Reservoir return line: top or bottom?

Tube res return: top or bottom?

  • In from the top

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • In from the bottom

    Votes: 6 85.7%

  • Total voters
    7
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
Messages
2,286
Hey all! I'm curious to get some opinions, as I'm considering changing one of my tubing runs.

IMG_20170708_113521587.jpg


Currently, the return line to my reservoir is dropping out of the upper rad and doing a little 90, as you can see.

I'm considering using one of those dual 45° rotary snakes out of the right side port on my pump top, and hitting a "T" fitting. The new line will shoot straight down from the rad into the top of that "T", and the bottom of the "T" will be the new location for my drain valve.

I think it'll just look cleaner, and I'm hoping it'll make bleeding go a little faster.

How do you guys like to plumb your tube reservoirs and why?
 
In general, if you have your flow IN to the res at the top, and the pump suction or OUT at the bottom, you'll have an easier time bleeding. You want to keep them far apart if possible to allow any entrained air bubbles to separate out, and not just get sucked back into the pump and recirculated.

So your current arrangement is probably the best for bleeding.

That being said, in the end, it's not really going to make THAT much difference. So if you'd like to run the return line to the pump top instead, it'd probably work OK. That would make the water in your res stagnant most of the time though, since there'd be very little forced flow through the res.
 
In general, if you have your flow IN to the res at the top, and the pump suction or OUT at the bottom, you'll have an easier time bleeding. You want to keep them far apart if possible to allow any entrained air bubbles to separate out, and not just get sucked back into the pump and recirculated.

So your current arrangement is probably the best for bleeding.

That being said, in the end, it's not really going to make THAT much difference. So if you'd like to run the return line to the pump top instead, it'd probably work OK. That would make the water in your res stagnant most of the time though, since there'd be very little forced flow through the res.
Good points.

To be honest, the whole point of this is the maximize the awesomeness of Primochill's soon-to-launch Vue coolant.

The extra pipe coming down will be a plus aesthetically, and I'm imagining the new setup will make for very little (but not non-existent) turbulence in the res; my hope is that it'll make a nice color-shifty look.
 
Good points.

To be honest, the whole point of this is the maximize the awesomeness of Primochill's soon-to-launch Vue coolant.

The extra pipe coming down will be a plus aesthetically, and I'm imagining the new setup will make for very little (but not non-existent) turbulence in the res; my hope is that it'll make a nice color-shifty look.

That's all personal preference...I'd like the cleaner look myself, without the extra tubing running in front of that nice-looking res.

If turbulence is a problem, you might consider a Bitspower "Aqua Pipe 2" type fitting. This puts a short tube into the res at the top, so you don't get that "falling water" effect, but still get all the benefits I mentioned above. I use one of these in my res and it's worked very well. It's the black pipe in this example:

500x1000px-LL-a0e40bc8_DSCN9212.jpeg
 
Doing it from the top makes it a pain to fill, so I haven't bothered. Modern reservoirs have accommodations for not sucking air back into the loop, and it's cleaner not having anything hanging off the top.

Just personal preferences.
 
That's all personal preference...I'd like the cleaner look myself, without the extra tubing running in front of that nice-looking res.

If turbulence is a problem, you might consider a Bitspower "Aqua Pipe 2" type fitting. This puts a short tube into the res at the top, so you don't get that "falling water" effect, but still get all the benefits I mentioned above. I use one of these in my res and it's worked very well. It's the black pipe in this example:

500x1000px-LL-a0e40bc8_DSCN9212.jpeg
Oh, my res has one of those. It's just clear so it's hard to see. =)

Doing it from the top makes it a pain to fill, so I haven't bothered. Modern reservoirs have accommodations for not sucking air back into the loop, and it's cleaner not having anything hanging off the top.

Just personal preferences.
Yeah, unfortunately, with the Aqualis res I'm using, moving to a bottom-return will not allow me to fully remove the top for filling anyway; the design "pinches" the glass tube between the top and bottom by way of a tension rod.

Still though, I've never liked that little 90...

Parts are ordered to make the change, I'll let you know if it turns out easier or harder to use. =)
 
My setup flows too damn much to dump it in from the top, and even from the bottom I have to use the small tube for the return otherwise I get a nice cyclone affect, looks cool but causes cavitation in the pump.
 
Yeah? It's kinda a funky orientation for it, took a little while to grow on me but I dig it now. =)
 
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