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Sticky Situation - Cleaning Up Water Cooling

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I.M.O.G.

Glorious Leader
Joined
Nov 12, 2002
Location
Rootstown, OH
Some members have taken up the task of cleaning up the stickies in this section, to ensure information is accurate, timely, and well organized.

This thread will be used as a step in the process, to track stickies which either need updates or removals:

Water Cooling - The basics - contains outdate parts recommendations, need updated

How To Ask Basic Watercooling Questions - links may need updated, ensure it's current/relevant

Complete Coolant Guide - outdated and inaccurate, dead

Flowrate - ancient, may have good info

Flowrate impact on water cooling - ancient, has good info
 
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Kill the coolant guide completely. We recommend Distilled water and a biocide. That can be silver in the loop, Petras PT/PHN Nuke, or even the right algecide from the pet fish store.

Thats it, there is nothing cheaper, more effective than water, and less trouble free than what I listed above. We don't need no troublesome loops:D
 
Something for the Flowrate sticky. The old one has tons of great info, some applies, some is way out and does not apply to our needs. This will kinda sum it up.

Flow rate is important to the effective operation of a CPU block. Modern blocks need 1 to 1.5 GPM of flow rate to effectly remove heat. Below 1 GPM you can impact the CPU temps. Above 1.5 GPM the benefits can drop off and flatten out on curves. Look inside any modern block. And if you can find some of the simulations posted how the water acts in the block they can show it, I have seen them in the past.

Fluid needs to be at high enough flow to get very turbulent inside the block. This causes more molecules to contact the warmer copper surfaces, thus collecting more heat to be dissipated in the rad.

We want linear flow in the hoses, but not in the blocks. You reduce flow and you can severly impact the cooling capability of the CPU block. Smooth flow in the hoses, the intake to the pump, generally anywhere helps except in the blocks.

Slowing the flow thinking the water will be there longer and cool more in the rad also reduces flow in the blocks. So as it enters the block it's cool. When it exits it's warmer than it could be, because it's flowing slower. So besides the impingment problems metioned above, you can cause more problems.

Lastly, we are dealing with a closed loop. Lets set the flow rate at 2 GPM. For easy demonstration purposes this will cause a water molecule to make a loop every 5 seconds, and stay in the rad for 1 second. So, every minute the molecule will be in the rad for 12 seconds.

Lets reduce the flow to 1 GPM. Every 10 seconds. 2 seconds. The molecule will still be in the rad for 12 seconds. Reducing flow rate does not keep the water in the rad for any longer...........................

In summary, the purchase of a good pump and not getting crazy with two many blocks and 90 degree fittings your flow rate will be just fine. All modern rads and recommended pumps are just fine even with two GPU blocks and a CPU block. Add in a full set of Mosfet blocks etc and you might be hurting your flow rate. How do you know? Your temps are poor is a good indication. It can be tested with a 10 gallon bucket. Fill use the 10 gallons as your res. Bleed the loop. Then put the pump out hose into the sink and turn it on. How long does it take the 10 gallons to get to 2 gallons? There is your systems flow rate.

All of this can be supported by tests at Martins and Skinnees and other info on the web.
 
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The how to ask basic watercooling questions title could be changed to:

Basic knowledge you need to understand before you begin asking questions.

Info like:
flow rate
Heat removal science, AKA rad capabilities
Fans and rad relationships (noise)
Size of the WC parts and your case (list good cases here?)
Maintenance
Liquids
Leak testing

Rambling now.................
 
Another nice one we should have. A basic list of 20-to 30 terms we use in watercooling. Definitions really.

I saw one once. Someone find it or have a link and I'll modify it for our use. I'm a technical geek and had to take a week long class learning such mundane tasks. Each took a week. How to write lesson plans, how to write test questions, how to write student guides, how to council poor performance, how to show them a Burger King application when they ain't got what it takes.......

What terms to quantify?

Flow rate? Heatload? Rad effiency? etc.

I seen such on the net, give me a start folks. What is the big questions noobs need to know at the start?
 
Head pressure
GPH/GPM/LPH/LPM
CFM
FPI
PTNuke (and PHN)
Rad
Res
Barb / compression / rotary / etc. fittings
BSPP / NPT (don't forget the single exception to 1/4 - 3/8 on thermochill rads)

Ok, my mind is fried and I'm getting ready for bed. There's a start. Thanks for your help!

EDIT - Yes, I noticed that is mostly a list of abbreviations and TLA's (three letter acronyms ...heh. See, told you my brain was fried.) There are better things to define I'm sure.
 
I can begin to work on that, give me a week.

I gotta describe a rad? We got that levels of noobishness? OMG. Maybe so, describe the need of each part......

8 oz glass, 4 cubes, 3 fingers of liquid. Maybe I'll add that too.............

TLAs is nothing, I was in the military for 21 years, so a 3 letter is candy to me.
 
Head pressure
GPH/GPM/LPH/LPM
CFM
FPI
PTNuke (and PHN)
Rad
Res
Barb / compression / rotary / etc. fittings
BSPP / NPT (don't forget the single exception to 1/4 - 3/8 on thermochill rads)

Ok, my mind is fried and I'm getting ready for bed. There's a start. Thanks for your help!

EDIT - Yes, I noticed that is mostly a list of abbreviations and TLA's (three letter acronyms ...heh. See, told you my brain was fried.) There are better things to define I'm sure.

Speaking as a water-cooling n00b I think that this is a great idea. :salute:

Let me suggest a few more:
static pressure (vs. pressure when a fan is used with a radiator)
dBA
Delta T
fan controllers - different types (if that's not too far OT)
heater core
anti-freeze (for use in this application)
dyes
UV-reactive tubing
different types of tubing, by name or number, e.g. Tygon

Thanks,

x509
 
Speaking as a water-cooling n00b I think that this is a great idea. :salute:

Let me suggest a few more:
static pressure (vs. pressure when a fan is used with a radiator)
dBA
Delta T
fan controllers - different types (if that's not too far OT)
heater core
anti-freeze (for use in this application)
dyes - *
UV-reactive tubing
different types of tubing, by name or number, e.g. Tygon

Thanks,

x509
* = why not to use them is what i assume you meant :)
 
yep, exaxtcamundo! Meaning smooth in the tubes. Better flow rates, less restriction. Why we like fat tubing.

Laminar I think is more along a long wide surface, like on an aircraft wing, but it's flow, smooth, so yep kinda the same. I know a tiny bit about aircraft wings and what they need to generate lift.
 
Dare I say save the complete coolant guides info in some form for ghetto projects cooling.
theres enough "A-team" builds come along to raise the question of what to use in there creations.

if we rework whats there and throw in a "why we dont" thread to explain away mixed metal corrosion, breaking down of dyes and effective duration of coolants.

Im gathering a second wind for the next spreadsheet myself :chair:
but maybe I can have a go at saving the coolant thread with the adjusted emphasis being we dont trust or feel the need for much of whats on offer. needs horror pics, myself I didnt get any with my mixed stuff but it does show managed right your equipment and pets can live on.


also something diagramatic to explain loop ordering and there effects/reasoning.
 
Just my 2 Cents: Distilled Water + Water Wetter. No need for a Biocide or anything else, plus Water Wetter will further help with cooling, and won't react with metals in any way (helps prevent corrosion).

I'm a wrench so its what I use in my vehicles as well, and its what I have readily available.
 
Not sure where you get the stink from. Its been in my loop for nearly two years now, not to mention my vehicles, and hardly gives any smell at all. And dunno where you get that it doesn't help, but it does help cooling. Its not meant to drop temps by any great amount, but meant to improve heat transfer from the metal to the water, ie, the surface temperature of the object being cooled will be lower then normal because of the water mixture taking away heat more efficiently.
 
I get it from peeps who do this all the time. It's from the old school days and isn't needed anymore. Thus, like antifreeze, Hydrex, and other old fluids it's just not needed anymore. Anti freeze in a sub zero loop has validity for it's use.

Water Wetter does help cooling in car/motorcycle loops, but we are not even close to the temps in a motor cooling loop. We also don't run mixed metals anymore. Just not needed. You can prove me wrong. Run distilled in a good temp test and tell me if your temps are worse vs with water wetter.

Otherwise it's a done deal.
 
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