why not?

[lilneel12]

i was just wondering, would it be possible to use a intercooler instead of a radiator to cool the water? saying that the 2-3 inch pipes where downsized to 1/2 inch using connectors. if it is possible would it cool better or worse or no difference??

thanks

[Phextwin]

The diameter wouldnt improve your flow rates or anything. Cos its still being fed with 1/2" tubing.

[Bios24]

An intercooler isn't make to cool water, and doesn't have as many fins. I think it would work, but you may be better off if you just still with a normal rad.

[lilneel12]

k, thanks

[squeakygeek]

The diameter wouldnt improve your flow rates or anything. Cos its still being fed with 1/2" tubing.

Anything you can do to reduce restriction will increase flow rates. The water doesn't just "see" the 1/2" tubing.

[johan851]

Anything you can do to reduce restriction will increase flow rates. The water doesn't just "see" the 1/2" tubing.
Man, why do people keep assuming that it does? It's as if water pressure doesn't exist or something.

[Guderian]

if the inlet and outlet on the intercooler are larger than your loop, youre really just creating a rad/res combo.

[lilneel12]

yea, i kinda figured that it would be a problem, but i mainly wanted to know how a intercooler compaired to the radiator saying it had 1/2 in barbs

thanks

[UberBlue]

Anything you can do to reduce restriction will increase flow rates. The water doesn't just "see" the 1/2" tubing.
Man, why do people keep assuming that it does? It's as if water pressure doesn't exist or something.

Clarification? Is the assumption that any decrease in restriction increases flow rate wrong?

And don't intercoolers tend to be of an aluminum hertage anyways?

[squeakygeek]

Clarification? Is the assumption that any decrease in restriction increases flow rate wrong?

And don't intercoolers tend to be of an aluminum hertage anyways?

actually, I think johan is agreeing with me.

[johan851]

Yeah, I was. Sorry about that. :)

[Phextwin]

Yeah, I was. Sorry about that. :)

Elaborate please. How can flow rates improve?
I was under the assumption that flow could only go as fast as the greatest restriction in the system?

How does the flow rate speed up when it comes out of the 1/2" into the 3/4" tubing?

[magick_man]

it doesnt, you were right.

~Magick_Man~

*edit* ok i wasnt thinking straight and i am wrong. i need to learn to keep things to myself unless i know they are right.

[squeakygeek]

Elaborate please. How can flow rates improve?
I was under the assumption that flow could only go as fast as the greatest restriction in the system?

How does the flow rate speed up when it comes out of the 1/2" into the 3/4" tubing?

*sigh*

It's physics. The flow rate doesn't speed up when it comes out of the 1/2, because the flow rate is constant throughout the system. That constant rate will increase when you remove a restrictive component and replace it with a less restrictive one.

Here's an example: you have two lengths of tubing, length A and length B. They are both 100 feet long. Length A is a 100 foot length of 1/2" tubing. Length B has 99 feet 11 inches of 2" ID tubing, with one inch of 1/2" tubing on the end. According to your logic, they should both have the same flowrate, but physics says otherwise.

Another example: the whitewater, the cascade, or any other waterblock with micro-channels or small holes. According to your logic, it wouldn't make sense to use tubing any more than a few millimeters in diameter.

And another thing.... if the only thing that mattered was the smallest diameter in the loop, tubing length would make no difference. You could have an infinately long length of tubing and the flow would be the same...

[johan851]

Exactly. Also, the white water would be a horrible block because of its flow restriction. In actuality, the impingement nozzle speeds up the flow, removing heat from the CPU quicker. If the entire system "saw" only that small nozzle, then larger pumps would be worthless, larger tubing would be worthless, and trying to maximize flow would be worthless. Pumps have head height to generate pressure. A smaller tube doesn't necessarily mean less water, it just means faster water.

[Phextwin]

*snip

Ahh i see. Thanks for cleaking that up. Can you tell that i was'nt very good at fluid dynamics? :-/ :)

If in same system: Small tubing fast flow. Big tubing slower flow. Gotcha.

[UberBlue]

Faster = More friction = More wasted energy = Less flow.

[johan851]

Faster = More friction = More wasted energy = Less flow.

A smaller tube doesn't necessarily mean less water, it just means faster water.
UberBlue is correct. More restriction does cut down on flow, but it doesn't...how do I explain this...it doesn't KILL the flow. Smaller tubing does both: speeds up the water, and lowers the overall flowrate.

[phaeton]

maybe picturing the classic thumb on the hose example will help?

You get a hose with water coming out, and an open end, water has no restriction on the end, flows constantly and maybe a foot out of the end, but when you place your thumb on the end you speed up the flow because of the pressure! Does this help?

[Jungle]

the idea that a smaller hose does nothing to restrict flow is insane. i wanted to say ludicrous, but i wasnt sure how to spell it lol. yes the pressure builds up, and yes the water goes faster. BUT, the pressure builds up because less water is allowed to go through the restriction. more water from the pump is pushed behind it. since water doesnt compress, the remaining water that doesnt make it through the restriction has to be displaced to make room for the new water from the pump. if restrictions just made the water go faster, then a pin-sized hole in the end of an otherwise blocked tube would have the same flowrate as an open tube. not so.

microchannels do restrict flow. but one has to consider the idea of parallel channels. a heater core, for instance, has 1/2" inlet and outlet, lets say. instead of having 1/2" tubing go all through it, it splits the water flow into many different smaller channels whose cross-sectional area ads up to something like 1/2". each small opening, of course, applies some backward pressure, which is why there is always a bit of a flowrate drop going through any component except the pump lol.

the "two lengths of tubing, length A and length B" example i dont agree with. are you saying that the 1/2" tubing would let enough water through to fill up the 2"? no way. if that were true, then all the drainage pipes you see going into ponds and whatnot would always be spouting water. just like the CICO philosophy... trickle in=trickle out. the only flowrate difference between the two tubes would be because the 1/2" tubing provides less friction to the water because the contact surface area with the inside of the tubing is less. in the 1/2" 100ft, there would be very little space, if any, between the water and the sides of the tube, but with the 1/2" to 2" the water would flow along the bottom, leaving only the bottom of the water in contact with the tubing.

"That constant rate will increase when you remove a restrictive component and replace it with a less restrictive one." This only applies when you actually take the restrictive part out of the loop, i.e. replace 3/8" tubing with 1/2" tubing.

this all makes sense to me. *tink tink*
jungle

[squeakygeek]

the "two lengths of tubing, length A and length B" example i dont agree with. are you saying that the 1/2" tubing would let enough water through to fill up the 2"? no way. if that were true, then all the drainage pipes you see going into ponds and whatnot would always be spouting water. just like the CICO philosophy... trickle in=trickle out. the only flowrate difference between the two tubes would be because the 1/2" tubing provides less friction to the water because the contact surface area with the inside of the tubing is less. in the 1/2" 100ft, there would be very little space, if any, between the water and the sides of the tube, but with the 1/2" to 2" the water would flow along the bottom, leaving only the bottom of the water in contact with the tubing.


in length B, the 1/2" diameter section is at the end, not the beginning. The example works, and was meant to try to illustrate in a non-scientific way to Phextwin that his thinking was wrong.

"That constant rate will increase when you remove a restrictive component and replace it with a less restrictive one." This only applies when you actually take the restrictive part out of the loop, i.e. replace 3/8" tubing with 1/2" tubing.


Uh yeah, that's exactly what I just said.

[Jungle]

apologies squeakygeek...i was tired and not in a good mood. i came off condescending and everything. sigh..thats what working on a relative's computer for 6 hours straight and dealing with tech support that tells you after 45 minutes of hold time to do exactly what you wanted to do in the first place will do to you. plus, that was the most exciting part of my day. he he.

jungle

[squeakygeek]

apologies squeakygeek...i was tired and not in a good mood. i came off condescending and everything. sigh..thats what working on a relative's computer for 6 hours straight and dealing with tech support that tells you after 45 minutes of hold time to do exactly what you wanted to do in the first place will do to you. plus, that was the most exciting part of my day. he he.

jungle

I hear ya.