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Water Has Got My Scared

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tropicaltornado

Registered
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Im so scared to install this watercooling kit you just don't know. Im 14 and have better components that 92% (estimated and problably wrong as hell guess) of people here.I dont want water all over the place and it is eating me up just to think about my 9700 pro to get coor distortions and then shut off completly.I might just get rid of this watercooling and get the new Thermalright heatsink and a tornado...arhhhhhhi need a professional so freaking bad..Or atleast someone with experience to physically help me
 
haha, dont worrie man...i think everyone goes through the preliminary jitters. Just have fun with it. Dont be afraid to take risks and mod or cut stuff up (or put your JR in your drive bays somehow =)

You can always ask us for help.
 
"physically" help you?

call an escort service, you'll "help" you alrite, hehe



anyways, start with a kit if i were you, even though self assembled is cheaper, get a kit like the koolance (sorry) or something and then READ THEM INSTRUCTIONS and follow em' throughly, and i'd say you should be fine


btw, treat this like a girl, use a bit of care and caution and take ur time when u're doing it, and she'll serve you good :)
 
i have no problem with hooking it up and stuff...its just the......drip drip drip (big flash) Dane gets ground for saying %$#@% %$#@ %^$#...four times fast..
 
Well when you get a new WC system, run it for at least a day WITHOUT any of the computer components in the case to make sure it doesn't leak. If it does fix it and run it for another 24 hours. Once you have made sure it doesn't leak, it most likely won't start unless you forgot to do something correctly (like overtightening hoseclamps or not using them or something like that).
 
Thing to do is install the setup dry i.e. with no water at all, and computer off of course, so you can get the hose lengths right and you get a trial run of putting the blocks on (don't use any thermal grease yet, this is just for measurements first). Now you've got it installed and the hoses all the right length, remove the kit from your case ;)

Put down some newspaper (or towel, anything to protect the floor if you're setting this up in the house) and place your kit on that; now might be a good time to add teflon tape (also known as plumbing/PTFE around the barbs, just a thin wrap will do) and to use hose clamps around the connections. Make sure they're on tight but not so tight they are cutting into the tubing. To be extra safe you could also apply some silicon sealant on the ends to make sure it's all sealed up nice. If you do use sealant, put it on then go watch tv or something - give it the necessary time to set, as per the instructions on the tube :)

Now it's all hopefully secured, fill 'er up! distilled water + small amount of antifreeze/waterwetter/purple ice (I use deionised water seems to work fine). If you're using a 'T' line you'll need to rotate the setup around to work the bubbles out, fill as much as you can. If you're having trouble you could try a quick pulse on/off of the pump to help push some of the water/air around, then refill as needed. With a reservoir setup it should be pretty simple, just fill it up, turn a little if possible then continue filling (while running the pump if necessary)

Place some tissues or blotting/towel paper under the blocks and whereever there is a connection (pump, radiator, t/res etc) this will help detect any leaks.

Let it run for 24 hours like this; if you get leaks probably the best thing to do is empty the water out, make sure the leaky area is dry and resecure the connection, or if that doesn't help try some sealant.. or if the blocks themselves leak maybe see about replacements.

If all goes well after 24 hours and there are no leaks, you can be brave and put it in while it still contains water or empty it out, install it, then refill it ;) If you're using a graphics card block I found it easier to attach the block to the card outside the case then slide the whole setup in, including the card but that's just personal preference, oh yeah make sure to have applied a thin layer of thermal grease to your chips ;)

Anyone has any other tips feel free to add ;)
 
yeah follow humdingers example....you cant screw if you follow what he says....its really quite simple to do, so just take your time and do it right and youll have nice temps in no time.


Man i already feel old and im only 20.....when i was 14 i had a 386 that booted into dos....didnt even have win 3.1 yet. There was a dinky heatsink on the cpu and thats about it.

Crazyness
 
DipStickTony said:

Man i already feel old and im only 20.....when i was 14 i had a 386 that booted into dos....didnt even have win 3.1 yet. There was a dinky heatsink on the cpu and thats about it.

LOL

Back to the subject

When I first setup my watercooling system I wanted it right then and there. Well I did a nice setup but it was quiet large and I wanted to transport it. So since I needed the computer I really did a ****ty job on retrofiting it inside the case, and got the famus, drip drip drip, S*#@. The computer was off and all but what a mess of a gallon of liquid all over the place.

Then back in Feb I decided I had more time and give it another shot. Well back at it again and got it all hooked up quicker then I figured. Wahla first try with the newer setup and a clear mind on the situation and it worked flawlessly. Got it up and running without problems, not a single leak in the 8 months I had it in operation. Also this was a transportable cooling system that I had inside the case that went on nice road trips in my honda in the middle of nowhere on ****ty roads.

From someone that has gone through both parts take your time doing it and the results will be better. After its all hooked up don't hesitate to let the pump run for 24 hours for a leak test on the system before hitting the power button to just be sure there is no leaks. If it does leak during that time no harm is done just make sure you clean everything up really well.
 
i'm getting ahead here but for god's sakes bleed the system for bubbles and do it well. air makes a big difference in cooling temps, i had to fill my kit about 3 times, i'd fill it, come back, see the bubble forming in my top tube, bleed it, start over...when i finally got ALL the air out i noticed at least 3c+ drop in my temps
 
My advice would be to get a kit. If not, go with 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD tubing. It's thick as hell so I don't worry about overtightening/cracking/kinking etc so much.

I just got done putting together my first WC rig. Yeah, I did a dry run first, and flooded my kitchen a few times.

Keep a bucket handy. If you have a leak, i found it easy to disconnect the tube, drain the system, refasten it, refill and try again.

Getting the tubing lenghts set up to how you want was a pain for me, but in the end trust me, everything will be worth it.

I'm still paranoid and check for leaks everyday.
 
Like I've told you numerous times before tropicaltornado, find those leaks! Leaks are easily fixable if you know the source. Once you got it running for a day or 2 without leaks I'm sure you'll be much more comfortable about putting it in your system.
 
Yea I just passed the leak test stage and sure enough the hose barb coming from the pump was leaking. Same with one of the connections on the GPU block. After i fixed those it has been running for 3 days straight perfect. Man that thing is quiet once all the air is out and i have a mag 3.
 
I got worried about my video card as well. I made a little shroud out of cardboard that sits on top of the videocard that will act as a "lean to" shed in case I have a leak on my waterblock. Worrying about leaks is natural, I believe everyone that watercools had those jitters at least once. Just take yer time and like others have said, LEAK TEST for at least 24hours before putting your system back together. And the biggest part, have fun! :D
 
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