First Attempt at W/C

Ok, Like the title says, First Attempt.

I have been reading the posts about spending lots of money
when you decide to Water cool the rig.
I may be wrong, but I would almost have to dis-agree here.

My set up is just a simple setup.

I found a heater core at our local auto scrap yard for $9.00.
I made my own water block using the "Pop-Can" method found
in the O/C Home page / Water cooling section (5/12/02 Pop Can Water Block)
Distroyed pop can was Free, 1/4" Aluminum 2" x 2" Block Free (I work in a factory so this stuff was just laying around).
Hose barbs were bought from Lowes for $1.79 ea.

I found a submersible pond pump on E-Bay I won for $9.00. (130 GPH)

Same trip to Lowes brought me the 4" x 4" x 6" electrical water tight box, Hose barbs, hose clamps, water hose and a Kit-Kat Candy Bar (Hey when you are hungry ....)
I left there spending around $14.00.
The fan for the H/C was Free. I made the shroud for the H/C and Fan out of 1/8 Stiff Couragated Cardboard (also Free). Duct tape Laying around the house - Free.
Distilled water 2 Gal about $1.50.
Plumbers Goop $5.00.
So lets add this up.
9.00 - Heater core
9.00 - Pond pump
14.00 - Lowes trip
1.50 - Distilled water
5.00 - Plumbers Goop
----------------------------
$38.50 - Total

Now I had to put this stuff together - Luckily I am pretty handy with tools and I am pretty comfortable around the Shop ( My Dad has a woodworking shop in the garage). I spent a couple of hours Modding the box and Heater Core with Fittings.
After allowing the Goop to set for a day and a half I put the stuff together on the counter top and filled the res. up and let all of the air out of the system I let it set for about 3 days over the sink with a large butter dish to check for leaks. I did a "stress Test"
Scalding HOT water to see if it could handle Heat - It did, it even cooled the water fairly quickly.

I am gathering together parts for my new computer system that I will be Over/Clocking. The water cooling system that I just explained will be the source of the CPU cooling and will be in a box under the computer case with only 2 hose barbs sticking into the bottom of the computer going to the water block. (very short path for tubes to travel and maybe less chance of water leaks.)

Now I am fortunate to have the skills to build a w/c system and even more fortunate to have been taught from my father how to make what I need and how to build computers.
(My father built his first computer (IMSAI 8080) and seems to collect eletrical "junk" so when thigs like the Fan was needed it was right there.)

In closing, it is possible to spend very little money if you know how to make what you need and know were to get the parts for what you are building.
It is also my opinion that you don't need to spend lots of hard earned money to get what you need or want. More money dosen't mean better quality. (my opinion only)

Brian

what no pictures???

Nice words brian,this should teach thew newbies seeking a water-cooling solution a good advice

Make so you add some pics of your setup even if you aint got the parts yet

what pump did you get that cost you only nine bucks?

I will borrow a Digital Camera and get the pis that you are requesting.


To answer JML I did a search on E-bay for a "submersible water pump".
I found this from Art Flow Designs.
there is one right now for $9.00

Brian

You might consider a pressure test.

I picked up a barbed tee (buck and a half) and tire valves (2 for a buck 25), used a knife to trim the valve's rubber, and the Plumber's Goop to seal the valve in the tee.

Then all I have to do is hook it up, with a spare piece of tubing, get that bicycle pump that has a pressure gauge, and voila! If there's a leak, I will know right away. Plus, it stresses the system beyond what it would normally do, which is always good.

1 psi is equal to about 0.7 meters of water column. So if you check your pump's specs (max head), multiply that number by oh... 2 or three, convert to psi, you then know how many psi to use for testing.

The reason I mention this is because you didn't say anything about using JB Weld, like Jon did with his popcan block. I'm assuming that you used the Goop.

I have seen that most systems are water tight with no leaks. (duh!!! leaks would end a system for good) I have not seen where pressure was a big part of an O/C'd system.
In my system I am using a 4 x 4 x 6 inch box/reservoir with a hole cut in the middle for air to escape and enter into the system. For the pump I have a tube running from the pump to the hose barb for a direct power feed. For the water return I have made a tube from the hose barb falling about 1" into and under the water line.
The tube in the water allows the air in the system to be flushed out and escape under water and float to the top purging the system with no need to have a "T" in place and no alternate purginging/filling procedures.
For what it is worth I just had some trouble with my car overheating a couple of days ago I found out that my thermistat was stuck in the Closed position not allowing water to circulate. but keeping the water inside the engine circulating what it had.
Now I realize that a radiator/engine cooling system and a computer water cooling system are as different as night and day but the interesting thing that I learned from the mechanic was that radiator fluid and water pretty much have the same boiling point.(212F and 100C) a radiador cap having 16Lbs increases the boining point 5 degrees per Lbs. so lets say that like my engine has a 16 Lbs radiador cap it can accually take on about 80 degrees more and make the boiling point of my antifreeze/water
mixture 292 degrees F.
Now the reason for this explanation is that I really doubt that ANY overlocked CPU will ever reach the 292 point let alone the 212 boiling point and probably not even the 120 mark as well.
So pressure in a water cooling system to me is really not important unless we are talking about the need to push water through a maze of turns and loops just to get it through the waterblock cooling system.