Huge loop. Concerned that water is not flowing through radiators

[Suhr]

Hi guys! So I'm so close to finishing my first acrylic loop. I have very limited experience with water cooling, but I have put alot of work into this build.

 

First of all, bending acrylic is a bitch when there is more than one bend! But it seems like there are no leaks so far.

 

Secondly and more on topic:

Have I configured my radiator in/outlets correctly? I think the way I have done it makes sense, but I somehow suspect that there is not water flowing, particularly in the bottom rad.

The reason I think this is because when I open the drain port there is no water flowing out of it if I don't tilt the case. Even when the pump is on. I would think that the water pressure would make the water shoot out of the drain port? But nothing! Because of this I suspect that the water is going straight in and out of the rad and not going all the way around.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, I tried this config first and then tried the one you see above. Seems like the same result:

[hazza_ob]

looks cush-de (it should work, check temps: idle - around the room temperature. under load - around 60 degrees c)

[gozzygozborn]

You could just run it into a bucket for a little bit to check the flow

[Suhr]

You could just run it into a bucket for a little bit to check the flow

I have been keeping a bucket under the drain port and tried to open it when the pump is on full throttle, but nothing. Perhaps the outlet is not really directly connected with the water flow?

 

I did test the radiators like this before installing them and they seemed fine

 

Starting to get concerned that I have busted through the fins with a screw. But on the other hand I did pretest the screws before I installed the radiators and they didn't seem too long. I even used extra washers just to be sure.

[Suhr]

looks cush-de (it should work, check temps: idle - around the room temperature. under load - around 60 degrees c)

 

What does "cush-de" mean?

[GhostHitWall]

 when I open the drain port there is no water flowing out of it if I don't tilt the case
 This makes sense... you need to open a top port for example the res top port.  then water flows out.  Its basically the same thing as sticking a straw into water and then use ur finger to cover the other side of it..

[hazza_ob]

What does "cush-de" mean?

its geordie (Newcastle/north east england) for 'good' pretty much haha - that cush de = the looks good

[LeighPing]

'Cushty' is from 'Delboy' in 'Only fools and horses', a british comedy sitcom. It means 'Great, goodstuff, approval'.. etc:)

 

Anyway mate, I'd loosen off the top of your res to allow the air to come out there and improve your flow by removing any trapped bubbles. You should see some movement in the water there then. If there's no outlet at the top of your res, you might try tilting the pc around towards an outlet that will allow air to escape. I shouldn't worry too much about pressure. I see better flow in my long loop (CPU, GPU, 2 x 360 rads and 2metres of hose) by having a loose res plug than I do with it tightened up.

 

Is the outlet flow from the pump the up pipe or the down pipe? Either way it looks like it should be working.

 

Nice job on the pipes by the way.

[Suhr]

Thanks for the feedback!

Im such a noob. Loosened the res lid and woooooosh! Accidently ran the res dry (or veery close to dry) for like 0,5 sec. Water was flowing through the drain like a charm

I had it all right I just went full retard for a moment

Btw. At first I thought bending pipes was fun until I started doing double bends.

I have sooo much wasted acrylic from the cpu to rad pipe.... In the end the fit was super thight as well. I just hope it isn't too tight.

The acrylic also isn't perfect. Some has slight "waves" in the bends due to reheating (i was running really low on materials )

Next time around I'll have more experience and make it nicer.

The next thing I'm doing is getting a super silent 2x980 capable psu.

I have been considering the hx1000i as it seems really good and looks like one of the most silent psu's. Any thoughts on this?

[LeighPing]

Glad to be of help. Do you have 2 x 980's then? Will they be a part of your loop, if you watercool them?

[Chiobe]

It might have been easier to detect the waterflow, if you let the water run into the top of the reservoir.

Does it even serve a purpuse now?

You could have always just gotten a splitter, if you lacked a place to fill it.

[Suhr]

Ek specifically states not to use the top as an inlet, but rather use the two at the bottom as inlet/outlet.

But I guess there should be nothing wrong with using the too either.

So the reservoir is there for looks and filling purposes. I also think it helps a lot with getting rid of air.

When I redo my build in a couple of months I might try the top as inlet.

Right now I have 1x980. Getting another one when next gen nvidia comes out. Then the price will be lower and Ill probably need another performance jump. I might buy another one sooner if they start coming on sale soon. Where I live we have to pay 650USD a piece.

My build has the good old 1090t right now. Im going to see how far I can take the oc with this rather massive cooling solution.

When DDR4 drops in price I will upgrade to X99 or the upcoming consumer platform from intel

[Chiobe]

Ek specifically states not to use the top as an inlet, but rather use the two at the bottom as inlet/outlet.

But I guess there should be nothing wrong with using the too either.

So the reservoir is there for looks and filling purposes. I also think it helps a lot with getting rid of air.

When I redo my build in a couple of months I might try the top as inlet.

Its just that most (if not all) the builds I have seen so far, uses the top as inlet.

But if the manual says otherwise, then I guess it depends on the hardware.

[Suhr]

I have seen singularity do it this way in one build. In the end it works the same way. Only difference is where the water flows into the res