EK Res: Anti Vortex Protection?

Zarathustra[H]

Extremely [H]
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Oct 29, 2000
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Hey all,

I just ordered a new EK reservoir, the EK-RES X4 (I like mine big).

Reading the manual it says it comes with a pre-installed anti-vortex plate in the bottom to limit the spinning of the fluid.

waek-1360_waek_1360_4g_800x800.jpg


I have some questions:

1.) Is spinning common?

2.) Is it really a problem if it occurs? Why would this be a negative? Noise? Appearance?

3.) I was considering taking the plate out and bending my return tubes slightly to encourage spinning to get some mixing action going in the reservoir. Is there a reason not to do this?

Appreciate any thoughts.
 
Having a vortex can introduce air into your pump and system, making your pump work a bit harder and posibly adding air bubbles in the loop. One way to avoid a vortex is to run the pump at a lower speed, your built in plate is another way, and an inlet tube from the top of the res also works.
 
Having a vortex can introduce air into your pump and system, making your pump work a bit harder and posibly adding air bubbles in the loop. One way to avoid a vortex is to run the pump at a lower speed, your built in plate is another way, and an inlet tube from the top of the res also works.

Hmm.

Hadn't thought of the air getting in the pump.

Wouldn't your coolant level need to be pretty low for that?
 
Yes, filling the res to the top would help eliminate getting a vortex. I am certainly not saying a vortex is a huge problem, its not going to kill components but I would surely want a smooth flowing res rather than a bubbling cyclone. I have never had a cyclone because i generally use the inlet tube at the top. I just cannot see a benefit from encouraging a cyclone.
 
Vortexes are minor problems. It also comes down to your res design, especially if the inlet port is horizontal. The water will naturally create a vortex, thus those type of reservoirs usually come with some sort of anti vortex generator, ie something to disrupt the circular flow.
 
as suction happens in the middle of something it creates a vortex. In the case of a water cooling res it will cause a cyclone and will introduce air into the pump and the pump will then pump airated water through the loop and the air bubbles will collect in high points in the loop. Vortex also flows less then no vortex
 
I can see the need for those things in small reservoirs where the fluid level is close to the outlet of the res, but I've never felt like they were needed in large reservoirs.
 
Hmm.

Hadn't thought of the air getting in the pump.

Wouldn't your coolant level need to be pretty low for that?

On my current build I am using 2 reservoirs that are pretty big. When I initially fill I'll usually get some air trapped in the pump, and I've had a vortex. You can typically get the air out by tipping or moving the case to bleed the air, but any tech to keep air out of the pump is welcome. When air gets in the pump its noisy and certainly not good for the pump, because you want it running completely wet.
 
On my current build I am using 2 reservoirs that are pretty big. When I initially fill I'll usually get some air trapped in the pump, and I've had a vortex. You can typically get the air out by tipping or moving the case to bleed the air, but any tech to keep air out of the pump is welcome. When air gets in the pump its noisy and certainly not good for the pump, because you want it running completely wet.

Understood.

The part I don't get is that if you have a reservoir that is 90+% full, and it is a large, tall, reservoir, how on Earth could a vortex reach all the way down to the drain port?
 
Understood.

The part I don't get is that if you have a reservoir that is 90+% full, and it is a large, tall, reservoir, how on Earth could a vortex reach all the way down to the drain port?

I am going to be refilling on Tuesday after replacing an acrylic pump top that cracked. If the Vortex returns in one of my 250s I'll post a video. Probably has something to do with some air being in the pump initially when its turned on, but I'm no expert.
 
I am going to be refilling on Tuesday after replacing an acrylic pump top that cracked. If the Vortex returns in one of my 250s I'll post a video. Probably has something to do with some air being in the pump initially when its turned on, but I'm no expert.

Interesting. I'd be interested in seeing that.

I wonder if it is only an issue if your pump is connected straight to the reservoir, or if it is also an issue of you have a standalone reservoir and rub a length of tubing down to a pump
 
Interesting. I'd be interested in seeing that.

I wonder if it is only an issue if your pump is connected straight to the reservoir, or if it is also an issue of you have a standalone reservoir and rub a length of tubing down to a pump

Yeah I would be surprised to see this happen on something that isn't a rez/pump combo, and if it can happen it would probably look awesome.
 
i had this with a pair of ddc pumps. it was a short cpu and gpu loop. i had a petras ddc top on the first pump. with a small alphacool res/top for the second pump with a single xspc rx360 rad cpu block and full coverage gpu block. if i left the 1st pump on while trying to fill the loop it would vortex over and over endlessly. it was mesmerizing and loud as fuck when it got sucked back into the pump. i had to turn the first pump off in order to fill and bleed the loop. once it was completely full it would stop. the other problem i had with that set up was i had to leave the second pump off until it was bled completely. otherwise the air would just get blasted thru the loop forever making it impossible to bleed. i cant for the life of me remember the name of the alphacool top. i actually bundled it up with some wcing gear i sold last year. it was a short wide square design made of plexi. im pretty sure the vortex was a factor in killing those two pumps altho they didnt die for several more years.
found it in case someone wants to try and replicate it...
the last picture is what the entire res looks like.
https://www.frozencpu.com/products/...56bK5wIVy8DACh0j-ANyEAQYASABEgIZ3fD_BwE#blank
 
I just ordered a bunch of parts to watercool my machine and I've come across all kinds of stuff in my research. Apparently, EK Cryofuel is very susceptible to foaming up in systems with high flow. There was a guy on OCN who's res looked like clear bear with a giant head on it. He drained, cleaned, and refilled multiple times with the same result. EK blew him off and said it was one of the radiators he was using. He switched fluids and never had the issue again. I wonder if EK did this to help with problems specifically with their coolant.
 
I just ordered a bunch of parts to watercool my machine and I've come across all kinds of stuff in my research. Apparently, EK Cryofuel is very susceptible to foaming up in systems with high flow. There was a guy on OCN who's res looked like clear bear with a giant head on it. He drained, cleaned, and refilled multiple times with the same result. EK blew him off and said it was one of the radiators he was using. He switched fluids and never had the issue again. I wonder if EK did this to help with problems specifically with their coolant.

I don't know how high flow is considered "high flow" in this example, but I have run my EK coolant through my system at up to 1.1-1.2 GPM.

The only time I ever had any foaming was when my system was brand new and I improperly cleaned the radiators before use.

I knew they needed cleaning, but I used a technique that wasn't the best. I've learned a lot since then.

I have replaced the fluid a few times and several components since then, and the foaming issue never reappeared.
 
I guess I'll need to learn all this radiator cleaning stuff. I know you have to flush the new radiator, but I haven't looked further than that yet.
 
I guess I'll need to learn all this radiator cleaning stuff. I know you have to flush the new radiator, but I haven't looked further than that yet.


Well,

This is drifting off topic, but I'll give you my two cents here.

First time I bought radiators I was concerned about contaminating them with conductive ionized water, so I didn't want to use tap water.

Instead I boiled distilled water and ran it through the radiators using my tubing and fittings and a funnel and collecting it again on the output side using a coffee filter, then rinsing and repeating. I was under the impression I was just flushing out chunks, and thus reusing the water was fine. I was wrong.

Once I installed everything my fluid became foamy and cloudy. Eventually I had to drain, fill and flush several times with distilled water and use fresh fluid to get rid of the problem.

This time in my current build I have done a more thorough clean of my new radiators.

1.) I bought one of these garden hose to 3/8" barb adapters. The sink in our laundry area has garden hose threads on the end. I gave them a good long flush with hot tap water straight from the tap.

2.) Filled them with hot water with some dish soap in it. Let it soak for a bit and then poured a little out and shook/slushed it around for a bit and dumped it.

3.) Did another shorter flush with hot water from the tap

4.) Filled them with half water half white vinegar and let them sit for a while and then again poured a little out, shook them a bit and then dumped it.

5.) Now another good long flush with hot tap water straight from the tap.

6.) Finally a flush through with a gallon of distilled water to get the tap water salts out of them

This method may be overkill, but I don't want to deal with the bullshit of radiator gunk in my loop ever again.
 
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Well,

This is drifting off topic, but I'll give you my two cents here.

First time I bought radiators I was concerned about contaminating them with conductive ionized water, so I didn't want to use tap water.

Instead I boiled distilled water and ran it through the radiators using my tubing and fittings and a funnel and collecting it again on the output side using a coffee filter, then rinsing and repeating. I was under the impression I was just flushing out chunks, and thus reusing the water was fine. I was wrong.

Once I installed everything my fluid became foamy and cloudy. Eventually I had to drain, fill and flush several times with distilled water and use fresh fluid to get rid of the problem.

This time in my current build I have done a more thorough clean of my new radiators.

1.) I bought one of these garden hose to 3/8" barb adapters. The sink in our laundry area has garden hose threads on the end. I gave them a good long flush with hot tap water straight from the tap.

2.) Filled them with hot water with some dish soap in it. Let it soak for a bit and then poured a little out and shook/slushed it around for a bit and dumped it.

3.) Did another shorter flush with hot water from the tap

4.) Filled them with half water half white vinegar and let them sit for a while and then again poured a little out, shook them a bit and then dumped it.

5.) Another good long flush with hot tap water.

6.) Finally a flush through with a gallon of distilled water to get the tap water salts out of them

This method may be overkill, but I don't want to deal with the bullshit of radiator gunk in my loop ever again.

5.) Now another good long flush with hot tap water straight from the tap.

Wow, that’s a lot of flushing.
 
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Flush it out under tap water pressure, rinse it out with bottled distilled water, have used Koolance and XSPC additive for years, with systems running for years, with zero issues.
 
Wow, that’s a lot of flushing.

Yeah, I probably allowed the pendulum to swing in the opposite direction after under doing it my first time in 2016.

I figured more flushing can't hurt and I'd rather just not have gunk.

Rumor also is that Alphacool radiators, while pretty good overall and available in just about every configuration you could want, tend to ship with more gunk in them than some others on the market.

I don't know if this is true though. I'd consider it anecdotal until you encounter some more evidence.
 
Sadly its true. Alphacool doesnt do a very good job of cleaning their rads. I had a ut60 that was fithy right out of the box. After flushing it for what seemed like hours. It finally came out clean. I sold it before i used it. Just couldnt trust it. The person i sold it to hasnt had any problems with it. So be sure to flush them out really well before introducing it into your rad.
 
I have a Corsair S7 360 or whatever the name is incoming. It's a slightly tweaked Hardware Labs Nemisis GTX. I'll be sure to let you know how dirty it is or isn't.
 
I have a Corsair S7 360 or whatever the name is incoming. It's a slightly tweaked Hardware Labs Nemisis GTX. I'll be sure to let you know how dirty it is or isn't.

I hadn't had a chance to look into Corsairs offerings in custom water loops yet.

I didn't realize their radiators were rebranded Hardware Labs, but that makes sense, a lot of what they sell is rebranded stuff.

Normally I would be skeptical when it comes to an untestested brand entering something relatively high risk like this, but the combination of rebranding and the fact that Corsair seems to take their warranty seriously (I remember them replacing replacing a member of these forums system in the early AIO days when a unit leaked and damaged hardware) so, they certainly wouldn't be the worst choice. With a custom loop it would be harder to show that their material defect caused the problem though...
 
I hadn't had a chance to look into Corsairs offerings in custom water loops yet.

I didn't realize their radiators were rebranded Hardware Labs, but that makes sense, a lot of what they sell is rebranded stuff.

Normally I would be skeptical when it comes to an untestested brand entering something relatively high risk like this, but the combination of rebranding and the fact that Corsair seems to take their warranty seriously (I remember them replacing replacing a member of these forums system in the early AIO days when a unit leaked and damaged hardware) so, they certainly wouldn't be the worst choice. With a custom loop it would be harder to show that their material defect caused the problem though...

I was going to buy the Hardware Lab Nemesis 360 GTX. Then, I read this review TechPowerUp Corsair Hydro X Series XR7 360 Radiator Review and pretty much decided to go with it. The Corsair radiator performed within 1 or 2 percent of Nemesis and supposedly is under higher QC scrutiny. It doesn't have the "optiflow" routing through the radiator like the Nemesis. I obviously like the Hardware Labs warranty better, but the Corsair version is in a slightly smaller package making it exactly 120mm fan size in width which should help with squeezing it in wherever in the future. the Also, the HL 360 sold out at the other site while I was making my final selection.

Also, sorry to hijack this thread so much.
 
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I was going to buy the Hardware Lab Nemesis 360 GTX. Then, I read this review TechPowerUp Corsair Hydro X Series XR7 360 Radiator Review and pretty much decided to go with it. The Corsair radiator performed within 1 or 2 percent of Nemesis and supposedly is under higher QC scrutiny. It doesn't have the "optiflow" routing through the radiator like the Nemesis. I obviously like the Hardware Labs warranty better, but the Corsair version is in a slightly smaller package making it exactly 120mm fan size in width which should help with squeezing it in wherever in the future. the Also, the HL 360 sold out at the other site while I was making my final selection.

Cool. Looks like a good radiator. A little thin for my needs, but sometimes that's what you need to make it fit

Also, sorry to hijack this thread so much.

As the OP, I don't mind. I think it is an interesting conversation, but Kyle might prefer we keep it on topic
 
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