Jumping back into the pool

Yo its been a while guys since i've been on last but i think i'll b going watercooling again as soon as its summer time. but i'll b doing a couple things differently. first, i'll get those hose clamps on lol while I was repositioning my pump last summer, one of the tubes popped off while the pump was on, and the liquid spewed all over my parts i was all freaked out. but yea everything was ok. i just dried em and amazingly they actually worked. so yea, this time i'll be doing a couple things differently. probably gonna use a t-line, i hated using the reservoir, since it always leaked or i spilled it. and i could never get the water to fill correctly into the tubing, instead it just filled up in the res, so yea thats gotta go.


So i heres my original set up.

Using a Zalman WB-2 for a wb, its probably not the best, but i can't imagine it being any worse than the best wb over 5C so ya.
Using a 2x120mm heatercore without any fan shroud...
Eheim 1250 pump

Heres a couple question I have:
1. As you guys can see, i was using 2 80mm fans to cool the 2x120mm heatercore. yea i know cheap, i'll probably go buy some quiet 120mm yateloons everyones always talking about. also does it matter that the fans are directly laying against the heatercore? Or should i have them spaced out on the top and the bottom of the heatercore?
2. How should I mount the eheim 1250 pump? Its really bulky so I have a hard time findin a good spot to put it in, and it tends to vibrate A LOT so i needa some how dampen it but I was thinking may b to drill some holes in the bottom of the case and just screw it in like that, but I'm worried that it'll end up shaking the whole case apart. I also saw on petras tech shop that they're selling some kinda gel shock absorber, so I guess i could also get one of those, but its not really helpful since the pump will be free to slide around the case. Any ideas?
3. When adding a t-line wheres the best place to put it, is it just b4 the pump? Also how long does the tubing need to be for the t-line. cuz if i turn off the pump i don't want the lvls in the t-line to go over and start spewing all over the case. and should i have a t-line extending up to a hole at the top of the case to pour into or just one that sticks up a little bit such that i can cap it when i need and tilt outside of the case and pour into it when i need to refill it.

Thats all the questions i really have at the moment. Thanks guys.

1. You can mount the fans flush against the radiator, but you would get better performance with a shroud, as it eliminates dead spots and increases the flow. I also think that if you set them up to pull, as opposed to push the air through, they work better that way.
2. My pump came with a cushioned pad with very sticky adhesive on both sides (swiftech mcp-655). I just stuck this to the base, and in the bottom of my case. Keeps the pump very secure, and doesnt transfer any vibration (this pump runs very smooth though). Maybe you can find some sort of sticky pad online somewhere. Or maybe a foam rubber square and some superglue. . .
3. I think the best place for a t line is either right before the intake of the pump (so when you add water, it goes right to the pump, and when filling the system you dont have to worry about your pump running dry), or at the highest point of your loop (as the air bubbles will naturally migrate there). As far as the length of the T-line, it doesnt matter. It doesnt have to be as tall as your highest component, as suction will keep the water in the rest of the tube. Its like when you have a glass in the sink full of water, and you pull it out of the water bottom first, the water stays in the glass until you pull the top out and air can replace the water. Same with the t-line. If air cant get in the rest of your loop, you dont have to worry about it flowing from your t-line.

3. http://www.overclockers.com/tips1252/

thanks for the response. do they make shrouds for heatercores? otherwise i'd probably have to make my own, and i'm not quite sure how.
also about the absorption pad, http://www.petrastechshop.com/pegviabbl.html
heres what i was looking at. but again, i'm not sure it'd work since its so thick. may be i could cut 4 square blocks of it and mount it to the bottom of the case as grommets basically.

icedfire thanks for the link. looks like i'll b putting the t-line just b4 the inlet of the pump, but how can i make the t-line higher than my rad since its at the very top of the comp and its placed horizontally.

if you can, try one of the watercooling pumps like the mcp 655.

I had an eheim 1260 in my last setup, nice, but noisy and huge, pretty much same problems your noticing Im guessing.

it also put a good amount of heat into things.

the mcp655 doesnt have as much flow, but it doesnt put hardly any heat in the water and its a 1/4th of the size. virtually silent at max speed. it plugs into a molex power connector, its really very nice.

bumsquad said:

icedfire thanks for the link. looks like i'll b putting the t-line just b4 the inlet of the pump, but how can i make the t-line higher than my rad since its at the very top of the comp and its placed horizontally.

Click to expand...

easily...

the problem is your only thinking 2 dimensionally...

lets say you are going have everything in the exact same place as in the picture above

use the radiator barb closest to the side panel you have off (or if you were looking at the front of the computer the barb on the left side)

connect a hose to that barb and then run the hose all the way down to the bottom of the case then attach the t-line and then use a really short piece of tubing to attach the t-line to you pump

now with this setup you either stand your case on its top (though that may be a little tricky since you have the radiator there)

or if you think 3 dimensionally you can lay it down on the right side which if you followed how i told you to hook it up should be the easiest and fast way

to get the t-line to point straight up when the case is on its side just loosen the clamps a little bit and you should be able to get the t-line to point straight up, then when you finish rotate the t-line back into the case so that it points straight up when the case is sitting on its feet and remember to tighten the clamps

make sure read through my article that have posted in the previous post because if you understand it then it will make using a t-line a lot easier

icedfire: ahhhh ic makes sense lol never thought about that. i'll also probably make the tubing some what long may b a foot or so to fill it outside the case so i don't spill it while its on its side.

also about the pump, it definitely puts out quite a bit of heat, but i might as well use what a got.

Bolting the pump directly to the case is not a good idea if you care about noise. Set in on some foam and/or suspend it with elastic or rubber o-rings.

A shroud will give you both better performance and less noise. Yes, you can buy ready-made shrouds for some heatercores, but they might be a little harder to find these days than they were before purpose-built watercooling radiators were worth their coolant.