new water cooling setup ... arrangement

Ok, i'm a reletive newbie in the water cooling scene, and recently bought my stuff off ebay.

Here is the stuff:

*CPU Block: MCW6002-P

*GPU Block: MCW50

*Resevoir: MODIFIED Criticool Waterplant.

*Pump: MODIFIED Mag3

*Heater Core: Fedco 2-342.

*Blower: FASCO 540! Cfm squirrel cage blower.

*Box: measures 21.5” long by 16.5” wide, by 12.5” tall.


Ok, now here comes my problem:

I was planning to put the whole box on the floor, about 2-3 feet UNDER the highest (CPU) block, but if the reservoir is that much below the system, it would certainly create problems (right?). Now i had another idea, and i'd appreciate it if you could help me figure out if this one was ok or not.

What i figured i could do was to put only the reservoir ABOVE the CPU block (and the casing). I can either attach it to my case or my PC table, that wont be any problem, but if i do that, what loop should i use ? Most people recommended this loop before the problem arose: Resevoir, pump, drain valve, heater core, CPU block, GPU block, resevoir, repeat.

this effectively means that the water will be going DOWN from the reservoir, (about 3-4 feet) into the heater core, and would then need to be pumped UP another 3 feet to the blocks and further UP to the reservoir again. Would this work ?!!

Placing the whole box and system ABOVE the casing would be a near impossible task so i need to know if this set up will do fine ? Also, if you have any alternative, please do let me know.

Thanks in advance guys !

Just place your reservoir where it flows freely into the pump inlet then it won't matter what height it is at. The height doesn't make a difference (except the flow resistance of longer tubing) in a closed loop. I think that if your reservoir has an airtight cap, yours would be a closed system. One way to think of it is for every pint (cup, quart, liter,????) of water that goes up, the same amount of water comes down so it balances.

I have a reservoir in my remote box with the computer sitting on top. The reservoir outlet is on the same level as the pump. Once your system is free of air, your coolant won't drain back into the reservoir even when the pump is shut off.

i have a closed ssytem ... so once all the air bubles are elminated, there will be a balance ...

but my question still remains unanswered... am i better off placing the reservoir at the same height as the pump or at a height of about 4-5 feet from the pump ???

The water will be flowing from the reservoir (5 feet down) into the pump, which will then push it up (3 feet up) into the CPU block, and a further 2 feet up back to the reservoir ... will this setup be fine ??? or should i eliminate the height difference between the pump and the reservoir ??

well u could always use 2 pumps.. if your that worried

but no.. there shold be no proformace drop having it lower..

ok nice ... so i guess putting the reservoir lower than the CPU block wont be a problem ...

now what about placing it higher, apart from everything else, since ill be using some dye and it could make my desktop look cooler as well ... would there be any problems if i placed the reservoir 5 feet above the pump with the CPU block half way in between ?!

I have my Resivoir, Pump, and radiator in a homade box on a stand next to my computer at the same hieght. I didn't put it above or below because whenever you have to pump water up you will lose pressure because of gravity pulls on the water. So haveing it even keeps it at a minimal loss.

Void425 said:

I didn't put it above or below because whenever you have to pump water up you will lose pressure because of gravity pulls on the water. So haveing it even keeps it at a minimal loss.

Click to expand...

WRONG

The weight of the water falling balances the weight of the water being pushed up. The tubing resistance does add up though. Longer runs need to be larger diameter or the pressure drop in the tubing will add up.

The only time there isn't a balance is when you are filling the system and who cares about flowrate then?

gungeek said:

The weight of the water falling balances the weight of the water being pushed up.

Click to expand...

I would agree with you in a closed loop system without a resivoir, but if you have a res then you will lose momentum if it has to travel up in the system because of gravity, and you wont gain it back when it dumps back into the resivoir.

gungeek said:

WRONG

The weight of the water falling balances the weight of the water being pushed up. The tubing resistance does add up though. Longer runs need to be larger diameter or the pressure drop in the tubing will add up.

The only time there isn't a balance is when you are filling the system and who cares about flowrate then?

Click to expand...

Actually, if you place your reservoir below the pump, it will have to work harder. Any loop with a reservoir isn't considered 'closed' in the traditional sense. In a closed loop the water is being pulled through the pump and pushed out the front. The water coming out of the pump pushes the water in front of it all the way through the loop back to the pump. It's a loop so there's no where else for the water to go but forward. And placement of the pump will not affect flow rates much at all because the driving force is the pressure of the water moving forward because that's the only place for it to go.

With a reservoir however, you do give the water somewhere else to go other than forward. It has room for lateral movement inside the reservoir. So while the pump is pushing the water forward through the loop, it also has to pull water out of the reservoir. Once the water reaches the reservoir, it goes in all directions, not immediately forward as if it were in tubing or a radiator. Now the pump has to pull harder to move the water forward because there is no pressure behind the water on the inlet line. If you place your pump too high above or below the reservoir, gravity only makes this worse. Check out pool filter setups. It works the same way, with the pool acting as the reservoir in the loop. The ideal setup is to have the pump level with the reservoir so it doesn't have to work against gravity, either pushing it uphill or pulling the water up from below. In a closed loop, that's fine, but with a reservoir, the pump must be placed level with the res for optimum flow rates. No matter how you do it though, having a reservoir will always decrease flow rates.

I don't think the pumps used for watercooling have any suction; they require positive pressure to push water into the impeller.

I can agree that an open reservoir would stop flow momentum, but how many run those with the associated loss of coolant due to evaporation? My understanding is the "typical" reservoir is an airtight container. Being airtight, the air pocket at the top would force water to flow in and out at the same rate otherwise the air pressure would build and put greater pressure on the outflow to re-balance everything.

I do agree that the reservoir should be close to the pump inlet so water to the pump isn't restricted.

I use T-lines with closed caps; simple, cheap, and they don't take up much space.

No. An airtight container will not in any way "force water to flow in and out at the same rate".

Water has a density of 1000 kg/m^3. Air that is near sea level has a density that averages 1.275 kg/m^3. 1000 kg/m^3 divided by 1.275 kg/m^3 yields 784. Therefore, at sea level, air is 784 times less dense than water. The air pressure inside the reservoir is so weak it will have no discernable impact on the flow of the water.

And yes, pumps do have suction. The only difference between suction and pushing the water is the direction of the water flow, towards the pump or away from the pump. The water is being sucked into the pump because the pump is pushing water inside of it, out, and because you cannot have a vacuum this sucks the water in the tubing behind the pump into it. It's a matter of perspective.

So to summarize, you will lose flow just by using a reservoir, but to minimize flow loss, keep the pump level with the reservoir.

this is the reservoir i will be using:



it is airtight ...

now i got a reply saying "ur res. should be the highest point in the system . no matter what !" .... now .... is this false ??? or was the guy only talking about the "WC system" and not the "whole system" (including the CPU)

and this means that i should place the res. next to the pump, but it still will have to pump water up 3 feet ... that should be fine... right ?

thanx again

That's pretty nice, and no air inside at all. But having it be the highest point is false. It's best to keep your setup as level as possible. But it's a Mag 3, 3 feet is no problem.

Where'd you get that res by the way?

ok thanx ...

as for the res ... i bought it off ebay ...