why heatercores?

why do some people use heatercores instead of normal ol' radiators? like from dangerden and what not. im guessing there is a performance difference mabe? are there also ne price/ differences? are heatercores easy to obtain? What kinds of heatercores are some of the best ones to use/get? i know thats alot of questions there but if u guys would reply, and reply to all the questions thad be a real big help. THANKS!

surface area
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=299535

that's why dangerden and dtek sell modded heatercores

'Best' is kind of hard to answer. There are so many sizes and types its sort boils down to what you want from your heater core. Large ones for more cooling surface area, smaller ones for easier installation inside a case. There are also ones that can be great for performance but most standard fans dont fit quite as well.

A couple of the most popular are the '86 Chevette heater core and the '77 Bonneville heater core. The Chevette is almost the perfect size to pair a single 120mm fan with while the Bonneville core mounts 2 easily for more performance.

These two are also very popular because they are easily modded for watercooling use. They have the round inlet and outlet tubes which makes it possible to use them with minimal modification. The b-ville core can actually be used as it comes from the factory but performs better with some small modifications. Check in the 'Stickies' part of the forum for Weapons guide to modding a '77 B-ville core to get the idea.

Cost from most auto-parts stores is around $20 for either of the above cores. Keep in mind that there are many many other heater cores that will work as well.

Lastly for a heater core to perform at its best requires a shroud. This shroud allows the air pressure between the fan and heater core to equalize to reduce/remove the dead spot found in the air directly in front of the center of a fan. This allows air to pass through and remove heat from the most possible heater core fin surface. I think it was Cathar that stated a good shroud can increase performance by up to 40% over simply mounting a fan directly to the heater core. The ballpark optimal shroud 'depth' (distance between the fan and heater core) is right about 1". The preferred shape is like a pyramid with the top cut off. In short 4 sloping 'walls' that connect the smaller dimensioned fan to the larger dimensioned heater core. If you use a double fan sized heater core its best to have each fan 'chambered' - have a dividing partition between the fans so they dont push against each other.

Lastly due to how many heater cores are out there its not feasible for any company to produce shrouds made to fit. Many times this is up to the end user to fabricate one or locate someone that can. I think it was Weapon that is working on getting some shrouds produced for the '77 Bonneville heater core.

Benefits = Price, Availability, Performance
Cons = Sometimes modifications needed for best performance, shrouds not readily available.

*sidenote - Weapon is a very good source for info on heater cores. As I pointed out earlier he has a post in the Stickies forums about it and has modded/used/tested many other heater cores as well.

Considering the alternative, people [in the States] prefer heater cores. About half the price of any [online] PC-store version and availible just around the corner at any auto place, as well as performing about the same as the best of them. Personally I decided a dirty unpainted core for 17.99 SHIPPED is a much better choice than getting a painted core that I'd just be modding & ruining the paint on anyways.

As for what heater core is best...use the search button. Words you'll like are FEDCO, BONNEVILLE, CHEVETTE, and 2-342. The right core is highly dependant on your goals.

I use a heatorcore because I haven't figured out how to shoe-horn a full size auto radiator into my case. But scientist are working on it and tell me the answer is Worm-holes.

Maybe you could have one end of the wormhole "connected" to your case and the radiator mounted in another universe (outside the case)?

price is also a big factor I think

When the difference is only a couple degrees is obvious why the cheaper HCs win out over their competition.

Silversinksam said:

I use a heatorcore because I haven't figured out how to shoe-horn a full size auto radiator into my case. But scientist are working on it and tell me the answer is Worm-holes.

Click to expand...

Better get Captain Slug on that, afterall, he is know as the master of shoe-horning

Heres my reason why (just went out and bought one maybe an hour ago). It was $20 from the auto parts store and I paid $10 for the barbs. It would have been $5 but they didnt have a 3/8" threads with 1/2" barb so I had to buy two 3/8-1/2 inch couplers and then a barb with 1/2" threads and a 1/2" barb plus I have way too much free time and like to mod. If you ask me. Id much rather pay $25-30 for something I could mod and have fun with than something that id pay $60+ for and just simply throw it in.

The main reason in my case. Ive been using some BEAT JUNK senfu one for the last 1.5 years. This thing is so bad I can make my ears pop because it takes so much pressure for me to blow water through it if I blow on the hose. Along with the air that comes off the thing is a good 90ºF causing my room to be HOT.

Your room temp will be the same, if not warmer with a better watercooling setup. The better it is at removing heat from your system, the more heat it's dumping into your room.

Well lol that was the whole theory I gave my mom so she would pay for it. Lets put it that way.

Alacritan said:

Your room temp will be the same, if not warmer with a better watercooling setup. The better it is at removing heat from your system, the more heat it's dumping into your room.

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nope, it will be exactly the same

a better watercooling system just means that the equilibrium temperature of the cpu (and most likely the coolant) is lower, it still puts the exact same amount of heat into the room

Surface Area
Price
Avaiblility

high performance
low price
available almost anywhere
easy to mod
several different sizes/models available so you can find one to fit in almost any case.

anyone know of a site where i can get info on TONS of different heater cores? and fast?

EDIT: nvm just saw what was already posted about weapon

JDXNC said:

Better get Captain Slug on that, afterall, he is know as the master of shoe-horning

Click to expand...

Hmmmm.... I thought he was the Master of Horny Shoes....

A good online source (if you don't have access to Excel/the heater core DB) is www.rockauto.com They list virtually every car legalized for the states, and usually a picture of the heater core each one uses, along with a price and size (mfg size, though).