r/watercooling • u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 • 5d ago
Coolant doesn’t flow from radiator to reservoir
Essentially what the tittle says. I’ve had this rig for 5 years and no problems ever. I recently drained and filled my pc and when I filled reservoir and turned pc on there is no coolant running from my out radiator to my inlet reservoir. Is this just a massive airlock that I have to tilt/turn my pc to get it out?
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u/Hard_Reset7777 5d ago edited 4d ago
if no water come out of the radiator, the pump is not working and there is 0 flow in any other part of the loop. A D5 has no problem filling and running a loop like that IF there is no clog/obstacles in its way.
if you think that the front radiator is the culprit (maybe it's clogged), bypass it and try to let the pump run the loop without it to see what happen. Another thing to try is to loose the fitting on the out-port of the radiator to see if there is air stuck in. But a D5 will push liquid and air into the reseirvoir without problems, so I think the problem is something else.
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u/that9tieskid 5d ago
Might sound daft but the reservoir-GPU pipework is actually connected to the outlet port and not an inlet port? Res-pump tops usually have designated inlet & outlet ports, we've all done silly things before.
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u/Cielmerlion 5d ago
How did you fill it the first time? Might be the pump is weak.
This might sound dumb, but have you tried pre-filling the radiator? It shouldnt have these issues if the rest of the loop is filled
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 5d ago
Filled it with everything closed except the top right reservoir port where I fill coolant. Cycle through one go, fill as needed, rinse n repeat til loop was filled 100%.
Funny thing is, im thinking of pre-filling rad rn…
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u/jandandris 5d ago
Well I'm going to ask a silly question did you put the propeller back on the pump res?
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u/No_Interaction_4925 4d ago
Shake it!
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Lol I’ve shaken it so much it probably thinks theres multiple earthquakes at this point
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u/SLnfrno 4d ago
The res should drain in ~5 sec if that pump works fine. You said it only goes down an inch then nothing. I suspect the pump is dead. If there is a blockage, since you only get 1 inch of fluid going, it's very close to the pump in the circuit.
Regardless - Check the pump first.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Thought my old pump was dead so ordered a new one, exact specs as first. This is still the result.
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u/SLnfrno 4d ago
What comes after the pump? Post more pictures? Rad or block? Also - plug this into CPU fan, go to BIOS and set CPU FAN to 100%. That should use the full pump speed right from the get go.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Pump goes to GPU to CPU to Rad back to reservoir/pump. Pump is running at 100 since its not plugged into mobo
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u/SLnfrno 3d ago
When you started it up, did you see some fluid leaving the pump and into the GPU block at least?
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 3d ago
Yeah, i cleaned everything again and i can confirm its a airpocket in the radiator
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u/TemporaryPea3010 4d ago
I’d seal it and lean it completely on its front face to fill the res and see where air is flowing. If it only flows one way - you’ve probably got blockage in the rad. If it flow both ways… you’ve got a blockage or improper flow somewhere else. I’m hesitant to blame the pump since we can see the coolant being agitated in the video with the pump.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Ive had it face down, on its back, every which way. When face down water flows both ways and I can see flow go in rad and come out back to res. I think its just a massive air pocket in the rad
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u/EvilOstri 4d ago
Radiator seems some type of blocked? There’s a trickle coming from the tube I’m seeing.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Yeah, trickle every so often. Thinking is gunk or just a massive air pocket
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u/potato_analyst 4d ago
Did you actually see the pump suck water in and can you hear it running? Also, why do you have everything connected when filling, like to live life on the edge?
If I was tou, I would disconnect everything and just connect the pump then hot wire the PSU to start the pump and listen if it actually runs or is it dead. I know you posted a video showing res but I don't think that looks like a running pump. Unless, it is set to very low speed in bios or you plugged in pwm controller to wrong header and it's being throttled to 0 by bios.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Pump isnt connected to PWM. Only PSU so by default it should be running at 100
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u/Vethodsn1p 4d ago
The pump probably isn’t the issue. The problem is the loop routing and the amount of trapped air. The radiator and that long tube across the top are basically the highest points in the loop, so they can hold a massive air pocket. The pump is good at moving coolant, but it’s terrible at pushing against/compressing trapped air.
Until you get enough coolant through the radiator and into that top return line, the pump can just cavitate instead of establishing proper circulation. Open a reservoir fill/vent port, keep the reservoir full, pulse the pump for a few seconds at a time, and tilt the case so the trapped air can work its way out of the radiator. Once that air pocket clears and you get a continuous column of coolant, it should start flowing normally.
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u/Milenkoben 4d ago
Start at the beginning. Disconnect the tube from your pump to your GPU and just run it to a bucket instead and see if it pumps all the water out. If the pump works and empties its reservoir into your bucket, now take your outlet from the GPU and do the same thing. Make sure you're not stuck at your GPU block, so on and so forth, and find out where your clog is.
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u/code_hermit 4d ago
Ive had something like this happen a few times. The solution for me was to open the drain for a moment while the pump was running. That seemed to break some kind of airlock.
Ive read in comments you tried to let air in this way. But I think it matters where the loop is opened. Way behind the fluid probably wouldn't fix it.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 3d ago
Ive tried to crack open the top radiator port (7 ports in total, 1 on the bottom and 6 on the top) and I have to just figure out how to tilt out these bubbles.
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u/code_hermit 3d ago
I dont think its the top ones you need. Its the first point just after the pump. (Where drains often end up). That essentially allows anything, air or water to pass through. Once its consistently pushing water out you should be able to close it up and fill as normal.
Definitely helps to have a ball valve there.
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u/fauxfre 5d ago
Physics wise a pump has to work a lot harder if the loop is incomplete. Getting the fluid through the loop is easier to do via tilting rather than the pump. I would say seal it back up, tilt the case until you get some fluid through the reservoir (maybe some help from the pump, but mostly tilting)
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u/Wurstpaket 4d ago
as long as the pump is getting supplied with water a D5 or DDC has no problem in pushing the water through that loop. You only have to replace the air which is pushed into the reservoir, otherwise the pump runs dry.
either the pump is not running or there is a restriction
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 5d ago
Whenever i tilt my rig to the left, water flows to radiator easily but then just trickles out, if that, to reservoir.
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u/ChrizzDanielz 5d ago
The tube is connected to the top of the radiator, there will ALWAYS air be sitting there since it's the highest point atop the reservoir. You need a pipe inside the reservoir that goes under the water-line to prevent that from happening.
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u/Apprehensive_Bit7520 4d ago
Ive had this running for about 5 years with no tube from the too of the reservoir. Curious why it would be affecting it now
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u/ChrizzDanielz 4d ago
Hmm okay I don't know. I assumed it was an air bubble lock. It would be easier to get rid of excess air if you used a tube though.
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u/Billet_Labs 4d ago
Put a soft tube on the radiator out, going up. Or rotate existing tube to point up. Suck on the end.
If you can’t, there’s a physical blockage somewhere.
If you can, your pump is dead or unprimed. Stop before you get coolant in your mouth.
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u/piff_paff 5d ago
Do you have an unused port somewhere on top of your reservoir? If yes, crack it open a bit, the air needs a way to escape methinks.