Koolance TMS-200 testing results / review

[Brodholm]

hey there, sorry Brodholm i didnt mean to come off as agressive..no hostility intended at all..after rereading my post I can see how it could be interepreted like that..i was just in a rush when i wrote it heh.

No problem, I just wanted to be sure that I haven't done anything to tick someone off. I rather stay friends than hate each other if you know what i mean

kimoyo:

I was unaware you could hook up more than one poweradjust, this completely changes my mind about aquero now lol. Also, with regards to the flow shutdown...yes i made an error in my testing and missed this condition...there are so many things to test on this controller it was an honest mistake...i really thought I had gotten everything, but this slipped through...and it was a big thing. Again my apologies. it has taken me hours to get this review done and tons of rewrites. I have since removed my conclusion to leave the reader to decide what is best for thier purposes...my opinions dont matter, only the readers do 8)

Everyone makes mistakes and I just wanted to be sure that the flow-shutdown worked and you rechecked and it didn't work. No harm done. And its REALLY appreciated that people do tests like these. I learned a thing or two about the TMS that i didn't know

I have updated the original post with results of the new software update..please enjoy my findings good and bad....

Dsumanik -

Firstly, I really appreciated your review. It did really help a lot! The only reason why this flow fail-safe is an issue is because Brodholm was geeked about buying a TMS-200, brought up the issue and was kinda misled a bit. Someone who actually brought the TMS-200 then posted it didn't work. At least that was my take on it.

Yeah, that was a bad day... I thought this is IT, the one that have almost everything! But that was not really the case. But i have to give Koolance some credit. They have handled this quite well in my opinion. They even offer a refund if you aren't satisfied with the unit.

"During the time required to test these different hardware scenarios, unfortunately, we realize some customers are still unable to operate their TMS boards properly. For anyone currently experiencing unresolvable or unsatisfactory issues with their TMS-200 boards, we would like to offer the option to return the product for a refund (please submit an RMA request to do so). We sincerely apologize for any issues encountered with this product."

But if you read he's previous threads you will really see he's just asking a lot of questions.

Haha, This is true. I do ask a lot of questions (I will try to ask less ). Most of the questions I'm asking I already "know" (have read about) and just want confirmation from some more people so that I didn't miss read the text or the source was bad. This happens quite a lot.

As far as the aquaero goes, its either they don't care to update the english speaking part of their site or there's a little designed ambiguity there. I actually read threads on their forum and the manuals but the manuals are outdated also.

I have also noticed this. The old manual said that the AE only can handle 5w per channel. It wasn't until I made that aquaero thread that shoggy corrected me. Its kinda sad because they make really good products. And they could make much better if they just widen their perspective a bit.

Just to be clear, a laing pump can not be controlled by temperature in the aquacomputer system, which is what Brodholm was asking you about the TMS-200. So as temp goes up, its not possible to increase a d5's rpms thru the aquaero, unless they changed something in the last few years. You can take a look here.

I don't think so. According to shoggy you can only set the speed manually via the aquasuite. Because the poweradjust don't have a buss. I.e you cant set the speeds like in the TMS. But the TMS still lacks in the controlling since you only can take control it "that" at auto and not set thresholds values for speed and temp.

The failsafes still work, the aquaero can tell if the d5 stopped pumping in order shutdown the computer and can still monitor temperatures. The poweradjust can still vary the voltage to change the rpms of the pump, its just that the aquaero (which reads the temperatures) can't communicate with the poweradjust to tell it to vary the voltage of the laing pump. From what I can gather on their forums, they just don't want to integrate the aquaero with the poweradjust because the laing pumps aren't their pumps. They feel the aquastream meets their "standards" and thats what they will support.

I think that it is ashame that they don't make their controller more "universal". But I can understand that they want their customers to get their pump so they can make more profit. But I think, and know that many ppl don't get the aquaero since it cant control laning pumps. And they would make more money just selling a aquaero rather then don't sell one at all...

But as I said before, There is ppl that have made there own "fan-amp" for the aquaero so you can control it just like a fan. And since the aquaero already is failsafe with hardware shutdown from flow/rpm/temperature a amplifier is perfect. (normal fanamps dont work well, the aquaero cant change the voltage on them. dono why). The unit Its self a really simple thing. And it can handle 18W i think. But the circuit is not optimal for pumps. Its more for stronger fans. But there is one guy that is going to try and redesign it for pumps. He said he was going to work at it the first week in June. So thats soon.

I do like the idea that the pumps power isn't going directly thru the controller, but I'm still trying to decide what pump to get. A d5 would be twice a strong as an eheim, but the eheims are extremely reliable (I use them in my other hobby) and quiet. I'm still not sure how quiet a d5 is, I hear that some people can hear a certain tone and I'm pretty sure I will be able to hear it also if that's true.

The AC poweradjust USB cannot be purchased anywhere it seems. Everyone is out of stock and shoggy said he did not know when or if they would be back in stock.

I have two of them and one does not vary the voltage to the pump when demanded. I run two DDCs in series and need two of these. However, for two weeks I have been looking for another poweradjust with no luck.

I would buy anywhere in the world that ships to USA. They are nice pieces of equipment.

I think that aqua tuning have some coming in. [Clicky]

This is the LT variant though. But that should not be a problem since you already have one that isn't working. (take faceplat from that unit in that case).

The shortcoming of new poweradjusts may indicat that they have something new coming out and want to clear their stocks on it. Maybe a Aquaero enough powerful control pumps. That would be awesome . Does anyone know if aquacomputers have any plans on a new controller Shoggy?

HMM if he means setting specific voltages for specific temps..you cannot do that yet. You can only set the min and max temp and the controller adjusts pump speed automatically in between these values. I have also requested koolance allow it to be controlled via flowrate..so that it can adjust voltage to maintain a specific flowrate for testing purposes. i.e. keep flow at 2GPM and switch out waterblock to see which one is more efficient at a given flow.

Yeah, thats what i meant. Dohh, would have been nice. Because all fans and pumps sound better at some levels. Some fans sound like hell at a certain volt and if you increase it a bit its get silent again.

yes I red Brodholms other posts on the aquacomputer stuff.... very interesting... it seems like all these controllers just miss the the home run by an inch heh. After speaking with Dean today, i feel pretty confident the shortcomings of this controller are going to be addressed, even if it requires a new board revision. Also i downloaded the aquasuite and tried it in demo mode, there is alot of good stuff in it, but also alot of extra stuff i don't knwo if I would ever use.

Did he think that the failsafe issues would be fixed on THIS board? Or did that require a newer version of the board? If it can be fixed on this board Its very likely that ill go with tms. And exactly as you say, they all miss something. The only one that actually gives it all is the mcubed. But the software is a nightmare... And display is not that easy.

OMG, only two questions in all that text, gotta be some kind of a record :P

Edit: haha, need to add a question :P. What is the range of a ddc3.2 pump? I mean the range of the rpm. Like 2000rpm to 4500rpm. Because if you reed the site its says 7volt to 12volt. How long and high can you go dsumanik with the tms?