Update on Liquid Cooling System

[daw123]

Hello guys / girls,

It's been a while since I last posted regarding this.

An update on my liquid cooling system.

www.chilledpc.co.uk
Lian-li A70A case £133.10 Ordered tomorrow
Cutting side panel £25.00 Ordered tomorrow
EK Supreme CPU Block Clear £39.14 Ordered tomorrow
Swiftech MCR320-QP Triple Radiator £40.25 Ordered tomorrow
3x Yate Loon D12SH-12 120mm dia fans £9.39 Ordered tomorrow
Acetal FillPort - Black £5.86 Ordered tomorrow
Danger Den / Delrin Acetal T Fitting + 1/2" barbs £6.39 Ordered tomorrow
Black anodised 120.3 Rad Grill without Mounting Holes £14.67 Ordered tomorrow
12ft x XSPC 7/16" Blue/UV Blue tubing £8.16 Ordered tomorrow
Sub-total £283.00

www.aqua-pcs.co.uk
Laing DDC1+ Ultra 18W £68.99 Ordered
XSPC Acrylic Reservoir & Top Inc. Ordered
6x EK 1/2" ID G1/4" barbs £9.96 Ordered
Sub-total £78.95

Total £361.95 (or $540)

To buy
3mm thick dark blut tint acrylic (434mm wide x 214mm high)
3mm thick clear acrylic (434mm wide x 255mm high)

P.S. Sorry, it didn't copy very well from my Excel spreadsheet.

N.B. I'm guessing that the 3 Yate Loon fans are wired in parrallel (not in series). Edit: I realised this comment is bullsh*t - they will be all wired together to the same 3-pin connector!

Can any one recommend a decent fan controller for 5-6 fans? I would be willing to spend about $60.

I have 3 weeks of annual leave over Xmas when I plan to build, test and install the liquid cooling system in the case. I will keep you updated.

@Aigo and Woodbutcher. Thanks for your help.

 

[aigomorla]

trash those crystal T's.

They crack like no tomorrow if you dont use the proper barbs.

 

[daw123]

Thanks Aigo.

Are you able to buy none-plastic T- or Y- fittings?

I've had a look and couldn't find anything, except this:

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/sho...=64_82&products_id=283

 

[daw123]

Is this fan controller any good:

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/sho...ath=93&products_id=523

I vaguely remember this being recommended in another post.

 

[WoodButcher]

Both are good choices, Have a care when using that control as many fans may not start at 4V. Find the lowest start up point for the fans you have and mark the faceplate. It may be worthwhile to make a cover for the knobs so they don't get turned accidentally if the case has no door.

Edit- check your local plumbing supply if you want brass or copper tees.

 

[daw123]

Cheers Woodbutcher.

I'll place the order tomorrow

 

[daw123]

Everything has been ordered and will be delivered next week.

The only thing they didn't have in stock was the Danger Den / Delrin Acetal T-Fitting. I have ordered a plastic Y-fitting as a temporary measure, whilst I'm sourcing a solid brass T-fitting.

Edit: 5 minutes later. This was far to easy - found brass 1/2" T-connector:
http://www.watercoolingshop.co...fo.php?products_id=193

Order placed. Happy days.

 

[aigomorla]

UK Based Stores
1. Over-Clock UK - premier watercooling place in the UK. Home to thermochill
2. The Cooling Shop - Large selection of asetek parts and black ice radiators
3. CoolerCases - full selection of American waterblocks from danger den, D5, DDC, Thermochill, HW Labs
4. WaterCooling Shop - Incredible selection of components from the US, UK and Europe.
5. C&C Central LTD - They stock DD and EK waterblocks as well as selling alpha cool and thermochill rads
6. Aqua-PC's - They are a new store who are Aqua-Computer's UK distributor, ship internationally, and cary their own watercooling line called "Flow". They also cary EK products and a wide variety of American watercooling products.
7. Chilled PC - They have a wide selection of popular watercooling products for good prices. They ship internationally and users in the EU have reported fast shipping times.

Other stores for you to try next time.

And yes a lot of vendors make metal or derlin T's.

DD is one, Enzo is another.

I can vouch for CilledPC, Aqua-PC, and Watercooling shop.

Coolercases is owned by a friend of mine.

http://www.aqua-pcs.co.uk/14-b...lrin-t-block-946-p.asp

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/sho...=64_82&products_id=283

http://www.jab-tech.com/Enzont...1-4-CPG-T-pr-4301.html

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
UK Based Stores
1. Over-Clock UK - premier watercooling place in the UK. Home to thermochill
2. The Cooling Shop - Large selection of asetek parts and black ice radiators
3. CoolerCases - full selection of American waterblocks from danger den, D5, DDC, Thermochill, HW Labs
4. WaterCooling Shop - Incredible selection of components from the US, UK and Europe.
5. C&C Central LTD - They stock DD and EK waterblocks as well as selling alpha cool and thermochill rads
6. Aqua-PC's - They are a new store who are Aqua-Computer's UK distributor, ship internationally, and cary their own watercooling line called "Flow". They also cary EK products and a wide variety of American watercooling products.
7. Chilled PC - They have a wide selection of popular watercooling products for good prices. They ship internationally and users in the EU have reported fast shipping times.

Funnily enough, I tried all these stores (I have their websites bookmarked) when sourcing the components.

My dad ordered the res, pump and barbs from Aqua-PC and I ordered everything else from ChilledPC.

They were all pretty much the same price (I did a price comparision spreadsheet in Excel) and I saved quite a lot on p & p by ordering the components (except the T-fitting) from the same shop. The total p & p cost was $14 including the case.

I was impressed by ChilledPC's customer service. Tom (Chilled PCs) answered all the e-mails I sent. He also contacted me after I placed the order and said that the screw holes on the rad grille I ordered would not line up with the Swiftech rad. He said that they will post a substitute grille, which will fit the Swiftech rad and he will also powdercoat it silver for free, so it will match the case.

:thumbsup: for ChilledPC

Edit. Here are the websites:
http://www.thecoolingshop.com/
http://www.candccentral.co.uk
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/
http://www.over-clock.com
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/
http://www.watercoolingshop.com
http://www.aqua-pcs.co.uk/

 

[Gillbot]

Another good brass T is the PEX ones if you can find them, I buy them locally in the hardware store for $1 usually.
http://www.global-b2b-network....104826/Pex_Fitting.jpg

 

[daw123]

Read through Aigo's guide again and decided to add a T-line in to the mix (for an additional $15 in fittings). Ordered a couple more components for the T-line, so I'll have a T-line and res. This should make draining the system a bit easier than having to turn the res upside down.

Product Codeescription: M20x1.5
to G1/4" Reservoir Fill Cap Adapter
Item Price: GBP 2.37
Qty: 1
Total: GBP 2.37

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Codeescription: Metal
Hose Plug 1/2"
Item Price: GBP 2.49
Qty: 1
Total: GBP 2.49

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Codeescription: EK
1/2" ID fitting G1/4
Item Price: GBP 1.44
Qty: 1
Total: GBP 1.44

If I've worked this out correctly, then as it stands, I should have the right number of fittings:
CPU water block: 2x 1/2" barbs
Res/pump: 2x 1/2" barbs
Rad: 2x 1/2" barbs
1x 1/4" Fill port
1x fill cap adaptor plus 1/2" barb
1x T-piece for T-line
1x plug for T-line

(Plus a spare 1/2" plastic T-piece, which I will probably never use)

Please correct me if I've cocked up with the fittings.

I ordered 10 jubilee clips, but by my calculations I need 12, so I'm short by 2.

Oh and the grand total so far including case and mods is £383.64 ($575) inc VAT and p & p.

Components left to buy:
Additives
Clear acrylic
Blue tint acrylic

Edit: Just realised that the item description for the stopper says 'metal'. I wonder if this is going to cause one of those mixing metals issues in the loop?/B]

 

[Gillbot]

Look for a copper PEX plug:
http://www.dafehr.com/LT%20Cop...photo%20pex%20plug.jpg

 

[daw123]

Found one:

http://www.thecoolingshop.com/...o.php?products_id=2947

I must be really slow tonight, because I seem to keep on missing these fittings, even when searching the liquid cooling websites. I'm going to contact Aqua PCs tomorrow and find out if they can replace the metal stopper I ordered with a brass plug. I might be lucky and they may have one lying around the shop.

@ Gillbot. Thanks for the help, but it seems that UK plumbers merchants aren't as good as the US ones. I contacted a local merchant earlier today regarding the brass T-piece and they were completely clueless.

 

[Gillbot]

I tried, worst case is fine an online supplier that will ship to you but glad you got it all worked out otherwise.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
I tried, worst case is fine an online supplier that will ship to you but glad you got it all worked out otherwise.

No problem Gillbot. Thanks for your suggestions, It gave me the search terms for Google.

 

[daw123]

I decided to go with a G1/4 ball valve and barb, rather than a plug. I will tie wrap the valve to stop it from accidentally being opened.

Also I ordered the Pentosin (100ml), which ChilledPCs claim is good for 2l of distilled water. Unfortunately they did not have PT Nuke in stock.

@Aigo:
Am I correct that you add 1-2 drops of PT Nuke and Pentosin at 5% ratio to distilled water.

Roughly how much coolant is required for a single loop like mine.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: daw123
@Aigo:
Am I correct that you add 1-2 drops of PT Nuke and Pentosin at 5% ratio to distilled water.

Roughly how much coolant is required for a single loop like mine.

yup. just 2 drops, and between 5-10%.

 

[daw123]

Thanks Aigo

 

[daw123]

Thought it best to update this thread rather than continuously hijack BTRY's thread with my own updates.

Since I've now got all parts for the liquid cooling I will be starting the build tomorrow.

I'm going to be cutting the top panel first for the rad. What do you guys think about me doing it this way:

Remove the top panel from the Lian li A70A case.

Make a jig in wood using the fan grille as a template; i.e. cut a hole in the wood matching the internal shape of the grille.

Cover the grille completely in heavy duty masking tape to protect the brushed aluminium finish from scratches.

Clamp the jig to the grille. Using the jig as a guide, cut the hole in the panel using a router with a straight cutting bit. I will probably knacker the router bit in the process since it is designed for cutting wood, but figure that it should be able to cut through soft ~1.5mm thick aluminium.

btw I plan on mounting the fan grille internally rather than externally, so it will look something like this: Top panel, then fan grille, then fans (exhausting), then rad.

I have also fabricated a bracket for the pump and res to bolt to. The bracket will be bolted to the face of the partition (Lian li call it a VGA card pillar extension) adjacent to the 3.5" removable drive bays facing toward the MB / PSU. The pump outlet will be positioned that that it points toward you if you are looking into the case from the side. btw stainless steel is a pita to cut

The PSU will be installed in the bottom of the case and the following will be removed from the case:
3.5" removable drive bays
2No. fans mounted to the partition mentioned previously.

Do you guys know if the VGA card pillar is of any use in the A70A. I don't think I need it for the 4870 X2 (my other case didn't have it), but I'm not sure if it strengthens the case. If it doesn't provide any benefit, then I will remove it.

The pillar is shown in this link:
Internal photo of A70A

(It is the pillar which goes from the bottom of the case across the top of the MB to the lateral support between the top PSU bay and drive bays)

Does anyone in the UK know where to buy the Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme fan controller? ChilledPCs seem to be the only company in the UK, which sell them, but they are currently out of stock.

 

[WoodButcher]

Sounds to me like you have a plan! :thumbsup: Have a care using the router though, at that rpm when shit happens it happens fast. I would rough out the cut with a jigsaw first and use the router to finish the last 1/8- 1/4". Using the router your best only trimming with one side of the bit, especially in metals. Sandwich the metal in wood if you can, the inner ply can be solid, not cut out to match the jig as you will cut it at the same time with the metal. Double sided tape between the masking tape and wood will help keep the jig and backer from slipping in the clamps.

Can't help you with the card pillar but I can show you a few saggy vid cards. Seems to me they all bend a bit over time.

Would you be pissed if I said I just got a Sunbeam Extreme last week?,,,, all right I won't say anything

Good luck on the cuts, they way you have planned the should be beautiful.

 

[daw123]

Thanks for the reply Woodbutcher.

I will take your advice and sandwich the panel between the jig and a sacrificial piece of wood. I will also rough cut the general shape beforehand.

With regard to the Sunbeam fan controller, it is very difficult to get them in the UK. A google search only came up with ChilledPCs and I know that they are out stock (and have been for the last 4 weeks). I will speak to Tom from ChilledPCs and find out when he is expecting them back in.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher

Would you be pissed if I said I just got a Sunbeam Extreme last week?,,,, all right I won't say anything

Good luck on the cuts, they way you have planned the should be beautiful.

awesome fan controllers.

handling 8 sanaces + 8 yates with no hitch.

http://i125.photobucket.com/al...aigomorla/IMG_0119.jpg

Originally posted by: daw123

With regard to the Sunbeam fan controller, it is very difficult to get them in the UK. A google search only came up with ChilledPCs and I know that they are out stock (and have been for the last 4 weeks). I will speak to Tom from ChilledPCs and find out when he is expecting them back in.

John @ jab-tech
Gary @ sidewinder.

They will ship international. Email them and ask a quote.

 

[daw123]

So work on the liquid cooling in my new Lian Li A70A case started today.

First off, all the non-essential stuff (3.5" bay cage, top 3.5" bay and fan module and VGA card pillar) were removed from the case:
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0813.jpg

Woodbutcher - the VGA card pillar does not seem to provide and structural benefit, so it will be permenantly removed.

After a lot of measuring and re-measuring we decided where all the liquid cooling components are going to go. We marked on where the rad and fan grille will be positioned on the backside of the top panel. I also covered the top panel in thick paper and masking tape to protect the brushed aluminium finish.
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0815.jpg

Next was removing the side, top and front panels, so that the case was stripped down to the chassis:
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0814.jpg

All the bits I removed from the case - quite a few:
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0817.jpg

Using a jigsaw and files, I cut two notches in the top rear flange of the chassis to accommodate the inlet and outlet on the rad:
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0823.jpg

Basically the rad will be fitted so that the front of it lines up perfectly with the back of the 5.25" front bays (it can't move back any further than this).

I decided to bolt the res/pump directly to the bottom of the case (I was persuaded by my dad). I drilled the mounting holes for the pump in the case.

Drew a template of the inner layout of the fan grille on a piece of paper and transfered this to 6mm thick ply using a Stanley knife:
http://i429.photobucket.com/al...wilson123/IMG_0819.jpg

This will be the jig for cutting the hole in the top panel for the rad and rad grille.

We will cut this jig out on the router table using a stainless steel guide (for the main straight cuts), a jigsaw for the corner cuts and a dremel to tidy up any raggy edges.

Note that the quality of the jig will reflect the quality of the cut to the top panel.

We have also drilled two of the bolt holes for the fan grille in the top panel using a table pillar drill. These bolt holes will be used as a guide to drill the other 10No. fan grille holes. The top panel will be sandwiched between the ply jig and a sacrificial piece of wood. The fan grille hole in the top panel will be cut on the router table (with a straight edge bit and ball bearing).

btw the bolts that ChilledPCs sent me for the fan grille do not fit the rad, although I also bought the rad from them (wtf): they are too short and the wrong size. The bolts supplied with the rad are also too short. I will be buying 12x stainless steel M3, 40mm long pan head bolts from a local yacht chandlery tomorrow morning (and will probably cost me about $30). The bolts will be ground down to 34mm so that they don't puncher the fins on the rad.

The lian li 3.5" to 5.25" floppy disk drive bay adapter turned up today, so I now have all the components.

That's all I managed to do today folks. Sorry, for you guys who don't like to read a lot. This will be a work log, so others can use the same methodology that I used (if they want to)

Stay tuned - there will be an update tomorrow.

 

[QuadDamage2k]

Man i love water cooling, it's really easy after you do it correctly the 1st time. It's been 3 months and I have yet to even need to put more water in. Great temps and very quite

 

[daw123]

Update from Tom from ChilledPCs - the Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme will be back in stock within the next 2 weeks. So if you want this fan controller and live in the UK, then this is the place to buy it from (but not before me )