Installed new W/C component - Slight swishing sound with pump on that loop

TechloGoblin · 11-14-2009, 05:57 PM

Hello!

I am sorta new to the whole W/C thing so please take my question as a paranoid friend who thinks it's better to ask than to be sorry later.

I helped a friend today add a component to his loop (I was basically there to assist in labor) and everything was checked...no leaks, etc. One of his rads. was also unbarbed and plugged to get at these components. (some coolant came out of the rad. but that was expected.

Some of the coolant from his reservoir was drained and then added after completion and some additional coolant of the same kind was added to top it off. Now that the PC is all put back together there is a slight "swish" sound that is coming from the pump. It is not constant, but it's very frequent. This sound could also be described as little pebbles hitting plastic.

I tried to assure him that this is normal and it's just air going through the system and it may take a while to bleed out. His reservoir is slightly lower than his pump, but above his rad. We checked and none of his lines are pinched in any way.

I told him he can try and shake/move the case around but that it will eventually work itself out over time. I assume that he was not the one to initially build the case because he did not notice this when he first got the PC as it was properly bled for him.

The noise is ONLY coming from the pump and you can visually see little little bubbles here and there making their way through. His other pump on a sep. loop is not making any noise (as nothing on that loop was touched) Am I right that there is nothing to worry about? I'd hate to give him bad advice. The temps are perfectly fine on the loop which was worked on.

shazza · 11-14-2009, 06:01 PM

Sounds like you got it right ... this sounds very typical of what happens when you first start a new loop. It doesn't hurt to rock the case a bit to dislodge any air in the radiators - but only if it's easy to do, and everything is nice and tight! Cycling the pump on / off a few times helps too, but this is better done with an extra PSU.

I'd just suggest he wait 24 hours and see if the air has left.

nkresho · 11-14-2009, 07:54 PM

Agreed. I get the same sound whenever I put my loop back together. Microbubbles. Give it some time.

washu9 · 11-15-2009, 07:09 AM

Hmm, I'd say check the flow on the reservoir intake.

Excessive sound might mean that there's no water lack of water around the pump impeller. This would mean it's not really pumping water. AKA. dangerous for your PC components to run in this condition.

How easily you can bleed it out depends on your tubing size. shazza's recommendation should work in most cases.
I'd also suggest you open the reservoir fill-port while cycling the pump on/off.
It'll help the bleeding process. Just be careful not to fill the loop too much or it will spurt out of the reservoir port.

TechloGoblin · 11-15-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkresho

Agreed. I get the same sound whenever I put my loop back together. Microbubbles. Give it some time.

A quick call to him revealed that the sound is almost "non-existent" today.

Microbubbles it is. Thanks guys for the replies.