Rethinking my rackmount project - Page 2

dax · 12-03-2002, 02:59 PM

cova, i've considered doing that too... but as the rack is going to end up below my desk, it doesn't seem like a good solution to me (air path would be too restricted), nice to see people post their ideas though

I think i'm going with the huge rad idea... still have to figure out where to put it though, and the second problem would be the pump(s)... I have no idea how much pumpin' power i would need (i can cheap & easily get mini/maxi/micro-jets and sicce pumps). Sicce pumps look interesting, problem is that they need to be submerged (don't know if they are easy to mod to inline)

Cova · 12-03-2002, 03:28 PM

I didn't even think of that in my first post - I'm usually a supporter of inline pumps (and no rez - I think they just provide more places to leak and more liquid to leak out of them when they do) - but in the case of a modular system like this you will need a rez (every time you plug in a new computer to the system, the tubing/blocks inside that system will be filled out of the rez), and just to keep the pump quiter and locating it easier, I'd go with a submersed pump.

I'd probably run a large diameter tube down one side of the rack (like Airspirit did), and put on a reducer type thing at the bottom so that most of the pipe would be say 3" or 4", and the very bottom 6" to a foot would be wider, say 8". The thick section at the bottom would house the pump, with the pump outlet connected to a 1" tube that would come out the side of the thick part and run back up to the top with points down the side of it to connect computers to.

airspirit · 12-03-2002, 04:17 PM

On the contrary, an inline unit would be easiest, and would make the most sense. You will need a decent radiator, res, and pump, but access to the pump for verification of how well it is doing is crucial for this kind of application.

Think about it. You'll have multiple computers on one loop. If your pump goes out, you are f*cked, and if you can't inspect your pump easily, you'll never know if you're about to suffer meltdown.

The res is crucially important. When filling a system, you will need plenty of fluid to act not only to help prime it (this is what I love about my Tower of Power [tm], but you probably don't want to go that route

), but also to serve as a buffer in case of extreme variations in the coolant temperatures. With multiple machines on the loop, you want to be able to normalize the temperatures as much as you can before you get it to the radiator, and a reservoir is the perfect place for all of your systems to drain into, and a perfect place for your pump to prime from.

If you look at the front page of my article I pointed you to earlier, there is a diagram of a way of assembling the system using a submerged pump. It would not be difficult to build a PVC infrastructure to isolate the pump inline with the res and radiators, and with shutoff valves as well, helping isolate your system in case you needed to remove the pump for maintenance (without draining the entire thing ... though my system is easy to drain and fill, I still wish I would have done a better job of isolating the pump for maint.). I would suggest a res of approx. 6L. It would be big enough to prime a good portion of your system without taking too much U space. Just set the tank on a rack shelf. In the space below you could take 8-10U and build a wind-tunnel (the equivalent of the box I made, a completely shrouded off box, essentially, forcing all air from the fans through the radiators in order for it to escape ... works very well) to house the rad(s) and pump with the fans blowing in from the back.

All in all, you'd use about 12U, or a quarter of the typical cabinet, on your cooling components. It would still leave you 36 U for components, but everything would be assembled in a nice, easy to maintain form factor.

My $0.02

dax · 12-04-2002, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Think about it. You'll have multiple computers on one loop. If your pump goes out, you are f*cked, and if you can't inspect your pump easily, you'll never know if you're about to suffer meltdown.

That is why i was also considering to use 2 pumps, not to increase flow rate or head, but just for reliability.

Quote:

All in all, you'd use about 12U, or a quarter of the typical cabinet, on your cooling components. It would still leave you 36 U for components, but everything would be assembled in a nice, easy to maintain form factor.

Uhm my rack is only 15U, no way i'm going to use 12U of that for cooling.

airspirit · 12-08-2002, 05:22 PM

Ooh, that does make it difficult. With 15U of space, though, that is only about 27", or so, isn't it? I don't know what kind of aesthetics you're going for, but you may just want to build a "rack stand" type box that your rack sits on top of, and stick all of your WC goodies in there. It is working wonders for me (just got my second box put on a couple of days ago ... it is shweet). I have found that doing it this way makes maintanence very simple. Whenever I need access to the boxes, I can open the top case, snake the block out through the rear opening, and then just remove the computer away completely. After removing each computer one by one like that, I then have my entire WC system away from the electronics, ready to be tinkered with however I desire.

I'll have pictures of Phase 2 of my project up in the hardware section and on my project page at Adelphia soon for you to look at.

Regardless of how ghetto this started out as, it is starting to look really nice.

airspirit · 12-09-2002, 02:42 PM

go to:

http://users.adelphia.net/~jnsholcom...erproject5.htm

for some Phase 2 goodness. This kind of rackmount setup is easy to do, and it works. Just a thought, now that I have absolute proof of concept.

12-03-2002, 04:17 PM	#28
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	On the contrary, an inline unit would be easiest, and would make the most sense. You will need a decent radiator, res, and pump, but access to the pump for verification of how well it is doing is crucial for this kind of application. Think about it. You'll have multiple computers on one loop. If your pump goes out, you are f*cked, and if you can't inspect your pump easily, you'll never know if you're about to suffer meltdown. The res is crucially important. When filling a system, you will need plenty of fluid to act not only to help prime it (this is what I love about my Tower of Power [tm], but you probably don't want to go that route ), but also to serve as a buffer in case of extreme variations in the coolant temperatures. With multiple machines on the loop, you want to be able to normalize the temperatures as much as you can before you get it to the radiator, and a reservoir is the perfect place for all of your systems to drain into, and a perfect place for your pump to prime from. If you look at the front page of my article I pointed you to earlier, there is a diagram of a way of assembling the system using a submerged pump. It would not be difficult to build a PVC infrastructure to isolate the pump inline with the res and radiators, and with shutoff valves as well, helping isolate your system in case you needed to remove the pump for maintenance (without draining the entire thing ... though my system is easy to drain and fill, I still wish I would have done a better job of isolating the pump for maint.). I would suggest a res of approx. 6L. It would be big enough to prime a good portion of your system without taking too much U space. Just set the tank on a rack shelf. In the space below you could take 8-10U and build a wind-tunnel (the equivalent of the box I made, a completely shrouded off box, essentially, forcing all air from the fans through the radiators in order for it to escape ... works very well) to house the rad(s) and pump with the fans blowing in from the back. All in all, you'd use about 12U, or a quarter of the typical cabinet, on your cooling components. It would still leave you 36 U for components, but everything would be assembled in a nice, easy to maintain form factor. My $0.02 __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

12-08-2002, 05:22 PM	#30
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Ooh, that does make it difficult. With 15U of space, though, that is only about 27", or so, isn't it? I don't know what kind of aesthetics you're going for, but you may just want to build a "rack stand" type box that your rack sits on top of, and stick all of your WC goodies in there. It is working wonders for me (just got my second box put on a couple of days ago ... it is shweet). I have found that doing it this way makes maintanence very simple. Whenever I need access to the boxes, I can open the top case, snake the block out through the rear opening, and then just remove the computer away completely. After removing each computer one by one like that, I then have my entire WC system away from the electronics, ready to be tinkered with however I desire. I'll have pictures of Phase 2 of my project up in the hardware section and on my project page at Adelphia soon for you to look at. Regardless of how ghetto this started out as, it is starting to look really nice. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

12-09-2002, 02:42 PM	#31
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	go to: http://users.adelphia.net/~jnsholcom...erproject5.htm for some Phase 2 goodness. This kind of rackmount setup is easy to do, and it works. Just a thought, now that I have absolute proof of concept. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

12-03-2002, 02:59 PM	#26
dax Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ghent, Belgium Posts: 83	cova, i've considered doing that too... but as the rack is going to end up below my desk, it doesn't seem like a good solution to me (air path would be too restricted), nice to see people post their ideas though I think i'm going with the huge rad idea... still have to figure out where to put it though, and the second problem would be the pump(s)... I have no idea how much pumpin' power i would need (i can cheap & easily get mini/maxi/micro-jets and sicce pumps). Sicce pumps look interesting, problem is that they need to be submerged (don't know if they are easy to mod to inline)

12-03-2002, 03:28 PM	#27
Cova Cooling Savant Join Date: May 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 247	I didn't even think of that in my first post - I'm usually a supporter of inline pumps (and no rez - I think they just provide more places to leak and more liquid to leak out of them when they do) - but in the case of a modular system like this you will need a rez (every time you plug in a new computer to the system, the tubing/blocks inside that system will be filled out of the rez), and just to keep the pump quiter and locating it easier, I'd go with a submersed pump. I'd probably run a large diameter tube down one side of the rack (like Airspirit did), and put on a reducer type thing at the bottom so that most of the pipe would be say 3" or 4", and the very bottom 6" to a foot would be wider, say 8". The thick section at the bottom would house the pump, with the pump outlet connected to a 1" tube that would come out the side of the thick part and run back up to the top with points down the side of it to connect computers to.

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