Making a res have a question.

[boorishid]

Lately Ive been building a DIY water system (everything except the cpu block). So i want to start working on the res im planning on getting a 2ft piece of 4"OD copper pipe and soldering some sheet copper to the bottom and top with a fill port fitting. Anyways im thinking about putting the output barb close to the bottom of the pipe and the out put close to the top.

I want to put the imput on the bottom becuase warm water will rise so in theroy the hot water will return to the top of the res and then fall to the bottom as the copper passively cools it. Would this system casue any flow or turbulance issue that would makes the cooling worse?

ex.

----
| |=end of loop res barb
| |
| |
| |=begin loop res barb
----

[UBERCOOL]

Having the in barb at the top and the out barb at the bottom is also a good idea for filling purposes. As you don't want the out barb sucking in air bubbles. On that note, the only thing that I think would cause you issues is if you were to not submerge the top barb in water, and air bubbles get pulled down to the bottom barb. Other than that you shouldn't have any issues.

Your res probably isn't going to make any difference in your temps anyway so don't bank on that. Your concerns in res design should NOT be heat related it should mostly be with easy filling and not allowing air in the loop.

[boorishid]

I understand the res will make a .2 temp drop if any, those aluminum res seem to passivly help but obviously the aluminum is a no no.

The idea of my design is to have enough water volume that all the hottest water will be cooled by the coppers disapation and eventually sink to the bottom barb.

Also i like the design becuase this is going to be an external set up and im using a few heater cores with hi rpm fans, i don't plan on painting them. Im working on sheet metal shrouds right atm and im planing on painting them like a bronze color. Im probably going to use copper tubing for all the external stuff too. im trying to build a pretty extreme cooling system that looks steam punkish i guess.

[billb]

There will be way to much water movement for there to be any convection effects.

And, with a large, round rez you're going to have some vortexing problems. You'll need some kind of baffle if the rez is going to be vertical with inlets/outlets on the side.

[voigts]

Unless you are getting your copper tube for free, you are honestly wasting your money if you expect to get much if any additional cooling out of it. Especially given the cost of copper.

A tube external res is easily and cheaply made out of PVC plastic, and can be painted to suit your taste in color. I have used one before and it worked very well. You want the line feeding the pump near the bottom so that the pump is fed while filling.

[Spawn-Inc]

There will be way to much water movement for there to be any convection effects.

And, with a large, round rez you're going to have some vortexing problems. You'll need some kind of baffle if the rez is going to be vertical with inlets/outlets on the side.

+1
i was going to say that or to put the barbs closer together so the falling water won't stir up air.

Unless you are getting your copper tube for free, you are honestly wasting your money if you expect to get much if any additional cooling out of it. Especially given the cost of copper.


he knows and its easier to DIY copper then plastic.

[boorishid]

Ya the copper is really exspensive, the cheapest i can find 4 inch pipe is about 50 a ft. I have a few friends that are plumbing contractors so im hoping to get it whole sale for a little cheaper. I also looked up acyrlic tubing and it costs the same, i think that,s a little rediculous.

As far as the vortex effect, does that a acually hurt anything? Im under the impression its just loud right? I use to have some pos zalman water kit that was a huge blue aluminum sinked tube which wasnt baffled, the sound never bothered me. If all the baffle is there for is sound a really don't need to build one it seems more restrictive and im running d4 pumps and 2700rpm fans so i doubt id even hear the sloshing.

[Spawn-Inc]

its not a sound problem its that as the pump puts the water into the res it will start spinning and spiralling (a vortex) down the tube and air will get sucked down that vortex and go to the pump. it will make it so your always trying to bleed the system.


think of when you drain the bath or sink, it creates a funnel of air.

[boorishid]

ahhh gotcha. My vantec kit has a small acrlylic cylinder for a res and i know the thing has does create a vortex but ive never had problem with air getting into the lines. Does this only happen with a large volume res?

[Spawn-Inc]

it mainly depends on the angle of how the barbs go into the tube. if you can get it going straight into the side of the tube it should be fine.

you can always build it then add a baffle if it gives you problems.

[Conumdrum]

You have a Vantec? This one?

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/91

I see what the difference is. The pumps we usually run and recommend are more powerful. So we have more of a vortex issue. If there is a vortex in the res it very easily allows bubbles to get pulled down back into the loop, so the loop never bleeds out properly, leaving air bubbles in the blocks and radiator. Not good.

We like the res flow to be smooth as possible to allow the bubbles to rise to the top. I have a D5 vario pump, and had to turn my pump down to #3 for a few days to get the bubbles out. I have this res, but in a 100mm size, they don't make it anymore in 100mm.
http://www.petrastechshop.com/ekmure.html

Ohh, I expect you will be able to dump possibly 15-20 watts of heat from a copper res. The surface area is so small it's not worth the trouble to even consider as a cooling device. But made out of copper? Very cool.

[Spawn-Inc]

to help stop the votex and increase the heat transfer for the res you could solder/braze some fin's inside and outside the res. 6-8 fins on the inside and 10-12 on the outside.

[boorishid]

Well do you think d4 pumps are strong enough to create a vortex in a large volume of water? I mean were talkin about a 4 inch tube thats going to be 2 to 4 ft high. Thats about 1.2 gallons of water.

Im not sure about this idea though. I cant find anyone with scrap pipe this big :( and even hole sale the pipe is around 50 a ft. :( Just seems like id be better off spending that money on more heater cores and an extra pump than building this res. I really want the copper or brass becuase i had this whole external steam motor/mad scientest lab theme going on :(. Painted pvc looks like crap. Im starting to think just using black pvc and painting everything else black might be the best idea.

[no1stunna]

why dont you just get a normal res and a bigger rad....more cost effective and better cooling results

to be honest your not going to gain ANYTHING from this ....

[Conumdrum]

Well do you think d4 pumps are strong enough to create a vortex in a large volume of water? I mean were talkin about a 4 inch tube thats going to be 2 to 4 ft high. Thats about 1.2 gallons of water.

Im not sure about this idea though. I cant find anyone with scrap pipe this big :( and even hole sale the pipe is around 50 a ft. :( Just seems like id be better off spending that money on more heater cores and an extra pump than building this res. I really want the copper or brass becuase i had this whole external steam motor/mad scientest lab theme going on :(. Painted pvc looks like crap. Im starting to think just using black pvc and painting everything else black might be the best idea.


Why do you need such a big res to start with? If it's for looks no biggie, but a res that big won't help with temps at all. In an hour or so of running the PC the water temp will stabilize due to what heat your cpu puts out vs rad abilities vs ambient temps.

[boorishid]

Well as ive said many times this project isn't all about performance its also about style and building a nice diy system that's totally unique.

Also i think spawn has a good idea about making a baffle in the middle and then adding fins to it. Honestly i see no reason why a bunch of copper with fins wouldnt help with passive cooling. Ive read a lot of threads nay saying cooling properties of a res but there are passive systems that use aluminum res's to cool the water and they sorta work. I probably wont see any noticeable diffrence just for the fact that im planning on using three heater cores to cool 300 watts so im looking at like a 2 degree water to air delta anyways. But like i said this project is also about aesthetics and a DIY spirit. Obviously im going to spend more building this stuff than just buying a res and fesser 480.

So anyways if i had like a 2ft res and the i soldered a star shape of fins 1ft high in the res is this going to kill the flow? Im basically more worried about making a res that will kill flow rate or introduce a bunch of bubbles into the system.

[Conumdrum]

I think that would work awesome inside. Since the flow is from top to bottom and the fins will be in line with the tube, you'll be fine on the flow, and that would stop any vortex for sure.

The reason we mentioned the heat issue was your not the first by a long shot that mentioned using a res to pull heat out and couldn't understand the physics of how this stuff works. So we are just restating what we said before due to past issues. You know you'll get little benefit, you knew before you came here.

No worries.