Duct Installed!

[JSimmons]

Finally! Check it out here:

http://www.paddedwall.org/watercool/wc_page4.html

[pHaestus]

I love the construction of Duct D. Gonna have to go buy some of those pieces and make a case for my pelt cooling I think

[JSimmons]

Yeah - Plan D was okay, but the problems described on the linked page caused me to have a REALLY long day yesterday. I couldn't believe the string of problems I encountered one after the other.

I think I should have just built a whole external box and bolted it onto the top of the cube.

[JokerCPoC]

I don't thinks so, It looks real good, Plan D looks like It was something off the shelf so to speak. I checked out pages 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6, But I'll have to wait like everyone else for 5 & 6 to be completed.

[MadDogMe]

I realy like the way the rad can be removed for cleaning. Living in a 'doghouse' I find the need to remove dust and hairs from my rad periodicaly . Being able to do it without dismantling (or even removing!) the duct is a big bone~us ......

[JokerCPoC]

UNI makes a Flat Air filter for Custom applications, Cars, Motorcycles, etc. It's 12"x6"x5/8" (30cm*15cm*16mm) in size, Of course there is one little problem, The Color, It's a Light Green color like so:
It's a Bulk Foam air filter. http://www.unifilter.com/accessory-catalog.htm

[MadDogMe]

Too restrictive. Stretching a (black!) pair of tights across it is much better IMO, enought to stop most dust and all hairs but not to restrictive. Cheap and easily replacable...


PS. Don't try using fishnets!! ...

[JSimmons]

Well, I have to order more metal for the drive bay section to address some, ummmm, engineering issues.

[JokerCPoC]

Too restrictive, hmm, well They have two other less restrictive types there, One is Black and the Least restrictive is Red I gather.

[golovko]

Originally posted by JSimmons
Well, I have to order more metal for the drive bay section to address some, ummmm, engineering issues.

just curious, where are you getting your aluminum sheeting/other metals from?

[Prlwytkovsky]

Nice mod ! The duct is a nice piece of quality work.

I'm planning to put watercooling in the same YY case. Got mine a week ago. I was surprised how thick the metal is. How did you cut your case ? I have a dremel on the way but I'm not sure that will work....

[JSimmons]

Originally posted by golovko
just curious, where are you getting your aluminum sheeting/other metals from?

hrttp://www.onlinemetals.com

The cut to size, but nothing more complicated than rectangular pieces. However, you're pretty much guaranteed clean cuts and right-angles. They process orders pretty quick.

[JSimmons]

Originally posted by Prlwytkovsky
Nice mod ! The duct is a nice piece of quality work.

I'm planning to put watercooling in the same YY case. Got mine a week ago. I was surprised how thick the metal is. How did you cut your case ? I have a dremel on the way but I'm not sure that will work....

Thanks, but if you could see it up close, you would see that it's definitely not the engineering marvel that it appears to be at a distance.

I cut the case with two different tools.

1) Jig saw with a 32-tooth blade - I used this to cut the back panel off. After doing it, I decided that cutting off the back panel may not have been completely necessary.

I also used the jigsaw to partially cut out the square in the motherboard tray. If you're not water cooling, or if you don't otherwise need access to the bottom of the motherboard to access the heatsink mounting holes, cutting this hole isn't necessary.

2) Dremel tool with a reinforced cutting wheel - I used this to cut out part of the motherboard panel hole. The reason is that two sides of the hole were too close to the case sides to allow use of the jig saw. I could have used this method for cutting off the back panel too, but using the jigsaw was a bit faster.

I also used the dremel tool to cut the notch out of the drive mounting bracket that holds the waterpump, and to cut the hole out for the external fan box.

Buy a LOT of these wheels. It will take two to cut out the motherboard hole, and probably four to cut off the back of the case (if you do that). The curting wheels come in a pack of either 4 or 6 (i don't remember which), and they are black in color.

3) If you're going to build a duct like mine, borrow, rent, or buy a drill press if you don't already have one. Tolerances are fairly tight and you don't have a lot of room for mistakes.

4) I used a miter saw to cut the aluminum angle pieces at 45-degree angles, and you'll need a file to de-burr drill holes and eliminate the metal falsh that results from using a power saw on sheet aluminum.

5) I ordered all of the duct "skin" pieces from a www.onlinemetals.com. They will cut their stock to sizes you request. This will save you loads of time and anguish because then, all you have to do is find a way to put them together.

----------------

Here's a good piece of advice - measure twice, think about it, and measure two more times, and then cut.

Despite it's obvious benefits, the yy0221 case is still a bit small, but it's probably still the best watercooling case available. It could stand to be another couple of inches bigger in all dimensions (width, depth, and height). There is a YY0441, and it's more than twice as expensive as the 0221, but it's MUCH bigger, and would probably have been a better choice.

The BlackIce Extreme radiator is quite literally the best radiator I could have selected for the case/duct combination I ended up with. I will update the site to include all of the pieces (and their measurements) that I had to cut so that you can duplicate it, at least in terms of dimension. This duct definitely requires a LOT of room, but the guarantee of cooler external ambient air instead of recycling pre-heated internal air should go a long way towards maximizing cooling efficiency. I was also considering mounting a 80mm fan at the water pump, but I wanted to first see if the power suppy fan would draw out most of the heat generated by the pump.

I think if I had been a better engineer (not to mention more experienced), I could have gotten away without using nuts and instead, tapping the holes , or at least using PEM nuts. That would have save GOBS of time at the assembly phase.

Something about mounting the waterpump directly over the power supply just gives me the willies, so I was also considering mounting the PSU on it's side towards the center of the case, and putting the pump on the floor of the case next to it, but I simply got bored with thinking about it. I did, however, have the presence of mind to have an alternate backing plate made for the back of the case that would allow me to do this at a later date.

Finally, I fully intend on coming up with a "Plan E" that involves moving the pump, radiator, and reservoir into a separate homemade aluminum box that will bolt on top of the YYcube. This box will allow a full 5-inch square inlet for the radiator fans, and provide ample room for the other gear (including a larger pump, or even multiple pumps if deemed necessary).

If there's anything I can help you with, feel free to ask.

[Prlwytkovsky]

Thanks for all the good advice.

I went for the small cube case because it will fit in an Ikea coffee table. Eventually it has to end up there, with an arm for the lcd monitor and the subwoofer / front speakers. Everything nicely build in as an additional sound damping.

Phase one will be installing a heatercore in the case. I bought a 9.5"x5-5/8"x2" core from autozone and I'm thinking of installing it in the motherboard compartment at the front. The core will go on the sidepanel so that the air enters at the side. a short shroud and two 12x12cm fans to suck the air into the case. A bit like this:

................................................. |
-----------------------XX----|
.................................................. .|
..............................__FAN _...|
.........................../...................\ |
...........................HHHHHHHH|
----------------HHHHHHHH|

Tight space in there but it should fit. I'll use aluminum corner pieces to hold the heater core on the door. I'm not to sure about the shroud though. I'll need some holes in the motherboard plate as well (where the XX are) to let the air through. If you have any coments before I start cutting in the case, that would be good. Don't want to destroy a nice case with pointless modifications

[shiltz]

Originally posted by JSimmons Despite it's obvious benefits, the yy0221 case is still a bit small, but it's probably still the best watercooling case available. It could stand to be another couple of inches bigger in all dimensions (width, depth, and height). There is a YY0441, and it's more than twice as expensive as the 0221, but it's MUCH bigger, and would probably have been a better choice

yeah, that's the odd thing working with that case, while it is big is some respects and has lots of room for drives the individual compartments are somewhat cramped.

at least you only had to squeeze a the normal BI extreme in, I got the BI extreme 2 since I have dual CPU's, ended up fliping the PSU from the bottom of the case to the traditional top position to both make room for the rad and so I could elimitate a case fan on that side and then mounted the rad on the bottom if the case so the intake is on the bottom side and the exaust is on the rear.

the only thing I didn't sqeeze inside of the case was the res but it wasn't intended to be on the inside anyways cause I don't want to open up the case just to check the water level.

point of advice on that case too, don't bother with one of those stupid nibler tools they sell at some computer stores, I got one and it's useless on that case cause it's such a heavy gauge steel.

next project will be really fun, upgrading soon and want to water cool my 2nd PC, the dual setup is moving to the 2nd case which is smaller than the YY cube, one of the antec tower cases the one with the 4 5 1/4 bays not 6, and I need to fit the BI extreme 2 into that, hehe.

[JSimmons]

Originally posted by Prlwytkovsky
Thanks for all the good advice.

I went for the small cube case because it will fit in an Ikea coffee table. Eventually it has to end up there, with an arm for the lcd monitor and the subwoofer / front speakers. Everything nicely build in as an additional sound damping.

Phase one will be installing a heatercore in the case. I bought a 9.5"x5-5/8"x2" core from autozone and I'm thinking of installing it in the motherboard compartment at the front. The core will go on the sidepanel so that the air enters at the side. a short shroud and two 12x12cm fans to suck the air into the case. A bit like this:

Tight space in there but it should fit. I'll use aluminum corner pieces to hold the heater core on the door. I'm not to sure about the shroud though. I'll need some holes in the motherboard plate as well (where the XX are) to let the air through. If you have any coments before I start cutting in the case, that would be good. Don't want to destroy a nice case with pointless modifications

Hmmm, I think you're going to find out that core will be uncomfortably close to the motherboard and cards (video card). Judging by the size of your core, I think something along the lines of my "Plan E" would be a better fit for you.

[JSimmons]

Originally posted by shiltz
next project will be really fun, upgrading soon and want to water cool my 2nd PC, the dual setup is moving to the 2nd case which is smaller than the YY cube, one of the antec tower cases the one with the 4 5 1/4 bays not 6, and I need to fit the BI extreme 2 into that, hehe.

Ya know, bignutz is selling his yycube case - you might want to see if it's still available.

[shiltz]

well the main reason i'm not getting another cube case for that one is because of space, as nice as the YY cases are I don't have enough room under my desk to fit 2 of them, hehe, think I know how to shoehorn the whole setup into the tower case anyways, just need to model it up for fit checks, will leave me with only 1 5 1/4 bay but that's all I really need on that computer, only 5 1/4 drive is the CD and don't plan on ever adding more, I just see it as a chalenge to see if I can make it fit

[JSimmons]

Well, carp - it looks like I'm going to have to install the computer components a little sooner than I had originally planned. My wife's computer decided that it would reject tha abnormal growth we all know as Windows 98, and has been blue-screening and other bizarre little things for a few days now. I'm honestly surprised the system has lasted as long as it has with the current install - it's been three years since the last time it forced me to reinstall Windows for no apparent reason.

I was originally going to give her new hardware (actually my old hardware) and install Windows 2K for her *after* I got my YYcube case done, but I guess I'm going to have to accelerate that part of the schedule. Since I'm using some of the parts she's going to get, I have to move into the new case.

So, whoever it was that was eager to see pages 5 and 6 on my watercooling web page be filled in, you will soon get your wish.

[JokerCPoC]

Well that's the same reason I went to Windows 2000 not long after It came out. Too many dang BSOD's in 98, yuck!

[JSimmons]

Well, the wife has been reasonably happy with it, if you don't count the times when Internet Exploder doesn't browse, forcing a restart of the system. A year or so ago, I told her that I'd fix that the next time I updated her hardware, and I was almost ready to do it anyway.

I hate to do reinstalls on her machine because for the following four or five months, she finds apps that I neglected to reinstall the last time, and she whines until I fix it. She also hates it when I change things without a reason because invariably, Win98 reacts as if I told it to chew on glass when I change the hardware.

Win2K is much more docile and well-behaved.

----------

I just noticed in \your sig that you have the Volcano 9 - so do I and the noise is driving me absolutely nuts. The fan is REALLY loud (I installed mine so that it's on at full speed all the time instead of being controlled by cpu temp).

[JokerCPoC]

Originally posted by MadDogMe
Too restrictive. Stretching a (black!) pair of tights across it is much better IMO, enought to stop most dust and all hairs but not to restrictive. Cheap and easily replacable...


PS. Don't try using fishnets!! ...

I'll remember that idea of the tights next time I go shopping.

Now as to a UNI air filter for a computer (A car airfilter was used and It's supposed make one's PC be really free of dust), It was mentioned at overclockers.com
This site has plenty of good tips on modding, this ones great.

[JSimmons]

Well, I got the components installed on the motherboard side of of the case, and am almost done with the drive side.

It's still fairly cramped on the drive side - the case really needs to be two inches larger in all exterior dimensions to provide a reasonably comfortable fit. The cables for the drives press up against the PSU, somewhat blocking the inlet grill.

The motherboard is almost too long, in that it almost completely covers the hole that was provided by the manufacturer for drive cables and power pigtails. This means that the water tubing is going to have to go over the motherboard mounting plate. This isn't going to be a problem, but it was not part of the master plan.

My watercooling website will be updated with pics as soon as I have my computer running again.

[JokerCPoC]

Here's a Link (or two) on using Scotch Brite cleaning pads as PC Air Filters:
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1065/
http://www.overclockers.com/tips666/
http://www.overclockers.com/tips103/
http://www.overclockers.com/articles627/

There was one more, But I couldn't find It, It involved Green "Abrasive Scouring Squares" (or Pads) trimmed to fit in front of Your Intake Fan and mounted in between Two Fan Guards. This should work on Fans up to 120mm in size. I have 3 of them and each is 6"x6" or 15cm*15cm in size and each is about 3/8" or 9mm thick. I found these at My Local Stater Brothers Market here in California, Most Super Markets or Home Depots or even Lowes should have some of these Squares.

[JSimmons]

I went to Home Deport yesterday and bought a window air conditioner filter for $5. It's large enough to provide filter material for all of my computers at home.