Noob question about water cooling

[moocow]

I ran it for about 4 hours with the fill port left open and saw the PSU side hose is 3/4 empty. I had to stop the process since I had an out of town trip. Got a FreezeMod G1/4 automatic vent tonight (yay Amazon 1 day shipping) and resume the bleeding process. So I'll check again tomorrow after 9 to 10 hours.

EDIT: Since my in port is on top instead of the side, would it ever reach the situation where the water level would stay even with different pump speed? It feels like there will always be air in the system since there's an air gap between the input and the pool.

 

[clshades]

Which side is inlet and outlet on your pump?

 

[moocow]

Which side is inlet and outlet on your pump?

I'm using the top port as the inlet and the bottom as the outlet. So it's pumping up to the GPU and then up to the rad and back down to the top side of the res. The side inlet of the res is occupied by a temp sensor.

 

[JD]

I'm still inclined to say there's too much turbulence in the small reservoir, and that it's just sucking in more and more air. Using the side inlet would probably help. Stick the temp sensor in the top instead.

 

[moocow]

Well I tried bleeding a few hours but I think I have to settle for some air pocket in the system.

While the pump is on the level is 1/4 of the res



While the pump is off (powered off), the level is pushing right up against the top of the tank but not leaking. Still have an air pocket on the other side of the QD


Noticed after I moved the server back to its old standing spot, a large air pocket showed up after turning on the system. Change the pump speed and press the bleed button and it's gone again. I think JD is correct, it's sucking in air since it's an top inlet. I'm going to use it as it is for a few months since it rarely powers off. At the next service interval, I may try the following:

• Move the temp sensor to the other side of the GPU block's outlet port
  • The temp sensor is the short type so moving it to the top of the res won't work
• Or get another res with a new pump cover that has a fill tube in the top inlet port, it should still fit under the GPU but may bump against the RAID card's cable if I add another one

 

[sswilson]

Have you tried running it in different orientations? Looking at your last loop image with the large air bubble... assuming the top is inlet to the reservoir I'd run the loop with the front feet raised which should force that bubble out of the loop and into the reservoir. you can also physically move the case around to try to clear bubbles.

I personally bleed my loops without the PC (or gpu) powered on (either with a shorted 24 pin, or an external molex power supply from a usb data transfer kit). The biggest thing is to ensure that your pump doesn't run dry in the different orientations you use.

 

[moocow]

I was bleeding it with an external PSU so the PC isn't actually on. I also tried tiling it side to side and front to back in an attempt to remove the air pockets. I'm going to keep an eye on it in the next few days. Another question I have is that I'm not sure if I'm setting the vent correctly, right now I have it tighten all the way clockwise. I assume this increase the pressure required to pop the vent. I did hear air exiting while the system is off.

 

[clshades]

I'm still inclined to say there's too much turbulence in the small reservoir, and that it's just sucking in more and more air. Using the side inlet would probably help. Stick the temp sensor in the top instead.

I wonder if you reversed the flow if it would work better. Then it's coming straight off the rad to the gpu. Then you have maximum pressure from the weight of the water in the rad. Gravity working in your favour.

 

[sswilson]

I also fill top up my res while the pump is running (make sure to put the plug back in before turning it off).

On the initial bleed the res is always going to get lower as air leaves the system so I run it and top up periodically over a one or two hour period. Again though... make sure to replace the plug before turning the pump off.

You can also extend the size of your reservoir for the bleeding process if you've got a spare fitting left over.... just attach a length of hose to the fitting and put it where your top plug currently is.



(Essentially what I did here with the top port on this rad).

 

[moocow]

I wonder if you reversed the flow if it would work better. Then it's coming straight off the rad to the gpu. Then you have maximum pressure from the weight of the water in the rad. Gravity working in your favour.

I thought about it but since I want to use the QD for draining, I don't have enough room to do a GPU to res top inlet. I could turn the res so the side inlet is to the right and then route the QD to the front but closing the side panel could be a problem. I would give that a try at the next service.