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Pros and Cons: T-Line vs. Res...

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Seufari

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2006
Location
Fort Collins, CO
Hey guys, I have not been reading much since I got my loop set up a while back. I used a bay res without much thought. I am just wondering why there is so much debate over this particular subject. It seems like their would be a clear cut winner, but there is not.

So could you guys enlighten me on specific pros and cons of each. Please be as specific as possible. Dont just say, "it helps filling the system" Please tell me how exactly it is better at filling the system.

Thanks!
 
T-Line Pros:
Quieter than reservoirs (some reservoirs are noisy from water swashing around in them)
Smaller (no need to make room for a res)
Cheap, cheap, cheap! (only costs you for the hose and fitting)
T-Line Cons:
Some say they're harder to bleed/fill (this is more situational, and it depends on where your T-Line is located)
Some say they take longer to bleed/fill (again, situational)

Reservoir Pros:
Some find reservoirs aesthetically appealing
Generally easier to fill/bleed
Reservoir Cons:
Many reservoirs will leak because of poor quality construction/poor handling
Noise -- if you have a poorly designed reservoir expect swishing and swashing noise from it when it's not completely full
Cost! To get a decent looking reservoir you'll have to dish out the dough

The Bottom Line:
Temps are wholly unaltered regardless of your choice
If you find reservoirs "pretty" then go for one
If you'd rather have the extra space and save some money then go for a T-Line

Extra Information:
If you install a T-Line, put it before the pump -- you will bleed much quicker this way.
If you install a T-Line, use a funnel in your tubing, but then put a straw through the middle of the funnel -- this allows the air in the T-Line to escape and the water to flow down into the tubing
Regardless of what you choose, try and put the fill/bleed area at the top of the system -- anything else and your fill/bleed will be equally lengthy with either (especially if your radiator is the top of your system)

Derek Hanson

P.S. I like T-Lines. :)
 
Seufari said:
Please tell me how exactly it is better at filling the system.

Thanks!

I'll take a shot at this, but keep in mind I'm no scientist...

Just for the sake of illustration, say your pump is pushing one gallon per minute of water at all times.
When that water passes through a smaller diameter tube, it's velocity must increase to get the same one gallon per minute through.
It's velocity slows when it passes through a larger section of tubing (or a chamber such as a reservior), again because you're pushing one gallon per minute.

In a reservior, the decrease in velocity makes it easy for a bubbles' boyancy to overcome the water's velocity and float to the surface, never to enter the waterstream again.

Also, in a system that doesn't yet have the pump running, a bubble can actually "clog" the tubing, keeping water from filling the system, so you need to run the pump for a short time to move the "clog" (as long as you DO have water in the pump!!!).
A reservior usually holds enough water to fill the system in one shot, so you can (depending on res size), just cycle the pump once and it's done after a little top-off.
A T-line system's piece of tubing doesn't hold enough water to fill the entire system in one go, so you need to fill-cycle-fill-cycle-fill...etc.
Once it's running, the res has the water capacity to make up for bubbles that continue to come out without worry. A T-line still needs to be checked and refilled often.

Lastly, since there's air bubbles at the microscopic level in most water, and many trapped inside of the radiator, there will be bubbles working out of the system for weeks, and a reservior doesn't have any problem with keeping up. Alot of first time T-line users post here panicked that their level drops so much over time they're afraid they have leaks they aren't seeing.
Res user's levels don't drop so drastically, so we don't often get one panicking until their video starts getting artifacts :eek: .

I've run T-lines, and I've run reserviors. I prefer reserviors because of their fill-n-go abilities.
My cases are huge, and I don't LAN, so there's no portability/size/weight issues here.

BTW, technicaly, a T-line is a reservior, only it has a small orifice and air surface area, and a small ammount of make-up water.
The fittings themselves often have an inside diameter smaller than the tubing, so water velocity is actually increased as it travels through it. This equals more time spent bleeding out the air. The tiniest bubbles must join other bubbles (which they eventually will) to gain enough boyancy to escape through the T.
 
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One more thing to add, since a fitting or reservior adds restriction to waterflow, a T-line system would be slightly more efficient than a res system would be, because waterflow would be ever-so-slightly higher given the same pump/tubing length/waterblock.
T-line system's also tend to use less tubing, again reducing resistance.
Probably not enough to notice in temps, but different none the less.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for all of the great info...

I now have two questions:

Is the DangerDen Bay Res poorly designed?
and...
Which is easier to empty the system and why?
 
I've got a DD dual 5 1/4 bayres. It's been in use for about 18-months with either Hydrx or Fluid-XP/distilled. It's the 2nd gen design with thicker walls and O-ring seals under high-flow fittings. As near as I can tell there's no sign of deterioration.
 
most comersial made resiviors are poorly designed not due to the manufactuer but due to the constraints of whee in the case it can fit.

the atx and even the btx case design is old and hasnt changed in a while so res makers have to work within the structure of the case which limits thier ability to design them more efficiently.
 
That just isn't logical, thorilan. As a long-time res user I'm not at all concerned with the basic design (as in shape) of current reservoirs. It's far more important that they don't leak or otherwise deteriorate when subjected to commonly used additives for extended periods. That aspect of contruction is wholly dependent upon the manufacturer.
 
I have used both t-lines and reservoirs. I started with a bayres, went to t-lines, and then went to making my own reservoirs. I personally plan on sticking with a reservoir. Good reservoirs don't leak- that is an old wives' fable. The DD bayres with the 3/8" thick sides is a quality made reservoir. I do not like bay reservoirs as to me they are very awkward to fill which negates one reason for using a res in the first place. The Swiftech microres is also a good idea. A well placed res doesn't add any more tubing than a t-line.

T-lines to me are harder to fill due to the fill/pump/fill/pump cycle you have to go through when initially filling/bleeding, as well as for several days afterward refilling again. I don't want to have to think about having to check the level. And having an extra tube for the t-line going through the case can look lousy as well. I have my res where I can see the level from the front of the case.

Like I said earlier however, I have found that making my own reservoirs works best as I can customize them to fit the case for ease of filling and bleeding.
 
Perseus said:
That just isn't logical, thorilan. As a long-time res user I'm not at all concerned with the basic design (as in shape) of current reservoirs. It's far more important that they don't leak or otherwise deteriorate when subjected to commonly used additives for extended periods. That aspect of contruction is wholly dependent upon the manufacturer.

While what you say is true as far as quality is concerned, I would agree that really the bayres design is a poor design in general. The Swiftech microres is really to me a much better concept.
 
I'm not a fan of bay res' either. They lend themselves much more to Bling than to convenience.
It's a pain to fill them without dousing the harddrives below, and as for emptying...well, it's best not to even move a bayres for that. Just unhooking a tube from the pump (assuming it's in the bottom of the case) works better (though far from ideal).

For ease of filling a bleeding with a T-line, I'd propose having two of them. One at the bottom of the case at the pump inlet, and one at the top coming off of the CPU block's outlet. The top one would be mainly for air escape and the bottom for filling. Draining would be as simple as rotating the bottom T-line out of the case into a bucket.

Reserviors could make draining easier if it were not a bayres, and had a drain petcock installed.
For an in-the-case res, I like the ones that mount right on the pump at the bottom of the case, including a drain is easy to do.
IMHO, that's the best for waterflow in a res'd system because of the lack of restriction at the pump inlet.
The PVC tube on the outside back of the case is also a decent solution. Adding a drain petcock is easy and so is filling without dumping water inside the case.
 
Thanks for the info guys...

I already have a bay-res and will probably stick with it. I am a little worried about draining the system as I see no solution other then unhooking the pump inlet and quickly moving it over to a bucket before it spills too much all over the place.

If I have some spare hose parts laying around, I may just try a T-line for a bit. I am lazy though and that would mean extra work.
 
voigts said:
While what you say is true as far as quality is concerned, I would agree that really the bayres design is a poor design in general. The Swiftech microres is really to me a much better concept.

The MCRES is a fine design and I've seen some interesting implementations of it. As far as bayres's, though, I really don't see the inherent design flaw that some people speak of. In fact, most ot the time the leading argument against them is based on the amount of space they use.
 
good thread

I'm a pro resevoir user. I've made my own... 2 so far, and they've worked great. I don't agree with some T-line proponents that say Res's add more restriction, have you seen the I.D. of the average T? :)
I don't have much to add, since the lads have pro'd and con'd it real good already.
If anyone wants to build thier own Res. Buy "bulkhead fitting barbs" from HomeDepot or Hydroponics stores etc.
I was in a hurry to build my last Res. Drill 2 holes, screw barbs-on, connect hose.... done!! (cheasy but works!)
(sorry 'bout the pics.... gives an idea.....)
vpsporb-MCP350.mod.JPG

vpsporb-PumpRes.JPG
 
Seufari said:
lol HungLo...

Thanks for the picture... I dont think I would ever do that though. ;)

Hahahah! it's purely ghetto... and very functional......took like 10 mins to make. I haven't gotten 'round to makin a bling one yet...... I'm lazy! :)
 
i stand by what i say. i know a bit about making res.
im not talking about construction quality of the materials im talking about functionality and use.
if the reseviors where of good design then like my sytems they would bleed within a minute at 100% and not have a negative impact on the system. most res now increase tubing length not decrease it. not to mention they are positioned porly due to case restraint.
no they cant help it but its still poor in design..
 
thorilan said:
i stand by what i say. i know a bit about making res.
im not talking about construction quality of the materials im talking about functionality and use.

Then you were OT. Seufari asked for pros and cons of each approach, not what the inherent flaws are in reservoirs, as you see them.
 
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