n00b making a few tehtative plans...what do you think?

n00b making a few tentative plans...what do you think?

I've got some time on my hands and thought water would be an interesting project. I want to build it myself, rather than buying a kit (that's the fun of it, right?). And I wanted to ask a few questions. Any suggestions GREATLY appreciated!

waterblock: Right now, the best idea I have come up with is to fashion a top to put on my old globalwin CAK-38 (click it for pic/dimensions, etc). It's an all-copper air cooler. But I had a few questions. I'll probably shorten the pins a bit so that an easy-to-get round copper cap will fit snuggly. I'm thinking I'll attach the top with jb weld (or something similar) as I'm not too keen on the idea of a blowtorch. What do you guys think?

Should I thin the base a bit? It's probably about 1/4 inch thick.

What about volume of the block? I've looked at lots of blocks...many seem to have a much larger water volume capacity than others. How much difference does this make in performance? The way the plans look now, mine will have a relatively large capacity, I think...certainly larger than the "maze" type blocks.

heatercore: will be an automotive type---cheap, and easy to get my hands on. Of course, it will need to be copper, to prevent the battery effect. I plan to mount it outside the case, and shroud my rear case fans (which blow out) to blow into it (2x80mm fans).

How would I check to see if the heatercore is copper? Are most of them copper? Or would I just have to go to a junkyard or auto parts store and fumble through them?

What about my idea of mounting my radiator?

pump: I hear great things about eheim (sp?) pumps. Does anyone have linkage to the specific model numbers, with performance/noise ratings?

reservoir: I'm thinking of a invoteck-type (yeah, my spelling sucks) reservoir (tall, cylindrical). It will have a removable lid for refilling, and it will be the tallest point in the system for purposes of air bleeding. Water will come into the reservoir near the top, and go out of the reservoir near the bottom.

tubing: 1/2 inch...material?????

flow schematic: pump--reservoir--radiator--CPU block---other stuff blocks (maybe in the future!)---back to pump

thanks for any assistance guys!

your order looks good to me! pump>rad>bocks>pump 's is how I like to run it...so, yeah

Tubing: HD sells clearflex which some people like, but, having used both, I much perfer Tygon. Check the links at the top

I'm not certian how well that HS will turn into a WB. The best I ever did with a finned HS was my old Vantec CCK-6035d, which I took all the fins off and just used the base. For sure grind down the base- 1/4" is by far too thick. If you still decide to do it: really, do go the butane torch route. They're very, very easy to use, in mind they really create a better bond than JB weld. They're also only $15, and have 1000's of uses

I'll let someone else handle the Ehiem's & HCs (if they haven't already-I type soooo sllllooooowwwwwllllyyy); I've never owned either. You may want to consider Maxi Jets; they're MUCHO cheaper (~$20 shipped for 295GPH), and run cool and quiet. Just a though.

I don't know about your shrouding idea. They'll be blowing the hot air from your case out through the hc? You may just want to get a nice 120mm.

Cheers,
lex

thanks for the reply, axle!!!

For sure grind down the base- 1/4" is by far too thick.

Click to expand...

about how thick/thin should it be?

I could probably grind it down to about 1/8" or so quite easily.

go the butane torch route. They're very, very easy to use, in mind they really create a better bond than JB weld.

Click to expand...

do you have some linkage to a how-to? I really have no clue about sweating copper, I've never used a butane torch.

I'll let someone else handle the Ehiem's & HCs (if they haven't already-I type soooo sllllooooowwwwwllllyyy); I've never owned either. You may want to consider Maxi Jets; they're MUCHO cheaper (~$20 shipped for 295GPH), and run cool and quiet. Just a though.

Click to expand...

cheap is good!!!!!!!!!
where can I find maxi jet pumps? are they just aquarium pumps? I wouldn't know where to start looking.

but 295 gph (sounds plenty powerful to me) for $20 shipped sounds like a steal.

I don't know about your shrouding idea. They'll be blowing the hot air from your case out through the hc? You may just want to get a nice 120mm.

Click to expand...

yeah, blowing hot case air thru the rad. It occured to me that it would be the easiest mounting method...but I suppose it would be rather inefficient that way.

I've got a couple of 120mm panaflo M1A's that would do nicely. I'd probably have to build a radiator box of some sort, and mount it outside my case. That really wouldn't be a problem for me, as I never move my case...so that's probably what I'll do.

*bump*

any other suggestions?