How can I make the Reserator a good cooler?

[infiniteq]

I've been using the Zalman Reserator for a while and I like it for its silent operation. Lately my priorities have changed from silence to performance. Is there any way to make a more effective cooler out of this? I did find that if I lay a 120mm fan on top my temps drop about 4C, although this only brings them down to ~50C at load. I was thinking of rigging up 4 120mm fans to blow at it from each angle, or even sticking the entire unit in my beer fridge. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can make this perform much better?

 

[Veland]

Try finding a tube that fits the reserator (outside, snug), and make a 120mm fan pull at the top. Should draw air in at the bottom, along the whole thing and out at the top. Just putting a fan on without this shroud isn't really effective.

You could of course start with just some stiff papaer to try it out..

Besides from that, the whole reserator setup isn't for performance...

 

[thorilan]

stick it in the beer fridge

 

[diehrd]

I would set it on the floor and ENCASE it in a round tube with a strong 120mm fan at the top of the tube EXHAUSTING air.

This would channel air up the entire length of it and most likely be very efficient,Also it would always be grabing the coolest room air at the base and I bet if ya did this you would see a very very nice reduction in temps..

Aside from that tell me something,What Dia tubing does it use ? Also where does the pump DRAW its intake water from ? and how is that related to the return flow from the P/C..Because if you placed a stronger pump on that and had the flow set so it returns at the top and is drawn from the base you would have a better rad like set up with it combined with my encasing it in a shroud and fan Idea this would most likely really help out....

 

[roscal]

Like me for a review. A single paper sheet around it with a fan on the top to exhaut warm air :



For ~115 W real, improvement in delta (water temp-air temp) is ~8°C at 5V and ~13°C at 12 V (fan NMB 115 cfm max). 5V is recommend to have silence with a PAPST fan. A little airflow is only necessary to enhance convection (natural to forced).

 

[Neco]

You'd think Zalman would have thought of this as an accessory piece by now

 

[Alacritan]

Well, you do have to refill it much more often if you do that, as your water is going to be evaporating rather quickly.

I would recommend a better waterblock. If you stick with the stock pump, a low flow European block would probably do well, but since the pump is so weak, I say get a new pump and new waterblock and then you'll really be in business.

 

[Guderian]

Well, you do have to refill it much more often if you do that, as your water is going to be evaporating rather quickly.

The hell it is... The reserator is a closed loop. NOT evaporative cooling.

 

[BillA]

The hell it is... The reserator is a closed loop. NOT evaporative cooling.

wrong, not closed
but not evaporative as such

 

[Guderian]

wrong, not closed

I spoke in haste. Closed in the relative sense, such that there would not be significant evaporation.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only actual closed systems would be heatpipes, and their ilk. (Unless you guys are working on something new, that is)

 

[BillA]

how so ?
if a tee or reservoir has a sealed top - ?
and a 'fill and bleed kit' is also sealed once filled

 

[HiProfile]

Unless what I learned about humidity was wrong, it'd only evaporate to a point and more or less stop. Once the air inside the reserator gets around 100% humidity, the water vapor will start condensing, thus cycling the water back into the system. Loosing water through a metal-to-vinyl seal will be negligible. BTW in laymans terms, a closed loop is one where the water doesn't directly contact the outside air. If we're going to start nit-picking around here, we'd have start a minimum wording per post so that people explain themselves as to not get flamed for saying words that generalize like "liquid" or "mixture".


Anyways, I'd suggest grabbing a few quiet fans and strapping them to the side, maybe making a shroud [made out of thin lexan or acrylic] for each to push to the other side. It may not seem as functional as a fan on top, but in reality axial fans can't put out much pressure. You'd likely see better temps with a low cfm torin as opposed to a high cfm axial fan when exhausting out the top with a huge shroud. Another plus to the side-mount fans - you can admire the blue finish of the reserator.

 

[zip22]

how so ?
if a tee or reservoir has a sealed top - ?
and a 'fill and bleed kit' is also sealed once filled

the reserator is sealed at the top, isnt it?

 

[Guderian]

how so ?
if a tee or reservoir has a sealed top - ?
and a 'fill and bleed kit' is also sealed once filled

I am assuming people are capping their T's. Maybe that's a faulty assumption, but I really hope its not.

Given the capped line/sealed fill 'n bleed, I would consider these loops 'closed', hence post #8.

If we are refering to absolutes, then they(tline, FnB's) are not, infact, closed, where as a heatpipe is(should) be tightly sealed shut.

Unless what I learned about humidity was wrong, it'd only evaporate to a point and more or less stop. Once the air inside the reserator gets around 100% humidity, the water vapor will start condensing, thus cycling the water back into the system.

Your understanding of humidity is not wrong. But there should be no air in your reserator, and ther should't be enough heat to evaporate anything (if its all set up correctly) You are describing a heatpipe, which requires a lot less fluid(or one with a lower specific heat).

Loosing water through a metal-to-vinyl seal will be negligible. BTW in laymans terms, a closed loop is one where the water doesn't directly contact the outside air. If we're going to start nit-picking around here, we'd have start a minimum wording per post so that people explain themselves as to not get flamed for saying words that generalize like "liquid" or "mixture".

I agree, however I would like to see some more care given to word choice (even though I am as guilty as anyone, sometimes.)

the reserator is sealed at the top, isnt it?

Looking at the pics, I believe it is. Except for what appears to be a pinhole in the center of it. (BillA: is this what you meant by the reserator not being a closed loop?)

 

[fafnir]

yes there is a small hole at the very top, i've taped this hole shut on mine, and it doesn't do much

i've been experimenting with trying to get better performance outta this, and so far the best one ever is to convert it into evap cooling

floating ice and all that DOES NOT WORK (drops like 4 celcius but not much)

though attaching a tube from the water inlet (inside the reserator) to bring the warm water to the top does work a 3 ceclius miracle when nothing else has changed, and is not any more noisy


_

 

[Guderian]

though attaching a tube from the water inlet (inside the reserator) to bring the warm water to the top does work a 3 ceclius miracle when nothing else has changed, and is not any more noisy

You would think that a .25$ worth of tubing would have been on the budget for the designers of these things.... since the nebulous "Hot stuff rises" idea doesn't quite overpower the pump they chose.

 

[BillA]

yes, the effect is on the pump

 

[Alacritan]

I was under the impression the top was unscrewed when you placed the fan on it. But doesn't putting a fan on the Reserator at all defeat the purpose of it? I mean, just get a regular watercooling setup then with a 120mm rad and it's $100-$150 less.

I say sell the whole thing for $200 and buy a new setup and you'll have money left over.

 

[Como]

build one of those nuclear towers, paint it blue, and put it next to the res thing...call it the twin towers

 

[Guderian]

*sigh*
The whole basis for this thread is How to make a reserator a better performer..... not how can I get better cooling by replacing the system.