[Duality]

Hello Overclocker forum goers - I have a few questions about radiators/pumps for water cooling. I am going to be working on a mineral/baby oil system. Not PC, but gaming system.

I already have everything planned out, but the only thing I am on stuck on is debating what radiator/pump to get.

Basically what I want to do is suck the mineral/baby oil into the radiator, cool it, and have it flow back into an aquarium tank. Does this require a pump? Since the oil is not going to go up the tube itself? Also what tube specs do you think are good?

I was thinking on a dual 120mm radiator, but not sure on what pump. I am also on a kind of tight budget, so what would you guys recommend for a newbie at water cooling? Please note that I am trying to avoid buying cheap items from China and wait centuries for it to arrive. Thanks for looking guys!

[johan851]

Interesting. Yes, it sounds like it would require a pump, though I'm not sure if a watercooling pump is a good candidate due to mineral oil being slightly thicker. The upside is that you can submerge the pump (since you're probably throwing all of this in a fish tank anyway), which opens you up to a lot of options.

Since you're on a limited budget, maybe you could try something like an Eheim 600: http://www.eheim.com/products/detail/Compact-Pump Since oil is thicker, 1/2" ID or 5/8" ID tubing might be a better idea than the commonly recommended 7/16" ID.

[Duality]

Originally Posted by johan851

Interesting. Yes, it sounds like it would require a pump, though I'm not sure if a watercooling pump is a good candidate due to mineral oil being slightly thicker. The upside is that you can submerge the pump (since you're probably throwing all of this in a fish tank anyway), which opens you up to a lot of options.

Since you're on a limited budget, maybe you could try something like an Eheim 600: http://www.eheim.com/products/detail/Compact-Pump Since oil is thicker, 1/2" ID or 5/8" ID tubing might be a better idea than the commonly recommended 7/16" ID.

Yes, that pump looks good - I was looking into the Eheim 300 since it's going to be a 2.5 gallon aquarium. 80GPH should be more than enough to get things flowing, correct? Thanks for the updates about the tubing size, now about the radiator...

[johan851]

It's more about head pressure. The 600 has much better pressure than the 300, so I chose that. You're not pushing fluid through any waterblocks which means you can get away with less than 10ft of head, I would think.

What kind of fans do you intend to mount on the radiator? Are you going more for silence or for high speed?

[Duality]

Originally Posted by johan851

Interesting. Yes, it sounds like it would require a pump, though I'm not sure if a watercooling pump is a good candidate due to mineral oil being slightly thicker. The upside is that you can submerge the pump (since you're probably throwing all of this in a fish tank anyway), which opens you up to a lot of options.

Since you're on a limited budget, maybe you could try something like an Eheim 600: http://www.eheim.com/products/detail/Compact-Pump Since oil is thicker, 1/2" ID or 5/8" ID tubing might be a better idea than the commonly recommended 7/16" ID.

Originally Posted by johan851

It's more about head pressure. The 600 has much better pressure than the 300, so I chose that. You're not pushing fluid through any waterblocks which means you can get away with less than 10ft of head, I would think.

What kind of fans do you intend to mount on the radiator? Are you going more for silence or for high speed?

Not sure what you mean about head pressure...Should I stick with buying the 300 or 600? As for fans, I'm not really interested in the noise level - as long as it cools the mineral/baby oil.

[Mandrake4565]

Another reason you might want to go with the 600 is due to the mineral oil being thicker then water your flow rates are going to be lower then stated.

[johan851]

Not sure what you mean about head pressure...Should I stick with buying the 300 or 600? As for fans, I'm not really interested in the noise level - as long as it cools the mineral/baby oil.

Head pressure is the amount of pressure a pump can produce. It's basically a measure of how well the pump does against resistance. The 80GPH figure tells you how much water it can push in an hour with zero pressure, but tubing and a radiator will create pressure for the pump to push against and lower its flow. The 600 has a better head pressure rating than the 300, so you should get the 600.

You're not interested in noise level? So something that sounds like a vacuum cleaner is ok? It's good to know how quiet you want your system to be. Some radiators do better with high fan speeds, and others do better with slower (quieter) fans.

[Duality]

Originally Posted by johan851

Head pressure is the amount of pressure a pump can produce. It's basically a measure of how well the pump does against resistance. The 80GPH figure tells you how much water it can push in an hour with zero pressure, but tubing and a radiator will create pressure for the pump to push against and lower its flow. The 600 has a better head pressure rating than the 300, so you should get the 600.

You're not interested in noise level? So something that sounds like a vacuum cleaner is ok? It's good to know how quiet you want your system to be. Some radiators do better with high fan speeds, and others do better with slower (quieter) fans.

Haha okay I will go with the 600, I know what you mean now by head pressure. Alright I was a little careless about the fan noise - The 120mm fan(s) I am getting shouldn't sound that bad (at least not like a vacuum cleaner). They just light up blue and spin haha.