Critique my plan, PLEASE!
 

Okay, I'm about to rebuild the enclosure that houses all my w/c gear, and I want to do it the Right Way this time (hey, overkill is ALWAYS best...), since the system is already been torn down and I've resigned myself to being without it for the duration. To that end, I've whipped up a very skeletal web page with my basic plans on it and I'd appreciate it if any interested parties from here would look it over and shoot holes in it/offer suggestions/etc.

Here is the link .Thanks in advance to anybody who feels like helping me out.

--HP

reply.
bump.

S

1. Power.. most pumps don't like to be turned on/off.. aquarium pumps run 24/7. (not sure about your pump in particular)

2. those fans are overkill. I've got a 24v Comair running at 12v, and it's still quite noisy. Six of them would be unholy. A couple decent low noise 120mm fans would be more than sufficient.

3. with 1/2" tygon/silicon hose, you can use 5/8" barbs, no problem. 5/8" barbs are usually 1/2" ID, so that helps reduce backpressure.

4. Radiator... mounting it horizontally could create problems when bleeding your line. Consider mounting the rad w/ the barbs at the top, or at least run it that way for a good while to get the air out. Also, figure out which model you want at heatercore4u.com and then buy it at autozone... save about half $$$.

5. 1/2" panels would resonate less than 1/4"...

Your Rotron is noisy? The 24v one I have at 12v is dead quiet. Interesting. Good call on the pump power, tho. I'll definately have to bear that in mind. I'm going to use colder quickdisconnect fittings from Usplastics on all the main components to make swapping parts easier. so the Barb issue isnt that big of a deal. whatever they are will be cut off and have 1/2" NPT fittings soldered on in their place. I was already planning to get the rad at Autozone =).

lemme check on the noise.. yep... noisy.. I've got it on a 25ohm rheostat... not sure what the bottom voltage is, 8-9v maybe. Even at that low speed, it's very audible. ...a low pitched hum...livable. I can hear the motor itself as well as the fan blades spinning. At 12v, I can hear the air rushing, the motor working, and the blades spinning... no good I tell you. It does, however, provide very adequate airflow. My rotron has 7 feathered blades. Seehttp://www.mpja.com/allpict.asp?dept=48 for a pic.

make sure you implement some kind of radiator filtering, mine gets clogged with dust within a week. looks like a solid plan.:D

I did a horizontal mount core in a tight case and added bleeder fittings to the tanks so I didn't need a reservoir. Check it out here. The core was mounted at a slight angle to help bleed the air out.

I cut a 1/8" NPT brass pipe coupling in half and soldered the two pieces over holes drilled in the tanks opposite the inlet/outlet. I removed both pipe plugs for initial fill and could actually remove the suction side and top it off with the pump on. Having the PC on or off while filling is a personal choice though...LOL.

It was my first water cooled setup and performed pretty well.

Okay, how about this for a filter:
Make a frame out of thin wood (like popsicle stick thin) that houses standard black/brown foamy AC filter stuff like the normal 80-120mm filters use, and use strip magnets to attach it to the case for easy cleaning. I'd have to glue some metal strips around the rad opening to give the magnets something to grab hold of, however.

--HP

ive read that panty hose works too :D

pantyhose works great, you just gotta buy them from the store (and get funny looks when doing so)

So it would be safe to leave my Eheim 1250 on all the time even when my PC is off? I wanted to do that so that when i turn my PC on, it would take less time to stabilize the temperature.

S

It is made to run 24/7 for years at a time. :) On/off will wear it out. I have a 1250. The temp thing wouldn't matter at all (whether or not the pump stayed on, etc) . Pump on=water moving. Make no diff either way.

oh nice, so thats why they have just a power cable no switch
makes sense :)

S

eheim's and most other pumps are designed to run 24/7