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Some water cooling Q's

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Coreyhm1

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Location
NC
Some water cooling Q's (Installed!)

Since some of you said my power supply should be able to handle it plus my sig, i'm going to get it :beer:

This is what will be included, i'm buying it from a guy and getting a good deal (about 2 months old). So no choice in parts for me..

WC_Price.jpg

I hear you can use straight distilled water, is that ok? or is there something i should mix into it? I know he was using straight distilled water.

I also heard that with the GTX block, i would want to get the copper housing for it, is this necessary? i wouldn't have to the money to do it now, but what would this help?

I should be getting it sometime next week, Thanks.
 
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you could add antifreeze to the water to keep from letting microorganisms from growing and clogging the loop, but straight water is the best for cooling(with some stuff(forgot the name(black stuff)) to kill anything living in it already).
copper conducts heat better, that would by my idea why it would be better to get the copper version.
 
Yeah, the base is copper, but the "housing" is anodized aluminum i think.

So i can just use straight water? how long should it last me?

I think there some kind of chemical you can mix into it, but I'm not sure what it is...
 
If it were my loop I'd use plain old-fashioned radiator fluid to keep down the corrosion levels. The aluminum top isn't supposed to react w/the copper but I've seen some nasties I wouldn't want to deal with - that's the reason for the copper top. Usually a 10-15% solution of anti-freeze is good enough for mixed-metal loops.

As far as other additives go I always use at least iodine - even w/anti-freeze. If cost is a real problem then normal iodine from a first aid kit will work. Takes 8 drops per gallon of liquid for the cheap stuff, 4 drops per gallon for Betadine-type products (alcohol free and higher iodine content). That'll keep most things out of your system ...
 
So, if i use distilled water i should had 4 drops of iodine (the good stuff)?

If i use that antifreeze, i wouldn't need to mix anything into it?

What would you suggest, and what would cool the best?
 
I always add iodine - even with anti-freeze in the loop I add iodine. It's very cheap insurance. Anti-freeze will not stop organisms from invading your loop. While I have not personally seen an anti-freeze loop with algae or whatever in it (and hope I never do!) I've seen enough threads devoted to that subject to be convinced.

If you're using the Apogee GTX (stock) take about a pint of water out of your gallon bottle of distilled water. Then add a pint of anti-freeze and 4 drops of Betadine to the bottle and fill your loop with that. Once your loop is full you can put the pint of water back in the gallon bottle and keep it for "topping off" your loop ...
 
Thanks, what kind of ati-freeze shoud i pick up, or anything will do the job? I have never looked for betadine, do you know what store i could find this in as well?
 
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Pentosin Red or Blue will work fine. Pentosin is probably the best antifreeze out there and it's cheap. Also Antifreeze doesn't prevent things from growing with it. Only things with Kidneys and Livers are affected by it ;).

For loops with Copper and Aluminum 10% antifreeze will be just fine. Otherwise just use 5% to keep the solder in your radiator from reacting with the rest of the loop.

Iodine and pond Algaecide are a great idea to keep your loop nice and clean.
 
Thanks, what kind of anti-freeze shoud i pick up, or anything will do the job? I have never looked for betadine, do you know what store i could find this in as well?
If you're on a budget anything will do the job. Pre-mixed anti-freeze is a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze & distilled water and is sometimes cheaper than undiluted anti-freeze. If you get pre-mixed you'll need to use twice as much (20-25%) and you still won't use a whole gallon of it.

Betadine-type iodine can be found in almost any store with first aid supplies. You can recognize it because it doesn't contain alcohol. It's technical name is "povidone-iodine". Any manufacturer's label is good as long as it's povidone-iodine. If you have trouble finding povidone-iodine then regular first aid iodine can be used. Again, you need to use twice as much but you'll never use up a whole bottle.

Moto makes a good point about algaecide. I always use algaecide but many people don't and have no problems, which is why I didn't mention it. You can get algaecide almost anywhere they sell aquarium products. There are lots of different types out there and all work good. Follow directions for the amount to use per gallon of water ...
 
Thanks. So, with the 50/50 anti-freeze i should take out about 2 pints of water from the gallon and add 2 pints of the anti-freeze?

And four drops of povidone-iodine. I should be getting this next week or so, can't wait for my first water cooling adventure :beer:


edit, do you think that setup will be able to handle both of my 3870's if i decided to put them on the loop as well?
 
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Well, to answer your first question. Yea, go 50/50 on the gallon. You'll use less than a gallon, put the iodine in the jug too and toss the leftover in a closet for top off etc.

And umm, do both 3870's and the CPU? Thats gonna be hard to do without LOUD fans. Unless your room temps hover at 60C or so.

Once it's all running, run a load test for 8 hours at the hot part of the day and check CPU temp. You'll be fine with just the CPU with room to spare. Add the GPU's and do it again. If the temps are good, then your okay. If not, then it's time for second loop (pump, rad, res etc). Many run a 120x2 loop on the CPU and a 120x3 loop for two GPU's.

I don't think a MCR 120x3 can do it myself.
 
yeah, i'll probably just do a CPU loop. Is that right, i should remove 2 pints of the gallon water, and replace it with 2 pints of the 50/50 anti-freeze and 4 drops of iodine?
 
Cool, i paid him today so i should getting it sometime next week

Is this tubing fine?

http://www.jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=2432

Is this what i need for the pump, he has reducers for it, is the OD correct, or does the OD matter?

http://www.jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=2829

I'll also be making a trip to Lowe's for materials to cut up my case, does anyone know what would be good to make perfect holes in the back of my case for the tubing, what size?

I have a feeling this is going to be a PITA :p
 
Tubing is correct but I thought you were getting Primochill red with the deal? Just curious as it's on your list.

OD doesn't really matter anywhere except on some blocks where the barbs are close and that's not an issue here.


If you're running 5/8" OD tubing through the case then get two pieces of short (2-3") 3/8" copper tubing at Lowe's. (If you run 1/2" tubing - 3/4" OD - through the case you'll need two short pieces of 1/2" copper pipe instead of the 3/8" copper tubing.) Also look through their rubber grommets (round "gaskets" with holes through the middle) and see if they have 1/2" grommets (you'll need 2x of these). The grommets should be ~3/4" OD and have a slit on the outside rim.

Drill a 5/8" hole* in the case and fit the grommet into the hole so that the metal edge of the case is in the slit on the edge of the grommet. Then push the 3/8" copper through the center of the grommet and attach your 3/8" tubing to each end. Should be a nice, snug, and safe fit leaving no rough metal edges to get cut on or to cut your tubing. It also looks great! :) Note you'll need extra tubing clamps for each end of the copper tubes (4 total).


I know that sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't. The hardest part is deciding where to put the holes and drilling them. Everything else fits together very easily after that ...


*When drilling large holes in metal it's often easier to start with a small drill bit, say 1/4", and work your way up. For 5/8" I usually drill 3/16" then 7/16" then the 5/8". If you don't have all those sizes then at least make a 1/4" "pilot" hole before using the 5/8" bit. Since the edges of the metal will be covered by the grommet they can be a little rough - just be careful putting those grommets on!
 
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Yeah, what he has does come with it. But i'm not sure if its enough, or becuase it was cut to fit his loop / setup... :(

I might just wait and see if the primochill tubing he sends is enough though

EDIT because you edited your post hehe, thats probably what i'll do. Whats the advantage of the copper pipe, looks, or help the bend?
 
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It got shipped today, so i should be getting it Tuesday or Wednesday. Will the anti-freeze make the water an "ugly" color, if i use his tubing it doesn't matter since its red. But i may buy clear tubing..

Tomorrow I'll pick up some anti-freeze, distilled water and iodine :beer:
 
The water will be a light color of the anti-freeze. If you get the green stuff then the water will be a light green. That's why a lot of people spend extra $$$ for the special anti-freeze, which comes in blue or red ...
 
Cool, so if its not the 50/50 mix then i should only put a pint in then, right?

Thanks for all the help.
 
Yep! One pint, or even a little less, per gallon of undiluted anti-freeze should take care of the (possible) mixed metals in your loop.

As long as you don't have any swamps nearby you should be OK without algaecide ...
 
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