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Watercooling Maintenance and Life Span?

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OcX

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
I run a closed loop system, with a Cap on the T-Line that is secure from outside air. I have Redline Water Wetter + Distilled Water in the lines themselves. I frequently clean the Dust build up on the Radiator, and general Dust management in the Case.

I haven't drained/refilled the WC Setup since I built it in Jan. 06, which is going on about 1.5 years. I haven't noticed any temperature changes in idle/load, or heat distrobution during this 1.5 year span. I have not noticed any condensation, or out of the ordinary water evaporation, other that what normally be expected with a WC setup.

What problems could arise from not draining, flushing, refilling the loop?

When, if at all, should you perform maintenance on your WC Setup, even though no noticeable problems have arised?
 
I think it's about due for a complete line/corrosion check by now. Disassemble everything, check fittings etc. Replace lines if they're brittle or cracking where they connect to the fittings. It may not be bad now, but after 1.5 years it's high time to check/replace anything that is looking suspicious. It's better to be safe that way, so you don't have any pains in the immediate future.
 
I changed my loops once a year. You would be surprised what can happen in the block in that amount of time.

Take it apart and clean the block out. Usually need to disasemble it and use a toothbrush with some distilled water to get the gunk out.

Flush the rad with distilled water making sure to shake it a bit as sometimes you get particles stuck in there.

I generally change the tubing at this time as well for a couple of reasons.

First the tubing can sometimes get stained and you lose clarity
Second after being clamped the ends sometimes crack and you need to snip the ends off.
 
ehhh. you dont need to touch it, but you might consider replacing the tubing and coolant soon as well as a good vineger bath. Id just worry about your seals a little. they dry out ironicly enough and can leak but if they are still rubbery and squishy, np =)
Im kinda like you. I leave mine running pretty much months on end without touching it. tubing eventually stains, and that waterwetter stuff smells like dead fish but very little maint needed.
 
i was about to ask the samething..as a new running the Swiftech H20 i wanted to know how to maint it..

Thanks for the post its much appreciated:beer:
 
I would like those who I have seen complain about how much maintenance there is in a water setup to read this thread. 1 1/2 years with no problems speaks for itself.

At some point you are going to want to take everything apart, clean everything out thoroughly, check and/or replace o-rings, and install new tubing. I personally wouldn't go more than a year.
 
Every setup is differnt.... some people require more maintence than others...

People usin cheap thin walled tubes may have to top up their water more frequently than others using thicker walled tygon tubes.

People usin storm Rev 2 may find particles blocking the little jets in their water blocks, and thus need more maintence than someone on a Apogie GT.

People usin high CFM fans may accumulate more dust in a rad compared to others usin low CFM fans.

People without silver tubes may find the build up of scum in thier loops compared to people with silver tubes.

Some people can put up with built up scum and stained tubes, whereas others like to clean it out the minuite they see some scum or stains.

There are just WAY too many variables and ideas on "clean" to say "look at this thread, and look at how low maintence water cooling is". Then compare water maintence to stock air cooling which doesnt need maintence at all...
 
Mycobacteria said:
Every setup is differnt.... some people require more maintence than others...

People usin cheap thin walled tubes may have to top up their water more frequently than others using thicker walled tygon tubes.

People usin storm Rev 2 may find particles blocking the little jets in their water blocks, and thus need more maintence than someone on a Apogie GT.

People usin high CFM fans may accumulate more dust in a rad compared to others usin low CFM fans.

People without silver tubes may find the build up of scum in thier loops compared to people with silver tubes.

Some people can put up with built up scum and stained tubes, whereas others like to clean it out the minuite they see some scum or stains.

There are just WAY too many variables and ideas on "clean" to say "look at this thread, and look at how low maintence water cooling is". Then compare water maintence to stock air cooling which doesnt need maintence at all...

You do have a number of valid points Myco, and I would even add that the rad you use also is a factor in how often it has to have the dust blown out of it as a Black Ice with a higher fin density is going to clog faster than a Thermochill that has a much lower fin density. But my point is that I have read threads where some people claim water "requires" too much maintenance.

If you use a Storm, expect to have to clean it out more often as the jets clog. If you have a rad with a higher fin density, expect to have to blow the dust out of it more often. If you don't do something to prevent growth, expect more frequent flushing and possibly a variety of other problems. But just because you have water doesn't mean that it "requires" high maintenance. And since when does air not require maintenance? Of course you have no flushing/filling, etc. to do, but I found personally that air required more frequent maintenance. I couldn't go more than 2 weeks without having to blow out clouds of dust. With water, I can blow out the dust about once every 5-6 weeks and still have less dust to deal with.

Being able to run a loop for 1 1/2 years does however show that watercooling can run for a long time for the most part maintenance-free if done properly.
 
You also got to consider,water cooling maintence takes a lot more work and time than air cooling maintence.

My loop consisting of dual pumps dual rads, four water blocks etc, takes about 3 hrs to take apart > drain > clean the parts > put back together > leak test > fill up and go again.

In comparasion with intel stock a 20 min can of air or brush and vacume is all you really need....
 
Very true guys. Watercooling, with the proper precautions, can last indefinitely longer than air cooling without maintenance. The maintenance with a properly done WC loop is to fill up the water that permeated through the tubing and dusting out the rad. Otherwise, you should not have any growth or particles in your loop (or enough particles to clog), as well as mixed metals/no anti-corrosive additive. Air, you will have to dust every few weeks/months depending on your setup (filters/no filters, number of intakes, side panel open or closed etc), but with air, the maintenance times are much shorter. WC maintenance takes much more time than AC, but lasts longer between pitstops.
 
I'll be honest... I HATE cleaning out my waterloop, BUT when it's all done, man do I love the work I did. The tubes are new and clean, and the liquid shines! And, I just feel much better about the clean jets in my Swiftech Storm.

1.5 yrs of running is just AWESOME! I have been watercooling for about 1.5 yrs myself, and I've did a flush/clean twice so far... and no joke I had one planned pretty soon.

The one thing that I still can't figure out (and hate)... is a way to drain or fill the system in one shot. It takes me SO LONG to completely drain the system. It takes me even longer to get the system filled up and the pump actually pumping the liquid. Anyone else have this problem? It's mainly the filling up... takes me 30-60min at LEAST... to get the pump to start pushing the water. I just get so many BIG air pockets, and it may be due to my design, but with a Bix2 I'm sure it's tough (since it's pretty much a larger tank to be filled).

P.S. What's up with Hector Ruiz's way of "talking"... he talks like he's not professional if you ask me. I don't understand the fragments with periods, and the sentences with commas... is that the writer/typer screwing up?
 
Last edited:
g0dM@n said:
I'll be honest... I HATE cleaning out my waterloop, BUT when it's all done, man do I love the work I did. The tubes are new and clean, and the liquid shines! And, I just feel much better about the clean jets in my Swiftech Storm.

1.5 yrs of running is just AWESOME! I have been watercooling for about 1.5 yrs myself, and I've did a flush/clean twice so far... and no joke I had one planned pretty soon.

The one thing that I still can't figure out (and hate)... is a way to drain or fill the system in one shot. It takes me SO LONG to completely drain the system. It takes me even longer to get the system filled up and the pump actually pumping the liquid. Anyone else have this problem? It's mainly the filling up... takes me 30-60min at LEAST... to get the pump to start pushing the water. I just get so many BIG air pockets, and it may be due to my design, but with a Bix2 I'm sure it's tough (since it's pretty much a larger tank to be filled).

P.S. What's up with Hector Ruiz's way of "talking"... he talks like he's not professional if you ask me. I don't understand the fragments with periods, and the sentences with commas... is that the writer/typer screwing up?


It's probably the layout of your parts. Are you using a res or a t-line? I'm running a bonneville heatercore (which I think holds more water than a BIX2, though don't take my word on it), and my loop doesn't take too long to fill. I can "self-bleed" just about all of the loop in around 30-minutes, which kills bleeding times very short. Basically, I fill my loop, and tilt my case around 'till all of the water gets to the rad, then I keep filling till all of the tubes are basically filled. I then move around my pump and my blocks 'till most of the air is out of the tubes, and when I can't manually move the bubbles to my res, I then start the pump. Bleeding this way prevents the pump from churning bubbles into minuscule bubbles which take forever to bleed. Also, if you bleed your loop with additives in it, it could foam up and take even longer. Just fill your loop with distilled water, then add additives if possible.

Draining takes me not to long, I just flip my case on it's top or it's back and open my res, and the fluid comes pouring out.
 
SolidxSnake said:
It's probably the layout of your parts. Are you using a res or a t-line? I'm running a bonneville heatercore (which I think holds more water than a BIX2, though don't take my word on it), and my loop doesn't take too long to fill. I can "self-bleed" just about all of the loop in around 30-minutes, which kills bleeding times very short. Basically, I fill my loop, and tilt my case around 'till all of the water gets to the rad, then I keep filling till all of the tubes are basically filled. I then move around my pump and my blocks 'till most of the air is out of the tubes, and when I can't manually move the bubbles to my res, I then start the pump. Bleeding this way prevents the pump from churning bubbles into minuscule bubbles which take forever to bleed. Also, if you bleed your loop with additives in it, it could foam up and take even longer. Just fill your loop with distilled water, then add additives if possible.

Draining takes me not to long, I just flip my case on it's top or it's back and open my res, and the fluid comes pouring out.
I use a T-Line on main machine and a res on the 2nd rig (haven't drained this one yet and don't think i need to yet)... but as for the main rig, dude, i'm using a Thermaltake Armor Full (or is it Super)-Tower Case. I got an OCZ 600W in there and 3 HDDs... the case is pretty heavy to keep tilting and spinning upside-down. The 1st time I did it to this case, it took so long that my back started killing me... and in all honesty I go to the gym 4-5x a week. I'm not weak, but man this case can get heavy after spinning around and around... maybe it's my fault and I rush through it cuz I do hold the case up in the air and start shaking it, lol.

If you enter my house and hear shaking upstairs and me screaming and yelling, you can tell I'm draining my system. Like I said, I absolutely HATE doing it... the most annoying and boring thing of computers in my personal opinion.

Filling it up isn't so bad, though... I guess it depends on the day. The next time I try it, I'll try to post about my success (if I remember). I'll try it differently the next time.

But if and when I do it, I'll take my storm apart for the 2nd time... that thing was GUEY the last time...

And by the way, I think I used 15% vinegar and 85% water (eye-balling it) the last time I flushed everything. Is that what you guys do?
 
g0dM@n said:
I use a T-Line on main machine and a res on the 2nd rig (haven't drained this one yet and don't think i need to yet)... but as for the main rig, dude, i'm using a Thermaltake Armor Full (or is it Super)-Tower Case. I got an OCZ 600W in there and 3 HDDs... the case is pretty heavy to keep tilting and spinning upside-down. The 1st time I did it to this case, it took so long that my back started killing me... and in all honesty I go to the gym 4-5x a week. I'm not weak, but man this case can get heavy after spinning around and around... maybe it's my fault and I rush through it cuz I do hold the case up in the air and start shaking it, lol.

If you enter my house and hear shaking upstairs and me screaming and yelling, you can tell I'm draining my system. Like I said, I absolutely HATE doing it... the most annoying and boring thing of computers in my personal opinion.

Filling it up isn't so bad, though... I guess it depends on the day. The next time I try it, I'll try to post about my success (if I remember). I'll try it differently the next time.

But if and when I do it, I'll take my storm apart for the 2nd time... that thing was GUEY the last time...

And by the way, I think I used 15% vinegar and 85% water (eye-balling it) the last time I flushed everything. Is that what you guys do?


You clean your loop or run your loop with 15/85 vinegar/water? Shouldn't be running it like that, I'm almost sure.

My TJ-06 is pretty heavy too with all the stuff in it. I don't lift the case up at all though, I just tilt it over on the floor.
 
SolidxSnake said:
You clean your loop or run your loop with 15/85 vinegar/water? Shouldn't be running it like that, I'm almost sure.

My TJ-06 is pretty heavy too with all the stuff in it. I don't lift the case up at all though, I just tilt it over on the floor.
i clean with 15/85 vinegar... no way i don't RUN it like that - I believe it'll eat away at my WBs iirc.

and when i fill the loop, i use distilled ~90%, and the rest this stuff here:
SWIFTECH HYDRX - EXTREME DUTY COOLANT 2 OZ - $2.99 @ SVC

I've no idea how good it works to prevent growth in my loop, but so far it hasn't FAILED (though I think my temps have gone up in my main rig since at stock vcore on a storm with IHS off my opteron 165 i'm idling at like 35C).

Think I should put any other additives in there? I used to use anti-freeze, but it smells and stains...

I dunno anything about water wetter or how much to put... any links?

OcX, takes notes!! I know dos and donts about WC, but not all... whatever I've been doing has worked, but it doesn't hurt to be more cautious. I'm still impressed by your 1.5 yr run without issues. :)
 
Watercooling indeed requires more work than air. Whoever doesnt agree so need to have their reality checked.

Also you guys forgot the MOST time consumming work in watercooling : LEAKTESTING. Gosh that means my comp has to be down more than a day.

I do hate to maint. my watecooling but the reward is worth it. I can run high overclocked system very quitely. Thats my main goal.

However i think in future, when my time is more valuable. I will go back to air and run moderated overclocked system.
 
MameXP said:
Watercooling indeed requires more work than air. Whoever doesnt agree so need to have their reality checked.

Also you guys forgot the MOST time consumming work in watercooling : LEAKTESTING. Gosh that means my comp has to be down more than a day.

I do hate to maint. my watecooling but the reward is worth it. I can run high overclocked system very quitely. Thats my main goal.

However i think in future, when my time is more valuable. I will go back to air and run moderated overclocked system.
my leak-testing is just about 5min long... i know i should go longer, but hey i take chances.
 
I usually let it run for 30 min or so to leak test it. If it doesnt leak in that amount of time, then it shouldnt leak at all.
 
I hardly leaktest my loop. Seeing as how I'm running components that haven't ever leaked before, and haven't removed the barbs, I trust them not to leak after a loop rebuild. My tube-barb connections won't leak, 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs is not going to leak. My leak-test is essentially my bleeding times. When it's fully bled, take a look at all the connections and fire it up if it all looks good.
 
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