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My Test of MCP350/DDC vs. DDC+ plus various tops

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meionm

meionm

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Joined
Mar 8, 2004
For the testing I used 10Qt/9.5L water container. I recorded time of each pump that it took to empty that container. The power supply is very old that used and 12v line is below rated 12v. Also test of Shultz Hydor L35 pump but that pump might be defective

Regular/ plain without any mods
MCP350=85s
DDC+ ==70s
Hydor L35=45s

Test top with 1/2id inlet mod
MCP350=54s
DDC+ ==43s
Hydor L35=45s

Alphacool Acrylic Top with 1/2id barbs even though top is 3/8id
MCP350=57s
DDC+ ==50s
Hydor L35=45s

Another top with true 1/2id inelt and outlet
MCP350=50s
DDC+ ==40s
Hydor L35=45s

Storm +BIP2+modded DDC+= 124s

MCP355+Modded DDC++storm+bip2=90s

Noise Level betwen MCP350 vs DDC+ vs MCP655. MCP350 is the quiet, that was quiet obvious. So if we would be using speed dial on mcp655, MCP355 would be #1, DDC+ would be either #2 or #3 that all comparing to mcp655 running at #5. DDC+ doesn't make more noise than chipest northbridge running on a hot motherboard.
 
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Great test.. can you tell me where you got "Another top with true 1/2id inelt and outlet"

Also, you have any pic of it?
 
voigts said:
So, here are some final flow test numbers:
DDC 10w- rated at 400lph
Stock top- 90 seconds for 2 gallons = 80gph=303lph
My rev4 top- 43 seconds for 2 gallons =167gph=632lph

DDC 18w- rated at 600lph
Stock top- 56 seconds for 2 gallons = 128gph=484lph
My rev4 top- 34 sconds for 2 gallons = 211gph=799lph

Some observations:
1. Both pumps are performing at about 100lph less than rated in my sink setup doing about 1' up uphill pumping through about 3' of tubing.

2. The difference between the two in pumping power remains about the same regardless of the top used. There is an average of about a 170lph difference between the two in my test setup.

3. The percent of improvement between the two pumps diminishes with the use of my top. With the stock top, there is a whopping 59% improvement in flow from the 10w to the 18w. With my top, there is only a 26% improvement from the 10w to the 18w.

4. Comparing against the PQ curve of the D5, the 10w with my top is roughly equal to the D5 on number 3, and the 18w with my top is roughly equal to the D5 on number 4.

5. For the person like me who is neurotic about noise levels, this presents the question that given that the 18w is noticably louder than the 10w, with my top is it worth using the 18w pump for only a 26% improvement, which given the increased flowrates, may not result in any measurable system temp or performance difference?
Click to expand...

Your testing is similar in results to mine, although you got considerably more in flow numbers from your 10w DDC than I did. I did however test them differently than you did in that I probably added some restriction by making them pump through a few feet of tubing and up about 1' and timed how long it took to fill up and not drain out.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCase/flowTesting.jpg

It is interesting to me though that on the 18w DDC, your flow numbers are almost exactly what I got (9.5L/70sec*360=488.5 LPH). I appreciate you making these tests as it gives me some numbers to look at. I suspected given the flow test that Clocker2 did with his Alphacool top that it does not perform as well as it should. My custom top is outperforming the Alphacool and is on par with the inlet mod.

I am also wondering what 1/2" inlet and outlet block you are referring to?

Your sound level comparison is about what I found also to be the case, however I would add that the D5 still has a much higher pitch to it than the 18w DDC does.

Good job!
 
voigts said:
Your testing is similar in results to mine, although you got considerably more in flow numbers from your 10w DDC than I did. I did however test them differently than you did in that I probably added some restriction by making them pump through a few feet of tubing and up about 1' and timed how long it took to fill up and not drain out.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/voigts/CustomWoodCase/flowTesting.jpg

It is interesting to me though that on the 18w DDC, your flow numbers are almost exactly what I got (9.5L/70sec*360=488.5 LPH). I appreciate you making these tests as it gives me some numbers to look at. I suspected given the flow test that Clocker2 did with his Alphacool top that it does not perform as well as it should. My custom top is outperforming the Alphacool and is on par with the inlet mod.

I am also wondering what 1/2" inlet and outlet block you are referring to?

Your sound level comparison is about what I found also to be the case, however I would add that the D5 still has a much higher pitch to it than the 18w DDC does.

Good job!
Click to expand...

I traded some fans on different forum for that radical top, actually makes pump look good.

As goes for noise level ddc+ vs. D5, the only time I thought D5 was quiet was when it was on setting #1

The problem with alphacool top is that it is only 3/8id inlet and outlet. In the modded top the inlet was 1/2id, while alphacool top allows various sizes of barbs but between barb and pump it is reduced to 3/8id, similar to what the original mcp350 top looks inside.

Project for next week compare it while running storm and rady in line.
 
meionm said:
I traded some fans on different forum for that radical top, actually makes pump look good.

As goes for noise level ddc+ vs. D5, the only time I thought D5 was quiet was when it was on setting #1

The problem with alphacool top is that it is only 3/8id inlet and outlet. In the modded top the inlet was 1/2id, while alphacool top allows various sizes of barbs but between barb and pump it is reduced to 3/8id, similar to what the original mcp350 top looks inside.

Project for next week compare it while running storm and rady in line.
Click to expand...

Trading some fans for a raadical top was sure a good trade!

On the original top, the inlet and outlet holes are 1/4" diameter. I think the performance boost comes mainly from having the 1/2" inlet in the center with no 90 degree bend like on the original top. I made my outlet very close to the original top and got almost the same flow you measured with my top vs. the raadical.

I would love to see some close-ups of that top to get a better idea of how they make theirs. Is there any way you could post some close-up pics from all sides of the raadical top?
 
Drilling is not a problem, but what do you use to drill into acrylic? I've found it to be very, very easy to crack.
 
Hate to have to ask you to do this, seeing as you've done all this testing already, but how about testing them with some sort of restriction? Your test did a good job of showing how the free flow performance goes up, but doesn’t do much to simulate real world working condition.

My suggestion to simulate the ENTIRE loop in one step is to put the output through a 1/8" hose barb. When I tested my pump, I used a 3/8" hose/female 1/4" NTP with a 1/8"hose/male 1/4" NTP threaded into it. If I remember correctly, it gave me around 2.5 L/min with my MCP350, so for a lot of people's loops it should be close.

Edit: NM, just realized you were going to redo it with a storm and RAD any way. This might get you close though if you dont want to rig up the other stuff.
 
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Icedfire101 said:
what about a 655, you mention it when you compare noise but you didn't get any times for it...
Click to expand...

I got rid of mcp655 before I got mcp355 becasue of the noise. Though I can tell that when running bip2 and storm there was no noticeable difference in temps between mcp655 or modded mcp355
 
Wish I'd stumbled on this thread before buying parts! Now I see where you got your recommendation. Guess I'll have to run a few tests with my set-up (mcp655's) after it's in place so I've got a comparison - still may have to get a couple of mcp355's and mod them.

Great job, meionm ...! :thup:
 
s002wjh said:
could anyone tell me whats flow rate of mcp655 at setting 1, 2, 3, 4??
Click to expand...
Don't know the flow rates but in my research I found a German site that had the pump RPM's:

P1 = 1800 RPM
P2 = 2550 RPM
P3 = 3300 RPM
P4 = 4050 RPM
P5 = 4800 RPM
 
MCP655 (setting 5) flow rates averaged over three tests using 11 quarts of water w/~ 2' of head:

MCP: 3.9 gpm (= 240 gph) (100%)
MCP/Rad (custom): 3.4 gpm (87%)
MCP/Storm/Rad: 1.6 gpm (40%)
MCP/Rad/MCP/Storm: 2.1 gpm (52%)
 
meionm said:
cut...

Project for next week compare it while running storm and rady in line.

/cut
Click to expand...

There is some great info in this thread. Did you ever get around to testing as mentioned above? I'm curious to see how the Radiical block performs with the 1/2" outlet. I wonder how the head loss will effect your tests.
 
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