Whats up with the Aquaduct?

Okay, time to do some more surgery. The next operation is to get the back panel off. To do this you have to take off all the 3mm fan screws. Another :dog: here as two of the screws had the socket hex stripped. Not fun to have to get a pair of vice-grips out to get them off. Well no big deal as I plan on only using stainless button heads on re-assembly.





http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_43.jpg





Here you can see me sliding off the back panel.




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_44.jpg




In case you were wondering how they did that fancy grill this is it. AC has started selling this grill in some pre-made cases so I think it is only a matter of time before they sell them by themselves.




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_45.jpg




Here's looking at the bottom inside of the Aquaduct.




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_46.jpg





Here you can see the Eheim Compact 600 pump and the DigMesa flow meter is barely visible under the tubing on the right side. I take back what I said earlier about their good wiring skills. All these wires are going to have to be customized to the proper length and sleeved. How about a plexi back plate here? :D




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_49.jpg




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_50.jpg




Here is a close-up of the 360 radiator and the temp probe they have placed to measure the air temp after leaving the radiator.




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_51.jpg




The water tubes go along both sides of the radiator. Seems strange, but I guess we will have to wait till further disassembly to see what's up. The wires also are routed through this area on both sides as well (more sleeving and shortening). Using bigger tubing looks kind of tight in here. Guess I got to order the tubing and see what we see.




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_52.jpg




The circuit board you see here is the pump controller board and is piggy backed to the Aquaero. In addition it has a ribbon cable to allow control and create a feed back loop to the software/hardware.





http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_53.jpg





http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...quaduct_55.jpg



More later when I have time to process more pics. :)

Hmm... its interesting to see what goes on in this thing. I know you are very detailed oriented, but why sleeve all the inside wiring?

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Originally Posted by Dark Prodigy

Hmm... its interesting to see what goes on in this thing. I know you are very detailed oriented, but why sleeve all the inside wiring?

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Because I like to mod things and I'm thinking of having a plexi back plate the color of the top Aquaduct cover. :up:

You should see what I did to my $2,000 Celestron C-11 telescope. :scope:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Top Nurse

Because I like to mod things and I'm thinking of having a plexi back plate the color of the top Aquaduct cover. :up:

You should see what I did to my $2,000 Celestron C-11 telescope. :scope:

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Ok, now that sounds pretty cool. Definately would want to see how that turns out. Oh yeah, check your PM's. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dark Prodigy

Ok, now that sounds pretty cool. Definately would want to see how that turns out. Oh yeah, check your PM's. :D

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The plexi back plate or the C-11 mod? PM sent.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Top Nurse

The plexi back plate or the C-11 mod? PM sent.

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BOTH! :p: Especially the plexi back plate though =D.

I took mine completely down yesterday so I could do two things. One was to fix the flow meter (drill out the inlet to match the rest of the loop) and second was to see if there was a way to replace the pump with a DDC. Good news, the flow meter is fixed but there is pretty much zero chance of replacing the pump. Sad because that is what will hold this unit back from top performance.

TN has shown better much eveything but these:

Bottom plate
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...f/IMG_5372.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...f/IMG_5376.jpg

Interesting how much thought went into how the water flows through the base. I wonder if they thought it would help with cooling..... Who knows.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...f/IMG_5374.jpg

For those who wanted to see the software:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25.../watertemp.jpg

I wouldn't discount the use of the DDC yet. I think there is enough room, however you will have to leave the stock pump in place. Just remove the impeller and allow the water to flow through the stock pump.


I took the liberty of doing some Photoshop work on your pics as seen below to highlight more detail:




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_5372.jpg





http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_5374.jpg




http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t/IMG_5376.jpg

TN, i dont agree with you on your concepts.

But i give you high respect in the detail your taking apart that system. :up:


As for me, im not going to comment about performance and corrosion issues anymore.

Keep the pics coming tho!

I can see this remaining thread of controversy remaining as long as no new flames are injected. Otherwise, even this thread is going to be closed :)

very true...

I hope not as I am digging the looks of this system. Almost tempted to dump my stuff and go for this.

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Originally Posted by chunkylover77

I hope not as I am digging the looks of this system. Almost tempted to dump my stuff and go for this.

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:para: will keep quite about this statement.

kind of outside of the scope of this thread, but still related.

This is precisely what I have been warning people concerning quick-connect fittings. If this fitting is at the pump inlet, the depression will cause this seal to fail over time.

I'd recommend adding a locking-clip underneath that collet to pull it out. This will provide additional guidance to the tube.

In all fairness though, in this particular unit, the problem is not critical in so far as there is plenty of coolant in reserve, and refill access is easy since its an external system.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gabe

kind of outside of the scope of this thread, but still related.

This is precisely what I have been warning people concerning quick-connect fittings. If this fitting is at the pump inlet, the depression will cause this seal to fail over time.

I'd recommend adding a locking-clip underneath that collet to pull it out. This will provide additional guidance to the tube.

In all fairness though, in this particular unit, the problem is not critical in so far as there is plenty of coolant in reserve, and refill access is easy since its an external system.

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I agree but the only thing saving them is the tubing is pretty firm. Use a thinner wall tube (mazzer) and it will leak for sure. I removed that entire loop around the radiator and have figured a way to save a combined 7 feet of tubing from the original configuration. A few more tweaks are in the works and I want to see how it compared to a stock unit.

I am disappointed the DDC will not work.....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NaeKuh

As for me, im not going to comment about performance and corrosion issues anymore.

Keep the pics coming tho!

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I can tell you this unit is not about top performance and should not be marketed as such. The way the water flows through the unit makes it impossible to get alot of flow without causing major fill issues. Corrosion is always a concern but do feel confident in AC Fluid and the fact no place does copper touch aL directly. Plus the AC fluid smells like waffles :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chunkylover77

I hope not as I am digging the looks of this system. Almost tempted to dump my stuff and go for this.

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It is very impressive in person!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...f/IMG_4794.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gabe

kind of outside of the scope of this thread, but still related.

This is precisely what I have been warning people concerning quick-connect fittings. If this fitting is at the pump inlet, the depression will cause this seal to fail over time.

I'd recommend adding a locking-clip underneath that collet to pull it out. This will provide additional guidance to the tube.

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Actually what you are seeing doesn't happen in real life. The only reason you see that is because I forced the front panel up (between the aluminum twin towers) before unhooking the tubes from the push-fits. When the front panel is in place there is a straight shot down the side panel to the fitting.

How is it noisewise? Is it near silent when idle? How's the AC fan controller? I have my bigNG configured to control fans depending on the load. My configuration sets the fans to about 5 volts when idle. It'd be interesting to know if this unit can be operated like that to be very quiet if not silent..

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Originally Posted by migueld

How is it noisewise? Is it near silent when idle? How's the AC fan controller? I have my bigNG configured to control fans depending on the load. My configuration sets the fans to about 5 volts when idle. It'd be interesting to know if this unit can be operated like that to be very quiet if not silent..

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Dead silence unless I game for an hour or so and it still is less audible than my pesky power supply fan. My normal operating RPM was 350 which is about 35% power.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IanY

I can see this remaining thread of controversy remaining as long as no new flames are injected. Otherwise, even this thread is going to be closed :)

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What in the world could possibly be controversial about this thread? It's a simple take apart, mod, and put it back together again thread. The only thing controversial about this thread is some of the yahoo's who come here to flame about a side issue. Reminds me of a mindless mob at times. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcoffey

did I miss where you posted your temps using the system? really interested in seeing those as a bench mark to compare to other systems.

andyc

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I have not but will once it is back together. I picked up a Dtek GPU block today and want to test with a single block, two blocks, and three blocks against my current DDC1 and thermochill PA120.2. I might need to place an order for a PA120.3 so I can have both radiators the same for the test.

Will a PA 120.3 fit in there instead of the AC one? Are you changing the fittings so you don't have that big ass long amount of tubing in there?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Top Nurse

Will a PA 120.3 fit in there instead of the AC one? Are you changing the fittings so you don't have that big ass long amount of tubing in there?

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fan holes are spaced 25mm apart instead of 15mm on standard rads IIRC, so I don't think it's possible to just do a quick swap.

Yeah, no PA120.3 but that was never expected because of the fan placement and there isn't enough depth to get it in there. My hope is boring out the flow meter will make this be a pretty decent cooling device. If time permits I'll swap the flow meter with a stock on I have still to get a delta on the stock unit.

What size did you open it up to?