DDC 18w Plexi borked? Foam party??

[Mekrel]

Hi all,

Just filled my loop with distilled water and 5% zerex.

Problem is, my pump seems so loud! There is vibration there for sure as the arms that hold the side of the case on (lain li) rattle. Never heard a pump before, so I'm not sure if this is normal? It's sat on near enough inch thick foam stuff (although it's quite hard, so many not a good anti vibration material).

Will my system be hard to bleed due to the form factor etc? Pics below..

http://www.yoimg.com/i/54441974-IMG_2861.JPG

http://www.yoimg.com/i/54935278-IMG_2862.JPG

because the rad is on top, will I need to unscrew the bleed hole on the thermochill rad? Will water come flowing out even if I stand the PC on its end :p: ?

Any help appreciated.

[IanY]

The bubbles will take some time to bleed. Give it a day or two. Remember to slightly loosen your reservoir cap so that air can bleed out and the system can de-pressurize. Everything is just fine. Use some foam or something to silence the pump. A simple dishwashing sponge under your pump will work wonders. If not, buy a gel pad from Petra or rubber something else.

[Mekrel]

Thanks mate,

do I just turn off the pump and open the res now and then to let the air out. I take it is a bad idea to open the res with the pump still active? :p:

[Polizei]

You could try tipping your case onto the back panel side, so that your 5.25" drives are facing up. That way your res is the highest point in the system.

[Bobsmith]

My DDC+ w/ Petras top is silent to the point that at first I wondered if it was even on. When I was first leak testing, the ONLY noise I could hear was from the power supply (Silverstone Zeus), and a very slight rush of bubbles as the system had not bled yet. My pump is mounted on a petra gel-stuff pad, though I only used 2 small pieces as stand-offs, so the base would not get too hot.

[Mekrel]

Well putting it on its side was a good idea thanks, as now the pump is very quiet and I've mounted it on foam.

The water seems to have gone milkshake pink at the moment, is that normal too? :)

http://www.yoimg.com/i/25763464-IMG_2863.JPG

I've unscrewed the res cap a bit and the radiator bleed screw a bit

http://www.yoimg.com/i/58057942-IMG_2864.JPG

[sdkevin]

too much Zerex will end up very foaming!

[JamesTX10]

yes that is normal. The air will bleed out and the fluid will not look like a milkshake then.

[Mekrel]

I measured my zerex as it said on here and the product itself.

475ml of Distilled water and 25ml on zerex each time.

[Mekrel]

Also, when stood on its end, my res is only half full as obviously the rest of the water has gone into the blocks etc.

Does my res need to be as full as possible during the bleeding? :)

[Zeus]

Turn the pump off and open the cap on the res so that air can bleed out.
Leave overnight, in the morning most of the foam/air will be gone.

By keeping the water in motion you will create more foam.

[sdkevin]

Also, when stood on its end, my res is only half full as obviously the rest of the water has gone into the blocks etc.

Does my res need to be as full as possible during the bleeding? :)

half full is good enough, no need to be full during bleeding as long as your water level above inlet and outlet. Fill it full after bleeding and leave it there for a year or two :)

[ramenchef]

It looks like strawberry milkshake. Mmmmm. :p

[Mekrel]

Hmm doesn't seem any better today, foam has gone but still a lot of air pockets around.

[IanY]

Keep the pump running. Loosen to reservoir cap but keep it on :) The air will bleed out eventually. Patience, patience. I know you used 5% Zerex, as instructed. I used to use Zerex as well. 5% is about the limit of what you want to use. Zerex foams quite easily, and that's why the water was milkshake pink. Just let it run, and it'll sort itself out.

[welshtom]

Looks like waaaaaay too much zerex in there.

I find 5% can be too much, i barely put any into mine, seems to cut down on white residue and still do a good job.

my water barely turns pink, just a slight tinge. whereas yours is very pinky/red

[IanY]

You can't blame him. He followed instructions and used 5%. I myself prefer to use 1%, with 2% max. Once upon a time, I did use 5% and I didn't like it. Now, I dont' even use Zerex.

[welshtom]

I know, I wasn't blaming him (too much). In a car, he would have the right amount. But as you say, 1% is plenty in our systems, there is relativly little metal in the loop and loads isnt needed :)

Tom

[Mekrel]

Well, if I had known all this I wouldn't even use Zerex :(

The coolant sticky in the water cooling guide also says 5% but didn't want to double check as it was sticky and maxxracer seems to know what he is talking about.

Had some help off Marci and I seemed to get all the bubbles out but then I started the pump up and again it happened (but to a worse extent). Even though the barbs in the res were completely covered, it looked like it was still sucking air from the surface and into the water. :(

Edit: I cant just let the pump run untill I stop it sucking air from out of the res.

[welshtom]

you need to keep putting water into the res as its level goes down.

As all the air is removed from the system (ie the bubbles) you need to replace this :)

[IanY]

Do me a favour. Pour out the reservoir (just the res into a bucket) and refill the res with distilled water. Simple process. No need to remove tubes.

That will cut down the Zerex concentration. Restart the pump and let the fluid even out.

If you do it a second time, you would probably be down to about 1% Zerex, which would be much better. The foaming issue would be largely resolved. There will be bubbles, but they will definitely bleed out quickly.

Trust me on this. 5% Zerex can cause crystallization in the tubes after some time. Liquid crystals would not be a problem, but can rear its ugly head if you use a restrictive block, like the Storm (thankfully you don't). 5% Zerex is just not very good.

[Mekrel]

Yay sorted :D

Just shook the case around for ages and started the pump for like two seconds and noticed all the little bubbled moving through my loop, so decided to use the stop start method and a case shake in between (Marci showed me a way on another forum which really worked for my setup).

Eventually the small bubbled went into my rad, and Marci's method he described got them into my rad.

IanY, I have done what you said and now it looks as if no zerex is within the tubes, just the rad due to the volume of water.

Current wedged a face plate and screwdriver under the res so it's pointing up and got the pump running so air is pushed through the system and out.

Then, I'll drop the res back flat and drop a bit more water that the air bleed has made room for :).

Thanks guys! :woot:

[IanY]

You are much better off than having 5% Zerex. There's Zerex in your loop, just that the pink colour is very faint. That is optimal. If you like the pink look, then by all means add a tiny bit more Zerex.

[Mekrel]

Well, it's still going well but there is a lot of tiny bubbles in my res, the res is very full too and I've ran the pump with the res cap unscrewed a bit. Not much difference, so I've unscrewed the res a bit more with the pump stopped.

Yeah, I agree with the Zerex, it was too much. A couple of the stickies need to be modified I think. Take out vinegar cleaning for thermochill rads and make zerex concentration less. :)

Thanks for the help again :toast:

[Snyxxx]

DDC pump vibration/noise. The first time I used a DDC with the alpha top I eventually found out that I screwed the four corner screws too tight. The pump vibrated and made a lot of noise even after being completed bled and sitting by itself on Petra's gel. I said, what a rip-off, everyone said this pump was so quiet.

Then a post I read mentioned the spinning rotor may be compressed against the new top causing all the failures. It dawned on me this could be the source of the vibration/noise. While it was running, I carefully loosened each corner screw a little bit and the pump went dead silent and was great. What a powerful pump.

[ramenchef]

If you still have lots of tiny bubbles in the loop, run it over night with the res cap off and the pump at a low speed, giving the bubbles a chance to escape.

[Mekrel]

DDC pump vibration/noise. The first time I used a DDC with the alpha top I eventually found out that I screwed the four corner screws too tight. The pump vibrated and made a lot of noise even after being completed bled and sitting by itself on Petra's gel. I said, what a rip-off, everyone said this pump was so quiet.

Then a post I read mentioned the spinning rotor may be compressed against the new top causing all the failures. It dawned on me this could be the source of the vibration/noise. While it was running, I carefully loosened each corner screw a little bit and the pump went dead silent and was great. What a powerful pump.

Thanks, good info.

I was under the impression (from websites advertising so) that the pumps came separated, and you had to put the after market top on yourself. I bought it from a local store and it came pre-assembled to which the owner of the shop told me he received them like that. Will try this when I get home!

It's sat on like near enough 2 inches of padding foam at the moment, I think I'll get some get stuff and a southbridge passive sink from Petras.

Edit:

The only problem I'm having at the moment is the forming of small medium sized bubbles where the water comes into the res and they fine out towards the exit of the res to the pump. Some pass over the acrylic wall as shown in Figure1.

Figure2:

To combat the above, the res is at a 45% angle with cap half open to let the air out, small bubbles lined up where the water gets to the far corner and have disappeared over night. Problem is I can't put more water in as it will overflow. Filling at the 45% angle will just let the water back out and won't fill the triangle at the top. Having the res lay flat has a largish air bubble in the middle.

http://www.yoimg.com/i/203627706-Res.JPG

Oh well off to work in 9 mins :D

[Zeus]

Looks like you have a DD bayres.

I've had one myself but started to hate it more and more with every refill, i always spilled some coolant that dripped over the optical drive.

Thank god the drive survived to tell the tale.

I found that the res has to be filled to the absolute max to avoid air bubbles.

I always filled up with the pump running (i mean the last part of filling off course) with a small funnel and then lifted the front end of the pc so that the air could get out and then filled some more.

Try to lift the front end as much as possible and fill until the water has reached level with the filling hole.

If you keep the res (and pc) horizontal you will find air will be trapped at the ceiling of the res, as the square at the filling point will keep the air from escaping.

The best advice is to simply bin that reservoir and go with EK multioption res. :D

[Mekrel]

Grrr, obviously didn't research into resevoirs much :(

[JargonGR]

Well I tried Zerex and the moment I noticed this foam I flushed the whole thing out and decided to avoid ZEREX.


So I am only using Copper blocks, 100% medical Water For Injection and Silver wire and that is it!

I also made a drainage system with a Valve so its so easy to replace the coolant and be done with any possible :banana::banana::banana::banana: that may appear. Ofc its my first project ever (3 loops) and its only up for a week so we will see how it goes water wise.

[ramenchef]

Zerex foams only if you use too much. 1-2% is all you need.

[Mekrel]

How hard will it be to swap out the res for a different one?

Think I'm best off draining the loop off but keeping the tubing as it's how I want it and don't have much more spare.

I know you have to disconnect the lowest tube, but in my system that would be the pump, would that still work? Do you use the pump to drain the system?

This would allow me to measure the zerex back to exactly 1% too. Think I will choose the mcres from Swiftech.

[IanY]

You cannot use the pump to drain the system. The pump cannot be run dry. That is an important rule.

If you can do so easily, remove the blocks from the cpu/gpu and take the whole water cooling system out of the case, remove the tubes from the res and then creatively twist and turn to remove all the other fluid. If you have no other choice, then by all means disconnect the tubes selectively and drain.

[Mekrel]

Thanks, I know it can't run dry but I meant as a small startup to pump most of it throuh but with water passing into the pump still.

That method seems like the best :)