Scuba ...Reuben?

[chawks2]

Forgive me for I have sinned. I setup my loop (without testing outside..I know..Im MUD), everything looked great, the 'puter was nice and quiet UNTIL I noticed my rad(BIX) was leaking.

Unfortunately, it didnt get out of hand and I quickly noticed the quarter size puddle saturating one of my IP35 realtek chips and lubricating the sys fan power connector causing my fan to flicker and shut off.

I used non conductive liquid with distilled water and blue food coloring. It appears disaster has been averted. Back to the BIX leak.

One of the "barbs/thread area" was causing the leak. DD supplies you with a tiny O-ring to place between the thread area and the barb. Strangely, this worked without incident on one of the barbs, but this little PITA decided it had different plans for me.

My question is, how can I prevent the leak at the thread area? I have seen a "white gummy/plastic tape" (ie - used for shower heads) and was looking to see if that solved the issue.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use for the BIX leak?

 

[jrafael]

Loctite® Threadlocker Blue

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products/detail.asp?catid=10&subid=48&plid=153

• Locks threaded fasteners against vibration loosening
• Ideal for nut and bolt applications 1/4" to 3/4" (6mm to 20mm)
• Prevents threads from rusting and leaking
• Removable with hand tools for easy disassembly
• Temperature range: -65 degrees to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (-54 degrees to 149 degrees Celsius)

You can find it in almost any home hardware store (ace, home depot, lowes,etc )or autopart (autozone, napa, pepboys, etc)

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1295867

This is not my Idea, got it from IanY at xtremesystems

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2262248&postcount=22

 

[MrLarkins]

yep Locktite is the way to go!

 

[myndlessdayz]

^To Lark above me^ We almost have the same comp specs besides the GFX

RTV Silicone or plumbers' tape that you mentioned. I'm using RTV on my BIX2 cause it also was leaking at the barbs.

 

[chawks2]

Thanks guys, greatly appreciate, lets hope I didnt zap the board, or my realtek controller.

 

[icantfindone]

The barbs on my BIX2 were leaking as well when I first installed it. I simply took the barbs out, put Teflon tape around the threads, and screwed the barbs back in. Havent had a single drop leak since.

My vote goes to Teflon tape. Cheap, easy, not messy. . .

 

[Otter]

Make sure the barb is properly tightened. Loose barbs are probably the most common cause of leaks. Plumber's tape can help because it reduces friction and hence reduces the fear factor of cranking hard on a plastic barb, but it isn't really necessary. As long as your O-ring is good and both surfaces that mate to it are smooth, all you need to do is crank the barb down properly.

People worry about stripping the barbs, but I can't recall one post about that actually happening, and nearly all threads that start out like this one are resolved by tightening. Now and then, a new O-ring is needed, but at least 95% of the time it's just a matter of getting the barb tight enough.

 

[chawks2]

I tightened it 3-4x, reclamped it multiple times, and tried a new O-ring. I was going the teflon tape route, but decided to get the Loctite.

Was getting good status messages from the board, so I dont think it's fried, but the fan not coming on worries me a bit. Especially when I tried 2 separate power connectors.

After about 1.5 hours I tried the fan on another machine and it came up fine, but didnt retest on the "underwater" IP35. I'll be really bummed if it's dead, but it was a good learning experience, albeit an expensive one.

 

[Otter]

Did you clean the board carefully after the mishap? Maybe the pins for the fan are just gunked up by coolant residue. This is the chipset fan header, right? If that's all that's dead, you could use another header or get yourself a passive chipset cooler (about $20).

When you retightened the barb, did you do it as recommended? I've never had this problem myself, but I've seen many posts from people who said they tightened 1 turn beyond finger tight, etc, when the manufacturer said something else entirely. You need to really squash that o-ring to get a good seal.

 

[chawks2]

The O-ring was smooshed to the point where you can see it flapping out the sides.

I found it strange the pressure on the O-ring made parts of it squish out unevenly. The same was the case with my other barb, but that one is not leaking at all.

 

[UBERCOOL]

it is also possible to over tighten an O-ring... The first time I set up water cooling I wanted my barbs to be TIGHT so I grabbed a plumber's wrench and cranked away. Problem was that like you are saying, the O-ring was bulging out from around the hexagonal pattern around the barb and not sealing anything at all. Finger tight is a good rule to stick with, but teflon tape or loctite is a safer bet.

 

[EmAn]

+1 vote for teflon tape

easy
quick
cheap
not messy
can get it from any hardware store

 

[Otter]

the O-ring was bulging out from around the hexagonal pattern around the barb and not sealing anything at all.

Yes that would be taking it too far.

 

[chawks2]

First go with the Loctite did not work!

However, the 2nd time around it appears it is working properly.

Running over 10+ hours with no leaks. Yeah, almost ready for temp/benchies/screenshots!!

 

[jrafael]

First go with the Loctite did not work!

However, the 2nd time around it appears it is working properly.

Running over 10+ hours with no leaks. Yeah, almost ready for temp/benchies/screenshots!!

You have to let it "set" for at least 12h, and will fully cure after 24h, once it cures it's a done deal, you will never have to deal with that barb again, it will stand the stress from tubing vibrations, case moving, re-setups, etc. please keep us posted.

 

[Moto7451]

Loctite really isn't designed for that use. You would have been better serviced by RTV silicone. Loctite is for when you don't want a bolt to back off... meaning I hope you only applied a little. There is a limit to how much torque you can apply (to break the barb loose) to a copper/brass radiator tank and loctite makes it pretty hard to remove (that's it's job after all).

I use Blue loctite at work for repairing knives and swords and its a great product but I don't know how good of a choice it is for this. While you might feel that you'll never need to change the barb, its better to still have that as an option.

 

[myndlessdayz]

I was wondering isn't loctite meant to bolt or screw from coming off? I didn't think it could be used as a sealant also. I used the blue loctite on the butterfly screws of my intake manifold on my car.

 

[Moto7451]

Yes loctite is a thread locker designed to prevent screws and bolts from being removed easily. It is in no way designed as a sealant. Loctite sells different products for that.

Blue loctite is the wicking loctite. You use it on fittings and bolts that you want to be able to remove at some point. It also is used in cases where you can't easily "prepare" the fastener with loctite before screwing it in. Since it is wicking it will actually spread itself into the threads.

Red Loctite is the strong version of loctite. It requires a higher temperature to be broken down but doesn't wick.

My best friend's mother bought her a pair of Diamond earrings and after she lost one down the sink (thankfully they were purchased after diamond prices went down a bunch ) she loctited the replacement earring and the previously orphaned one shut. It's a good thing that they're 24K gold or her ears would be pretty sore now (it's been about a year since that happened) .

 

[Otter]

Yikes. I think that's taking things a bit too far too.

I use Blue loctite at work for repairing knives and swords

How do you repair a sword with loctite?

 

[Maviryk]

Yikes. I think that's taking things a bit too far too.


How do you repair a sword with loctite?

For the hilt/handles... not the blade itself...