I’ve been using an EK 360mm AIO for about three years. I bought it as B-grade with a one-year warranty. Recently I started hearing a bubbling / gurgling sound, so I assumed it needed cleaning or a coolant change.
Last Friday I bought 5 litres of de-ionised / distilled water and tried to drain the loop by opening one of the radiator hoses. I then attempted to refill it under water, but I couldn’t get the micro-bubbles out. In the end, I wasted the 5 litres and later realised the cooler already has a fill port, so opening the hoses was unnecessary.
Yesterday I took it apart, cleaned the cold plate and radiator, and I’ve now ordered new tubing and a small reservoir. My plan is to install the reservoir on the radiator so I can reuse the existing pump and water block instead of buying a new unit.
My question is: will this setup actually work reliably?
I have a second system I can test it on, or I can use a spare air cooler and test this loop for leaks on my main system without mounting the block directly to the CPU.