• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

24 hour leak test

P

ProOC

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 17, 2003
Messages
129
How important is a 24 hour leak test when first setting up a watercooling system? I've got mine all set up and it's been 2 hours and I am dying to put my machine back together. I don't see any leaks so far. Are they saying a leak could pop at 23 hours? In that case couldn't a leak pop in say 23 days? And if thats the case I might as well just put all my stuff back in now and take my chances. :D

What are you guys/gals thoughts?
 
I'm of the mentality that if it doesn't leak in a few hours, its not going to unless conditions change. Build your system.
 
I haven't built a water cooled rig yet, but I'm betting that there are some problems that will only leak if they sense some proximity to the electrical field of a processor :D
 
I say do a 24 hours test on your first system, on paper towels, with colored coolant.

The reason for this is often it's a slight drip that builds up somewhere that casues greif, and not some dramatic tidal wave of coolant blowing out of a hose that slipped off a barb or something. THe colored coolant will leave a stain on that paper towel, helping to trace down the source of the leak.

8 could suffice, but I say definately no less than 8 hours. You are talking about shortening a test designed to minimize chances of damage to your machine, and we all know we drop more cash than we should on them :rolleyes:
 
Let it run a day with all your stuff in it, you arent using tap water? Then you should be fine. Turn it on once, let it run for a few minutes, see if it leaks.

You can turn the computer on by jumping and holding pins 4 and 6 on the ATX power cable to the motherboard. Dont jump the wrong ones, bad things will happen!
 
Seeing as it's been almost 24 hours, what did you decide to do?

And, yes, I think a 24 hour (and longer) leak test is a good idea. Here's why:

When I built my first WC rig, I had all the components sitting out on the workbench. Very nice equipment, Eheim 1250, a lapped MCW-5000A, automotive heatercore, and a custom made plastic reservoir. I decided to be ultra thorough, and let the rig run for 15 days...actually I just was really busy, modding the case the stuff was going to go into.

Over time I noticed a slow leak in the side of the reservoir...almost like little beads of sweat forming on the surface. I'd wipe them off, and then they'd pop right back. Taking a closer look, I saw a hairline crack running from the hole for one of the fittings up to nearly the top of the container. So I took the res out of the loop, and constructed one made of PVC...and that didn't leak.

Now the Old & Busted reservoir is sitting somewhere in a closet, with one entire face covered in a spider's web of hairline cracks. Leaks like a sieve when it's full of water, but looks fine when dry.

If I had jumped the gun and installed all my WC gear into my case early...well... That'd be the end of that.
 
i'd say 12 hr's is fine...over night...passed school/work and then pop it in...BUT be caareful, i have had VERY slow leaks in my RES before..... only when you toched it does the drop FINALLY fall but it's there :)
 
24 hours is a good time interval, but you should check the system periosically once its in. I gotta say though that hardware is very very forgiving to being wet.
I have built many many waterblocks and different configurations of a water cooled system on my test rig. The rig is a micro atx cube with the mobo lying flat on the bottom of the case. When i first got a swiftech block to test i let it run for a day with no leaks, once i got it into the case however the tube was bent just enough to let the crappy push-in connectors fail spectacularly. The computer froze and i realized something was wrong, water was actually flowing out of my case through the bottom vents. The ram,mobo,vid card etc where all 100% soaked. I took it apart, let it air dry for an hour and it went back together just fine. Thats just one of the few spills I have had, no damage yet, just be sure to use distilled water+alcohol as an antifreeze.
 
I ended up putting my machine back together after like 6 hours.

It's still fine. I love watercooling. It dropped my temps like 30 some odd degress C. This is working like a champ.

I guess I'll keep an eye on it to be sure though.
 
24 hours leak test sounds very good idea. Keep in mind there used to be standard 72 hours burn in period years back when you build new computer (or purchase customized ones). All for precautionary measure.
What I would recommend is regular check even after 24 hours leak test on your system for at least a week. I've had cases where the leak was SOOO minor that I didn't notice it for days. After that just casual visual inspection every few weeks would be good idea. (But then, I believe most of us that have H2O cooled ones keep changing stuff every few weeks so this might not be an issue :p)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top