Eiswolf 240 pump died?

[Hungalas]

First off, sorry if I am posting this in the wrong section.

So I am having issues with my Eiswolf for the 5700xt again, I am about 95% sure the pump died.

I bought the Eiswolf in February 2020. The first time I had issues was spring-summer of 2021. There was a horrible grinding noise that persisted even after I filled up the AIO some, after Alphacool support recommended this to me. I live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is outside the EU, so shipping back and forth is not simple. I sent it in for RMA however, and got it back in June 2021. At one point some months down the line, a light gurgling sound arose which I attributed to just evaporation and I simply topped up the AIO using Cape Kelvin Catcher. It wasn't much to be clear. Everything was cool and silent until today. Mid game I noticed my FPS dropping a lot and when I checked the metrics, my GPU was throttling heavily because it was hitting 95c+ on both edge and junction temperature. At first I just restarted my PC, thinking the Radeon software had just gone crazy, but it was still reading 95c+. I shut my PC off, gave it some time to cool down and when I started it up again, it was still above 80c. Did a clean driver reinstall with DDU, same thing. Then as the PC was simply idling, I ran my case fans at 100% for a while and managed to bring the temps down to the 60s. I then unplugged the pump, and simply left it like that for a while, and the temps stayed exactly the same. Plugged it in again, still the same. Bringing my ear as close as I can to the pump, I did not notice any noise from it that would indicate it was moving water, something that I usually can hear. I put on my air cooler and the temps are what they should be.

So my guess is the pump just up and died. Have any other thoughts? Anything else I can try? If any additional info is needed, please ask.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Edit: The AIO is mounted in a proper orientation. Radiator on the front with the tubes down. Highest point of the loop is the fill port. Can't mount the radiator on top as my CPU cooler is rather large and there isn't enough space between the top fans and the CPU cooler.

 

[Thomas_S]

Edit: The AIO is mounted in a proper orientation. Radiator on the front with the tubes down. Highest point of the loop is the fill port. Can't mount the radiator on top as my CPU cooler is rather large and there isn't enough space between the top fans and the CPU cooler.

Can you send pictures of your setup?

It is quite possible that the pump is causing the problem. Unfortunately, I have to ask you again to contact our support team by email (info@alphacool.com). There is no other possibility if it is actually a failure of the pump.

 

[Hungalas]

Can you send pictures of your setup?

It is quite possible that the pump is causing the problem. Unfortunately, I have to ask you again to contact our support team by email (info@alphacool.com). There is no other possibility if it is actually a failure of the pump.

Of course, here you go. I do really think it's the pump, I don't see what else it could be as my system is functioning fine after putting my original air cooler on.

I have contacted support already, thank you.

 

[Thomas_S]

Ok, let's wait and see what the support says. The position of the radiator with the connections facing downwards is really very unfavourable. There is always the danger that the pump can run dry (if you don't notice it)! And that would really be the death of the pump!

 

[Hungalas]

Ok, let's wait and see what the support says. The position of the radiator with the connections facing downwards is really very unfavourable. There is always the danger that the pump can run dry (if you don't notice it)! And that would really be the death of the pump!

Would it be better then to swap the tubes to be on top? Or do you mean the connections on the block? Because those will be facing down no matter where I put the radiator, there simply isn't enough space in my case to route it otherwise. Do you perhaps know if it's possible to get shorter tubes? These are way too long anyway.

 

[Thomas_S]

I misspoke a bit... the connections on the radiator are already OK. I was more referring to the fact that you have to make sure when setting up that the pump cannot run dry.

You could shorten the tubes and install new fittings (or carefully remove the old ones and reuse them, but this is not always successful).

 

[Hungalas]

I misspoke a bit... the connections on the radiator are already OK. I was more referring to the fact that you have to make sure when setting up that the pump cannot run dry.

You could shorten the tubes and install new fittings (or carefully remove the old ones and reuse them, but this is not always successful).

How would I make sure that it doesn't run dry? I mean, it didn't make any irregular noise, apart from once, when I just had to top it up a little bit. I assumed that was simply evaporation in the summer as it was the warmest ever on record and my room isn't cooled by an AC.

I'm not savvy enough to do that myself, and if something goes wrong, I can't easily get replacements here in Bosnia, so I probably won't do that. I'll ask support if it's possible for them to do that.

 

[Thomas_S]

How would I make sure that it doesn't run dry? I mean, it didn't make any irregular noise, apart from once, when I just had to top it up a little bit. I assumed that was simply evaporation in the summer as it was the warmest ever on record and my room isn't cooled by an AC

I'm not savvy enough to do that myself, and if something goes wrong, I can't easily get replacements here in Bosnia, so I probably won't do that. I'll ask support if it's possible for them to do that.

You definitely hear it when a pump runs dry! It was important to me to point out that this has to be taken into account when setting up. Based on your picture, we have already been able to clarify that it is OK for you. Ultimately, there can also be other reasons why a pump goes defective. As already mentioned at the beginning, the best way is to send an RMA via email to our support.

 

[Hungalas]

You definitely hear it when a pump runs dry! It was important to me to point out that this has to be taken into account when setting up. Based on your picture, we have already been able to clarify that it is OK for you. Ultimately, there can also be other reasons why a pump goes defective. As already mentioned at the beginning, the best way is to send an RMA via email to our support.

Just for future reference, do you happen to know what sort of sound I should be looking for? On a sidenote, I have been in contact with support and have been approved for an RMA.

 

[Thomas_S]

When it runs dry? Believe me, you can hear it - it gets extremely loud. But let's not assume that. Your setup is ok & if there's enough fluid in the loop, that won't happen either. I'm curious what the RMA will show, you can give feedback when you get the information!

 

[Hungalas]

When it runs dry? Believe me, you can hear it - it gets extremely loud. But let's not assume that. Your setup is ok & if there's enough fluid in the loop, that won't happen either. I'm curious what the RMA will show, you can give feedback when you get the information!

Okay, will do. Once it gets back I will also try putting the rad on top again. My warranty is running out now so I'd like to make sure in whatever way I can that I don't get another failure any time soon.