First Time Water Cooling Questions

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

My first time turning on the pump ever, after just filling the res up, do I put the pump on full speed? Or start at like mid-speed then work my way to full once I assure my fittings aren't leaking. By the way I have a MCP655 variable speed pump.

Next question. My 45 degree angle fittings. The little part where they are rotary or whatever, where you can twist them but they don't unscrew, well that part seems awful loose. Is that just they way they are so they can swivel? Or should I be worried. Once again they are Alphacool compression fittings.

Last question: how the heck do I just power my pump for the first time to fill the loop with water ? I've seen Linus tech tips bridging connections on his PSU but I don't understand. I have a fully modular corsair 850w power supply.

manofchalk · Oct 2, 2013

Speed wouldn't matter, just don't let the thing ruin dry.
I would assume so, if your concerned about leakage that's why you leak-test.
On your 24pin ATX cable, find the green wire and any black one. Stick a paperclip in the corresponding connectors, PSU turns on without the need for a motherboard. The point of this is so that if your loop does leak, nothing is powered but the pump so nothing will fry.

C12Friedman · Oct 2, 2013

I was going to go through this on the other thread but here's what you're going to do
Connect the 24 pin cable to the PSU, follow this guide to jump the PSU http://seasonicusa.com/RMABeta/JumpStart/JS.pdf
Also connect a cable with molex connectors, you're going to use a molex to 4 pin fan adapter and run the pump at full speed for your fill and leak testing - you'll then know if the alphacool fittings work I suppose.

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

C12Friedman :

Why molex to fan adapter???

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

manofchalk :

What can I use besides a paperclip...

manofchalk · Oct 2, 2013

Anything metal, a paperclip is just the easiest thing.

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

manofchalk :

Would this work?

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1822731/jumping-power-supply.html

manofchalk · Oct 2, 2013

Yea, as long as it conducts. The thing is a wire, so it'l work.

rubix_1011 · Oct 2, 2013

I actually use a small piece of wire when I do it. Like manofchalk states- if it conducts electricity, it will work.

(note: submersion in water will also conduct electricity...the goal here is to only conduct it between the green/black leads...not ALL.

)

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

manofchalk :

My corsair atx 24 pin is sleeved and every wire including the plastic adapter is all black... What do I do

manofchalk · Oct 2, 2013

Theres the 24pin layout, should be able to know which pin is which from that.

rubix_1011 · Oct 2, 2013

You should read here; it covers this exact topic:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-watercooling-sticky#3718886

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

manofchalk :

Why is my mcp655 pump so loud ? Is it because I have it sitting sideways like this? I read on forums and people said it wasn't an issue for it to sit like this but it's on the lowest variable speed setting and its quite loud.

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

manofchalk :

Why is my mcp655 pump so loud ? Is it because I have it sitting sideways like this? I read on forums and people said it wasn't an issue for it to sit like this but it's on the lowest variable speed setting and its quite loud.

toolmaker_03 · Oct 2, 2013

that pump should be quite, if it is loud it is cavatating inside it will get overheated and die if it is allowed to run that way.

the res. should be before the pump and above the pump. that configureation should prevent this issue all together.

i left a link to a connector for your power supply in your other threed.

toolmaker_03 · Oct 2, 2013

would you mind taking a pic that shows the whole loop?

rubix_1011 · Oct 2, 2013

My pump is barely audible. Are you certain it's moving water? If so, it's likely cavitation like toolmaker03 suggests. If it is not moving water, it's running dry which is incredibly bad on pumps. Also, depending on how it's actually mounted, it could be vibration against the case unless there is some sort of dampening or padding between the pump base and the mounting point.

I am not certain which direction is UP in your pic. Can you provide more info or pic that shows the relative orientation to the rest of the loop?

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

rubix_1011 :

The res is gravity fed right into the inlet. The 90 degree fitting you see coming off is where the outlet is. If the pump were sitting upright that outlet would normally be facing upward as opposed to sideways how I have it oriented. Did the picture help? It definitely got more quiet now that some air has bled out but is still fairly audible on speed 2 of 5. Hopefully it gets quieter. It goes from the outlet into 2 radiators I have mounted in the basement then back up to the GPU then cpu back to res

toolmaker_03 · Oct 2, 2013

ok so is that res compleatly filled if so try to keep it that way i know that with my builds i allow a few days to bleed the system of all the air before i started the computer here is how i try to keep my res.

i hope this helps

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

toolmaker_03 :

Alright, I'll try to keep it full. Also I noticed the variable speed controller on the pump goes from 1-5. It will not go past 2. The dial physically stops at 2 not sure why

toolmaker_03 · Oct 2, 2013

yea all of mine that i have the dial does not really work all that well. i have used feel and sound in the past to find the highest or fastest setting for the pump. I use a flow meter inline with the loop, that is how i do it today to see how fast the pump is moving the water around.

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

toolmaker_03 :

Ignore that last post. I figured out the dial. And also the reason it was so loud at first was because it was on full speed and there was so much air. Although I did alow the pump to be primes with water before turning it on, I guess the first run through the amount of air just made it really loud.

I can tell I still have much air to bleed out till its done. I can hear the air bubbles in the radiators and the pump

I think I will turn the pump way down while I sleep and prey lol

rubix_1011 · Oct 2, 2013

Looks like the pic should be rotated 90 degrees clockwise...I wasn't sure which way was up. Definitely want to avoid the reservoir getting low enough to suck bubbles back into the loop....keep it as full as possible while you purge air...this will allow the air to be displaced by water when those little bubbles make it back to the reservoir.

Setting Sun · Oct 2, 2013

rubix_1011 :

That's what I'm trying to do. For some reason my res has a bunch of micro bubbles stuck to the walls of the res?

toolmaker_03 · Oct 2, 2013

that is how i do it, I fill the res and let the pump do the rest in the morring I would turn it off for a 1/2 hour then turn it back on, this help to displace the traped air in the loop. i like to take a flashlight to all of the fittings every few hours or wrap them with paper towels to see if there are any slow leaks comming from them.

First Time Water Cooling Questions

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