Quote:
Originally posted by arcsylver
Well I think I may have decided to build the entire res/rad from copper.
The res would be better made if it was flat sided instead of round not to mention it would fit better in the allotted space and give a little more water volume to boot.
As far as the pump is concerned I will need at least two pumps anyways or a y split The radiator has two separate cooling loops in it. The more I think about it the more I think I can actually build it myself. I just have to find a good fairly cheap source for copper plate and tubing is all.
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Kewl
I don't believe that the volume will affect performance, unless you know something that I don't.
You might prefer a single pump, and you can make it work like that. I personally don't see the need for a massive pump: watch out for those ideas that are so interesting/puzzling, that you end up following them blindly: they're not always the best choice. (Look at me, I've got 2 Johnson pumps! Doh!)
As for the airflow through the rad, you want to minimize the airflow resistance, so the wider the opening, the better. Keep the air flow run as short as possible; it also reduces the heat gradient of the air through the rad.
Airflow is absolutely critical. If I haven't mentionned it yet, a blower might be better here, if you've got the room. The trick is to going to be about how to control it, to reduce the noise.
Otherwise, since you're opting to make your own rad (a gutsy move!), you're on the right track with the square tubing, but you might want to take a look at Hayden tranny coolers: they have built-in turbulators, which makes them very efficient, for the space they use (run a search here, it's not hard to find).
Fin density is also going to be important, along with the ratio of fin to gap.
A double pass is the way to go (check that thread I linked to earlier, skip to page 3). You might also want to take a few minutes and read over Bill's Radiator roundup, on OverClockers: I'd post a link but it looks down right now
).