Aqua Computer LEAKSHIELD Review – Life Insurance for Custom Loop Water Cooling Systems

1 - Intro and Technical Background 2 - Functions, Mounting and Manual 3 - Patent in Detail 4 - Test 1 - Knife vs. Tube and Water 5 - Test 2 - Gunshot vs. Tube and Water 6 - FAQ, Summary and Conclusion

Fear of leaking water and the death of all electronics in the PC as an fatal consequence? Fear no more, the LEAKSHIELD from Aqua Computer is designed to prevent just that: provide a leakage insurance against water accidents in your cooling circuit. Cost? With 119.90 euros certainly cheaper than a big leak. Effect? Priceless!

Admittedly, the idea of a leakage protection in case of a leaking tube or fitting connection, defective housings or seals, loosening components in the water circuit or due to other influences such as breaks, cuts, etc. is not really new. The only thing that has been missing so far is a really practical solution for the custom loop of a PC water cooling system. In industrial pipe and hose systems, pressure monitoring has been used for ages to detect emergencies. But so far that has mostly been just passivly reacting (and shutting down), not actively acting (and sucking it up, literally).

With LEAKSHIELD, Aqua Computer now presents an innovative product to the consumer market, which should make fully-fledged water cooling systems almost completely safe. LEAKSHIELD reliably prevents liquid from escaping even under maximum pump pressure and constantly detects leaks in the background as long as the loop is still mostly intact. Of course, even this system is powerless against total mechanical destruction. We did two very .. unusual tests today to give some justification for our euphoria as well. PR can tell you a lot of things, but who would go out of his way to shoot or stab his custom loop to test the marketing claims? We! But before we get to that, there are two extra pages of “normal” review stuff to go through. And a video by Pascal (who you can also like and subscribe to).

First of all some theory for a better understanding

No, it is certainly not witchcraft and the physical laws behind it are well known. But the practical implementation was exactly why such a product did not yet exist. So far, anyway. The LEAKSHIELD generates a negative pressure of up to 450 mbar in the closed cooling system. If an (unintentional) leak then occurs, no liquid will escape from the system. With enough air sucked into the system to compensate, a “reverse” of the leakage can occur!

The pump integrated in the LEAKSHIELD maintains the vacuum and the system can then continue to operate without any problems in the event of minor leaks. Even larger leakages are still mastered by LEAKSHIELD (as our pictures and the video will soon show). Only real destruction, such as completely cut hoses or completely slipped out hardtubes, can overwhelm the system. 

But even then there is still a certain chance if the reservoir has enough air reserve to still completely store the absorbed water. Here 100 ml reserve is the minimum value and the more air in the reservoir the better. If you want to be on the safe side, you should therefore design the container as large as possible in order to have a good compromise between sufficient filling level and intake reserve.

The LEAKSHIELD also has an integrated diaphragm that protects it from coolant suction. This means that a system with LEAKSHIELD can be transported normally without moisture escaping. When transporting the computer, LEAKSHIELD can even continue to be operated via an external power bank. We’ll get to that connection in a minute. And speaking of coolant: with any kind of pastel liquids nothing works here at all. Distilled water and / or a good coolant or acid-free, non-aggressive additives are a must.

Scope of delivery

LEAKSHIELD has been optimized for the in-house ULTITUBE series and thus the entire system can be integrated into the installation space of a normal closing lid of the ULTITUBE system. It then connects to the motherboard via USB and draws all of its power that way. The matching cable to the motherboard for the internal USB port is included. The USB-A cable for external connection to a power bank to keep the system active during transport when the PC is switched off, is optional. By the way, the cable is also suitable for use with commercially available 5 volt plug-in power supplies with at least 1 ampere of current (>=5 watts). 

Also found in the package is a cable to connect to the power pins of the front panel connector on the motherboard (including a Y-piece) and a quick start guide/manual (also in digital form). The license for the aquasuite is also included, because although you could run the system as is, the full functionality is only made possible in conjunction with the software. The LEAKSHIELD can then be screwed onto other reservoirs using the optionally available Universal Adapter Kit. This has a normal G1/4″ thread and costs another 19.90 Euro. I will go over the assembly and the installation locations (also on a radiator) later.

For the very curious, I have also attached the manual in German and English. Here are the technical specifications before we get into the functionality and applications of the system on the next page.