Question Leak testing my loop

Mar 30, 2022
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Hey, all. This is my first water-cooled build and I've got a lot invested in this system (over $13K), so needless to say, I wanna get it right when I leak test my loop... ha. I'm using the EK-Leak Tester (https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-leak-tester) and am testing my loop in sections at a time as I'm building it to make it easier to find leaks, rather than putting the entire loop together, not testing anything until the entire loop is done, and then having to track down a leak when, at that point, it could be absolutely anywhere in the loop.

My question is, if there is only a SLIGHT leak (e.g., 0.025 bars after ~15 minutes), can I assume that this is going to be watertight? In researching this on the web, the popular opinion seems to be that there will be more air pressure in the loop when air testing than there will be water pressure when you actually fill the loop, so these very small air leaks shouldn't be a problem. That being said, though, I'd hate to assume my loop is going to be watertight, and then fill my loop and end up with coolant all over my lovely and extremely expensive components... LOL.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!