How would you drain a setup that includes a reservoir?

Assume you have a pump, reservoir, CPU block, radiator, and possibly a GPU block. How would you drain this system to perform maintenance or change out a component?

There are lots of ways to do it.

I use the Bitspower rotary fittings, and just try to position the drain portion where it is the lowest in the loop.

Here's one example (hard to see clearly, but the fitting coming off the bottom of the rotary is a 90 degree that has tubing attached to it. There is a stop plug in the tubing end. I just swing it out, unscrew the stop fitting, and drain into a container. (This is more complicated that it needs to be, but those were the only fittings I had at the time).






Example two: There is a stop fitting on the bottom of the rotary fitting on the bottom of the pump outlet (many people do not like 90 degree fittings on the pump outlet, but I've tested it without, and saw no difference in my setup). Because it sits at the edge of the case - it is extremely easy to drain. I just unscrew it and drain into a container. The second pic is just a closer look at the fitting:





And yet another version. Sorry I don't have a pic of the actual fitting ... but it's the same type of rotary BP fitting - attached to the pump outlet. But, this time, the tubing goes to the radiator inlet with the help of a 45 degree fitting. An extra piece of tubing is attached to the opening in the bottom of the rotary fitting, and I've got it looping under the mobo tray. This is a test rack, so an easy to use drain is critical:






These are just a few examples to help you visualize. You obviously don't have to use BP fittings. Some folks also use quick disconnects, or simply remove the tubing from a barb at a low point in the case, protecting the area with paper towels. It really doesn't matter how many components you have in your loop, just try to set the drain point at the lowest point in the case (or close enough, even if you have to tilt the case).

I have a horse syringe with a piece of IV tubing that takes about 5 fillups from the res to empty most of the water. Check places that sell medical supplies, feed and seeds that also sell horse/farm animal care items. Turkey baster might work too. If you are swooft, you should be able to siphon the water out with a piece of hose, think gas theft, don't swallow.

Having an external cooling device like the Corsair Nautilus 500, draining and filling is super easy. Those external units make life so much better. That's the biggest advantage with them.

The internal units are tricky and can be messy. One approach is to have a fitting port with a ball valve at the lowest point in the cooling loop. This way, you can put a very long tube onto the fitting to drain with and then open the ball valve.

i just pull open one of the tube connections while having some kind of container underneath to collect all the water, then just wait for water to flush out. You can blow into 1 of the end to accelerate the draining process obviously that is not the propper way for some, but i got sick and tired of waiting by doing it properly so i took matters into my own hands.