Aquaero with the new Powerbooster able to control DDC pumps!

[Shoggy]

@dejanh: no, it's not possible du to technical limitations of the board.

@autobot: like Brodholm said, it is not only the cooling block, you will also have to add two small SMD resistors to the board. If you only add a heatsink you can reach up to 15W on each channel (keep the 45W overall limit in mind).

[scamps]

Received my new Booster-Aquaero yesterday. It´s like it has to be! All fans and the Laing under control with it (and Aquasuite + Samurize-Plugin ), great

[cx-ray]

In my opinion it's better to just upgrade to the heatsink and use a Poweradjust for the pump or connect it directly to the PSU. With a DDC3.2 connected to the modified 25W channel only ~20-25W is leftover for the remaining 3 fan channels.

[Darth_Penguin]

In my opinion it's better to just upgrade to the heatsink and use a Poweradjust for the pump or connect it directly to the PSU. With a DDC3.2 connected to the modified 25W channel only ~20-25W is leftover for the remaining 3 fan channels.

Considering before the upgrade the Aquaero could only see 30 watts max I think that 20-25watts to the other 3 channels AFTER a pump is still pretty good.

Ill have to get in touch with shoggy to send my Aquaero to him

[Brodholm]

In my opinion it's better to just upgrade to the heatsink and use a Poweradjust for the pump or connect it directly to the PSU. With a DDC3.2 connected to the modified 25W channel only ~20-25W is leftover for the remaining 3 fan channels.

Actually. With a ddc3.2 (18w) connected you have 27w left. And you don't give nearly the same controlling abilities with a poweradjust...

So I really don't think its better. This way you can have the pump controlled after values such as temperature and stuff.

[scamps]

Actually. With a ddc3.2 (18w) connected you have 27w left. And you don't give nearly the same controlling abilities with a poweradjust...

So I really don't think its better. This way you can have the pump controlled after values such as temperature and stuff.

signed

I still have my Poweradjust LT, now. But for what? I will see

[fox3]

If you ever decide you want to sell that LT fire me off a PM.

[scamps]

If you ever decide you want to sell that LT fire me off a PM.

I won´t - and if I would you won´t be willing to pay the shipment from Germany But: There will be a new and better Poweradjust version available in a few weeks. AC already announced it in german fora ...

[cx-ray]

Actually. With a ddc3.2 (18w) connected you have 27w left. And you don't give nearly the same controlling abilities with a poweradjust...

So I really don't think its better. This way you can have the pump controlled after values such as temperature and stuff.

That's only when you don't take into account the starting current draw of the pump and fans. By regulating both pump and fans down the Aquaero also generates a substantial amount of heat. Considering that it's wise to take a certain safety margin into account.

[fox3]

There will be a new and better Poweradjust version available in a few weeks. AC already announced it in german fora ...

Thanx for that heads up I bought two ddc 3.25's to replace the aquastream Ultra XT's.

I want to see if they provide more flow and if the temps will come down or remain constant but cannot hook them into the aquaero and cannot find any poweradjust LT's anywhere.

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

wow just wow impressed I want...

Received my new Booster-Aquaero yesterday. It´s like it has to be! All fans and the Laing under control with it (and Aquasuite + Samurize-Plugin ), great

[Brodholm]

That's only when you don't take into account the starting current draw of the pump and fans. By regulating both pump and fans down the Aquaero also generates a substantial amount of heat. Considering that it's wise to take a certain safety margin into account.

I really don't think they say that the unit can handle 45 if it cant handle it constantly. And If you set the aquaero to to shutdown due to rpm and the pump fails. It will shutdown the computer.

I don't think that we should worry. The wattage should be with some safety marginal. It can probably handle like 50-55 but that would be pushing it.


I should receive my aquaeros soon. I cant wait ^^

[avddreamr]

Thanx for that heads up I bought two ddc 3.25's to replace the aquastream Ultra XT's.

I want to see if they provide more flow and if the temps will come down or remain constant but cannot hook them into the aquaero and cannot find any poweradjust LT's anywhere.

Wow let us know how that goes, if the noise increase is worth the performance increase. I'm wanting to go the other way and replace my ddc with and aquastream... let me know if you want to sell one or both.

I'm so stoked, about this upgrade. looking forward to buying the new aquero when they get in stock in the us. I'll get to get rid of my koolance pump /res controller setup.

[Brodholm]

Wow let us know how that goes, if the noise increase is worth the performance increase. I'm wanting to go the other way and replace my ddc with and aquastream... let me know if you want to sell one or both.

I'm so stoked, about this upgrade. looking forward to buying the new aquero when they get in stock in the us. I'll get to get rid of my koolance pump /res controller setup.

This isnt a new aquaero. Its just a "addon" or what you should call them. Or do they have another version with this on the way?

[rwurdig]

I have a question, can i control 6 x 140mm Yate Loon D14SM-12 (Voltage: 12 V
Current: .7 Amp Max) and a Danger Den CPX-Pro 12V (18W) of this or only 3 yate loons?
Regards,

[Dr.Joe]

2 per Channel and the Pump on Channel 1 should be fine

[Diverge]

Could the Powerboost addon handle a D5 pump? They are rated for 24W, and the addon is rated for 25W. Would the pump draw more then 24W at startup?

edit: hmm, guess I could measure the current of my pump when I turn it on, vs. when it's fully turned on.

[xeon_1]

Could the Powerboost addon handle a D5 pump? They are rated for 24W, and the addon is rated for 25W. Would the pump draw more then 24W at startup?

edit: hmm, guess I could measure the current of my pump when I turn it on, vs. when it's fully turned on.

Any electric motor that is switched on will draw 4 to 6 times its nominal current for the first few milliseconds/seconds depending on the load of the motor and the mass of the rotor.
So yes it will go over the 25w but only for a very short time and if the Aquaero is build from quality components they should be able to withstand the start current.
Its the same for the ddc they also draw more the then the rated 18W of the pump at start up.

As an example
If you have a compressor go to a dark room or do it during the night
Then start it
When it starts watch the lights in the room.
The lights will dimm and depending on the strength of the power grid they will dimm alot or just a bit.
This is because the compressor draw's all the power for its self when its starts
This effect is simple since an electric motor that isn't running is almost like a short circuit its just wire.
note: a short circuit is arround 9 times nominal current this is also why the fuses don't switch off when the motor starts.
If it would stay like that for 5 to 10 seconds another safty in the fuses would interrupt the power to prevent dammage.

[TopFuel1471]

What is the advantage over just plugging the pumps into molex? The pump is already working as fast as it can, and more flow= better temps. Why would you want to slow the pump down?

[Waterlogged]

What is the advantage over just plugging the pumps into molex? The pump is already working as fast as it can, and more flow= better temps. Why would you want to slow the pump down?

For the same reason many Euro's try at least once to have a completely passive radiator.

[headala]

Any updates on this? How hard is it to do the update ourself? Will there be anyone in the US that can do the upgrade?

[liguhy]

So let me see if I get this right.

• Aquaero with PowerBoost:
  Channel #1: 25W, Can startup and throttle 1 DDC 3.2 18W (1.46 amps) pump or 1 D5 Vario 24W (2 amps) pump.
  Channel #2-4: 15W each. 27W total available with DDC. Total wattage drawn should not exceed 45W.
  
• "Small PCB" inline powerbooster
  1 unit per Channel: 35W, 3.5 amps, -1.5 to 2.0V. Can startup and throttle 1 DDC 3.2 pump or 1 D5 Vario pump
  
• Poweradjust
  Pump 1: 30W, 2.5 amps. 1 DDC 3.2 pump or D5 Vario pump.
  
• Poweradjust 2
  Pump1: ?W, ? amps. ?x DDC 3.2 or ?x D5 Vario

Coincidentally, does anyone know how many amps/watts an DDC 3.2 or D5 Vario pump draws at startup? Seems like an important figure to know. I assume whatever the numbers are they remain within the 45W.

Along with the PCB limitations, I assume because two DDC 3.2 18W pumps drawing 48W (3W over the 45W total max) is why they can't be used in any configuration, even with the "small pcb" powerboosters. What about hooking up a powerbooster to channel 1 and channel 2 - would that change the overall wattage rating or PCB limitations?

Lastly, it seems there's two watt/amp ratings to keep in mind: the published watt/amps at load and the not exactly known startup watt/amp limitations. Are the startup limitations just the total watt/amp limitations (45W, ? amps) or is there a small time at startup with extra headroom inherent in the electrical design (like lights dimming when something powerful is plugged in, but the circuit breakers not popping).

If you could chime in Shoggy on the wattage/amp question marks and the other questions, that would be awesome! I understand if you can't say exact numbers for the "small PCB" powerbooster or Poweradjust 2 since they aren't official yet.

note: Since the 2 DDC 3.2 pumps are out of the question in any form, I'm not even going to ask about 2 D5 Vario pumps.

As said in the thread for the aquaero powerbooster we will also offer a small PCB which will allow you to boost the power of the fan channels of an aquaero, aquastream XT or any other device with a fan output.

The powerbooster can deliver up to 3.5A which is more than enough for several powerful fans or a Laing pump.

The used operational amplifier L165 has a small downside: it has a powerdrop of 1.5 to 2.0V so you will end up with 10.5 to 10V. Since we wanted to have a very simple solution we will have to live with that and also think it's OK because who really runs fans at full speed for example? In this case you won't need it and can connect them directly to the PSU

Usage is simple: you connect a fan output with the input connector, the PCB will boost the incoming signal (-1.5 to 2.0V) and puts it out on the second connector. Of course the tacho singal will be forwarded.
We have tested it also with a Laing DDC-1T/Plus and it worked

We know that there have been a few other booster PCBs by users and used some ideas for testing but either they were already to complex or the simpler ones were generating a massive swinging which leads to an unnecessary waste of power and thermal problems. That problem was easy to spot with an oscilloscope which I think these users don't own to see that problem theirself.
Our PCB is using a filter to avoid problems with swinging and to ensure a better efficiency.

The poweramp will be available for around 15.00 EUR (~18.00 USD w/o VAT) and we will also offer a DIY kit for a cheaper price. Good soldering knowledge is recommend since there are also very small SMD parts.

The photo below shows a handmade prototype. The final variant will be manufactured professional. The powerbooster measures 48 x 22mm at a height of 27mm.

[liguhy]

extra question I have after poking around Sidewinders: would a 50 watt rheostat be able to control 2 DDC 3.2 or 2 D5 Vario pumps? If so, would they still be able to report their speed to the Aquaero?

[headala]

extra question I have after poking around Sidewinders: would a 50 watt rheostat be able to control 2 DDC 3.2 or 2 D5 Vario pumps? If so, would they still be able to report their speed to the Aquaero?

The varios are....variable...why don't you just use the built-in potentiometer? Also, they don't have RPM wires at all, so that point is moot.

The DDC's do have a RPM wire, which you can just bypass the rheostat, and plug into whatever you like. Does that answer your question?

I'm sorry if I've missed your reasoning in a previous post, but why is it so important to have your pumps variable? It's not always as simple as 'less flow when the load is low'. My D5 Vario gave me lower temps on '3' than it did on '5', probably because of heat dump. I wouldn't have wanted it lower or higher. Does that make sense? Maybe your situation is different from mine though.

[liguhy]

The varios are....variable...why don't you just use the built-in potentiometer? Also, they don't have RPM wires at all, so that point is moot.

The DDC's do have a RPM wire, which you can just bypass the rheostat, and plug into whatever you like. Does that answer your question?

I'm sorry if I've missed your reasoning in a previous post, but why is it so important to have your pumps variable? It's not always as simple as 'less flow when the load is low'. My D5 Vario gave me lower temps on '3' than it did on '5', probably because of heat dump. I wouldn't have wanted it lower or higher. Does that make sense? Maybe your situation is different from mine though.

Reason 1: because there shouldn't be any reason they technically can't be monitored and controlled via temp/user set thresholds.

Reason 2: lowering sound due to vibration. I've heard a lot of pple who are running "silent" water cooled setups say they wish they could make the pump more quiet.

Reason 3: having a rheostat you can place anywhere and control 2 pumps at once is tons easier than adjusting 2 little screwdriver controls on the D5 Vario backside.

Reasib 4: because you can! Even if you don't end up buying the stuff to do things like this, you still gain the knowledge. Mmmm...knowledge.