Temperary Leak?

[Silent Assasin]

OK, so this weekend I went to my first lan party with water cooling installed.... When I got there, I just wanted to make sure all was good and opened up the case and sure enough it wasn't quite perfect..... I had a couple drops sticking to the bottom of my resivoir near the fitting. I had a massive leak here when I first installed but I thought I fixed it with some plumbers dope. But as I looked, the only problem I could see seemed to be the several droplets hangin on the bottom of the res... I dried it up with paper towel and let it sit for a couple minutes to see if it would drip any more. There was no coolant at all on the bottom of my drive bays at this point. After letting it sit for a while I could not find any more liquid, so I decided to stuff some paper towle in the 5.25" drive bay below the res and boot her up..... She ran fine with no problems for the next I don't even remember how many horus I was there. When I brought her home, I got back about 3 in the morning so I just left the computer at the bottom of the stairs untill morning. The next day, I could find now liquid. For the past couple of days I've been monitorying my entire loop very closely and am still yet to find any more drops.

I'm just really confused as to what might of happened in transport that I got the open liquid, but now I can't seem to find it....

 

[Ingonuts13]

Possible that during moving it the barb wiggled jsut loose enough to cause a drip? That would be my only guess at this point.

 

[Top Nurse]

If your going to be moving a watercooled case it is much like moving an aquarium around...problematic. So from now on you should have a checklist of things that need to be re-tightened whenever you move it. Barbs are bad and so are hose clamps.

 

[Ingonuts13]

If your going to be moving a watercooled case it is much like moving an aquarium around...problematic. So from now on you should have a checklist of things that need to be re-tightened whenever you move it. Barbs are bad and so are hose clamps.

Not sure about that statement. I hav emoved my rig plenty and never had a leak once in over 12 months. I think it depends a lot on how you build it the first time and what components you use like quick connect vs clamps etc. Also, reservoirs are kind of known to leak, one of the reasons why I do not use one.

 

[Bio-Hazard]

Not sure about that statement. I hav emoved my rig plenty and never had a leak once in over 12 months. I think it depends a lot on how you build it the first time and what components you use like quick connect vs clamps etc. Also, reservoirs are kind of known to leak, one of the reasons why I do not use one.

As for myself, I've never had a leak and I've always used a res................. Mostly my own home made ones, but hey, whatever floats your boat so they say. As for TN's statement, it doesn't matter what the situation is and what happened, it will always be barbs are bad along with NPT................ . As long as everything is installed correctly you'll be fine, if it's not installed IAW instructions, all types of connectors can and will leak................... So I just take her statements for what they're worth and that's not much................

 

[Erasmus354]

As for myself, I've never had a leak and I've always used a res................. Mostly my own home made ones, but hey, whatever floats your boat so they say. As for TN's statement, it doesn't matter what the situation is and what happened, it will always be barbs are bad along with NPT................ . As long as everything is installed correctly you'll be fine, if it's not installed IAW instructions, all types of connectors can and will leak................... So I just take her statements for what they're worth and that's not much................

Barbs are bad because they aren't commonly used on AC gear , at least that is what I take away from TN's posts on the subject.

I still stand by the opinion that when used correctly ANY of the current watercooling connections (barbs, push-fit, compression; NPT, BSPP) are perfectly safe. Some may be better at preventing leaks then others, but they may not be the right connection for every situation.

 

[Bio-Hazard]

Well said my friend.................

 

[Top Nurse]

Barbs are bad because they aren't commonly used on AC gear , at least that is what I take away from TN's posts on the subject.

I still stand by the opinion that when used correctly ANY of the current watercooling connections (barbs, push-fit, compression; NPT, BSPP) are perfectly safe. Some may be better at preventing leaks then others, but they may not be the right connection for every situation.

??? Barbs are used on AC gear! They still are dubious IMHO but at least the threaded end is BSPP.

 

[Silent Assasin]

So, when I complete my new case build, and move over my water equipment, would you guys suggest spending some even more money on compresion fittings? It doesn't sound like a bad idea as long as it won't cost me a fortain to do.... But then again, I shouldn't have to worry too much about leakage in my res with my new case because it won't be any near open electronics except for the pump....

 

[Bio-Hazard]

I wouldn't waste the money on compression fittings even if you could find the right size with the right threads............... Just take your time and check everything like you're supposed to and do your leak test and you'll be fine, regardless of what some people will try and tell you, don't waste your hard earned cash on needless crap.

Just a little hint for your leak test, run it with you components installed where you want them and while running the test, move each line around while the pump is running to ensure that you won't have a leak when the line is moved to a different position. This won't hurt a thing as long as the computer isn't powered up while doing this..............

 

[Silent Assasin]

I wouldn't waste the money on compression fittings even if you could find the right size with the right threads............... Just take your time and check everything like you're supposed to and do your leak test and you'll be fine, regardless of what some people will try and tell you, don't waste your hard earned cash on needless crap.

Just a little hint for your leak test, run it with you components installed where you want them and while running the test, move each line around while the pump is running to ensure that you won't have a leak when the line is moved to a different position. This won't hurt a thing as long as the computer isn't powered up while doing this..............

ya, this is what I did while initially installing it. I took out my motherboard and everything else and ran it inside the case, it all seemed normal after I fixed my massive leak in the res, so I thought so anyway..... I think I'm just going to leave it for now and when I install it in my new case I'll retest everything and do a better job with the fittings....

 

[Bio-Hazard]

Sounds like a good plan, be sure to keep a good eye on it till them then..............

 

[Erasmus354]

ya, this is what I did while initially installing it. I took out my motherboard and everything else and ran it inside the case, it all seemed normal after I fixed my massive leak in the res, so I thought so anyway..... I think I'm just going to leave it for now and when I install it in my new case I'll retest everything and do a better job with the fittings....

No, leave the components in the case. Leak test with the waterblocks actually mounted onto the components. However make sure that no power is plugged into anything but the pump, then jump the PSU to make the pump run. This way you ensure that the configuration you have it in wont leak. If you test it without the components and then you mount the blocks you might tweak something that causes a leak.

If you have the components in the case and you get a leak, just stop the test, take the cards out (to make sure the slots are dry. Let the thing sit for at least 24 hours so that all of the liquid can evaporate, and you will be fine.

 

[Bio-Hazard]

I leak test my stuff twice, first time is outside the case to see if any of the components themselves have a leak (seals and barbs) then I install everything and leak test again to make sure none of the tubing connections leak.............. Better safe than sorry as they say...............

 

[Top Nurse]

No, leave the components in the case. Leak test with the waterblocks actually mounted onto the components. However make sure that no power is plugged into anything but the pump, then jump the PSU to make the pump run. This way you ensure that the configuration you have it in wont leak. If you test it without the components and then you mount the blocks you might tweak something that causes a leak.

If you have the components in the case and you get a leak, just stop the test, take the cards out (to make sure the slots are dry. Let the thing sit for at least 24 hours so that all of the liquid can evaporate, and you will be fine.

I concur, but why not use a decent fitting in the first place that seals the tubing as part of the design?

 

[Bio-Hazard]

Because barbs work just as well as any others if you know what you're doing................

 

[Top Nurse]

Because barbs work just as well as any others if you know what you're doing................

I see the problem being that it takes a certain amount of experience and skill in using the right hose clamp and knowing how tight is tight. With push-fits and compression fittings that kind of gets taken out of the equation.

 

[Bio-Hazard]

Not totally true either.............. With push fittings you have to make sure that the ends are square cut and that the tube is pushed in squarely as not to pinch or cut the "O" seal and if not pushed in far enough they will piss all over the computer. I read about this several times. Compression fittings have a problem of cutting into the tubing if tightened down to tight and the tubing twists with the compression nut causing one end or the other to become unseated from the internal barb. They will also pull loose if not tightened down far enough as the internal barb will not hold on it's own because it so small. Every fitting has to be used and installed correctly or problems can and will pop up................ Just because you haven't had problems, doesn't mean others haven't. It takes no more or less skill to use either type, plain and simple...................

 

[Silent Assasin]

Well, I went to another lan party this weekend and the same thing happened, but still nothing more then 1 or 2 drops sticking to the bottom of the res...

 

[Bio-Hazard]

It might be coming from the fill cap and working it's way down to the bottom of the res. Those plastic caps are the best and they don't seal correctly all the time. You might want to check if the "O" ring seal is damaged in anyway.

I don't remember, what type of rez are you using??????

 

[Silent Assasin]

It might be coming from the fill cap and working it's way down to the bottom of the res. Those plastic caps are the best and they don't seal correctly all the time. You might want to check if the "O" ring seal is damaged in anyway.

I don't remember, what type of rez are you using??????

It very well could be, after the original leak I looked at it and it seamed to be ok but then again, it was the cheapest res that dangerden had to offer. It's the single 5.25" polyyadayada, whatever it's called.

 

[Bio-Hazard]

That's not a bad res, just make sure the cap is snugged down well enough that the "O" ring makes a good seal with the res.

 

[Top Nurse]

Not totally true either.............. With push fittings you have to make sure that the ends are square cut and that the tube is pushed in squarely as not to pinch or cut the "O" seal and if not pushed in far enough they will piss all over the computer. I read about this several times. Compression fittings have a problem of cutting into the tubing if tightened down to tight and the tubing twists with the compression nut causing one end or the other to become unseated from the internal barb. They will also pull loose if not tightened down far enough as the internal barb will not hold on it's own because it so small. Every fitting has to be used and installed correctly or problems can and will pop up................ Just because you haven't had problems, doesn't mean others haven't. It takes no more or less skill to use either type, plain and simple...................

I totally agree with you, but I just have never seen a tutorial on all the in's and out's of selecting the proper hose clamp, barb, and tightening techniques. OTOH, there is a really nice set of video tutorials from Legris right here.