Cooling lian li water cooling set up questions...

sorry if this is in the wrong place but i have been trying to find some answers to questions that i had, but have come up empty handed. any help would be awesome.


First off here is what I am using:

AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12
1/2" everything
Swiftech MCRES-Micro Hi-Flo Reservoir
Danger Den Maze4 Acetyl GPU Water Block
Danger Den Maze4 A64 CPU Water Block
BI Xtreme II Dual 120mm PC Radiator


You may have seen my setup here:





However there are a few things I am not sure about:

When I filled my system, I followed all the guidelines and made sure I got all the bubbles out and everything, used distilled water, yadda, yadda, yadda. But there seems to be some sort of metallic flakes in the water when I first filled and started the pump. Is this normal? Should I bleed and flush to get out everything or has anyone seen this before and it’s been ok?



Which leads me to my next problem, how do I bleed and flush a system without killing my pump? Any pointers here would be great!



Also, does anyone recommend any additive to the water to make my system run better or help the pump and or retard corrosion? I don’t want any UV stuff or anything like that, but I would like to know if there is anything that would still keep the water clear, but help a bit.



And I think that is it. I am leak testing now, but if I have to flush and bleed, I would like to know before I get all crazy! Thanks everyone!

 

I'm no watercooling expert but here's what I'd do:

Get 2 water containers (of reasonable size), fill one with water and leave the other empty. Then set up your tubing so the pump sucks water out of the one with water in and it gets pumped out of the other end of the system into the other container.

 

Your tline is setup really badly. You go to all that trouble for performance and yet use a t as an elbow which will cripple performance!

 

yeah yeah, i got you. i know its going to slow down performance some, but it was the only way i could set it up the way i needed it to be set up. i might look into it some more and change it up, but this one elbow will not kill my flow that bad. i think it will be fine, i will have to get a flow meter up there and check it, but by my calculations i am good. thanks for the info.

 

Pics of so called metallic bits in water?
Sure its not just tiny bubbles?

 

Ok pal,

Try the pump -> rad -> blocks -> res -> tline -> pump

I can visualise it working even with your setup (and actually it might look a bit better), also you are very likely to kill your pump with the t line so badly placed. The pump inlet should always have water there - starting without water can cause permanent damage. If you really dont like the look of this, try filling the loop with the res above pump so water will flow down and flood pump.

 

wait, wait, i dont understand. the res feeds into the pump inlet. i have both a res and a tline. that tline was to aid in me filling and getting everything in. but the res is also very accessable. so what you are saying is if i go directly to the pump with the tline it will be good? how it is set up now is this...

Tline -> Res -> Pump -> CPU -> GPU -> Rad -> Tline

so this is bad?

 

I was a little confused about your res before, I assume it is easily removable and that you can fill it so that there is plenty of water at the pump inlet while filling? If so then this can replace the t line I suppose (although it will be still useful for bleeding if you chose to keep it...)

If I were you, i'd go:
pump -> rad -> cpu -> gpu -> res -> pump

 

OK, first off: there is nothing wrong with your T-line. It will not kill performance. It is fine where it is. Really. The sequence of your components is also fine. Don't worry about it.

The metal flakes can be shavings from inside the radiator or blocks that can be produced during the manufacturing process. It is not supposed to happen; the blocks and radiator are supposed to be cleaned before shipping, but it still happens. Particuarly the rad can have a bit of crap in it. I therefore always recommend you flush the components before you install them (I got assorted flakes, rubbish and three small dead spiders (yes, really) out of flushing my BIX).

As an additive I'd recommend a 5% solution of Zerex racing, although any additive sold by a reputable shop (DangerDen, Swiftech and the like) will do. But Zerex Racing is considered the daddy.

To bleed your system without killing the pump, just drain it. Don't run the pump; let gravity do the work. You may have to turn your system upside down, or alternatively, just disconnect the res exit tube, as that seems to be the lowest point in the loop. You may need to turn and tilt your case/components to get all the water out.

 

sweet! good deal, i am off to get this right!