In pursuit of cheap WCing rigs...

Alright,

Just thinking of ways to make an effective yet inexpensive WC'ing system...

Tubing - $10 (including freight) for 10' MasterKleer from McMaster.com
Clamps- $4 (local hardware shop 10 pack)
T-Line - $3 (optional)-(T connect + plug)
Reservoir $8(optional) - Acrylic food container + 2 hose barbs (requires drilling and tapping)
Via Aqua - $22
DD Maze4 - $40 (including frt)
Heater Core - $20 ('77 B-ville from Autozone, no barb mods)
Reinforced Homemade Shroud
2 120mm Fans - $20
So about $119 (or $124 w/res) for a pretty decent (way over the $100 pre-fabs) WC'ing system that can be modded, adapted, and adjusted later on.

My original rig cost over $200 due largely to the pump cost (+$30), pre-modded '86 Chevette HC +$25), Typhoon Res (+14), RBX wb (+25), Clearflex (+$5). The only reall 'downgrade' would be the pump dropping (IMHO a drop at least) from a Hydor L35 to the Via. Nets out around a $100 difference or basically half the cost.

Does this seem about right? Have I missed anything?

I have a friend who is interested in WCing but is on a definite budget. He isnt going for a top end system. Simply wants something fairly powerful now that he can component by component replace later.

Looks good to me. Though you might spot some slightly better deals buying used parts.

Are you getting the maze as part of a package deal from somewhere?
Do you have a deadline on this setup?
Isn't the 6002 around $40?

i have a maze 4 cpu block on ebay starting at 26 right now...ask if you want a link to it.
to keep this on topic- that looks like a nice budget setup, you might want to spend a little more on a pump though, ive heard bad things about them aqua's

No deadline at all. The Maze4 was $35 + shipping = $40 which was one of the cheaper but not cheapest deals I had found.

My friend is simply in the "I am thinking about it..." stage and asked how much WCing would run him if he didnt go high end. The funny part being that after looking into some of the acrylic food containers (molded, not joined sides) I have a funny feeling they will be more secure than my Typoon.

I am fairly new to WCing myself so the Via Aqua 1300 is my primary concern. I have seen quite a few people post who have had noise problems (cavitation/air in the loop possibly) but few failures that I know about. Unlike the Mag line of pumps which all have a pretty much preset RTV sealant solution I am unsure as to how to go about addressing any problems the Via may have.

I didnt realize a block the quality of the 6002 was available for that little. I originally was looking for the 50% off Maze4s that DangerDen used to have due to having a very large customer commit and then back out after the blocks (literally thousands when I talked to them) were in production.

Once I get to the required amount of posts (most probably a week or two, I really like this board) I will also browse the classifieds for any other deals.


Aphex- I am afraid its probably going to be a wee bit to get him over the "Running water through my case?!?!?! Insanity!!!" stage. I give him 2 weeks and he will give in

oh, haha, nevermind then, it's ending soon and ill probably get some bids (12 people already watching). i remeber that phase..."water???"

yea you need to buy additive also

Actually had the additive covered....for months and many friends


So far I am pretty satisfied with a 10% Prestone Low-Tox/90% Distilled Water/2 teaspons of Iodine mix I am using. since that boils down to somewhere around...ohhh....4 oz of antifreeze out of the entire jug I will be a good friend and kick in the additives. This will be especially helpful down the line in case of a catastrophic Kentucky Fried Systems episode as well, remember what a nice guy I was