[D] Tips and Tricks in Watercooling

[Ghost]

I should apologize for neglecting the discussion of the week for so long but I have been busy with real life stuff. This time around it will be a short discussion topic and I'll try to make these more often to make up for it. For more discussions and an explanation of them click HERE.

 

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This discussion is about little tricks you have learnt while making your own loop or browsing the web. Basically anything that someone else might find useful while building their next loop. As long as it has something to do with water-cooling its worth putting here. Even if you think most people might already know it; there may be someone out there who doesn't and could really do with your advice.

 

• To start off I thought I want to talk about loop planning. No matter how silly it seems grabbing a 2D photo of your loop and putting in your components to scale can help a lot in planning your loop. You may suddenly notice something won't fit or won't look that great but you can still change it.
• Another important thing is that if you are considering water-cooling in the future make sure all your components are compatible. This applies the most to graphics cards. You should be aware that some  GPU manufactures can change the PCB mid-production to one that is not reference and therefore you can't water cool.
• Lastly, I have avoided saying this earlier but watch out for this reservoir: http://goo.gl/MiR4W . Notice that at the bottom in italics it says. "Maximum water temperature: 50C." Many of these reservoirs have leaked because of this and I think its ridiculous XSPC even released a reservoir that disintegrates at 50C when the water in many water cooling systems can reach 50C. Please note that other XSPC bay reservoirs are fine; just not this one.

 

Thanks to everyone that participates in this.

[Vitalius]

Quick Disconnect fittings are awesome for replacing components in a loop or creating an easy way to empty your loop.

For example, just put a quick disconnect in the loop at it's lowest point (preferably just before the pump-reservoir), and leave it there. Since the fitting can be taken off while the loop still has coolant in it, it can easily be used to empty the loop later when necessary.

When you do want to empty the loop, get another quick disconnect fitting and attach it to the one you disconnected from the series in the system with a bit of spare tubing attached to it to easily empty your system without having to move the whole rig, or having to have an unsightly piece of tube going no where in your case.

Do note that having quick disconnect fittings in your loop add resistance, albeit small, it can add up if you have a lot and may want to consider dual pumps to increase bulk head pressure to overcome the resistance.

Picture example of a quick disconnect fitting in place with a CPU block:

Picture xample of a Quick Disconnect fitting in a loop, disconnected from the series:

Video example of quick disconnect fittings in action:

[Whaler_99]

- If you think 10' of tubing will be enough... buy 15', cover yourself for changes and accidents

- 1L of coolant is good for a say a 360 res, GPU and CPU block. If running multiple GPU blocks and more then one large rad, get 2L of coolant. You will need a bit extra when filling your loop.

[Vitalius]

@Vitalius

 

Personaly i would use quick disconnects to have it connect to seperate case with very big radiator and pump :)

Kindy like running a very big or multiply radiators + pumps externally :)

I might do this with my next system

Yes, that's one use for them as well. However, not everyone has the desk/storage space to accommodate another case.

That is a good idea for things like HTPC's or other generally small computers. You could have a loop set up inside the case that can run independently (so you can use the computer for LAN parties or whatever) and have a big radiator/pump setup at home to connect it to when you have it at home for extra cooling headroom.

That'd be awesome.

[everything count to life]

The Bitspower G1/4" Mini Valve is a great way to make drain and fill ports easy to operate. These can be used in any location you want to be able to seal off the connecting loop all you have to do is connect to a fitting because it uses a G1 thread, so if you don't like the look of it you can choose to hide it in the back of your reservoir. 

 

[Parkway Drive]

My biggest tip is make an aesthetic loop. While its nice to see a 1 degree drops in temp, I personally prefer having a loop that looks really nice over one that gives me a miniscule performance increase.

Bitspower multilink + Crystal link / Acrylic tubing

If you're using distilled water, it's often hard to tell if there's a constant stream of flow. To check I use a Bitspower flow indicator. You can also use flow meters and inline temperature sensors but I personally prefer having just an indicator as I monitor temps through software or BIOS. This is important to obviously ensure the system doesn't overheat but also to let you know that your pumps are running fine.

[delanyinspiron6400]

One of the things I found most useful is a pretty new product, or at least as far as I know! I'm cooling a 780, my 3770K and the Rampage V Formula and when doing so, there are really only small distances between each inlet/outlet of each component, so nearly impossible to do with tubing, even if you go for a U-Shape (which I don't like the look of)!

And the solution for me were the "PrimoChill Rigid Acryilc Tubing and Compression Fittings", because you can bend them (with a heatgun from Amazon for about 20 €) and the compression fittings give an extra layer of security!

 

I hesitate to use the Crystal Link from Bitspower, because you have to watch out so bad for leaks, it wasn't worth it for me!

 

So I would recommend those acrylic tubings from PrimoChill to everyone, who wants to loop up his system with crystal link but is worried about security and also to all you modding guys out there, you can really do some crazy stuff with it :)

[gatecrasherlok]

One of the things I found most useful is a pretty new product, or at least as far as I know! I'm cooling a 780, my 3770K and the Rampage V Formula and when doing so, there are really only small distances between each inlet/outlet of each component, so nearly impossible to do with tubing, even if you go for a U-Shape (which I don't like the look of)!

And the solution for me were the "PrimoChill Rigid Acryilc Tubing and Compression Fittings", because you can bend them (with a heatgun from Amazon for about 20 €) and the compression fittings give an extra layer of security!

 

I hesitate to use the Crystal Link from Bitspower, because you have to watch out so bad for leaks, it wasn't worth it for me!

 

So I would recommend those acrylic tubings from PrimoChill to everyone, who wants to loop up his system with crystal link but is worried about security and also to all you modding guys out there, you can really do some crazy stuff with it :)

 

 

I have seen this stuff advertised but are they actually out on the market? I know the acylic tubing maybe but the fittings were still in production last time I checked.

Edited July 6, 2013 by gatecrasherlok

[Andi]

I have seen this stuff advertised but are they actually out on the market? I know the acylic tubing maybe but the fittings were still in production last time I checked.

 you can buy them a week or 2. just now