Reserator 1 V2 External Pump

I was wondering if anyone has had trouble opening the bottom of the Reserator 1 V2 in order to replace the pump. I have tried ever tool Home Depot offers and I can't get it to budge. I am now contemplating getting an external pump and using the Reserator as a reservoir. Does anyone have suggestions or knowledge about this sort of setup? I believe I need to remove the pump in the Reserator before including an external pump in the loop. Zalman has been unresponsive to my request for a RMA, since the bottom will not open.

Thanks in advance for your comments and help.

Have a look here http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/forums

There's loads of other threads in that forum about problems with Zalman 'watercooling' stuff.

Thank you!

Thanks for your reply Elfie. I actually did see those posts and bought the same sash clamp they show in the photos, as well as 4-5 other tools that might have gotten the job done. I have almost spent as much on tools getting this thing open, as I did on the Reserator itself. That might sound stupid, but I was hellbent on getting this thing opened.

The picture doesn't seem to show the sledgehammer he might have used to 'tap' it.

Have you tried heating the finned bit in boiling water in a bucket with an ice pack on the base? Maybe heat expansion/contraction might help.

I did try a hair dryer, but I think your suggestion is a great option. I will try it out and post my results. I'm all ears if you have any other ideas, too. Thanks again for the great suggestion.

I might be able to come up with an idea or two but I need some information first.

Is the base aluminum and what's the diameter ...?

4 inches and it's anodized aluminum. Thanks for your suggestions in advance too.

Hiyas Elfi! If your going to abandone the V2 tube to cool anything and use it as a res I need to mention this.

You do know the res is aluminum? It will have water in it and you'll be using copper blocks to cool the PC parts. I'm sure you read about disimmilar metal coorosion. Can you just buy a proper small very effective Res and get all the aluminum out of the loop?

This res is pretty cheap, and very very effective.
http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCRES-Micro-Rev-2-pr-4312.html
Just need to replace the plastic barbs someday.

Edited I am NOT up to my game today, too little sleep.


Have you tried using a strap/band clamp yet? A lot of oil filters are 3-4" across and if you get a good clamp you can really torq them down. Don't know how much of a lip you have to work with, though ...

ive been trying a year to seperate the two halfs on mine #Laughs#

dont think ive seen any evidence of sealant.

ive heated one half... cooled and shrunk the other, had two and half foot of leaverage round and tried tapping it round to freedom with a hefty lump hammer.

thoes sodding things dont come apart

you can unscrew the plate bracket inside them and remove the pump... have to work blind with your arm in it and feel for the screw heads.

if I ever do seperate the two, I may just post how its done

I thought that's what I saw on the base in one of those pics off http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/forums > Water cooling > How do I remove? but after the thing with heating/cooling (and that's real basic physics I learned decades ago) I wouldn't trust me either - not today anyway ...

had a look at the link... maybe an o ring there at the base of the steel part but the blue streaks and stains are just the anti corrosives messy left overs.

seems the two major ingredients are good restraint and leaverage anyhow.

guess I need to build up for my next wrestle.

Being 6'2" @ 300# and working on cars most of my life (as a hobby) I've already got that - but I still find a longer lever to be the better bet if you can get one on the tool. Not only does it take less sweat it also allows much more control ...

I did buy the largest sash clamp they sell at Home Depot and a rubber strip, which did not work. I also tried the boiling water and cold compress and still no luck. I think I might work blindly, as BobbyBubblehead mentioned, to remove the pump from the top down. Before I do that, I need to decide on an external pump that will work with the 3/8" tubing that comes with the reserator. Sorry for the nickel question, but has anyone used an external pump and had good luck with any in particular? I have seen that many people have chosen the Eheim pumps, but the fittings are different.... again, thanks for your suggestions.

One of the best computer water-cooling pumps is the MCP-355 from Swiftech (built by Laing) but it's non-submersible. There are several add-on tops for it but they really aren't necessary - the pump is VERY nice as is and has built-in 3/8" barbs. A little on the expensive side as such things go but I've had mine running pretty much non-stop for over two years without a hiccup and the water-cooling guru's almost swear by them ...

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swiftechmcp355.html

you`ll need to seal the cable hole in that case... just something to plan for in advance. (I dont recommend jamming a screw driver in the cable hole, seems to leek months later )

I thought I would give a step by step guide to changing the pump for the Reserator 1 V2. I chose to go with an external pump (Swiftech - Sidewinder Custom MCP655 / Laing D5 with G 3/8 Threads - 317 GPH). MY CPU TEMP WENT DOWN 12 DEGREES (C).

Since we could not get the base off to remove the pump as the manual suggests, I had my wife reach down (my arms are too big to fit) and unscrew one of the sides holding the old pump in place (the band is blue on mine). Once she flipped it to the side, I was able to reach down with a longer tool with a hook on the end and basically pulled and ripped the old power cable out (it broke right where the cord comes out from the bottom of the Reserator). After we removed the pump and remaining power cord, we removed all other parts (1 screw and the band covering the old pump). After everything was out, I used silicon filler to block the hole left from where the power cord exited the Reserator (I used Q-tips to push the silicon in far enough to make sure there were no leaks. After filling the hole, I let the silicon cure overnight (14 hours or so). The next step was to fill the Reserator with the water/coolant solution to check for any leaks. All was good with the reservoir, I added the external pump to the loop (I couldn't fit it the chassis, so it sits right outside the case - if you have ever seen the size of the Radeon 5970 you'll understand why I couldn't fit it into the case. After completing the loop, I turned on my computer and proceeded to bleed the loop to rid it of all the air in the loop. This new external pump pushes the liquid through the loop at more than 10 times that of the old internal pump. As a result, my temperature dropped by 12 degrees (c) when it's idling.

NOTE: Many people have rated this as "intermediate", which I don't doubt, if you're able to unscrew the base, but if you cannot get the base off, IMHO, I would suggest this is an "advanced" process.

I'm glad I finally got this done and I'm now prepared for the summer heat to come along and hopefully maintain the same temps while idling. I have not played Cysis yet or done a full load test yet, but I suspect that I will still have a significant drop in temps.

Thank you everyone for your great suggestions and for your help. I hope this feedback is able to help the next person who gets stuck trying to unscrew the base without any luck.