Need help.. plan not working.. (physics/pressure/problem?)

[OldM3ta]

Hello everyone. Thanks for checking this thread out. I have been assembling a watercooling unit with my spare time all summer and had what I thought a great plan for removing the water from the loop without having to turn the computer upside down or disconnect any hoses or anything.

If you check the picture below, that is basically my set up.

The heatercore is set up vertically in an internal box along with the pump. The reservoir is up at top just as you see in the picture. I created a Y-adapter that allows me to have either one of the two outlets either on or off (both can be on, both can be off, or one of each can be on while the other is off).

The components I used were:

CPU - MCW6002-A - 1/2 barbs
NB - Danger Dan Maze4 - 1/2 barbs
GPU - MCW50 with 1/2 barb adapters
RAD - 77' pontiac bonneville heatercore (no a/c)
Pump - AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 from Cooltechnica.com with 1/2 barb fittings.
Pump specs - Maximum Head - 10.5FT, Maximum Discharge 185GPH


So the problem is that the loop operates fine when I don't have the Y-adapter going to the bucket. But when I want to empty the loop, switching the Y-adapter from the heatercore to the bucket while the reservoir is full doesn't do what I expected.

I expected it to have the pump pump water from the water left in the loop all the way from the heatercore, around the cpu, gpu, nb, up in to reservoir with the water in there, down back to the pump, out through the hose into the bucket.

However, this doesn't happen.

When I do the switch on the Y-adapter, it will spill out of the hose with inital force for like 3 seconds, and then it will go down to a drizzle, although the reservoir does empty at the top and the pump sucks the water from the tube that goes from the res to the pump. But it leaves water in the CPU/GPU/NB loop and in the heatercore.

Why doesn't the vacuum work where the pump will suck all the water out of the loop and heatercore before emptying out the reservoir ???

I thought this would work and was told it would! Hopefully you can help with any ideas! Thanks [H]'ers.

 

[OldM3ta]

 

[R1ckCa1n]

I am confused..... why would you put a "Y" on the output of the pump? Doesn't seem like it would accomplish anything.

 

[Cantonious]

I can't say I'm familiar with that particular pump, but from what I do know, the pumps found in a water cooling setup do not operate on a vacuum theory, they literally push the water with a small rotary unit. Thus they don't create a pulling effect, you have to have water present in the pump in order for it to push the water out of the system. So you can't fully drain the system using the pump alone, you'll eventually have to pull the system apart.

 

[OldM3ta]

I am confused..... why would you put a "Y" on the output of the pump? Doesn't seem like it would accomplish anything.

Because I thought I could use it to switch the loop from:

HEATERCORE -> CPU/GPU/NB -> RES -> PUMP - > HEATERCORE

to:

HEATERCORE -> CPU/GPU/NB -> RES -> PUMP - > BUCKET

to empty the water from the loop.

 

[OldM3ta]

I can't say I'm familiar with that particular pump, but from what I do know, the pumps found in a water cooling setup do not operate on a vacuum theory, they literally push the water with a small rotary unit. Thus they don't create a pulling effect, you have to have water present in the pump in order for it to push the water out of the system. So you can't fully drain the system using the pump alone, you'll eventually have to pull the system apart.

That sucks.... and it sounds like a likely culprit. However, I wasn't really expecting the pump to vacuum out all the water itself.

I was hoping more that it would act as a quick syphon to change the pressure and and allow the water to flow from the heatercore, through the loop, and out the pump, to the bucket...

But I guess that is suctioning instead of pushing. Do you have a recommendation on how to remedy? Maybe using some kind of air release or air inlet before the heatercore, between the y-adapter and the inlet to the heatercore to allow the pressure to push the water through the loop?

 

[Cantonious]

If you were to add another Y switch you could effectively close 2 inches of tubing and then if you blow into one end of the two hoses you have, you would force most of the water out. It isn't a super effective way of doing it, because as soon as you run low on water you're just blowing air through the tubes, but it will work to get most of it out. Generally when I pull my system apart I disconnect the reservoir, and end up dropping it into a bucket, then blowing into the tube to push as much of the water out as I can. It's probably not the most effective thing in the world, but it works. If you don't understand the theory I've just presented here send me a pm and I'll try to explain further. Good luck!

 

[thewhiteguy]

It doesn't help you much, but if you check out my loop (I'm too lazy to link to the thread) you'll see a loop that completely drains with a valve open and tilting the case back just a little.

 

[theshadow27]

if you put in another y connector... you could have the pump push water thrugh the loop backwords and flush it that way, or you could just put the Y at the inlet to the pump and let gravity do the work