How do you guys drain your system?

[dwango]

For whatever reason it would need to be drained (moving, taking apart, etc), how do you guys do it?

[OddOne]

Duno about other folks, but I just yank the lowest water fitting and let it siphon out into a catch basin of some form or another. Since checkvalves, etc. are almost unheard of in water cooling, draining a system's actually quite easy.

The bigger issue is disposal of the coolant - a lot of cooling mixtures are poisonous. UV dye, for example, is toxic - its often used to make coolant that glows when exposed to a blacklight.

oO

[dwango]

Just some waterwetter and maybe some food coloring for me.

I was thinking about a 3-way valve type thing: its either on one way or another (like a tee with only one way open at a time), but I don't know if they're made and/or if i could find one around.

[Colin]

A bleed and drain valve You can see it to the right of the pump in this old pic (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1551335&a=11768501&p=42034952) .

[dwango]

Hmm.. I see it. What exactly is it (what kind of valve), and how is it connected to the rest of the circuit?

[Flash]

My method is to tug at the tube on the lowest fitting until it suddenly lets go, spraying toxic bog water all over my floor and the rats nest of cables under my desk. I wouldn't recommend it, though. :)

[Colin]

Originally posted by dwango
Hmm.. I see it. What exactly is it (what kind of valve), and how is it connected to the rest of the circuit?

It's a simple brass valve from the plumbing department at my local hardware store. I have it covered in foam so any vibrations in the case won't cause it to dance and make noise. It's connected to a Tee on the outlet of the pump. With a small reservoir on top of the radiator as the fill point, just opening the valve will let enough water into the pump for priming. The system then bleeds as the air bubbles rise to the reservoir.

For draining, you just open the valve and remove the fill cap on top of the resevoir. Since the valve is not at the lowest point, there is some water left in the system but it sure beats pulling a hose off and having water everywhere.

[mudguts]

Colin had a good explanation...I used it for awhile on my Eheim 1046 until space limitations forced me to take it off. It was very simple and quick to drain my system, refill and prime it. Now that you brought this thing up...I GOT to reinstall it! :D