Pump Making Grinding Sound

[blu3flannel]

My pump, after running for over 12 hours or so, begins to make this grinding/ stripping noise. It happens for a while, goes away, then comes back again. It also makes this high-pitched whining noise that doesn't stop when the grinding does. Does anyone know why this is happening? Thanks.

 

[sneekypeet]

what pump is this, and can we see an image of the loop in your case please?

 

[blu3flannel]

The pump is the OCZ Hydro Pulse 500, and I'll have pics up shortly.

 

[Solaris17]

$10 says air in the chamber.

 

[blu3flannel]

Here's a picture of the loop. Sorry about the image quality.

$10 says air in the chamber.

Do I have to drain the whole loop to fix this?

 

[erocker]

Yeah, it's air. Nice clean loop by the way!

Make sure you have a place in your loop for the air to escape, preferable in the resevoir cap. Pick the case up with the pump running and shake it, move it around, etc. Eventually all of the air will escape and the noise will go away.

 

[cadaveca]

Ok, so I bought this same pump from another user, and it made noises as well. It would only make this noise when the fittings were as you have them, or reversed, with the inlet up top...sideways, with both horizontal, there was no noise.

I know for a fact, with my pump, the noise was not caused by air. rolleyes: I'm lying). No amount of shaking, refilling loop, etc, fixed it.


So, I figured this was a lubrication problem, so I filled my loop with a water/glycol blend(About 30% glycol), and the noise is now gone.



For all I know, the glycol just pushed some air out of the pump.



So, try adding some glycol to your loop.

 

[Solaris17]

Here's a picture of the loop. Sorry about the image quality.

http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy142/blu3flannel/Computer Build/IMG_4367.jpg




Do I have to drain the whole loop to fix this?

unfortunetly usually. unless you can plug the lines. Even if it takes time id do it. I ignored impeller shaft noise and mine got ripped apart somehow. even if their isnt air in the pump chamber it would be a good idea to look at the physical condition of the inside of the pump.

 

[blu3flannel]

Yeah, it's air. Nice clean loop by the way!

Make sure you have a place in your loop for the air to escape, preferable in the resevoir cap. Pick the case up with the pump running and shake it, move it around, etc. Eventually all of the air will escape and the noise will go away.

Thanks, it used to use 5' of tubing, but I cut 18" out when I put the res in and my temps dropped 10C! And I'll try the shaking thing, hopefully it'll work. I leave this thing on 24/7 and I don't want it sounding like this all the time. :shadedshu

 

[blu3flannel]

Ok ,so I bought this same pump from another user, and it made noises as well. It would only make this noice when the fittings were as you have them, or revered, with the inlet up top...sideways, with both horizontal, there was no niose.

I know for a fact, with my pump, the noise was not caused by air. No amount of shaking, refilling loop, etc, fixed it.


So, I figured this was a lubrication problem, so I filled my loop with a water/glycol blend(About 30% glycol), and the noise is now gone.



For all I know, the glycol just pushed some air out of the pump.



So, try adding some glycol to your loop.

That's an interesting way to do it. Where do I get glycol, at the grocery store?

 

[cadaveca]

Hardware/Automotive stores. Sometimes used as anti-freeze(which is why i have it, for when I take my PC outside in winter).

 

[blu3flannel]

I did the shaking thing with the res lid off and the grinding stopped. The high-pitched whining hasn't stopped though.

 

[blu3flannel]

Actually, the high-pitched whining just quit too. It's pretty much silent now. If anything else pops up I'll let you know.

EDIT: Crap, the high-pitched whining noise is back, intermittently. What do I do to fix it?

 

[Sasqui]

It sounds like a bearing. Have you ever had the pump apart? I've only got experience with the D5 type. There's a ceramic ball that gets lubricated by the coolant (hence the void warrantee if it's ever run dry).

 

[blu3flannel]

Nope, I've never opened the pump and I'll only do so if absolutely necessary. I really don't want to screw anything up and be without a system until I can get another pump.

 

[robn]

Glycol is quite a good idea, it will help lubrication, but be careful: DON'T mix it in if you already have some other special coolant additive in there because that could lead to corrosion.

 

[blu3flannel]

All I have in right now is distilled water. So I just add some glycol in and that'll help it?

 

[cadaveca]

Yes, glycol will help. Glycol, although a type of alcohol, is very "wet" and slippery, and hence makes for a good lubricant in water loops.

 

[blu3flannel]

So should I just pour out some of my water and add glycol? How much should I add?

 

[cadaveca]

start with about 5-8%. And yeah, I'd just add it to the loop while it runs. that way the pump will get a big blast of it when you first put it in.

 

[Sadasius]

What kind of res are you running? Some do not like glycol and can crack.

 

[brandonwh64]

What kind of res are you running? Some do not like glycol and can crack.

Hes running a 5.25in Danger Den bay res.

 

[Sadasius]

Hes running a 5.25in Danger Den bay res.

The XSPC res? Can you post a link to the very res he has?

 

[brandonwh64]

uMM i just said danger den. The danger den website doesn't have that model anymore, its an older one

 

[Sadasius]

Well according to FrozenCPU "While designed to be corrosion resistant, OCZ reccommends the use of integrated anti-corrosive additives for all water cooling systems to ensure maximum lifespan of your products." So it is recommended to use glycol. However if you notice any micro cracks starting in your res then I would swap the res out or get a better pump like the MCP 655 or something. May want to include a drain as well in your next tube routing project. Makes it easier to empty the loop and clean the system from time to time.