Additive necessary for leak testing?

I'm going to be doing a leak test on my water cooling setup soon and was wondering whether I need to worry about adding an additive such as antifreeze to discourage corrosion during this time. Thanks.

corrosion can happen quickly, so it wouldnt hurt.

Will you have any aluminum in your loop, even if it is annodized?

If so, definitely. Corrosion without an inhibitor in the loop can happen very quickly. I'd put some in anyway in case there's anything in the water or on your parts that might cause a bit of corrosion.

I don't *think* I do.
My GPU waterblock is the Silverprop Fusion HL and my CPU waterblock is the Swiftech MCW6002. I'm pretty sure I don't have corrosion issues there.

How much is *some*?

If you are going to use additives during regular use, use them during leak testing. Plain water has a high surface tension and poor capillary action. Additives usually decrease surface tension and increase capillary action, meaning your coolant could find leak paths plain water couldn't traverse.

Any addatives in patacular?

I'm going to be using antifreeze - in the end probably 10%.

Why not mix it, leak test it, and just drain it into a bottle so you can reuse it?

Hey, that's not a bad idea. After I'm done my leak test, how do I drain it anyway? Just turn my Tee-line upside down?

Thats one way to do it.

Is there an easier way?

If your T-line is down by the pump on the bottem of the case, no.
otherwise, most people just put a bucket in the bottem and unhook a hose and let it drain that way.

Disconnect the tubing from the lowest fitting in the loop off and let it drain. It's that simple.

and in the process being careful not to spray water everywhere...

Quick warning-

Gravity driven draining is more than good enough. I would avoid trying to pump the fluid out in order to protect the impeller on your pump. Some pumps react badly to being run 'dry'. It can damage or unseat the impellers since they are designed to work with the resistance provided by the fluid.

Unless you know your pump will be fine when dry or wet I would suggest making sure it is off during the draining. Ditto goes for the fill-n-bleed. Try to keep fluid in the pump at all times. Sometimes this requires pulsing (pump on and off in short bursts) to force fluid through the system.

Leak-testing with the mix does make the most sense. If you are testing for if there will be leaks make the test setup as realistic as possible. Use the mix you plan on using regularly, set the components in position fairly close to how the final setup will be, etc. Short and sweet make it a realistic as possible.

Also remember that every time you move, disconnect/reconnect, and change tubing paths to watch for leaks again. Those tubes will place different pressures on the components they are attached to over time as well. As most tubing 'relaxes' it can actually weaken a seal dependant on the pressure it originally applied. Its not a huge problem but as most people say...check and check again.

I don't really see how I'm going to be able to flip my pump on and off. Can you safely disconnect/reconnect to your PSU while the PSU is running? I've got my PSU powering my computer, that's all ... and I don't get how to jumpstart it.

How are you able to accurately judge how long your tubing should be when your WC parts aren't right in your computer? Just guess?

Think that's it.

Edit: Oh yeah, can't run this pump dry. Manual makes that VERY clear.

Silmatharien said:

I don't really see how I'm going to be able to flip my pump on and off. Can you safely disconnect/reconnect to your PSU while the PSU is running? I've got my PSU powering my computer, that's all ... and I don't get how to jumpstart it.

Click to expand...

Just get a spare PSU or use your current one (while not connected to your mobo of course) and put a peice of wire or a paper clip between the green and a black pins on the PSU ATX connector. Plug the PSU in and turn on the switch. Its that simple.

Silmatharien said:

I don't really see how I'm going to be able to flip my pump on and off. Can you safely disconnect/reconnect to your PSU while the PSU is running? I've got my PSU powering my computer, that's all ... and I don't get how to jumpstart it.

How are you able to accurately judge how long your tubing should be when your WC parts aren't right in your computer? Just guess?

Think that's it.

Edit: Oh yeah, can't run this pump dry. Manual makes that VERY clear.

Click to expand...

You don't need to run your pump to drain the lines. If there's any fluid left in the tubing you want out, just blow through one end of the tubing and it'll probably drain out pretty easily.

Figure out exactly how you're going to place your parts before you put them in and with the tubing in hand, measure out how much you'll need. Be generous because it's Better to have too much tubing than to have not enough and have kinks in the lines.