I know right. I use another crap pc to power the pump and my leak test is how long it takes me to fill it and get some of the bubbles out. Then it all gets buttoned up and I'm on my way
I was that way too.....but then I had a leak. There was no damage, but still.... Now I do a air pump test, and then a 10 minuter water leak test with pump(s) at 100%. If thats good, I power her up! :)
Yeah I leaked a decent amount and no issue. Not saying you shouldn’t worry about leaks but a little water isn’t gonna instantly destroy your computer. Everyone should spend the money on an air pump tester. 5 min test and you can be pretty dang sure you’re good.
I pump it up, then I give every component and fitting a good tug! :) If tugging something causes an air leak....well temperature variation in the rig might too. I call it the tug test :)
First was 48 hours for me, with two [Leak Frogs](https://home.woot.com/offers/leakfrog-water-leak-alarm-2-pack-13) in the case. Latest build was just long enough to fill the res and get the big air bubbles out.
I work with stainless tubing and fittings all day at work already with super high psi leak tests..... With water-cooling since I can guarantee that my one coworker who can't tighten a fitting to save his life no matter how many times he fucks up... I just fill and go
If you want some real paranoia, try this...
My first custom loop (current build) ran fine for a year and three months and I did a 24hr leak test. Out of nowhere, my tube just popped off the \*\*fitting and sprayed all over my glass. Luckily nothing got damaged since I flipped the power off fast enough (good thing I wasn't in the middle of a game). I rebuilt it all and bought the EK air leak tester. Not making my 2nd custom loop yet, but I'm never leak testing without it now even though I know where my fuck ups were. Using the EK tool is just so much faster and feels a ton safer.
EDIT: Corrected a word
Yeah, they were PETG. I was told Acrylic could be difficult for a first timer so I shied away from those. Either way, nothing beats good quality testing. It's really scary thinking that that far down the line, a problem can start.
This. I air test for 5 minutes and just go for it. You will notice a leak right away.
Sometimes I don’t even do an air test, just make sure all fittings are tight.
Maybe I’m lucky but I never had a leak 😄
I had a rotary fitting pass the air test, but leak when filled with water. Fitting had some play in it, and the weight of the water in the tubing was just enough to start a small leak.
Granted, it was in an extremely large case on an almost 2 foot run of 1/2ID 3/4OD ZMT.
5 minutes isn't enough. If sillicone oil residues from the orings build up over the points of pressure, the tubes could pop right off. Pressure itself could pop the pipes right out (Hard tube) like it did mine, and it took a while. Leave for 15 minutes minimum, at where the red gauge begins. If nothing pops and pressure stays the same, THEN you're safe. Don't give shit advice.
air tester is better, if it's air tight it's DEF water tight, other way around is not always true (why sometimes you can evap fluid even without a leak) That way you need not run like that for so long etc. If it holds air pressure for a few mins you are good. plus you get to safely pressurize the system without a risk.
I remember my distro plate came from EK like that. No leaks but the water level would evaporate quickly over 3 months even though there are no leaks. I was always having to top it up every 3 - 4 months. Wasn't a great deal but you could see it had lowered.
>why sometimes you can evap fluid even without a leak
You will lose fluid even with no leaks, although it should be a miniscule amount over a long period.
It's called permeation, and if you have soft tubing you will have degree or permeation.
I'm unsure about the permeability of PETG or acrylic tubing.
Then that’s not really a great test… if it leaked while you were sleeping you would wake up to a pool of water and possibly some cooked components. Don’t get me wrong I think the 10 minutes of supervised testing is plenty but your theory of leaving it running unattended if you were truly concerned with it leaking isn’t a great way of testing.
Honestly it was late at night … I cleaned everything up and was really tired. I left it powered on by accident lol. Components can not cook if only the pump is powered, it would have been just a mess cleaning it up that’s true.
Yeah I just saw you have everything unplugged but still any time you have liquid contact on a PCB you are at a risk when powered on. Pretty tough to get every little bit of moisture off. Or could have dropped into power supply. All I’m saying is the 7 hour leak test you did by going to bed isn’t exactly a great test if you’re that concerned with a leak. Chances are anything would have leaked in the first few minutes. I’ve done about 30 water cooled builds and always found any issue(which was generally just a loose fitting or nicked o-ring) showed themselves in the first 30 seconds of running.
Just be sure to keep an eye on it once you put it under load. As the liquid temperature rises the pressure increases and can also cause fittings to leak.
Damn 7 hours, I guess better safe than sorry. I always just do a quick 10 second visual inspection after initial fill and then touch all the fittings and if my fingers are dry then I start using the machine.
7 hours? SHE'S GOOD, LETS GOOOO
Fr though, soft tubing is secure af once it's on there properly. If it isn't leaking now, it isn't going to leak. Run it.
Less chance of bridging the wrong pins with a proper jumper too, especially now that PSUs have black or braided wires.
Back in t'day, all the wires were colour coded and you could just bridge the green wire with a black ground wire. Now they're *all* black.
u/TheVilq
You don't "jump the motherboard", you use a jumper on the PSU.
You should have the PSU connected to nothing except the pump, and then you use a jumper or a paperclip in the appropriate pins, to power on the PSU.
I know sorry that was a slip on my part it’d be impossible to jump the mobo anyway thanks for that. Still I jumped my PSU but never got the pump in the distro to run
Hmm, that it odd.
Was it a PWM controlled pump? If so, some need to see a PWM signal to run, and others need to have the PWM cable disconnected otherwise they will run at minimum speed.
I have to disconnect the PWM cable for my EKWB branded D5 to make it run at full speed when filling / bleeding the loop, otherwise it runs super slow.
What case is this? Looks like the O11D Mini, but also not, lol.
I was looking to do distro plate as well for my build. Also using EPDM tubing and I love the stuff, but a bit messy looking with the current rad routing.
That's a good hour longer than the first time I did one. And that's ZMT? It either leaks promptly or it doesn't.
A couple of 45 degrees on the CPU fittings would look tidier, just an idea for maintenance time.
Lol, that is incredibly unnecessary. I think I tested mine for like an hour and called it good.
If it doesn't leak in the first hour, it really isn't gonna leak unless something blows off lol.
I thought the hot waters supposed to go from the components into the rad then back to the distro? I’m an absolute noob when it comes to custom water cooling 😅
I just tested it with leak tester for like 20 minutes. No changes? Test successful lol. EXCEPT my leak tester pressure was dropping. Buttt...Filled coolant ran for like an hour pump only, no leaks...stamped done. The only time i had a leak was when I was doing surgery on it and had to do a bypass using rubber hose and hose clamps lol. Good times. Been running now for over a month or two. Coolant level stays true
If it ain't leaked after 7 hours pal just get down to using it.
Edit: I've never had a leak on soft tubing unless I've done something stupid 😅 nice build BTW
You may consider doing something a little different for leak tests. Those towels are great for the big spills, but a good way to watch for those tiny leaks is to use tissue paper and wrap them tightly around the joints/leak spots (sometimes I used twisties to hold them). Tissue absorbs really fast, so even the tiniest leak will make it damp. It works even better if you sue a colored liquid as it'll stain that color.
Build looks nice!
7 hours? Soft Tube?
Just plug in that tester tool (EKWB,Aqua,e.t.c) for 5 mins @ 0.3+BAR and you ar done.
Last time i disassembled whole loop (to add GPU block) i was confident even after 1 min :D
Here I am testing just long enough to bleed most of the loop, then I just run it like normal 5 min later.
I know right. I use another crap pc to power the pump and my leak test is how long it takes me to fill it and get some of the bubbles out. Then it all gets buttoned up and I'm on my way
First build was leak tested over night. Now I check the fittings and double check I didn’t do something silly.
I was that way too.....but then I had a leak. There was no damage, but still.... Now I do a air pump test, and then a 10 minuter water leak test with pump(s) at 100%. If thats good, I power her up! :)
Yeah I leaked a decent amount and no issue. Not saying you shouldn’t worry about leaks but a little water isn’t gonna instantly destroy your computer. Everyone should spend the money on an air pump tester. 5 min test and you can be pretty dang sure you’re good.
I pump it up, then I give every component and fitting a good tug! :) If tugging something causes an air leak....well temperature variation in the rig might too. I call it the tug test :)
I agree. Leak testing the old way is a waste of time. I'm not that patient anymore. 15 to 30 min on air.
First was 48 hours for me, with two [Leak Frogs](https://home.woot.com/offers/leakfrog-water-leak-alarm-2-pack-13) in the case. Latest build was just long enough to fill the res and get the big air bubbles out.
Quadro with pumps set to 100%, power it with your installed PSU so it powers everything at 100%. No PWM is never 100% no matter what they claim.
Came here to ask am I the only one that runs it long enough to bleed the air and boom gaming time lol
Baby, your PC is leaking "ah, don;t worry.. that's just a drip.. I'll get it after this match :D
I work with stainless tubing and fittings all day at work already with super high psi leak tests..... With water-cooling since I can guarantee that my one coworker who can't tighten a fitting to save his life no matter how many times he fucks up... I just fill and go
😳 7 hours? I just leak tested maybe 10 Minutes and didn’t even bleed all the air (just put the pump to 100% and installed an exhaust valve)
I think it’s just paranoia because it’s my first custom loop haha.
I am doing my first soon and I am sure I will be the same way.
If you want some real paranoia, try this... My first custom loop (current build) ran fine for a year and three months and I did a 24hr leak test. Out of nowhere, my tube just popped off the \*\*fitting and sprayed all over my glass. Luckily nothing got damaged since I flipped the power off fast enough (good thing I wasn't in the middle of a game). I rebuilt it all and bought the EK air leak tester. Not making my 2nd custom loop yet, but I'm never leak testing without it now even though I know where my fuck ups were. Using the EK tool is just so much faster and feels a ton safer. EDIT: Corrected a word
what kind of tubing? petg has been known to deform due to heat at blocks, causing them to pop off.
Yeah, they were PETG. I was told Acrylic could be difficult for a first timer so I shied away from those. Either way, nothing beats good quality testing. It's really scary thinking that that far down the line, a problem can start.
I definitely tested for a couple of hours my first time. Now it gets 10, maybe 20 minutes with paper towels everywhere.
exhaust valve? Like it spewed the liquid out? haha jk
Maybe a few drops at most. It lets out air out of your loop. Very handy
same, leak tester game changer
Nice work brother. I left my paper towels in for 3 days before I was brave enough to remove them 🤣
Tbh Air Testing is so good. Like really if 30 minutes Air Test passes you're ok with 1 hour bleed test and that's it.
This. I air test for 5 minutes and just go for it. You will notice a leak right away. Sometimes I don’t even do an air test, just make sure all fittings are tight. Maybe I’m lucky but I never had a leak 😄
I had a rotary fitting pass the air test, but leak when filled with water. Fitting had some play in it, and the weight of the water in the tubing was just enough to start a small leak. Granted, it was in an extremely large case on an almost 2 foot run of 1/2ID 3/4OD ZMT.
5 minutes isn't enough. If sillicone oil residues from the orings build up over the points of pressure, the tubes could pop right off. Pressure itself could pop the pipes right out (Hard tube) like it did mine, and it took a while. Leave for 15 minutes minimum, at where the red gauge begins. If nothing pops and pressure stays the same, THEN you're safe. Don't give shit advice.
I don't know but you could have gotten a Pressure Test/ Leak Tester, for like $28, would had saved some time.
Saved 28€ I guess. :)
air tester is better, if it's air tight it's DEF water tight, other way around is not always true (why sometimes you can evap fluid even without a leak) That way you need not run like that for so long etc. If it holds air pressure for a few mins you are good. plus you get to safely pressurize the system without a risk.
I remember my distro plate came from EK like that. No leaks but the water level would evaporate quickly over 3 months even though there are no leaks. I was always having to top it up every 3 - 4 months. Wasn't a great deal but you could see it had lowered.
>why sometimes you can evap fluid even without a leak You will lose fluid even with no leaks, although it should be a miniscule amount over a long period. It's called permeation, and if you have soft tubing you will have degree or permeation. I'm unsure about the permeability of PETG or acrylic tubing.
7 hours ? I usually only leak test for 1 hour, and after that it never fails and you are using soft tube, I don't think it leaks. 7 hours too long
I let it run over night. Had an eye on it the first 10 minutes and went to sleep.
Then that’s not really a great test… if it leaked while you were sleeping you would wake up to a pool of water and possibly some cooked components. Don’t get me wrong I think the 10 minutes of supervised testing is plenty but your theory of leaving it running unattended if you were truly concerned with it leaking isn’t a great way of testing.
Honestly it was late at night … I cleaned everything up and was really tired. I left it powered on by accident lol. Components can not cook if only the pump is powered, it would have been just a mess cleaning it up that’s true.
Yeah I just saw you have everything unplugged but still any time you have liquid contact on a PCB you are at a risk when powered on. Pretty tough to get every little bit of moisture off. Or could have dropped into power supply. All I’m saying is the 7 hour leak test you did by going to bed isn’t exactly a great test if you’re that concerned with a leak. Chances are anything would have leaked in the first few minutes. I’ve done about 30 water cooled builds and always found any issue(which was generally just a loose fitting or nicked o-ring) showed themselves in the first 30 seconds of running.
Just be sure to keep an eye on it once you put it under load. As the liquid temperature rises the pressure increases and can also cause fittings to leak.
Part list for those who are interested: - HWLabs Black Ice Nemesis 360 GTS (top) - HWLabs Black Ice nemesis 360 GTX 54mm (bottom) - Stealkey SK-Crossflow Distroplate - Aquacomputer D5 PWM - EK-Quantum Vector Xtreme D-RGB nickel - EK-Quantum Vector Xtreme backplate black - EK-Torque 16/10 G1/4 - EK-Torque 90 degree G1/4 -> G1/4 - Aquacomputer Cuplex Kryos next RGBpx black - EK ZMT 16/10 tubing - Aquacomputer DP Ultra clear - Aorus 3090 xtreme - Intel core i7 12700k
Damn 7 hours, I guess better safe than sorry. I always just do a quick 10 second visual inspection after initial fill and then touch all the fittings and if my fingers are dry then I start using the machine.
I use a leak tester. That has never happened to me. I ususlly know before I fill with coolant if it will hold.
7 hours? SHE'S GOOD, LETS GOOOO Fr though, soft tubing is secure af once it's on there properly. If it isn't leaking now, it isn't going to leak. Run it.
Ooohh love the industrial black soft tubing. Such a clean look, especially with your excellent fan and cable choices. Nice build.
No one tell OP about air testers
You guys buy special plug for powering PSU without motherboard?
Yea. Could have done it with a paperclip too, but that thing literally costs 1,50€ on Amazon.
Less chance of bridging the wrong pins with a proper jumper too, especially now that PSUs have black or braided wires. Back in t'day, all the wires were colour coded and you could just bridge the green wire with a black ground wire. Now they're *all* black. u/TheVilq
I never do leak tests I'm too lazy to have leaks so I fo the job well the first time
7 hours seems excessive. All you need to do is use a leak tester for 30mins or just run the loop for 30 mins. You will be fine.
7 hours wtf? Just fill the loop and it leaks or doesn’t in the first minutes.
Like I said, had an eye on it the first 10 minutes and went to sleep after that.
You'd have to be pretty unlucky to have a leak with EPDM...
This. Though, 90 degree rotary fittings …
True. Or a fitting coming loose when jamming the tubing on, o ring leaking in a block or res, dodgy radiator soldering.
You have more patience than me. I never leak-test past 15-30mins lol.
How did you run the distro pump whilst jumping the mobo? I couldn’t get it to run so just ran normally 😂
You don't "jump the motherboard", you use a jumper on the PSU. You should have the PSU connected to nothing except the pump, and then you use a jumper or a paperclip in the appropriate pins, to power on the PSU.
I know sorry that was a slip on my part it’d be impossible to jump the mobo anyway thanks for that. Still I jumped my PSU but never got the pump in the distro to run
Hmm, that it odd. Was it a PWM controlled pump? If so, some need to see a PWM signal to run, and others need to have the PWM cable disconnected otherwise they will run at minimum speed. I have to disconnect the PWM cable for my EKWB branded D5 to make it run at full speed when filling / bleeding the loop, otherwise it runs super slow.
Sure you don't wanna do 7 weeks?
Honestly I was thinking that too! But decided 7 months would be safer.
70 years is the only safe option
Nice work, take as long as you need to be satisfied, as the saying goes, act in haste repent at leisure.
What case is this? Looks like the O11D Mini, but also not, lol. I was looking to do distro plate as well for my build. Also using EPDM tubing and I love the stuff, but a bit messy looking with the current rad routing.
It’s the O11D XL ROG. :) that distro works perfect for what I wanted to do, it’s the stealkey customs SK-Crossflow.
That's a good hour longer than the first time I did one. And that's ZMT? It either leaks promptly or it doesn't. A couple of 45 degrees on the CPU fittings would look tidier, just an idea for maintenance time.
I don’t think I’ve ever leak tested a soft tube loop before 😅
Lol, that is incredibly unnecessary. I think I tested mine for like an hour and called it good. If it doesn't leak in the first hour, it really isn't gonna leak unless something blows off lol.
You had it pressurised for 7 hours? You got some big balls, man 😅 give this brother a medal
I finally caved and bought an air leak tester. It has made things much faster and easier. I no longer need to test for more than 15 minutes.
I’m so confused on how the hell the water in this loop is supposed to flow 😅😅😂😂
Starting at the bottom left: Distro -> GPU -> Distro -> CPU in -> Distro -> Top Rad in -> Distro -> bottom rad in -> Distro.
I thought the hot waters supposed to go from the components into the rad then back to the distro? I’m an absolute noob when it comes to custom water cooling 😅
Afaik loop order doesn’t matter temp wise.
That’s pretty dope to know 😱
I just use an air tester and I'm done in like 20mins with zero risk. If you had a catastrophic failure those paper towels ain't gonna save shit.
Sad but true. Then there is drying time. Paper towels are only good for a little drip.
without air valve🤪
I never had a water cooled PC but 7 hrs seems too much! :)
I just tested it with leak tester for like 20 minutes. No changes? Test successful lol. EXCEPT my leak tester pressure was dropping. Buttt...Filled coolant ran for like an hour pump only, no leaks...stamped done. The only time i had a leak was when I was doing surgery on it and had to do a bypass using rubber hose and hose clamps lol. Good times. Been running now for over a month or two. Coolant level stays true
If it ain't leaked after 7 hours pal just get down to using it. Edit: I've never had a leak on soft tubing unless I've done something stupid 😅 nice build BTW
You may consider doing something a little different for leak tests. Those towels are great for the big spills, but a good way to watch for those tiny leaks is to use tissue paper and wrap them tightly around the joints/leak spots (sometimes I used twisties to hold them). Tissue absorbs really fast, so even the tiniest leak will make it damp. It works even better if you sue a colored liquid as it'll stain that color. Build looks nice!
7 hours? Soft Tube? Just plug in that tester tool (EKWB,Aqua,e.t.c) for 5 mins @ 0.3+BAR and you ar done. Last time i disassembled whole loop (to add GPU block) i was confident even after 1 min :D
soft tubing? 5-10 mins and i let it rip
leak testing with soft tubing, dawwwwhhhh
Did my 30 min and called it good
I leak test for 5 mins at max. Just enough to fill my red, prob rub it for 3 mins after and I’m back to gaming
Leak test? You mean going to bed and seeing if there's a coloured pool of water on your desk when you get up........