Preparing Your Water-Cooled PC for the First Time | EK HOW TO

Watch as Matic explains how a freshly assembled PC water-cooling loop should be prepared and tested for leaks before you start using it for gaming and other workloads for the first time. The video is perfect for those who are new to water cooling but can also come in handy to more experienced PC enthusiasts to re-examine their knowledge and ensure they are indeed doing everything by the book.

Loop cleaning and flushing products are available through the EK webshop:

These loop cleaning solutions have been developed to clean your used or brand-new custom water-cooling loop, keeping them free of impurities or manufacturing residue.

Timestamps:

0:00 - 0:41 Intro
0:41 - 1:23 Introduction
1:23 - 5:01 Loop Cleaner
5:01 - 7:27 Superflush
7:27 - 8:08 Filling the loop with Solid Coolant

[AngelSing-Zepol]

The video might complicate things by splitting the process into separate bottles, but here's a clear summary of what you need to do:

1. Pour 1250 ml of distilled water into a 1.5-liter bottle, then add 250 ml of EK-CryoFuel Loop Cleaner to reach a total of 1500 ml.
2. Use a tester to check for leaks in the system and then fill the system with the mixture.
3. Allow the mixture to circulate for 15 minutes and refill the system if the level has dropped.
4. Let the EK-CryoFuel Loop Cleaner and distilled water mixture circulate for approximately 8 hours.
5. Drain the EK-CryoFuel Loop Cleaner and distilled water mixture.
6. In a 3-liter bottle, pour 2759 ml of distilled water and then add 250 ml of EK-CryoFuel Superflush to make a total of 3000 ml of mixture.
7. Fill the system with 1500 ml of the EK-CryoFuel Superflush and distilled water mixture and let it circulate for 15 to 20 minutes. If excessive foam occurs, reduce the pump speed.
8. Drain the EK-CryoFuel Superflush and distilled water mixture.
9. Refill the system with the remaining 1500 ml of EK-CryoFuel Superflush and distilled water and let it circulate for 24 hours.
10. After 24 hours, drain the mixture and proceed to refill the system with your preferred coolant. It will be ready to use!

[Helsvalkyrie]

I see you flushed a whole system here as im planning to do with my superflush and loop cleaner soon. My concern is if youre flushing the loop same as the liquid rotating through the system already anyway. So yes the flush will pick up and loosen bits in the loop that the coolant might not have... but they will simply end up flowing through til they get stuck in my CPU block where the fins are wouldnt they? As a result wether i flush or not i will have to take apart the whole board and monoblock to clean the fins because of my setup. So is this really worth flushing the whole system or maybe say the system minus the CPU block so as not to catch the bits and save me doing a teardown?
Thoughts please if anyone sees what im getting at

[mattl]

Does this cleaning system help get rid of any bacteria that might have already started growing in your radiators?

[mariomiguel]

Hello, how do i reduce the pump speed?, and I know this is a dumb question but this is my first time and nervous and wanna make sure i do it right, when it says to keep it running the pump running it just means to leave the pc on right?

[AutodidactEngineer]

What's the formula for making the coolant?

[Metatron]

If I am not using loop cleaner, but have new EK rads do I flush them with distilled water before filling or not?
It’s a bit confusing as some of your videos say don’t do this but the cryofuel says do do this.

If I flush with distilled will it affect the balance of the mystic fog?
Thanks

[jtburn]

I will be building a new PC within the next year and was thinking of a water cool kit from EK. I am learning that it takes a lot of work and time to setup and maintain. Am I missing something or does this process take a couple of days? I am questioning if an custom loop is the way to go. Is the temperature reduction over an AIO that much?

[colton]

Isn't it bad to blow into the loop to empty it due to bacteria? New to watercooling and about to flush my loop for the first time maintenance, so this timing is impeccable lol.

[clementine-png]

are these mixtures compatible with corsairs pmma tubing?

[cyclechris]

I just flushed 2 new ek radiators before installing using an aquarium pump and distilled water, filtered through a coffee filter. Got some green small particles, very small and very little quantity. You guys did a good job on those radiators.

[op_jazz]

I had to use a really small water pump & that electric air duster to flush everything out the system before coolant. Was the hardest part.

[juergenstremmler]

I personally would never use respiratory air for draining the system, like shown in this video. By doing so one can bring back bacterium back to the system.

[NoT_FrD_Found]

Ek pls make asus gx601 helios and gr701 hyperon destro plate

[jarvis]

Hello there, is there a difference in the drain frequency if we use colored coolant and transparent coolant ? Thank you very much

[aeroxR]

Ist the superflush allowed to remain in the System for longer than 24h?

[GoFasterHD]

I have a z690 Glacial it has some build up in the block, looks like a gel, I'm hoping the Super Flush helps.

[ifyc]

Thank you for the video. But how did you test the loop for leaks?

[metaforcesaber]

I hope EKWB is continuing to develop preventative solutions for this necessity. I had clear cryofuel in my loop, and as the level dropped every so slightly over a few months, a white precipitate built up where the coolant level used to be, at the very top. I feel like this is preventable? To be clear, I bought a pre-built gaming rig from them, so... it wasn't me who screwed something up. A quick google search shows many, many customers reporting the same thing- significant precipitate buildup.

I look at it like this- you would never flush your car's radiator once a year- that's overkill. So why do we have to do it here? That brings up another question- why can't we use car anti-freeze? lol.

I just feel like the cryofuel should be designed so that you don't have to clean the loop once a year with 2 separate products. Maybe I'm naive, but I just have the sense that there's a solution to this, whether it be only one type of cleaning/flush product, and/or not having to clean the loop once a year.

[BlakeBlaKe]

In the manual you say the loope cleaner is for flushing the rads, but in this video it sounds like you should use the superflush for flushing the rads?

[MarinaraTrackDays]

Love these products, bought them for my first custom loop i completed this week. But honestly, the prep time is too long. two full days of flushing is simply annoying.