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Maintenance - unused WC system

I

iroc409

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
1,387
I have been considering water cooling for a long time, but always run into some barrier of some sort and never really get into it. Generally it seems the means doesn't justify the gains overall, and I end up sticking with air.

My question is partly due to maintenance. I know a lot of people say their systems are very low-maintenance (which is a significant plus). What about a system that regularly sits unused for short periods?

I travel a lot for work, and so quite often the system(s) would sit unused for a couple weeks at a time, and I am concerned that this might be detrimental to the systems, or incur much more maintenance that usual.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can an efficient system be made to combat this, and if so is it any more worthwhile than sticking with good air cooling?

Because I'm gone a lot, I've considered going to a rack-mount setup for my systems (increased physical security). This of course introduces potential noise problems, where water cooling the whole rack may alleviate - but again, my concerns with leaving such a setup keep me from jumping on it.

Thanks all. :D
 
As long as you use the proper additives like PTNuke to avoid algae, there is no real problem letting it sit unused. However, if you let it sit unused for 2-3 weeks and use it a few days per months, watercooling isn't really for you since it can leak and spill when you are away.

 
Wow - thanks for the fast reply! :)

I think you might be right. I am home about an equal amount of time as away, but it seems it might just be more hassle than it's worth.

I wonder if it is possible to build a four-system rack that's reasonably quiet on air without some ungainly sound-proofed rack enclosure. Although I may be seeking something that really isn't practical in any sense...
 
Yes, it's perfectly possible to get a silent rackmounted system by using the proper fans and spacing them apart to let air circulate around.

 
Thanks for the help, I think that is what I am going to try to do. I'll do some research and sketch up some stuff when I get back home and see what I can come up with.

:cool:
 
No problem :) Good luck finding what you need but I'm sure you will have something matching your needs.

 
leak while you are away! better NOT leak at all PERIOD! not going to matter much if it leaks while you are using your computer or away from it?

I see no reason to not go liquid unless your afraid or not skilled enough or don't want to spend the cash for silence. The gains may not be as much vs cost but many of the more expensive parts radiator/pump and even some blocks are re-usable which helps offset the cost.

I usualy leave my PC on while I am away anyways though so not sure if anything would happen from sitting a long time. I would imagine it would be similar to letting your car sit for a long time.
 
I'm not incredibly concerned about leaks - and if there are leaks, it's probably more likely to be in the commercial parts inside the systems. The design I was considering was a central/shared loop. A large pump like an Iwaki or some such, with a shared large radiator and reservoir. Then all four systems would be cooled individually.

I think ultimately the coolant choice is the main concern as far as reliability. Corrosion and bacteria would be the primary concern. The plumbing for the shared parts of the system would be PVC or copper, like a building. Significantly over-engineered for the task; I have even looked into using pressure safety valves and basic filtration to keep the loop relatively clean and prevent the large pump from burning out or overpowering the system.

Ultimately the maintenance, cost, complexity, and reliability are all considerable concerns for this idea. I'm also somewhat concerned about the efficiency of such a project. It's a lot of stuff to cool, and an awful lot of plumbing. Would I even get acceptable results? Would it really be any quieter than a well-built and relatively lower-maintenance air cooled system? Of course, I could also just water-cool the high end parts, but that would include three of the systems and add up fairly quickly.

I guess there's a whole lot of research ahead of me still, the rack itself is going to be quite a project. Thanks again for the insight, and I am always open to ideas. I am still in very early stages of dreaming this project up.

ETA: I am usually away for two weeks at a time, so the systems would be off. I did think of setting a bit of a timer system that could "cycle" everything to keep the coolant from stagnating, but I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.
 
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