foamy water/pump rattle Is my MCP-600 too powerful?

[Saurk]

I just installed a new pump and reservior in my water-cooled setup, and have two (potential) issues.

1) There are very few bubbles in the lines, but when I turn the pump on, everything turns to foam. I'm using distilled H20 w/ water wetter. The water velocity seems rather..umm...vigorous. For example, the reservior looks only half full when the pump is off. When on, the reservior looks about 90% full (from the front). This is because water is shooting in the reservioir inlet with enough force to push up the front panel.

2) Kind of a paranoid reaction, really. My two previous pumps worked well for a while, but then developed a "rattle" that really got on my nerves. I had a Via Aqua, then a "Quiet One" (yeah, right). After a while, the noise became enough of a nuisance for me to buy my new swiffy. I'd heard good things about the swiffy, but because I've seen the problem on two different pump models, I'm afraid it'll happen again.

I've debated if this might be caused by the order of my setup. Right now I have:

pump -> water block -> reservoir -> rad -> pump

The only reason for this order is because in my current setup, this is what uses the least tubing. I needed about 5' of tubing, not sure if this is on par with other people or not. I've heard debate about the order in a setup, mostly for the purpose of maximum cooling. My setup has always been excellent as far as performance, so that's not an issue for me. But if my new $60 swiffy develops the same rattle, I'll be very unhappy. Right now, it only puts out a barely percievable hum. The water itself makes more sound as it pounds the front of the reservior, but this is nothing compared to the racket from my previous pumps.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[beatle]

How much water wetter did you use? You should only be using a small amount since a full bottle "treats" 3-5 gallons. I use half a bottle in my car's 6 qt. system.

 

[pelikan]

You may need a baffle in the center of your res if using less water wetter doesn't solve the problem.
The pump is not too powerful. Its a great pump with good power and low power consumtion.

 

[Dman877]

I'm not positive about this but I do believe there is a point where more water flow becomes counter-productive. At some water-speed, the water doesn't absorb as much heat because it simply moves in and out of the block too quickly to allow for optimal convection(or is it conduction?). I imagine the speed at which this happens depends on the system though so I can't say if you would have a problem.

Do you use 1/2 inch tubing? Do you really need a resevoir? A good inline system might take care of the foam problem but maybe not, I don't know anything about that pump. As fo the water wetter, all I know is the ratio of wetter to water is very small, something like 1 oz wetter to 16 oz water (don't quote that).

EDIT: It's 4 oz wetter per gallon

 

[pelikan]

Originally posted by: Dman877
I'm not positive about this but I do believe there is a point where more water flow becomes counter-productive. At some water-speed, the water doesn't absorb as much heat because it simply moves in and out of the block too quickly to allow for optimal convection(or is it conduction?). I imagine the speed at which this happens depends on the system though so I can't say if you would have a problem.

You have to think of watercooling systems differently. Its kind of counter-intuitive. Water does not only go through the block one time. If it did just go through once then you would be right. But water is always in the block. Slowing it down cannot increase the amount of heat it absorbs. In fact, the faster water moves through the block the more heat it will absorb. The reason is that the greater the temperature difference between the water and the block, the more heat can be absorbed by the water. So faster is better.

 

[Saurk]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I feel like an idiot. All I had to do was fill the res a little more, and the foaming issue went away.

Anyway, I used 1 oz WW/ 1L H20. I have 1/2" tubing. I'm not sure what a baffle is, but the bay-res I bought has a divider that's supposed to help with bubbles. What I learned today is that the water level has to be significantly above the res ports, or lots of little bubbles get through.

As for the noise issue, the pump has been running all day, and is still very quiet. I'll keep an eye (or ear?) on it, and see what happens.

Thanks again!