Zalman reserator XT problem

[vagy]

Hi,

I bought a Zalman reserator XT, and have a problem that whenever i start the computer, the reserator starts(auto mode) and stops after less then 10 seconds, beeping and flashing, and even if i reset it, it always stops again and again.
If i manage to switch to manual mode, then if the volume is too low, it will also stop, but only if i set it to almost the highest speed, it works and stays running. The flow rate never exceeds 0.5.
I already replaced a reserator because of the same problem, and the replacement one has the same issue.
I am sure i degassed the loop properly, exactly as written in the manual, including tilting etc.

Is it possible that the shop had a bad line of reserators?

Please someone give an advice before i give up and return it to the shop. I am really frustrated because of it.

Thanks,
Yaron

 

[Conumdrum]

Get rid of it. Get commonly purchased WC parts. Rad/Pump/blocks that experianced WCers use.

 

[Granite3]

Sounds like you are not getting any water flow, so it is shutting itself down to prevent damage to the pump.

Pull everything apart, and check the lines and waterblocks for an obstruction. Waterblocks need to be taken apart yearly and cleaned if possible. ESPECIALLY if you use anything other than distilled water.

Might be a small bit of plastic, cut hose, etc trapped in one of the blocks or barbs.

 

[rubix_1011]

Never was impressed with the reserator...I looked at one and it just seemed like a different take on an a cd-rom bay cooler. I think people see that it has Zalman on the box and assume its going to perform fantastically. Zalman might make decent air cooling heatsinks, but their reserator is pretty worthless.

 

[vagy]

Nothing blocks the pipes. I did a pretty clean work there. I tilted the whole case to any possible direction and there is no air trapped in any water block. I did the same to the reserator, and i don't thnk there is any air there as well.
This is a new systems, so there is no need to take things apart, and i'm using the FluidXP+ Ultra Coolant with Z-7 UV, so my reserator got almost the best it could.

 

[vagy]

And also forgot to mention that i had this problem even in the reserator degassing process, so the computer wasn't even in the loop.

 

[Conumdrum]

Aha, is the fluid thick, not as thin as water? You need to thin it, start with 25% water, 75% odd fluid your using. That pump isn't very strong. Go to 50/50 if you have to. Or just return it please.

 

[vagy]

From FluidXP's web site:
Q: Do I need to mix Fluid XP+ coolant with any other fluid before I use it in my system?
A: No. Fluid XP+ coolant is ready to use without additional mixing.

Looks like my next questions in the forum would be regarding building my own cooling system.

Thanks.

 

[artem]

I had just the same problem with Zalman LQ1000. It was beeping and blinking during the degassation process. Nothing helped, but then I found the reason. The sensor cable that goes from the pump to the front panel was not attached firmly enough at the side of the front panel. Now it works

 

[darby1955]

I Bought a silver reserator xt, had the same beeping and no degassing, spent 6 hours trying to degas it before sending it back, the next one was degassed, but only on manuel, (degased immediately), but would not keep the flow high enough on automatic. sent it back and the third one was in between the first and second and never degassed it, so back it went again, but this time I ordered a black one and it degassed immediately on automatic. through my experiance I believe the quality control of these chinese made pumps is terrible. the black one still works great after 6+ months and I figure it was a bad batch of pumps in the silver ones from that one store. I also just purchased another black one for another build and the flow is not half of the other, but it degassed good and has tripped the alarm only once, chances are this is going back for exchange though. If you can't degas this unit right away, don't waste your time with it, exchange it out right away and cross your fingers for a good pump, or buy an external pump to putt in line, that should make this a much better unit.

 

[Conumdrum]

Basically, send it back and learn about quality WC parts.

Hang out for a while on OC forums, reading ALL the stickies and the last 30 posts in the WC forum. Every thread and every post in the last 30 threads. You'll learn a lot.

Here is a great link o thats pretty darn current on whats out there now for WC and a lot of how-to.

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t282232.html

 

[Robo5000]

I have a silver xt about 3 months . No air bubbles only using own Zalman corrosion coolant. mix stated is 250ml coolant to 1l itre distilled water. My alarm was going off about once a week after a lot of usage. flashing on & off. My XT is level with case. I see no air bubbles or obvious reason and I boot down & back up . Alarm does not come back on. I did not bother cutting pipe length in case I moved case . However my pipes are shorter & level with CPU ie no rise or fall so pump is not working as hard. XT is raised about a foot to enable this -so pipes have fewer bends & straight to block. I only get an occasional alarm now 1/2 times per month- Pump I think is the weak link. Also I keep it on manual now most of the time, no point in the lower speed. I reached 27c for the first time recently.Unit is able to draw cool air in so amibent temp is usually low. I'm still annoyed why alarm goes off.
Rob

 

[Shadow703793]

Basically, send it back and learn about quality WC parts.

Hang out for a while on OC forums, reading ALL the stickies and the last 30 posts in the WC forum. Every thread and every post in the last 30 threads. You'll learn a lot.

Here is a great link o thats pretty darn current on whats out there now for WC and a lot of how-to.

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t282232.html

+1

My standard noob cut n paste:

I'll steer you to some more technical links, please spend a few days (DAYS) reading posts, searching, learning. Don't forget to look for your case with WC. Google your case and the word watercool or some combination of that. WC stuff is larger than you think, I know from experience. WC setups done right are awesome and almost silent.

Great place, not wayyy over the top with uber WC guys.
http://www.ocforums.com/index.php
Uber place, owned by one of the worlds winning OC guys in the world. Not a place to post or ask questions by noobs, but an awesome place to learn.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Another good place to learn
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
The GURU of independent testing, worshipped by many.
http://www.martinsliquidlab.com/
Great places to buy WC stuff
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php [...] e&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/

Hope it helps, see ya in a few days, get edumacated!

^+1.

 

[Conumdrum]

Your pump or your sensor circuit or the flow sensor itself is going bad.

Live with it or put a quality pump in it and just let it run. Pumps normally used last for years and years, so no reason to monitor them.

 

[Guest]

I am a systems integrator and reseller of custom PCs. My clients have 37 Zalman Reserator XTs in operation. After power is applied and after about 10 seconds when the beeps are heard, the flow indicator may have stuck. A few taps on the right side of the case will free the flow indicator. The fluid will flow and the beeps will not start. I have only had two Zalman units that have beeped in two years. But I keep extra blue fluid and a couple of extra pumps handy just in case. I hope this helps.

 

[rubix_1011]

Like mentioned above [in the resurrected thread] the Zalman isn't a very good watercooler. Your best bet is to scrap it in place of something better, or contact Zalman for a replacement. That's all I can offer if you are that set in using it as a cooler.

 

[englishman]

I have the same unit , purchased a new pump { Swifttech } runs a little better but then the flow would stop completely .

Logic suggested that the pump was not originally at fault .

Its the flow meter itself that jams because both spindle ends are sitting directly into a plastic holder not ceramic like it should be.
Removed the flow meter by undoing the four screws pulled the spindle out , hard wired the fan and pump .
As long as run some motherboard monitor software no problems .
Better then ditching the whole unit mine cost £280.00 .

Outcome running quad processor water cooled and cooled video card at 25 c....
Worked for me......
Ps you could always try and get a replacement part but the Zalman support in the UK is rubbish..

Dave English
Kent England

 

[volvic]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone who has one of these units can answer a question? I dont have the power cable and was wondering which pin on the unit needs to be wired to which colour cable in the molex connector? Its a DC connections so it needs to go a certain way round, and there is a notch in the cable casing at the top to prevent it be put in the wrong way, its just I dont know which goes to which!

Thanks in advance.

 

[rubix_1011]

Please stop resurrecting old threads; please create a new one for something new...don't hijack an old, dead thread.

As for this, you may not be able to directly wire this into your DC PSU...doesn't it normally connect to an AC power supply source (Externally) and then power on with a USB wake-on-power? (I'm not sure...just asking) You run the risk of popping your power supply and several components depending on the power draw of the unit and how you go about this. I'd consider another route unless you want to go do some math on electricity, draw, impedance and resistance. Good luck on that one...

 

[volvic]

Apologies, I will start a new thread.

In answer the package orginally comes with a cable that connects the 2 pins on the external unit through a custom backplate in a spare slot to a molex connector, which I know from images is only wired to 2 wires. I just need to know which 2 wires, and which pin to which wire.

 

[rubix_1011]

I would guess its a black and yellow...possibly ones next to one another on one end of the molex.

 

[madstressy]

And also forgot to mention that i had this problem even in the reserator degassing process, so the computer wasn't even in the loop.

The resarator has a known problem with the Water Flow indicator. The vendor from which i bought mine had this information in the review section of the product. They also added a O ring between the blades of the indicator and the the body.

Look at the water flow indicator and see if you have a steady flow and how fast it spins.

When i first instal mine i had a similar problem, What i did was I connected the Resarator to the PSU, start and stop the PSU for about 10 times, with around 1sec delay for each turn.

 

[Anon_19]

I read about these issues with the pump in the reserator being poor so after I bought mine I tore it apart, ripped out the stock pump and tossed in a swifttech mcp655 with EK top (this did require modding the location of the reservoir inside and adjusting the top plate to make the hole line up again. I get the occasional issue where the flow meter gets stuck but a simple slap on the side will jerk it free again and the system is good to go had no problems with flow.

The problem I do have now though, is the temperature sensor. IT seems when the ambient temperature reaches less than 18C it sets the alarm off as if it either thinks the temperature is too low or it is not sensitive enough to read temperatures lower than that. Because I live in Canada and set my house temp to 16 at night (or even if its really cold outside) this thing will beep like crazy and annoys the hell out of me. The only way to fix it is to run some programs to heat up temperature of the coolant which increases the ambient temps in the box and then it will run perfect.

I guess I am going to have to pull apart the board inside and find a way to bypass the alarm or something

 

[rubix_1011]

Why are you posting on a thread that was started 4 years ago and not responded to in many, many months? Do not dig up old, old, old, OLD threads to comment on- it's highly likely the OP doesn't even visit this forum and any information is long outdated for the purpose of the thread.

Closing this. Please post new threads with this topic in the watercooling forum.

/closed.