Installation Cont'd

Filling up the reservoir for the first time (with the distilled water and some water wetter), I used a kitchen funnel (I wish DangerDen would have provided one) and started filling up the system for the very first time.

After filling up the system as much as it would go, I turned on the pump (DO NOT TURN ON THE PUMP WITHOUT HAVING WATER IN THE SYSTEM FIRST!!! This can cause irreversible damage to the pump; they are designed to have water flowing through them, and should never be run dry!) and then started filling the reservoir even more, as having the pump on moved water out of the reservoir and into the system leaving more to be filled.

After having the pump on and filling the system to the brim with water and water wetter, I let the system run for 18 hours to accomplish two goals. First to leak check the system, and second to let all the remaining air bubbles in the system migrate to the reservoir.

With the system good to go and after leak checks and clamps fitted in place the completed system looked something like this:

To say the least, I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out, all of my cable management is clean and out of the way, and the WC system all fits in rather well, with the exception of the now larger rear end.

The water wetter gives the water a clean and neat pink look at the front of the case. With a CCFL, it even gives the water a clean lit up look too!

Problems

No system with this much installation time comes without problems, and although I discussed them in the installation section, I though I would reiterate them here so you know what you're getting into if you decide this kit is for you.

First things first, the mounting holes are a problem for some motherboards. If you have tons of transistors too close the mounting holes like the afore mentioned DFI LanParty NFII Ultra B, then you won't be able to install this system, unless you get a block from DangerDen that allows clip installation (which DangerDen does have, so don't worry yourself sick). However mounting the block to the mounting holes gives the sort of satisfaction that the block isn't going anywhere, and it is the better way to mount your method of cooling onto then the clips. This is definitely something to check before you buy the kit. I had to modify one of the plastic washers to install the block, and I think that is something that people may not think of, or might feel is too much of a hassle.

Installing the radiator: This thing is huge! Having a spot on your case that is capable of mounting the large radiator is very rare, it requires much more clearance than just a standard 120mm fan takes up! Unless you are willing to mod your case to accept the radiator (which is completely awesome, and I encourage DYI'ers to do this and then take pics and post them on our forums) then you had better make sure you have tons of space for this radiator.

Reservoir: Although this isn't really a problem, I wish that the reservoir had more entrances into it. Three total just doesn't seem like it's enough. If there was a way to squeeze two more on to the dual 3 ½" reservoir (for instance into an "M" pattern) it would be perfect. But don't fret! DangerDen also has 5 ¼" bay reservoirs that offer up to four total entrances and exits and even dual 5 ¼" reservoirs that have up to six total entrances and exits! Although you would have to sacrifices two 5 ¼" bays which many people don't want to do.

Tubing: Seven feet should be enough for anyone just buying this system, but what if you want to install a GPU or northbridge cooler too? I think you won't have nearly enough tubing. I had about a foot and a half left (if you include my one mistake I made which meant I had to scrap a piece) which should be enough, but if you have a full tower, and your components are farther apart than in my tiny Antec Sonata, you might have trouble. People with full towers may have problems, especially if they install reservoirs at the top of the case. I would really like to see 10 feet of tubing. I know that 10 feet really is overkill (no seriouslly, that is A LOT of tubing) but tubing doesn't cost a lot to manufacture, and having that extra amount would have given me the feeling during installation, that I have plenty to work with (while installing the tubing, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough, it's hard to judge when it's all one piece).

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