24 hour leak testing

[MagR]

Hi

I'm pretty new to watercooling and am about to replumb my loop to make the layout a bit neater and add some diffferent tubing and fittings. I've read a couple of articles recently advising on a 24 hour leak test before powering everything up. Previousy I've always run the pump for a few hours (probably 4-6 hours) and if I couldn't find any leaks I've started using the system.

My question is what do they mean by 24 hour testing? Does this mean I run the pump continuously for 24 hours (with no other components connected) or do I just leave the system standing idle for 24 hours without pumping? Or do I use a combination of the two? Also why is 24 hours better than the 4 - 6 hours I've used before? I would have thought leaks would show up fairly quickly - the only leak I've ever had so far was immediate as I hadn't screwed down a jubilee clip properly.

I apologise if my question seems a bit simple but I'm trying to learn the correct way of doing things to prevent problems.

Thanks in advance

Mag

 

[AcidElement]

They mean run your pump with coolant for a complete 24 hours to check for leakage.

 

[thequn]

Its 50% leakage - 50% air pockets removal/bleeding in my last system i had to bleed it for 3 days... because i added a 25% uv blue coolant which I didn't per mix and caused the soaping loop issue it was really cool to watch the vortex of air in my loops witch made it worth it. It was also the first time I ever water cooled a GPU so that was fun.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Its not really necessary to test for 24 hours, you can notice leaks pretty quickly as you say, and some rotation of the case will help with bleeding air pockets out,
Most people do a couple of hours at most
I don't bother
**Edit, was posting from phone earlier,
I should have said I don't leaktest as my loop doesn't permit it, its too complicated
Moto

 

[Lutfij]

@ modo - :lol:
@ OP - leak testing helps you breath easy after you have the rest of the hardware under juice. As getting even a drop of water on your GPU may fry it(short it out) and would mean another $400 out of your wallet because you were impatient.

The mod I did would run for the night, i.e: 8hours and then it'd go into my case. With my new loop/builds (I'm planning to do the same).

some leaks show up the instant you run water through the tubes, while some develop very slowly.

Instance of the latter:
I had the ziptie inside the pump chamber a lil loose on one of the 2 tubing's that made a small amount of air go in the loop while liquid dripped ever so slowly from it. When I heard a swish in the unit a day later(after being prepped in my system) I immediately stopped what I was doing and paid careful attention to the loop...then the criminal reared its head. I turned the whole system down, got about working again. Saved my GPU from a premature death.

*all this happened before the sticky existed so now there's a good chance people will avert the same mistake I did.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

And you know the problem there Lutfij,
YOU were inattentive/less than 100% and didn't ensure all connections were sound before filling,
not calling you, but it shows the benefits of an Ocd approach to W/c
check the loop, recheck, check again, go for a coffee/smoke/walk the dog, come back and check twice agin, then fill the loop
You know all this anyway though hehe
and yes, the sticky is a great resource Op, even for folks who have been doing it a while,
in W/c as in life, never stop learning!
Moto

 

[Lutfij]

...in W/c as in life, never stop learning!
Moto

My teacher once said: "...as long as we're alive, we'll always learn something that makes us all students."

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Or as one of my Sigs says,
The true master is an eternal student is the true master,

The true master is an eternal student
An eternal student is the true master
The true master is an eternal student
an eternal student is the true master
And so on
**Edit, had to edit as posting in the staggered form didn't work

Moto