Primary secondary WCing...will this work?

[Kill_A._Byte]

I have this Oasis water cooler I got from work and I want to use it as a chiller in a closed loop setup. I'm wondering if I can set it up like I set up boilers for hot water heating using a primary secondary system.
I would need to make the primary loop from the Oasis in my basement up to the first floor in my computer room and back into the Oasis with it's own circulating pump cirulating the fluid around the loop. Then I would tee off a secondary loop supply line with it's own pump circulating the fluid through the cpu block then some sort of check valve and back into another tee in the primary loop. I would think that I could put the pump after the block to keep it from adding heat to the chilled water because of the closed loop. If the idea works I could add another secondary loop for the GPU. I just don't know about pumps and blocks and even if I'm nuts for thinking this can be done. I think I would need a block that I could insulate easily.
What do you all think?
Thanks,
Killa

[thorilan]

pictures / drawings?

show us your paint skills

[noxqzs]

where is the guy with the radiator buried outside. he would be the ideal person to give you tips.

[4GHZ_or_bust]

where is the guy with the radiator buried outside. he would be the ideal person to give you tips.

He's probably buried in his work. :D

*ducks and runs from pun cops*

[four4875]

Is there any reason you cant just use the chiller on the water in the comp's loop directly? the way you said above seems like you're making it more complicated than needed. it adds a pump and heat exchanger and stuff that just isnt needed.

but, to answer your question, it would work, but it would just be more complicated than needed. and have more room for loss of cooling potential.

[Kill_A._Byte]

Thank you for the replys :cool:
I could use the chiller directly in the loop but I think I would need an inline pump with a high head pressure to make it through the chiller and wcing loop.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/killabyte/PrimarySecondaryWCing.gif
This is the primary secondary setup how I think I can run it. The chilled water would flow around the primary loop and would be drawn through each secondary loop with individual in line 12V pumps. The only restriction on the secondary pumps would be the blocks, so I think I could use smaller 12V pumps. The primary loop would have to have a circulating pump with enough head to pump through the chiller and up about 6' , then gravity would help it get through the heater core. Which I thought would help cool the water a little before going back into the chiller.
There is no heat exchanger other than the blocks.
Now a circulating pump dose not actually pump the water through the loop, it just moves the water around the closed loop. If you open the loop it will not move (circulate) the water. So what might your suggestions for pumps and blocks that would handle the chilled water for this (I agree I may :rolleyes: be overcomplicating this) setup?
Thanks again for the replys,
Killa

[four4875]

how are you getting the heat from the loops with the blocks to the loop with the chiller? does the water freely flow from the loops? or what? you could always use the 12V pumps throughout a single loop to keep pushing it along as it needs, if a single one isnt enough. id run... chiller pump block pump block pump heater core chiller repeat.... if all those pumps are even needed.


im still lost on how you plan on getting the cold from the chilled loop to the block loops, or technically the heat from the cpu loops to the chilled loop....

[Kill_A._Byte]

The chilled water from the primary loop will be drawn off to the secondary loop with a inline pump after the block and then returned to the primary loop to go back to the chiller.
I use this method for boilers and baseboard heat where each secondary loop is a heating zone. It is more efficent this way, because the boiler will be getting mixed water from the primary loop and the returns from the secondary loops. This way the boiler dosn't have to work as hard if the water coming back on the return side is mixed, instead of straight from the return which would be colder.
So I thought I could turn it around and use the chiller as the boiler and the CPU block secondary loop as the zone.
The lines I drew didn't show well, they should be solid , with one loop around as the primary loop and two llos around as the secondary loops both connecting (supply and return) to the primary loop.

[four4875]

while this would work fine, i think you'd be losing some pure temp potential. i guess you could always try and find out, experament and see what does best.

I thought you wanted to keep the coolants physically seperated, so some kind of exchanger would have been required. but now i see what you mean.

also, can the chiller handle the constant heat load of the cpu and the gpu? wouldnt they total at like 75 watts or so? i know that some small refridgerators (phase change based ones) cant handle the load of a comp.

[Kill_A._Byte]

This is why I thought tha primary secondary setup might help the load on the chiller, also I thought a fan radiator on the return of the might help. Less complex WCing handles the load, right?
Maybe I should have posted this in extreme cooling, But I was also looking for info on blocks and pumps that would handle the chilled water. Don't know if the lexan (plastic) topped blocks would work too well.
Thank You for taking the time to give me input on this project, Every time I look at the chiller I get a different idea. Maybe using the K.I.S.S. method would be a better way to approach this project but , who knows where this will go.
Thanks again for your time,
Killa

[rogerdugans]

where is the guy with the radiator buried outside. he would be the ideal person to give you tips.

Just finished a LAN here at the house and about to take a couple days hiatus from computers as I am slightly burnt on them right now. ;)

But-

Primary/secondary COULD work for you, but I am not sure it would be the way to go.
Each pump in the loop increases the heat load to some degree; one large pump capable of meeting all your needs would increase the heat load more than a small SINGLE pump, but it might still be lower than 3 small ones. Some "rocket science" would help to figure that part out, but I am NOT the guy for that!

Check valves are a HUGE flow restriction as well- in a three pump system it would not be an issue as each block pump would be maintaining it's own flowrate, but with a single pump it would be very detrimental unless you used a pump that is extremely strong. One possible advantage is that you really wouldn't need much of a primary circulation pump in a three pump system.

I had actually considered a primary/secondary loop for my Overkill system, but decided that a single pump that was way too big would actually meet my needs better. I have NOT tested that configuration though.

One general note on primary/secondary systems: usually the primary loop has an ID somewhat larger than the secondaries- approximately twice the size, in my experience which is limited to heating, NOT cooling systems.

I think it sounds like a very interesting project though, and I hope you pursue it, one way or another.

[four4875]

with a normal rad, i would only use it if the watr getting back to the chiller was above ambient. either way, it will be bringing the water closer to ambient, and if the water is below, it will be adding heat to the system, which you wouldnt want. you could always give it a try, i mean what'll ya lose? some tubing and time? maybe some additives?

Maybe your experiences will be able to teach all of us, so we know the benefits and problems with a setup like this.