• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

External watercooling project

D

DarkenReaper57

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 2, 2003
Messages
2,173
I am going to construct an external system from scratch this summer. The internal one I have now just doesn't perform to my expectations. I also want to make something cool :). Anyway, I intend on mostly using the components I already have to keep costs reasonable.

The plan is to build something that looks nice on top my Thermaltake Tsunami (flush with the case on the sides, etc) and also cool well. I want to include the pump, radiators, and reservoir within this external unit. I will use quick disconnects between the unit and the case.

I am learning how to use autocad so I have drawn up, to scale, pretty much my idea thus far. I may move components around, and change some things based on your guys's response.

Here is what I have so far:



These are all internal to the box. I have not drawn the box or decided exactly how I want to construct the box yet. Heck, I'm not entirely sure what material I will be using to house the components, but I am heavily leaning towards aluminum or a similar metal that isn't too expensive.

Sorry for the lack of labeling, I do not know a good way to do this in autocad yet without cluttering everything up :/. I need to learn more about layers...

Anyway, most of the things are accurately modeled so you can tell what they are anyway. The two long objects sitting on their sides are the radiators (77' Bonniville and 86' chevette). Fans are inside the shroud of the bonnie core, and the fan for the chevette is outside. You can see this with the top view. The cylindrical thing in front of the pump is the reservoir.

Something else to note on the pic - I am not sure whether I will move the cylindrical reservoir away from the pump and use hose, or if I want to connect it directly with a piece of plastic piping, eliminating barbs completely. I am leaning towards this, because if I move the reservoir back, it also needs to be moved to the side. This increases the width of the entire system. It will no longer be flush with my case, and would probably look goofy...

Anyway, keep in mind this is still in the conceptual stage. I want to know exactly what I am doing before I build it. Suggestions are welcome.

The radiators will be in parallel, by the way. I will make sure that the flow is even between the two, so that is not an issue. I will use 2 y-connectors. The rest of the system will be in series.

Oh yeah, I know that I am probably going a bit far with dual radiators, but I want it to be that way :).
 
jman1 said:
Check THIS thread for a possible enclosure idea.
Click to expand...

That is a good idea. It is far more than I am willing to spend, but I can use the same type of layout for the frame.

What if I went with a sort of frame, and mounted sheets of cut aluminum onto it?

I would want to make some sort of door or removable panel so that I could get access to the internals.

I also plan on placing a handle on the top of the unit for easy carrying, although this is not completely essential.

Hopefully I can keep the costs down but build a nice enclosure...
 
Ok, I have pretty much decided that I am going to use some L-shaped (angled) bars to make a frame either with rivets or screws. I will then use either sheet metal or some sort of perforated metal for the sides, or a combination of the two. I am leaning towards perforated metal since it is cheaper, will allow good airflow, and will look cool. When painted black, I think it will go well with my case.

Anyway, I came across two different types of sheet metal for steel: plated and weldable. What is the difference? Does it matter if I want to paint and sand them to get a mirror finish? The plated steel is rather cheap, and I don't want to spend a fortune on this box, so I was thinking of going with this...
 
DarkenReaper57 said:
Ok, I have pretty much decided that I am going to use some L-shaped (angled) bars to make a frame either with rivets or screws. I will then use either sheet metal or some sort of perforated metal for the sides, or a combination of the two. I am leaning towards perforated metal since it is cheaper, will allow good airflow, and will look cool. When painted black, I think it will go well with my case.

Anyway, I came across two different types of sheet metal for steel: plated and weldable. What is the difference? Does it matter if I want to paint and sand them to get a mirror finish? The plated steel is rather cheap, and I don't want to spend a fortune on this box, so I was thinking of going with this...
Click to expand...

It's difficult if not impossible to weld plated steel so if you plan on welding anything then get the weldable steel. You can always plate it later after you finish each sub-assembly.
 
Top Nurse said:
It's difficult if not impossible to weld plated steel so if you plan on welding anything then get the weldable steel. You can always plate it later after you finish each sub-assembly.
Click to expand...

Well, unfortunately I do not have any materials to weld with. I am limited to tins snips, saws, and a cool tool called a rotozip. Well, I do have more tools, but I cannot think of them off of the top of my head.

Anyway, this is why I really think that going with an aluminum frame with angled bars, and using a mesh between the bars (such as honeycomb or expanded steel) is my best bet. This stuff also costs less than sheet metal. It will also be easier to work with.

What is the easiest way to attach perforated metal to angled bars? Bolts? Rivets? I have not had much experience working with the stuff. I hope there is a rivet gun in the garage somewhere...

Oh yeah, I don't want it to look tacky :)
 
After some thinking and suggestions from fellow [H] members, I have considered taking out the res, and putting in a 350W psu that I have lying around towards the back of the unit. Is this a good idea?

The plan is to place it sideways, behind the smaller radiator. I will probably flip the radiators so that the barbs are in better positions.

My only concern is the added heat. The PSU will be in the back, so its temperature will not affect the larger core. It is, however, sitting right at the intake of the smaller core. It is not as if the PSU's exhaust is blowing into the smaller core, though. It will be aimed away, at a 90 degree angle. I also think that the delta for temperature across the system will be marginal, right?

Thanks in advance for input.
 
one of my original external designs had something like what you're describing, i found that mounting the PSU within the framework of the kit as opposed to outside made little to no difference to over all temps. you just have to make sure that the rad is recieving air from a different direction than the PSU is exausting to. though it seems you've already figured that out.
 
amalgamas said:
one of my original external designs had something like what you're describing, i found that mounting the PSU within the framework of the kit as opposed to outside made little to no difference to over all temps. you just have to make sure that the rad is recieving air from a different direction than the PSU is exausting to. though it seems you've already figured that out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input.

I don't think I will use a PSU after all, though. I only really need to get some 16 gauge wire and a couple molex connectors, and route one out and around. I can mount the female end directly to the case, so it is easily detatchable. I can also sleeve the whole thing so it looks nice in the back.

A dedicated PSU will just kill all airflow. It will practically block all air going into the smaller heater core. The cylindrical res at least allows air to flow around it.

Ok, a bit off topic: I need to get some perforated metal somewhere. I've googled, checked home depot, and lowes. No one has what I am looking for. There are online stores, but they supply huge companies; you get a price quote instead of simply shopping there.

Does anyone know of a good site where I can buy perforated metal? I want the holes to be reasonably small, preferably circular. I've googled around but honestly I cannot find a place where I can simply add something to a cart and buy it.
 
W00t I found this stuff that will work instead of perforated metal, and probably allow more airflow to boot :p . It is that stuff that is used in gutters to get rid of crud. It looks good and is cheap :).

I also picked up some sheet metal. I went to a different home depot and found some sheets of zinc for cheap, and I got those instead of the incredibly expensive aluminum...are there any downsides to zinc? I really don't care about weight.

I need to get a handle or two for the top, and I like this one retractable handle found here: http://www.pssl.com/bitemdetail.tpl?eqint_KeyIDdata=2544&id=TL01 although I'm not sure if it is worth the cost of shipping, etc. What do you guys think?

I'll be sure to post pics once I begin assembly.
 
I really need to take some pictures...

Anyway, I ended up returning the zinc plated steel for regular steel. Apparently paint doesn't bond well to plated steel, and this thing is definetly going to be painted.

Quick question: has anyone used the PCI Criticool Waterplant's external molex plug to power anything? It says max 5 watts power draw, which isn't much at all. I plan on powering 3 panaflo U1A's with a PWM fan controller and I might integrate a VRM LED into the PWM circuit.

The fans alone draw .65 amps each, and assuming I am using the 12V line, and P=IV, this is over 23 W alone. Are my calculations correct?

Perhaps I will need to route a molex connector to the back and make my own detachable extention to loop to the external unit. I have 18 AWG wire, so it should work, right? Unfortunately, integrating a PSU into the unit is out of the question due to space contraints.
 
Yeah that's a total of 23.4 watts which means if you're running the fans on a rheobus you'll have to use at least 2 channels (assuming of course 16-20w per channel) 1 channel for 2 fans and the other for 1.

I haven't looked at your drawing but from reading the thread I'm assuming (that word again...) that you're planning to use a 2 fan rad and a single fan rad which with a 16w per channel 2 dial rheobus would be ideal seeings as you'll want to keep both the fans on the larger rad doing a balanced work load.
 
madmat said:
Yeah that's a total of 23.4 watts which means if you're running the fans on a rheobus you'll have to use at least 2 channels (assuming of course 16-20w per channel) 1 channel for 2 fans and the other for 1.

I haven't looked at your drawing but from reading the thread I'm assuming (that word again...) that you're planning to use a 2 fan rad and a single fan rad which with a 16w per channel 2 dial rheobus would be ideal seeings as you'll want to keep both the fans on the larger rad doing a balanced work load.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I never took that into account (channels, that is). Originally I planned on using 3 channels so the fans could be operated individually. I suppose that only 2 are needed. Thanks, you saved me some work.

BTW, I'm not going to buy a baybus or something, I am going to build the circuit myself. I want it to be able to handle a lot of amps and dissipate a lot of power for future upgradability, save money, and get the experience in building circuits (I am an electrical engineering student).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top