Can I fill my custom loop from top mounted radiator instead of a top of the reservoir?

Marko9111

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May 14, 2017
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I was wondering is that possible,because I have no split adapters and photon D5 270 xspc reservoir have only one port on the top,so I was planing to connect that top to the top radiator and than to use the same top radiator as a place for fillport,radiator in question is Hardware labs 20mm SR2 multiport .At the bottom of the reservoir two ports will go into inlet ports of pump top and one will serve as a drain port...
Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Solution
No, I don't quite understand what you mean.

Reservoirs don't really have a defined inlet or outlet. Any port can be an inlet or outlet, technically.

If your pump top ('top' meaning add-on aftermarket head) has more than one inlet/outlet port, you typically plug one of each...they are there for different setups based on how you need to orient your pump.


Having your radiator dump water from the top in the reservoir isn't a good idea. There is a reason there are multiple ports on the bottom. This is to prevent the water from making a splashing sound which will happen if it's just falling down inside a radiator.
 
I am not entirely sure what you mean.

Typically you would want to fill the reservoir, have the pump push water into the system, which would expel air into the reservoir and out the fill port.

As long as the water reaches the inlet of the pump you can technically fill from anywhere, however, having any openings on a radiator is not a good idea during the fill process. I suspect you would end up running the pump dry at some point.

I would have to see the whole setup to say more.
 

So,what you are saying top of the reservoir should only be served as inlet from blocks and/or as fillport?
 

The case is Thermaltake view 71,there is a rad in front 280mm x flow and on top is multiport SR2 420mm rad with 8 ports on one side.If I connect two rads together and reservoir ,because all the ports of that big top rad are on the same side,two at top,directly below them are two,lateraly also two and on front of the rad are two ports.
There is one cpu block and gpu and ssd m.2 block...pump is below the reservoir ,and reservoir is in between the rads and pump.

 

I understand that standard concept of loop filling but I have a problem,my reservoir have only ONE port at the top,so water can only at the bottom of the res to get in,thats why I asked is it possible to fill the loop trough radiator on at the top and use that ONE port on res as inlet port for reservoir...or reservoir top inlet isn't necessity for a loop?

 
Can you provide a photo of your loop? You want to fill your loop by allowing your pump to move liquid into the components and pushing out the air, to be expelled at the reservoir.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean about the top port on your reservoir (which would be ideal) but then you mention something about the bottom of the reservoir?

The primary issue here is that you DO NOT want the pump to be running without it moving water. If it runs without water or coolant you run the risk of permanent impeller damage.
 

Yes!Yes!Yes!We are on the same page!I know that,but I'm using XSPC Photon 270 reservoir that have at the top one port and at the bottom 3 ports...So I was thinking can I push the coolant through the top radiator as a fillport to get coolant inside reservoir before I cycle the pump?
 
Why wouldn't you just open the top port on the reservoir and fill it there? Or are you using that top port with a fitting to complete your loop?

And I am guessing your radiator (on top) has an open port that would then directly fill the reservoir below?

If the above is correct, yes.
 


Here are the loop pic http://
Yes,that's the plan... See it for yourself.
But,I was wondering,Is that top inlet port really necessary for a reservoir ,or 3 at the bottom will do just fine?
and,I just checked ,top radiator is multi port U flow design ,low restriction radiator....
 


so basically one of the outlets ports of the pump can be connected to a bottom port of reservoir?
 

Yes,I know that,but on this reservoir at the bottom,ports are not marked as inlet or outlet...that's why I asked,can I use one pump outlet for the loop and one pump outlet for reservoir? does that make any sense?
 
No, I don't quite understand what you mean.

Reservoirs don't really have a defined inlet or outlet. Any port can be an inlet or outlet, technically.

If your pump top ('top' meaning add-on aftermarket head) has more than one inlet/outlet port, you typically plug one of each...they are there for different setups based on how you need to orient your pump.
 
Solution


I was thinking about if fluid is going out of reservoir to D5 top than there need to be one return inlet port for fluid in reservoir,no? if I for example I dont use top radiator as a fillport,just a reservoir...
 
Loop is finished!Thanks for your help!Much appreciated. :)
Look final version,up and running : https://imgur.com/a/AWInj


 
It's running great!
Odd thing is that I see better temp when at the top fans are in pull than in push config.I also put one exhaust fan at the back(not in the picture),also at the front are 3 intake fans and in the middle are as you can see two exhaust fans...GPU is 26C in idle and max 46 OCed at full load 11950Mhz/2037mhz.CPU at 5.0Ghz idle at 35C and at full load 70C(after 5 hours of prime95) and Nvme got drooped from 50C to 26C with waterblock.....Alphacool pressure valve is great tool for getting rid of the air bubbles out of the system.
next week,I will put two more 360mm rads inside ...
And must say that filling the loop the way I did,was quite easy...These HL rads are amazing!System is runing with fans at around 800rpm ,whisper quiet :)
I put in EK acid green coolant theirs navy blue 20ml to get that deeper green color .
Thanks,bending tubes were not easy :)
 
Pull often works better than push, although this is something that still isn't used by most people. You'll typically see equal results or pull being slightly favored, depending on fans and rads being used. There is less of a dead space in pull than what you get in push from the central fan hub. Also, it is easier for fans to pull air through a rad than pushing it; pushing means there is air being buffered back into the airflow from hitting fins and tubes, where pull does not see this.