A quick test of the Detroit Thermo D5 top

[Petra]

Hey everybody... I know that it has been a while since I posted some actual test results (beyond that little stint with the fan controllers a couple days ago and a few other random things) but I felt like giving a new setup a try in preparation for some other testing that I should be moving onto somewhat soon. Anyway, I'm going to keep this short, so... onetwothree, go!

Equipment and Methodology:

This time around, I'm using an Omega FL-1504A-B flow meter, borrowed from the waterblock test system, to monitor flow (0.628-6.28GPM, +/- 2% full scale accuracy, +/- 0.5% repeatability, graduated every 2% of scale) and a Sper Scientific 840081 manometer, also borrowed from the waterblock test system, hooked up to a computer for dynamic head pressure data logging (-15 to 15PSI, 0.01PSI resolution, +/- 0.3% full scale accuracy, +/- 0.2% repeatability, and combined linearity & hysteresis of +/- 0.2%). The Laing D5-B pump being tested was kept at 12.00V (measured at the pump's power connector) throughout testing with my trusty HP 6264B variable DC PSU.

Now, all of the above equipment is going to be re-integrated into the most recent revision of the setup that I used for this roundup from a while ago--all that goodness together should provide for some interesting waterblock evaluations.

A quick photo of the test setup:


Note: the drain line configuration was changed after this photo was taken to eliminate the siphoning effect which occurred.

Each data point collected represents the mean of three trials, with 30 seconds of pressure data logged and averaged per trial (for a total of 90 samples per final data point). The reason for multiple trials and somewhat excessive data logging was to help mitigate any fluctuations in pump output and issues with the nut on the handlebars (e.g. anthropogenic flowmeter read error ).

...and you guys are probably getting bored already... so here's the resulting performance curve with power consumption (yes, I changed from current draw in Amps to power consumption in Watts because people complained last time):



...the chart that the data for the graph was pulled from:



All in all, the Detroit Thermo top resulted in a slight increase in performance within a useful range for water cooling while, at the same time, causing a slight drop in power consumption. Not bad, but I'm still not really convinced that D5 tops, in general, are really worth purchasing based solely on performance. Would anyone happen to have an EK D5 top that I could borrow for a bit?

I think I'm gonna go home now....

[CyberDruid]

Thanks for this thorough and professional test.

[Polizei]

Well, it's an improvement over the base "top" or "side" for the D5... depends on how you look at the orientation.

On a side note... are you working that guy like a slave in the background? He looks like he's drowning in papers.

Kidding... kidding...

[.Logic]

Thanks for this thorough and professional test.

Agreed. Looking forward to some nice accurate results Petra

Cheers

[DarthBeavis]

Did u test the Koolance top? I have one you could borrow if you are interested. It would be good to see tests using various inlet/outlet configurations . . .

[skinnee]

Nice to see another set of tests on this top, I just finished my last round of D5 tests. 6 rounds of tests on the same top at each of 5 speeds makes your brain go a little wonky.

Thanks Alex!

edit:
@DarthBeavis
Koolance Delrin top tests are included in my round-up.

[DarthBeavis]

Nice to see another set of tests on this top, I just finished my last round of D5 tests. 6 rounds of tests on the same top at each of 5 speeds makes your brain go a little wonky.

Thanks Alex!

edit:
@DarthBeavis
Koolance Delrin top tests are included in my round-up.

link

[skinnee]

patience...I am graphing all the data now. I won't release early results, sorry.

[Petra]

On a side note... are you working that guy like a slave in the background? He looks like he's drowning in papers.

Oh, that's just Quoc... and his organizational "system"

Did u test the Koolance top? I have one you could borrow if you are interested. It would be good to see tests using various inlet/outlet configurations . . .

The only custom top for the D5 that I have at the moment is the Detroit Thermo top, but I'd be game for testing more.

6 rounds of tests on the same top at each of 5 speeds makes your brain go a little wonky.

...and now you know why I only ran this test with a D5-B

[hotdun]

Thanks Petra! Nice work! Can't wait to see skinnee's review too.

[Eddie3dfx]

What about D5 pump? I noticed you used a D5-B

[Petra]

What about D5 pump? I noticed you used a D5-B

The D5-B is just a D5 Vario without the speed adjustment pot (so, the pump is fixed at what would be setting 4 on a Vario). From my experience with DDC tops, I doubt that you're going to see any radical change in the characteristics of the PQ curve by just increasing (or decreasing) the impeller RPM a little bit. Nevermind that the D5-B was the only pump I had available to test with at the time

...though, this did just make me curious about something... I'll have to create another thread once I get into the office.

[Martinm210]

Thanks for the testing. So you've managed to get both pressure and flow setup on some sort of automatic data logging or is there still manual entry work involved?

That's awesome.

I've only got the prototype EK, so I don't think it would be quite as strong at performance compared to the production EK top or I'd send you that one.

Sitting here with frozen toes (Heck we had 3 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago on the ground) is leaving me envious of the So. Cali climate. No fair you guys are still wearing shorts.. The warm is long gone around here...burrrrr..

[Petra]

So you've managed to get both pressure and flow setup on some sort of automatic data logging or is there still manual entry work involved?

Right now, only the pressure data is being automatically logged. Even so, it still greatly improves testing accuracy, reduces time spent testing, and makes sifting through test data much less of a hassle. The new flowmeter is also a vast improvement over my previous one... which helps a great deal

Sitting here with frozen toes (Heck we had 3 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago on the ground) is leaving me envious of the So. Cali climate. No fair you guys are still wearing shorts.. The warm is long gone around here...burrrrr..

Shorts? Are you kidding? Not here!

We're in San Jose (about an hour south of San Francisco) and I've had to break out the fleece and space heater to keep from "freezing" in the warehouse during the morning and evenings. I suppose I should be thankful that it doesn't get cold enough to snow here (occasionally does in the nearby Santa Cruz mountains, but not very often), otherwise I don't think that the roadster would have made it to the office this morning

[kevinbo03]

Hey, some of us are still rockin shorts!

Are there any other tops aside from the EK, Koolance, And the Detroit? (Which admittedly I didn't know existed). Are any of the other ones more promising? I haven't read much about D5 tops but the idea is attractive to me considering that D5's go cheaper used than the DDC's do (At least from what sales I've seen).

[Quad-Damage]

Been rocking a stock DC5 and loving it for a bit now, got it from peta

[Sadasius]

I just cannot wait to try mine out. Got 2 DetroitAC tops on the way!

[mstrmold]

Shorts? Are you kidding? Not here!

We're in San Jose (about an hour south of San Francisco) and I've had to break out the fleece and space heater to keep from "freezing" in the warehouse during the morning and evenings. I suppose I should be thankful that it doesn't get cold enough to snow here (occasionally does in the nearby Santa Cruz mountains, but not very often), otherwise I don't think that the roadster would have made it to the office this morning

Come on Petra, its not that cold. I work in Cupertino, and its been jeans and T shirt weather. OK, jackets at night, but still not that cold... yet.

[Petra]

Come on Petra, its not that cold. I work in Cupertino, and its been jeans and T shirt weather.

Eh, I'm a cargos and t-shirt year-round kinda guy... having your feet on a concrete slab floor all day long will make it feel quite a bit colder than it really is, though. Nevermind that insulation is all but nonexistent in this place

Okay, okay... so I exaggerate a bit sometimes...