• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Effective bleeding and safe liquid deduction - how to?

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

Orka

Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2003
Hi,
i'm on the way to my first WC and i have two questions:
1) Bleeding: (i read last article by Rudy concerning the subject)
reservoir:
The solution in the reservoir will start to travel thru the tubes quickly. Just keep filling the reservoir until the system is almost completely full. If you're using a reservoir, the system will bleed the air for you in a few minutes, then fill up the reservoir to the top and voila, you're water cooling...well not yet. You want to leak test it for at least 24 hour.

1.a) Is it the time that does all the job? Nothing additional should be done?

T-line:
If you decided to use a T-line, You should fill the entire system with water as much as possible before you clamp the tubes - this way would be easier. Then make sure while you're filling/bleeding the system, that the T-line is at the highest point of the system to help the air leaving the tubes through the T-line.

One suggestion I can make is that if you use a T-line, submerge your system parts in a bucket of water as much as you can, then fill/bleed the rest of your system through your T-line.


1.b) I didn't exactly understand how the filling and bleeding of the system goes. If tubes will be clamped after system is full, won't the liquid go away through not-yet-clamped point?
Where is the point in the system in which i add the water? If it's the same T-line, then how do i bleed the system?

Safe liquid deduction:
2.a) How safely to remove the liquid from the system if no reservoir used? (is it to open the clamp in the T-line)
2.b) How safely to remove the liquid if there is reservoir, but the only openeings it has are in and out for connection to water tubes?

I guess the subject is simplier than i imagine it to be, because rare articles adress step-by-step bleeding and i found none that describe deducting the liquid, but your answers will be much appriciated.

Orka.
 
I just filled and bled my res setup this morning.
I had the setup completely installed in my case (minus the motherboard and electronics).

This is what I did with my drive bay reservoir system:

Completely clamp all hoses first.

1) Pump off.
2) Fill the system through the res fill hole as much as you can.
3) Rotate the radiator/cooling block/hoses to get out the obvious bubbles.
4) Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you're satified the big bubbles are out. At this point, everything should be filled with water.
5) Run the pump.
6) You'll see lot of bubble/air. Repeat Steps 1 - 6 until all air is gone.
7) Finally, if your reservoir is making gurgling sounds fill it up as much as possible; this may mean tilting it to fill it (i.e. bay reservoirs).

It took me no more than 10 minutes.
 
Okay, I have recently been doing a lot of changes to my systems. ;)

Two of the components that I have added are an Air Trap (similar to T-Line but bigger) and a drain valve.

Air Trap: about like having a reservoir mounted on top of a T-Line.
The Tee is underneath a small vessel( I use plastic spice jars) that is much easier to fill than a small piece of tubing. Advantage- less flow restriction than a reservoir.

Drain valve: I put a 1/2" ball valve near the lowest point in my sytem- this does add some more flow restriction but it makes it much easier to drain the system: put a hose in the end of the valve and in a bucket, open valve. To drain 99% of the water in the system, blow into the air trap. For those who frequently mess with their system (like me :)) the loss of a bit of flow rate may be worth the ease of draining- if you do NOT frequently mess around with things it may not be.

No valve draining with T-Line: remove a tube from a high point in the system and place in a bucket; blow into other end. Repeat until you can't get any more water out. Keep rags/towels handy and be careful but this should get most of the water out of the system.

No valve draining of reservoir. None of the reservoirs I messed with had the return line attached permanently- they were just stuck in the top- so I pulled them out and placed in a drain bucket until the pump cavitated and then blew into the lines to get the rest out.

NOTE- draining and initial fill MUST be done with the computer off! Lack of coolant will kill the core quickly! :)
 
Thanks for your answers.

I still don't get how do I fill and bleed the system that has T-line and no reservoir. Filling i can somehow imagine although not clear, but bleeding ... won't the liquid just go back from not-yet-clamped opening in the T-line?
 
Back