HC-1000A not powerful enough?

[Gray Mole]

That's something I was wondering.

Wat block(s) are you using now?

If you're using restrictive blocks you're going to see a pretty steep rise in tube pressure with a powerful pump.

That Iwaki could blow a line if the blocks won't let it flow, or even if it doesn't, the pressue being high can wear the pump out too.

If your blocks are going to be an issue, getting something that's a free flow system may be better.

You don't need 'great' blocks with a chiller like that, but if you need high flow, using a type of block that works best with high flow may be something to consider.

Like the old 'maze' blocks of the past.

Gray

[TJ TRICHEESE]

3 sets of blocks, 1 with just cpu 360 on it and 2 with 2 gpu-220's on each of them

[Gray Mole]

Hmm.

Those 360's look like an 'impingement' style of block.

It may be worth considering something that's built for a high flow design.

Not sure what's out there now for that. Been away from the water cooling too long.

The old Maze4 was among the best for a high flow chiller, not because the block was particularly great, but because your flow limit was much higher.

You could run into grief with high pump pressure with those kind of blocks.


Gray

[TJ TRICHEESE]

so would you suggest something like d5's in series then?

[Gray Mole]

If you're going to stick to the blocks you're using, then matching the pumping system to them is a better idea than trying to match your cooler.

A pair of D5's would do just fine for that. Having antifreeze in the system to ensure it's not freezing up should get around their flowrate recommendations, and besides you're not 'asking' for the full 1600+ watts so you don't need the liquid to move as fast as they recommend to use that cooling power effectively.

So yeah, that would work fine. A single D5 sounds like your 'bare minimum' and a pair would be great. A series connection shouldn't have any adverse affect on the pumps, people have done it before and haven't had any problems


Gray

[Holst]

If you want to maximize flowrate through the chiller then running the blocks in parallel might be better than buying new hardware.
Using a very powerful pump (like a monster iwaki) you could make a manifold out of copper tube fittings and run all 3 blocks in parallel.

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Thats what i meant... kind of, there are actually 5 blocks but i was thinking of running them sort of parallel, i will draw an Xtreme paint diagram

[Gray Mole]

Good idea, though if you have a cpu with some impingement, and gpu's with none, you could see a dramatic loss of flow through the cpu block.

If the blocks have matched resistance to flow, a manifold would work fine.

Using a chiller, and the potentially lower temp of the water, could be enough to offset that issue, but if you're running it to ambient to avoid condensation then you could end up with a warmer cpu that way, if the water is 'happier' to move through the other part of the loop and is choking off at the cpu inlet.

Just a warning, if that's the case. I don't know if the 360 with 'jet' removed gives the same flow as your gpu blocks would without impingement jets.


Gray

[Utnorris]

If I remember correctly, the 360 isn't that restrictive, but it will still be more restrictive than most GPU blocks. I have used the GPU220 blocks and they were not that restrictive either, but I think they were pretty close to the 360 if I remember correctly, I had two in series.

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Sorry i took so long, i've been busy recently.

Here is the 'Xtreme paint drawing'

[Stewie007]

You could split your system with a high powered pump to limit the flow through each block. Now, I know what people will say, water follows the least restrictive path. However, by decreasing the tubing size, you can easily combat this. Using a distributor you can split a 1/2" into four 1/4" tubes, which will happen to be exactly what you need for consistent flow. (1/4" x 4 will equal the volume of the single 1/2" ID tubing.) You then must recombine them after your blocks.

This would direct the water to each block individually. People run into problems when they try to split their tubing into two loops using the same old pump without decreasing the size of the tubing after the split.

[Gray Mole]

Good idea

Tough to get that 'perfect' but it's not really needing to be perfect, just close.

As long as you see good temps with the 'balancing' system you come up with using pipe restriction to 'guide' the water then it's fine.

Gray

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Yea but there's one issue, the tubing on the outlet of the pump is 18mm (3/4") and i have no way of getting that down to 13mm (1/2") or 10mm (3/8") unless i fabricate my own splitter.

[Stewie007]

3/4" huh? Just split the tubing into 3/8" x 4 then. Try to find some reducing splitters. Split the 3/4 into two 1/2, and then each of those 1/2s into 3/8s. Hard to say where you might find those... I'm not sure.

[Holst]

Yea but there's one issue, the tubing on the outlet of the pump is 18mm (3/4") and i have no way of getting that down to 13mm (1/2") or 10mm (3/8") unless i fabricate my own splitter.

If you have a store that sells aquariums and pond stuff locally they should have a good selection of reducers, Y splitters and other hose stuff.
You should be able to buy what you want there.

Sterie suggested that you use the tubing to "tune" the flowrates through different paths. Its a good diea but I would just stick with the same tubing throughout the system and fit some ball valves in the system.. that way you can exactly tune the flow rates (although adding extra restriction will lower the overall flowrate which might compromise overall performance)

[Stewie007]

I would split it into two 1/2" lines. The reason I recommended a split was to limit pressure increase. With his flow rate it wouldn't be such a big deal, but 3/4" to a highly restrictive block is kind of a large restriction....

[Gray Mole]

Yeah, ball valves would really accomplish the same thing, and let you do a lot of fine tuning on it. Sort of like 'captube vs. expansion valve' in refrigeration.

And ball valves in plumbing are pretty cheap really.

Could be the ideal mod for this setup. At least then you could get away with just using the size you have, and fitting the valves into the line.

Anything you do is going to cost something to make it work nice, at least with valves you can vary the flow to get an exact 'best flow' in every circuit in the parallel setup

[TJ TRICHEESE]

I will probably browse aquarium shops until i find the right size splitters, thanks guys

[Q56_Monster]

eheim will work fine...a little expensive. A mag7 (danner) you can run inline or submerged and is fairly cheap ($70). I run mine submerged @ -30c, so my anti-freeze/windshield wiper mix is quite thick at those low temps with an SLI set-up (GTX480). I don't think you'd any problem what so ever with 4 fermis close to 0C. And actually you will be much higher temps than that with 4 fermi's, so your flow should be quite good.

[eXa]

D5 is way more powerful than the Eheims... Your options would be more D5s or go Iwaki.

[Stewie007]

Little Giant Pumps are good too... I don't know how small they make them though. The ones I have are somewhat big, but if you've got a big case it'd fit fine.

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Thanks ill give them a look

[Gray Mole]

Little Giant Pumps are good too... I don't know how small they make them though. The ones I have are somewhat big, but if you've got a big case it'd fit fine.

Lolz

Why do they call them 'little' giants? They're not little at all. They're giant.

I don't think I've ever seen a small one.

Got one on the gas pressure washer though Not quite as big as the 10hp engine that runs it

Iwaki's have to be my fave for this kind of thing if you want brute force, and D5's (probably a pair) for a more 'elegant' solution.

Any of them are really fine though. Iwaki has pretty powerful pumps in the range you'd need and have always held up on the low temp chiller stuff for me.

Gray

[Stewie007]

Yeah, that's what I was saying.... They aren't exactly small, and I don't know of any small ones. But really, 8 inches long by 3 inches diameter isn't all THAT bad.