Question Powering Water Pump To Fill The Loop

[Ertrius]

I read an article and some posts on different forums that the way to fill a loop with the coolant is to disconnect everything from the power supply except for the water pump and the 24-pin ATX cable. I have a bridge connector to plug into the 24-pin ATX cable that will jump pins 15 and 16. So, then I use the power supplys switch to turn on/off the water pump. But, what I do not get is... where is the water pump connected to? If everything else is disconnected from power, then how does the water pump get power?

 

[kerberos_20]

you can use sata to fan adapter, lots of pc cases have those included to powerup theirs fan hubs
can be bough separately aswell

 

[Ertrius]

Oh, yes OK. I have a Aquacomputer Octo controller. I can connect the SATA cable that has the molex connector on it to the Octo with that. Then I will unplug all the fans from it and just leave the water pump connected. Thanks.

 

[Karadjgne]

The way I fill a loop is through the drain plug. Turn the pc so the drain is at the highest level or close, and allow gravity to push the liquid down into the loop and rads. Block and tilt back to allow air to travel through the loop. Repeat that for as much coolant as it'll hold, block the drain, fill the reservoir 3/4 full.

I don't use power until there's sufficient coolant in the loop because leaving the mains hooked to the motherboard means the cpu turns on, and jumping/starting the psu, turning on the cpu, before there's any coolant there in the block is a recipe for disaster, especially if the coolant needs to fill rads or gpu or both before getting to the cpu.

Best way is to just use an alternate piece of junk psu, it only needs a connection to power the pump, bypassing turning on the actual pc, when the loop is full, plug the pump back into the pc and start bubble chasing.

 

[Ertrius]

The way I fill a loop is through the drain plug. Turn the pc so the drain is at the highest level or close, and allow gravity to push the liquid down into the loop and rads. Block and tilt back to allow air to travel through the loop. Repeat that for as much coolant as it'll hold, block the drain, fill the reservoir 3/4 full.

I don't use power until there's sufficient coolant in the loop because leaving the mains hooked to the motherboard means the cpu turns on, and jumping/starting the psu, turning on the cpu, before there's any coolant there in the block is a recipe for disaster, especially if the coolant needs to fill rads or gpu or both before getting to the cpu.

Best way is to just use an alternate piece of junk psu, it only needs a connection to power the pump, bypassing turning on the actual pc, when the loop is full, plug the pump back into the pc and start bubble chasing.

Thanks, I will only have just the SATA/Molex and ATX cable connected to the power supply. Everything else will be unplugged.

 

[Karadjgne]

As long as the other end is not also plugged into the motherboard, that's fine

 

[lumineZ]

When you use the bridge on the 24-pin (normaly comes with the powersupply) you can leave everything connected to the PSU.
Only the periferals will turn on (fans and pump)
The GPU / CPU will not get a signal to turn on. I once had a leak when I filled a loop and it dripped on the GPU and no damage done. But nevertheless I now ALWAYS put a couple sheets of paper on the GPU or other parts or under fittings just to make sure if I spill or get a leak.

 

[Karadjgne]

Stuff the pc with toilet paper, especially around any fittings, when filling. Any leaks at all will be almost instantly visible. I say toilet paper and not paper towel because tp is extremely flexible, soft and malleable and bends do not form hard edges that can push on sensitive open components like electrolytic caps etc. TP also wicks water faster than any other paper type.

Some ppl like the blue shop towels, and are more careful, those turn a darker shade of blue when exposed to moisture, so leaks are very easy to spot, even the smallest is easily spotted.