a good way to test functionality of AIO water cooler

[linkeds2]

Hey Guys,

So backstory is that i took my 240mm rad out of my case but left the pump attached to the mobo for cleaning. I used my air compressor to blow out the rad.

I remounted the rad and started the computer up and now i'm not getting coolant flow through the AIO system.

Its a H100i V2 (called a GTX back in the day) and you can hear the pump working. AS a result of the non cooling, my 4790K got as high as 99C for 5-10 seconds before i shut it off. Pump RPM got as high as 5,450 RPM i've never heard the pump work that hard. What i'm thinking is if i have pump rotation but no coolant flow then i may have a internal leak that prevents the pump from creating flow. As a result, it overworks.

So i had mobo failure from a different issue that i'm handling, and want to bench test the AIO cooler.

You guys have any ideas on how i can heat up the baseplate? I was thinking incorporating a stovetop, while powering the pump to see if heat transfer makes it to the radiator.

Thanks again guys

 

[Ralston18]

What pressure setting was your air compressor set at?

 

[linkeds2]

regulated at 90PSI but i have a handheld nozzle that channels pressure through a tiny hole.

 

[ricdiculus]

Could be air trapped in the system after it was flushed. An air bubble in the pump impeller would cause the exact kind of issue your describing. Pump cavitates, preventing coolant flow, CPU heats up quickly, pump runs at max trying to cool it down, but cant move any coolant because of the air pocket.

 

[linkeds2]

AIO coolers are sealed right? I'm not 100% sure but shouldn't they be bled of all air from the factory? there's no external leak so i shouldnt have introduced any air into the system

 

[Ralston18]

My sense is that the air compressor "ballooned" something inside the radiator and that, in turn, squeezed shut one or more coolant paths inside.

Or the Bernoulli effect where the fast moving air created a low pressure area and atmospheric pressure crushed the tubing.

Or some piece of debris was blown into and jammed into a bend or other location.

End result - no coolant/water flow. Or perhaps limited flow if there are multiple flow paths within.

If just stuck debris, reversing the air flow direction and using a much lower pressure may dislodge the debris.

However if there is physical damage within the radiator then reversing the air flow will do no good.

 

[linkeds2]

Update: was able to test the water cooler on the bench(stove)top by placing an aluminum dish in a cast iron pan with a 1/4 in of water in the cast iron pan to heat the aluminum dish. I kept the existing thermal paste on there and held it onto the aluminum dish while the skillet boils the water and the pump was running.

Was able to verify that the pump transferred heat to the radiator by the radiator getting hot!

Thanks guys. I hope someone else finds this info useful.