Loop flow orientation - back pressure won’t release

AJ84763

n00b
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Apr 29, 2020
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10
Hi all,

just wanted to see if I can get some advise on a issue I’m having with a new loop I’ve put together. Issue is there seems to be extremely low flow to the point where I’m having trouble filling the whole loop up. When I turn the pump on you can see the levels try to move than slosh back in place so it seems like there’s a extreme amount of back pressure that the pump can’t overcome. The pump is definitely working as I can see it spinning and hear it vibrating as well.

Loop layout is: res to cpu, cpu to ek rad, ek rad to GPU, GPU to Corsair rad and Corsair rad back to ek res. According to the ek manual for both the res and cpu block are directional so I have hooked them up matching their manuals. The GPU block and both rads did not mention so I assumed it did not matter.

ive tried removing a hose and trying to fill the radiator directly but again there seems to be extreme back pressure so it just sprays back out. I’ve got one of the rad fittings open and the fill port in the res open to try give a path for the air to come out but the pressure just will not release. I’ve tried opening every fitting in the system but nothing will release the pressure.

im thinking I need to go buy a dedicated more powerful D5 pump but I don’t want to go buy something and it not solve the issue. Not to mention no one in Sydney stocks em and being Christmas shipping I’d be lucky to get it by New Years

components are: Corsair 420 rad, ek 360 rad, ek quantum kinetic 360 res and pump and I’m using soft tubing thank god. Wanted to use hard but talked myself out of it luckily otherwise this would of been even more of a nightmare!

thanks for your assistance.
 

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You may need to fill it outside of the case so you can move your components around to fill them one at a time. Once you have the loop mostly filled you should be gtg. Once the loop is filled your d5 should be able to function properly.
Im not certain but i think your 420 has a specific in and out port. If i remember correctly the way you have it mounted the right port is in and left is out. Ill have to dbl check to be sure.
Your second option is of course a second pump. Ive used a ddc with quick disconnects in the past. Or if you havent got any quick disconnects use a pair of pliers to crimp each hose until youve finished connecting/disconnecting your tubing. That was the fastest easiest way to get a big loop to fill for me. You need head pressure when your filling and bleeding. A ddc has that in spades vs a d5s high flow.
 
You may need to fill it outside of the case so you can move your components around to fill them one at a time. Once you have the loop mostly filled you should be gtg. Once the loop is filled your d5 should be able to function properly.
Im not certain but i think your 420 has a specific in and out port. If i remember correctly the way you have it mounted the right port is in and left is out. Ill have to dbl check to be sure.
Your second option is of course a second pump. Ive used a ddc with quick disconnects in the past. Or if you havent got any quick disconnects use a pair of pliers to crimp each hose until youve finished connecting/disconnecting your tubing. That was the fastest easiest way to get a big loop to fill for me. You need head pressure when your filling and bleeding. A ddc has that in spades vs a d5s high flow.

thanks. I don’t think the rads are directional. From my understanding only cross flow rads are directional and they usually mention that in the title if they are. Their instructions manuals don’t mention anything either.

I’ve taken the loop out of the case to try manually fill everything but even that unfortunately seems impossible. I’m starting to think that the Corsair rad the longer slimmer one is blocked partially. I was able to manually fill the wider shorter ek rad no problem but the Corsair one even after disconnecting everything so there’s nothing connected to it still has a air lock in it so it’s extremely difficult to get fluid to go in. I’ve got a old alphacool monsta rad I might use in its place see if that wants to behave.

Otherwise yea get a ddc but no one stocks em in Sydney so I’d have to import it and being this close to Chrissy I won’t get it till new year.
 

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Definitely sounds like a blockage to me.

I have had large loops, one with 2x chipset blocks, 2x 240mm rads, GPU cooler, CPU cooler, RAM cooler, and HDD cooler all linked in before This loop used a mixture of 10mm and 6mm tubing split in parallel (Chipset, RAM, HDD Coolers at 6mm. CPU, GPU, Rads and pump at 10mm, all split and merged using a pair of 10mm to 2x6mm adapters) - and there was no where NEAR the resistance pressure you are describing.

That entire loop performed reasonably using a DDC pump.
 
Your loop order is absurd and is why you are having such a hard time since every component has a huge volume of air behind it. Pumps don't work with air. Fix the loop order and it should fill naturally much more easily. If you still have a problem, hook up some temporary tubes and fill the rads up all the way then hook up your normal tubes to them.
 
Ah i see. What i meant was that hwlabs rads have a specific in out for best cooling rather than flow. Being that corsairs rads are built by hwlabs im assuming the same is true for them but i havent had a chance to go check mine to be sure.
You might try flushing it with clr really well. That may get the blockage out. I use it to clean rads in between builds.
Fill it up with clr and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Shake the hell out of it until your arms are to tired to shake anymore! Then flush it with tap water until no more bubbles come out. Then flush it with distilled before putting it back into your loop.
If that doesnt work you might try blowing it out with an air compressor but i would only do that as a last resort. I dont know if a compressor would damage the rad or not.
Thats all i can think of for clearing a blocked rad. GL!
 
the tape is just there if a tube comes loose I can see it and fix it. I piped some permanent marker where the fitting lines up so as the tube works it’s way out I’ll be able to see tape behind the line and know I need to pop it back in.
Especially the cpu inlet since the tubes so short it’s pulling to the left so it’s not sitting flush and naturally wants to pull itself out. Already had it pop out once and leak all over my sound card.

Thanks for the help everyone. Finally figured out what it was I had both the fan and molex connectors connected so it was only running on one. I’m assuming it defaults to the fan connector if you have both connected. As soon as I removed that it kicked into high gear and the loops semi sorted now. Just gotta bleed and fill now still a lot of air bubbles.. 10 months to build one pc, that’s gotta be a record!
 
the tape is just there if a tube comes loose I can see it and fix it. I piped some permanent marker where the fitting lines up so as the tube works it’s way out I’ll be able to see tape behind the line and know I need to pop it back in.
Especially the cpu inlet since the tubes so short it’s pulling to the left so it’s not sitting flush and naturally wants to pull itself out. Already had it pop out once and leak all over my sound card.

Thanks for the help everyone. Finally figured out what it was I had both the fan and molex connectors connected so it was only running on one. I’m assuming it defaults to the fan connector if you have both connected. As soon as I removed that it kicked into high gear and the loops semi sorted now. Just gotta bleed and fill now still a lot of air bubbles.. 10 months to build one pc, that’s gotta be a record!
So... your blockage was the pump :)
 
the tape is just there if a tube comes loose I can see it and fix it. I piped some permanent marker where the fitting lines up so as the tube works it’s way out I’ll be able to see tape behind the line and know I need to pop it back in.
Especially the cpu inlet since the tubes so short it’s pulling to the left so it’s not sitting flush and naturally wants to pull itself out. Already had it pop out once and leak all over my sound card.

Thanks for the help everyone. Finally figured out what it was I had both the fan and molex connectors connected so it was only running on one. I’m assuming it defaults to the fan connector if you have both connected. As soon as I removed that it kicked into high gear and the loops semi sorted now. Just gotta bleed and fill now still a lot of air bubbles.. 10 months to build one pc, that’s gotta be a record!

Take the tape of the hoses. If the rings are loose, or the hose slips off the barb then you probably have the wrong sized fittings. The hose should be tight when slipping over the barb.

The EK pumps have two connections one os power and one is pwm. The pwm should be plugged into a fan port on your motherboard or fan controller, like the cpu fan header. You may need to set the fan header to PWM. This way you/the motherboard can control the pumps speed. If the fan header is not set to pwm, the pump defaults to a low rpm setting

Just plugging the power connector is fine, but the pump will run at 100% the whole time.
 
I don't want to pile on in any way, but you do need to tighten up your loop order so your hoses are shorter. You dont need to have a rad in between components, it will not help temps. Those long crazy runs hurt my brain. I mean this is the kindest way.
 
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