[Gooserider]

logosmani: not sure exactly what kind of rigidity reinforced polyethelene has but it may put undue stress on your waterblock mounts, so watch out for that. Only thing i can think of to watch out for. Unless the braids conductive of coz.

Far as I know the braid isn't conductive (I think it's nylon or some such) and it will be pretty well isolated anyways. The stuff is somewhat stiff, but not excessively so, and I think I can arrange it so that the curve of the tube will tend to push the block onto the CPU rather than pulling it off. (I'm somewhat more worried about the weight of the blocks, I might try to find a way to add some additional support to them)

Static-D: Before you go with a water detection sensor you may want to make sure that it will set off when using distilled water. I work in a refinery and we use a setup in our clean rooms that detects changes in moisture, if there was a leak you could use this device to kill the entire system if moisture above a certain percent is detected.

Good point, I will need to check that. Of course I am planning to use water-wetter (or equivalent) and the water will pick up stuff from the plumbing so it won't stay 'distilled' for long. (Extra true if I end up using a used heatercore.)

bigben2k I think that a Disaster Recovery effort starts with a good design.

Agreed totally, which is one reason I'm doing so much research. I am getting the knowledge needed to DO a good design.

Avoid using undersized barbs.

I am planning to. I'm not thrilled with oversize either, but I don't think it's a problem to get barbs that match the tubing, and to make sure that the barbs on each end of a tube are the right size. I see some folks mentioning reaming out their barbs, but I consider that a bit risky as it would take away strength as well, for a gain that I don't thing is that significant. (I especially don't care with the pump I'll be using... I just got an Iwaki MD20 off of e-bay)

The braided stuff is fine, but stiff. If the block is lifted above the CPU, it will fry. I'll be using 3/4" ID braided vinyl tubing myself, along with some regular 1/2" ID simple vinyl tubing.

Sounds about right, I am planning to go to great lengths to ensure my plumbing is well supported.

It should also be understood that the OCP has limits: it will not protect your CPU, if you suddenly take off the HSF or waterblock, while it's running.

Understood. I am planning a 'last ditch' relay to crash off the system if anything goes wrong and it looks like it's approaching meltdown. Wonder how I could add 'block mount failure' detection. Perhaps an N.C. microswitch attached to the block and pushing on the board or CPU??? That might do it OK. How about putting a switch under the hold down clamp point?

I notice that many folks use springs to mount their blocks, doesn't this increase the odds of a block lifting? What are the pros and cons of springs vs. solid mounts?

A lot of the risks involved have a potential to appear when the rig is first run, while other risks are more long term. You ought to categorize them.

Agreed, although most of the risks I see as both short and long term following a 'bathtub curve' trend. I would say that leaks and comonent failures are somewhat likely initially due to 'infant mortality' Once things have been running for a while, I would expect long term reliable operation, but then as they get older I would expect to see some 'age failures' from things like motor wear, etc.

I'd forget about the water detector: the flow sensor will pickup on a fault. OC has an article on making one, out of an old fan, and copper fitting. Otherwise, there's one that was posted recently.

Hmmm.... I've been getting a different message electronic Flow meters seem a bit hard to come by, and folks say they add alot of resistance (unless one uses the big bucks magnetic jobs). OTOH any flow restriction or stopping is going to produce a temperature rise. While I agree that a flow sensor would EVENTUALLY detect a leak, it might not do so until most of the water was pumped out of the system. Water detectors are easy and cheap, and presumably would give a very early warning, potentially while the flow sensor is still happily measuring the rate at which the pump is dumping all the water out of the system!

Gooserider