best thing to do i think is to refill the loop completely.

 

 

But with what?  The problem with AIOs is they like to fill them with weird, proprietary, and sometimes toxic stuff

[PotatoDave]

Spotty - thank you/I'm sorry.  This is what makes me a potato

[Danioki]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

But with what?  The problem with AIOs is they like to fill them with weird, proprietary, and sometimes toxic stuff

maybe if you clean it first and then use treated distilled water.

[PotatoDave]

He only lost a few drops because the block was at the high point of the loop when he opened it.  But will it seal shut again?

 

[Danioki]

i think a 240mm AIO has like 120ml of liquid, so maybe that few drops are not sow few.

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, PotatoDave said:

I'm helping a buddy through his first time building his own PC.  He has a Corsair AIO and in trying to remove the Intel bracket he unscrewed the copper plate and opened the loop.  A few drops of liquid escaped and some air probably got in the loop.

There was another thread with the exact same scenario a week ago. That was a Corsair AIO as well.
 

I wonder if that was your friend posting? If not then I guess your friend can take some satisfaction in knowing he isn't the only one who made this mistake.