MCRes Micro questions

[ih8spam]

I bought a Swiftech MCRes Micro reservoir for my WC system, and now I am starting to have my doubts as to why I bought it:

1. The inlet and outlet ports are on the same side, so it is going to be inconvenient to connect my radiator (entering the inlet from the left of the reservoir) or my pump (outlet to the right and below the reservoir). I can't figure out a way to make it work well yet. Since the ports are on the same side, I don't see how I can use the Velcro mounting strips.
2. What is the point of the reservoir? If I permanently mount it to the case as Swiftech recommends, I won't have any way to put coolant into the port on the top of the reservoir. The access port will be too close to the top of the case, and I will have to tear apart my entire case to remove the screws to get the MCRes out of the system.

Now entering the third week of my first WC system build ... No home computer for 3 weeks! Sigh ... This has been an incredibly painful experience!

BTW, on a side note: How often will I need to flush my WC system?

 

[Ranker]

The microres is probably the best and most convenient reservoir to use. You can mount it in a variety of ways using the mounting materials provided. If something is on the other side of your res, just loop it around with tubing.

The point of the reservoir is to make bleeding a 1-2 hour affair instead of a 24 hour job as with the T-line. It's basically down to user preference.

 

[ih8spam]

Thanks for getting back on this, Ranker -

I guess I understand what the reservoir is supposed to do. One thing I can't understand is how I'm supposed to access the fill port if I permanently mount it to my case. My understanding is that the reservoir needs to be high up in the case (preferably the highest thing in the system), which would mean hanging it from the top panel in my system. If I do that, I won't be able to access the fill port without removing the reservoir from the system (and unscrewing a lot of screws in the process).

I think I understand your suggestion for looping one of the hoses to get to the pump. As long as the loop isn't too tight, I should be OK, right?

 

[Ranker]

As long as there are no kinks, you can route your tubing any way you like.

Most places that sell the mcres also offer the option to get a G1/4 tap for the top port. If you do that, you can attach a regular G1/4 barb and then run a line with a fill port attached at the end. However, the easiest thing to do is to just use velcro to attach the reservoir and remove it outside of the case just enough to access the top port.

 

[HotGore]

You could always cut a hole in the top of your case. Also you don't need it at the top of your case, it can be anywhere, but it bleeds faster at the top.

 

[CoW]8(0)]

There's no need for the MCRes-Micro to be at the highest point in your case. In fact, I have it at the lowest point in my case (mounted on the outside of the hard drive cage using included screws and nuts). The water will not spill out because it's a closed system. The only opening in your loop should be the fillport of the reservoir. With only one hole, the water will remain in the system because there's no second hole to balance the pressure difference if water did leave.

Here's the idea, the top barb is supposed to be the inlet for water to come in. The lower barb is the outlet, where water flows to the pump.

When you first run your system, there's a good amount of air in the loop. The air is automatically bled by the reservoir and kept out with the slanted ramp inside. It's assumed your pump is strong enough to push the bubbles past the ramp to keep them out.