D-Tek Fuzion Nozzle Kit Pressure Drop Test Results

[Martinm210]

So the latest thing with the Fuzion is to get the nozzle kit, yet everyone asks what nozzle is best? The answer obviously depends on your particular setup. But the Fuzion has always been known to be very free flowing, with little pressure drop. This is great for multiple block loops because the block without a nozzle won't effect flow rates too much for other blocks and your radiator in the same loop.

But...what happens when you add in the commercial washer and a nozzle from the kit?

Let's see...

Measurement
First up is inspection and measuring of the nozzles:
You get 5 nozzles to choose from:

3.6mm , 4.4mm, 5.5mm, 6.3mm, Quad 7.3mm x 2.8mm split


Testing Sample (3.6mm pegs manometer)
Here is a quick sample of in action testing of the 3.6mm nozzle. Extremly restrictive!!. I can barely even get over 1 GPM and max out my manometer. My testing equipement consists of a Dwyer Series 475 Mark III model with a pressure range of 0.0-199.9 IN WC. Accuracy is .5 to 1.5% depending on temperature. My flow meter is a King Instruments Acrylic 7520 series (250mm scale) with stainless parts 14" length .5-5.0 GPM. I can read it fairly well with the large size down to .01GPM and it has an accuracy of 2% of full scale.


And now onto each nozzle with washer results:










And the summary chart showing each nozzle curve as well as the stock plus washer, stock without washer, and D-Tek's own published curve from the D-Tek site. The only thing I'd like to note is my Fuzion was previously bowed with an o-ring, so the dark blue (no washer) curve is possibly going to be lower than a straight from the box fuzion because the bowing likely has left the gap between the top and middle chambers a little larger allowing more water to bypass the block. The remainder of the curves should be representative of what you might expect.



Summary

• The nozzles with washer are more restrictive than expected. The 3.6mm will put any pump to a crawl (D5 and DDC will be lucky to see 1GPM), up to the Quad nozzle which only has moderate losses. Overall though a good range of nozzles to choose from.
• There is a suprising amount of water that bypasses the block without a washer. I would recommend anyone with a fuzion to at least run a washer in place. It won't bow the block and is extremely easy to install. All of the nozzles are very easy to install and remove as well.
• Pressure drop (as expected) is relatively proportional to the nozzle size with the Quad nozzle being the least restrictive and 3.6mm nozzle bing the most restrictive.

Recommendation

CPU only loop - Install the most restrictive nozzle that gives you the best possible temps. High powered pumps like the Iwakis may favor the 3.6 or 4.4mm nozzle. More mainstream pumps may favor one of the slightly larger nozzles. It may turn out the 4.4mm nozzle is best for Iwaki/CPU setups, and the 5.5 is best for D5/DDC CPU only setups.

CPU & GPU or Multiblock Loops - You need to prioritize where you want to cool more, the CPU, the other blocks, or a balanced combination. Putting a nozzle in place will likely improve CPU temps, but it will increase temps on your other blocks and reduce efficiency of your radiator. Everyone will have a different priority on what they want to cool more. You may just want to use the washer by itself without a nozzle.

Just be aware of this substantial pressure drop increase with these nozzles along with the washer. It doesn't mean you shouldn't use them, just be aware how restrictive they are....probably best to experiement a little and see what happens. I would recommend a washer as a bare minimum, it really should be included as part of the boxed fuzion IMHO.

Hope this gives some perspective on what the nozzles do to flow rate.

I'll plan on adding these equations into my flow rate estimator so you can experiement with it...

Martin