[Gooserider]

BladeRunner: The only thing I'll add is this poll here isn't the be all and end all, it would need to be far larger to even hint at that.

Agreed, but it seems like a somewhat better starting place than anything else I've seen.

Generally from topics I have seen in the community that indicate some form of water-cooling disaster pointing to the pump, when you read through it it's really the user, not turning it that is the error.

Right in theory, although THIS survey doesn't bear that out necessarily.

...If the pump actually fails because you skimped on cost and bought a cheap and nasty one, that is 100% user error imo, and you would also deserve a slap , (a pump is the Heart of any water-cooling system).

Somewhat agreed, although defining 'cheap & nasty' can be a challenge at times. I can think of at least one brand that some users describe as a total POS, and others swear by and describe it as the great WC cooling bargain. (and this brand is sold by at least one major WC specialty vendor as well) The two total failures I've seen described in the survey were in a commercial WC case, and were selected by the case vendor (who was charging a high premium for the case, and should have known what he was doing.) I think I've seen something rude said about every brand that people commonly use, with the possible exception of Iwaki. (and some say those make to much noise...)

If you bought a known quality, (expensive), one and it fails, then you at least did the right thing and man made things sometimes do go wrong, however good they are. A pump relay is quite a simple thing to do & it should be on every water-coolers list of must do's.

Perhaps, though I've heard some persons arguing that pump life is shortened by powercycling, and that it is better for long term pump health to keep it running 24/7. (Or that a relay adds another possible point of failure...)

I do not personally favour 24/7 pump operation, for the same reason I don't favour 24/7 PC operation. Apart from the possible fire risk leaving a PC unattended for long periods, (especially when sleeping),

IMHO about the same as leaving any other appliance w/ similiar power consumption unnattended, IOW, negligible. PC's are probably better about this in some ways, since the flamable bits are enclosed in a metal case (or cases), and all of which have been designed to be very fire resistant / self extinguishing.

my opinion is when it doesn't need to be on TURN IT OFF!. If everybody worldwide left their PC and Pumps on all the time think how many more unnecessary polluting power stations we would need in the world.

Actually NONE... Electrical generation capability has to be built to handle PEAK loads, and significant %ages are left idling during off peak hours. By and large, the times when peak loads are being encountered are also the times the computers would be on anyhow. Leaving them on the rest of the time at worst keeps the off peak demand from dropping as much.

OTOH, there is a significant amount of evidence that suggests leaving a PC on 24/7 significantly increases it's lifespan and reduces the odds of hardware failure. This is due to the fact that most failures appear to be caused by thermal cycling and inrush current induced power surges, both of which are eliminated by leaving the system on. I find this evidence convincing in terms of hardware life expectancy.

The question ultimately comes down to whether the costs of operating 24/7 (Which I calculate to be roughly U$7-10/mo/PC at current rates, or about the same as a refrigerator) are greater than the replacement cost (including 'hassle factor') of prematurely failed parts.

Parts of the US are struggling to cope with record electricity demands atm anyway.

This is TOTALLY due to the governmental interference in free market operations. There are a great many factors, but among the largest is the refusal of many gov't. entities (espec. California) to permit construction of new generation plants, and the regulation of prices causing artificially low electricity rates which encourage overconsumption and discourage new plant construction. (Again, CA is a textbook example of this...)

However this is getting away from the subject of watercooling failures so if you want to discuss the economics of power systems, we should probably take it to a new thread...

Gooserider