Water moving slow/if at all

elektronisch

2[H]4U
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
2,305
Hi all,

I'm new to WC and i recently bought a DD variable pump, black ice 240 rad, 1/2" tubing, and a swiftech apogee (sp) water block. I hooked it all up, and the water is barely moving. I noticed its going from the pump to the waterblock, but is not really coming fast out of the water block to move the water. I did not cut the tubing really well since I was just testing the loop, so there is about 5 feet of tubing involved in this loop for now.


Also, can anyone recommend a way of taking the tubing off barbs? I sat there cutting away at the tubing to get one off and gave up after that.

Thank you!
 
you will definitely want to take the blcok off the mother board.

The easiest way is to get a utility knife and just cut two slits down either starting at the end of the tube and slicing till after the barb and it will just fall off.
If you use a sharp knife it should not be difficult at all. Just make sure you are cutting all the way through the tubing!

I hope this helps,
 
you will definitely want to take the blcok off the mother board.

The easiest way is to get a utility knife and just cut two slits down either starting at the end of the tube and slicing till after the barb and it will just fall off.
If you use a sharp knife it should not be difficult at all. Just make sure you are cutting all the way through the tubing!

I hope this helps,
 
None of it is mounted, I was dry running it and stopped after 15 minutes of the water barely moving. Could it not enough pressure? I have a feeling the problem lies around two barbs where the orings are sort of sticking out, as if they were screwed in too tight. But when I loosen them, the barbs can be turned with my hand, so I obviously dont want that either. Do I try smaller orings?
 
It sounds like you need to bleed the system, aka an air bubble is caught in the pump or possibly in the radiator...

i guess to check if you O-rings are leaking is fill the CPU block up complete with fuild and run the pump if bubbles are showing up after the CPU that where not there from the inlet, then yes you do.. but it would usually leak if that was the case.
 
yes, googling "bleeding water cooling PC" or similar would be a great help.
I don't want to steal other persons work on other forums to give you the best answer... :)

But there are plenty of great stickies everywhere on the topic!
Have fun and update if you need more help
 
Another good resource :)
But look at some of the stickies though... they can be very helpful as well!
 
What's the order of the flow through your loop? You're not trying to pump into the reservior, or something, are you?
 
If you're trying to pump through the reservior, you'll never get it bled.
 
Might sound stupid (well not really if you water cooled and dont know what bleeding is :) ) but is the res hooked into the pump inlet not the outlet?
 
I am not sure if you know but when your water is in your system it wont look like it is moving at all. The only place you will see movement is in the res.
 
I noticed its going from the pump to the waterblock, but is not really coming fast out of the water block to move the water.
Water should be flowing at a fairly constant rate throughout the entire loop, even if restricted in one place. Not faster in one place, and much slower in another. So this observation doesn't sound quite right...

Keeping in mind that flow should be constant, the problem could be anywhere in your loop so you should not assume that it is the waterblock immediately. I would check for kinked tubing somewhere in your loop.

As HotGore says, it might be hard to tell if you 'really' have flow problems. When investigating, I normally try to introduce a small air bubble so I can time how quickly they flow through the loop. I realize this is the opposite of bleeding, but small air bubbles are fine and bleed out eventually anyway. It should flow at a constant rate and finish the loop in a few seconds.

If you still have flow problems could be, like some others have said, incorrect loop, bad pump, trapped air, blocked waterblock can all contribute etc.

Also, can anyone recommend a way of taking the tubing off barbs? I sat there cutting away at the tubing to get one off and gave up after that.
For very tight tubing, I just use scissors to cut the tube off completely, then use them again by cutting slits to get them off the barb. But, as mentioned before, don't immediately assume that it's the waterblock.
 
Hi all,

Also, can anyone recommend a way of taking the tubing off barbs? I sat there cutting away at the tubing to get one off and gave up after that.

I typically pinch the tubing just above the barb and twist the tubing to the side. Works everytime for me.
 
It works! So, last night I decided to fix it after a few beers. I ripped it apart, swapped two barbs, and it works! I believe in the process I put the barbs that were suppose to go on my waterblock on the radiator and the orings were a bit different, so I swapped them to how they should be.

Running it for a few hours now and probably going to toss it in the system tonight. Is it okay to use just tap water, or should I go out and get something else?
 
Is it okay to use just tap water, or should I go out and get something else?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Tap water is both highly conductive and harbors bacteria/algae.

Go to your grocery store and buy a gallon of Distilled Water (not spring, not filtered, Distilled). Should run you about 40 or 50 cents. Use that in your loop. Add in some antifreeze (about 5% of your total volume) as a biocide to prevent algae growth.
 
Thanks, went out and bought two gallons of distilled water and added some antifreeze.

System in my specs is idling around 20-25c, which I think is damn good for a 125w processor!

I also think I'm going to have to get a bigger case, these 1/2" tubing does not bend easily :( So if anyone wants a lian li case, pm me or check my for sale thread.

Again thanks all!
 
on tight bends you can wrap zipties around the tube every centimeter or so and tighten them so that they support the tube in a circular shape.

pic... is... here!
wires.jpg
 
Go with 3/8" tubing and life will be much easier. Temps wont be affected by the change (about .2c)
 
I love that black tubing! And the 3/8" tubing observation is spot on. I'm all for maximum performance, but the 3/8" tubing makes routing the loop so much easier that it's worth the small sacrifice.
 
:( I finally got a working loop and now I guess I'll have to buy all new barbs and 3/8" tubing...
 
:( I finally got a working loop and now I guess I'll have to buy all new barbs and 3/8" tubing...

It's your call bro but 3/8" tubing does make an installation that much easier. I for one have not used 1/2" tubing in a few years and never lost an overclock from running 6mm or 3/8" tubing (if that tells you how small the temp loss is between 6mm tubing and 1/2" tubing). It is too bad everyone forces 1/2" or 7/16" down anyone who will listen throat.
 
I'm using 7/16 over half inch barbs, but it's all personal preference. The CPU-Rad bend isnt bad, I just wanted support at the barb tops to make it a smoother bend overall. The GPU to chipset bend is a little tight, though; but making it minimizes my tube length.
 
Those are some scary bends!

I would of denfinitely bought some Anti-Kink Coils for that setup, but I have seen setups just like yours that work, just need to make sure that non of your tubes are kinked.

Also It is hard to tell for air bubbles with black tubing, I would replace with clear... make bleeding much for easy for you :)
 
I would of denfinitely bought some Anti-Kink Coils for that setup, but I have seen setups just like yours that work, just need to make sure that non of your tubes are kinked.

Also It is hard to tell for air bubbles with black tubing, I would replace with clear... make bleeding much for easy for you :)

No kinks and it's pretty easy to bleed just running the pump for 24+ hours and shaking it around whenever I'm near it. Bubbles in tubes are typically easy to bleed anyways, it's the rads that are difficult. The clear tubing I have kinks easier (MK 7/16|3/4 or something). This black tubing was actually a dream to work with.

Also, no need to waste money on anti-kink coils when you have zipties! (My system is running at 22c idle, 40c load, so it's probably bled pretty well :D)
 
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