My Modded Vapo by Graymole!

[PhilM]

Well, a little while ago, I was having troubles with my old Vapochill PE, it was having the usual 12v power problems, and was to be honest, getting on a bit. With student loan day being last Monday , It was decided that I was going to make a move to a Core2Duo system and as such, I'd better sort the Vapochill out for it!

I asked Gray Mole what he thought I should do, and he recommeded a few things to me, lots of options infact!. Anyway, we settled on a solution and here she is, I'm over the moon with it

The trick thing about this setup is, it went from being a 12v compressor Vapochill, to having a 240v compressor - but still retaining ChillControl as it's controller, and as such the front LED panel all works great, as does the Vapochill windoes control panel

Hopefully Gray will see this post and give you guys a general rundown on what he did to it in terms of gas, spec, and load/temps.....on with the pics!


A few neat new bits that weren't present on the Vapo PE


Almost a fashion craze? Black braiding with EL wire


Asus P5B-E Plus, mainboard arrived today also, and this is how the Vapo S775 kits, just perfectly! The insulation sits between the caps and the socket.


LS Line set and socket kit firmly attached, none of the plastic housing is near to any mainboard components.


Larger compressor doesn't leave much room up top!


A quick pic of the front panel, retaining the Chill Control display

Great work by Gray, I'm chuffed with it, a massive performance upgrade to the old PE system, none of the worries of the 12v nonsense anymore, and it looks a lot nicer too.

With all the new bits that arrived today for the upgrade, and my modded Vapo PE, she now runs great.

A quick rundown for those interested;

Vapochill Modded by Gray
Asus P5B-E Plus
Core2Duo E6320 @ 3150MHz
2x1Gb GeIL DDR2-800 4-4-4-12
Nvidia 7600 GT
Vista Home Premium 64 bit

Run's like a dream, I'm very impressed with the setup, clocked straight up to 3150MHz with no troubles, havent tried further, ran Super Pi and got 16.474s for 1M. See http://www.phil-m.com/16474.jpg for the screencap (Super Pi, CPU-Z, Everest & VapoChill Panel)

Many thanks once again Gray for all your hard work, I know it's not a big phase project for you just updating my little old Vapo, but you certainly gave it your best.

[SkylinGTR26]

thats a pretty one you got yourself

[noobzed]

where to find the chill control display ?

[HoriWanderFuLL]

same setup as my sons phil...Temps arnt flash but holds him at 3.6ghz easilly compared to hsf...

can u send me any info on how you got that compressor and cc to run thru 230v ???

Cheers Hori

edit its not Pe comp just using the chill control..
info on the wiring still good plse

[Gray Mole]

I'm really glad you're happy with her Phil

It's a pretty basic mod actually, it's only the planning it out was a bit tricky as I wasn't entirely sure about the controller's interface with the 12v compressor. If it would have had a feedback circuit, it would have been a lot more hassle.

The compressor is a TL4A. It couldn't be anything else as the TL4A is based on the smaller Danfoss body, like the TL2.5 and TL3. The TL4CL is about 10mm taller, and won't fit :o

The relay system couldn't be simpler really. It's a 12v relay coil, with a 20 amp max contact. A lot bigger than need be but I had that one here, so it should hold up to the small compressor with no problem.

The feed for the 12/24v compressor in the original harness is the 'switch' for the relay, and the live is controlled by the relay to the compressor.

I Also used the 'pigtail' plug from a VapoLS that I had, to supply the compressor.

Otherwise, it's a LS lineset with the same high load mod done to it as I have been doing for quad sets, but with the smaller compressor it makes tuning for 200w really quite easy.

In testing, I found that -37 or so was the unloaded temp, and that's mainly because of the heavier charge.

At 200w, though, it held really nicely at about -20.

Not bad for a little TL4 Danfoss compressor.

The desuperheat coil is actually a couple feet of 3/16" copper, and the slight increase in head pressure from that, along with the cooling, made the 404a/402a blend work exceedingly well.

The only thing that was 'close' was the compressor itself. There was only about 1-2mm of clearance from it, to the top of the case :o so until it was in and checked I wasn't sure if it would happen or not

Cheers

Gray

[sacha35]

very nice mod there gray, well done mate mate on a good job.

[n00b 0f l337]

Very nice mod indeed. Good work with a small compressor. Makes me definitly want to play with these TF3F's.

[4Qman]

Very nice indeed, good performance also.

My FR7.5 is running straight R404a and uses the same size condenser and 12v fans also. Think i may have to try a little 402a as you have with this build Gray.

[runmc]

Amazing results Gray with the smaller compressor.

[LittleDevil]

Really nice modification Gray

regards

[Gray Mole]

Thanks, appreciate the nice words

I don't know if I can take all the credit for it, as I didn't have to do all that much.

I don't honestly know why it performed this well, being such a small displacement compressor. I mean, along the way we all learn little bits about making a system work well, but sometimes things just go right for a change too

It's funny but when I first saw the prelim tech specs on the OCZ unit my first thought was 'too small', 'not cold enough' 'weak' etc.

I guess over time I've realised that it doesn't always have to be about colder or louder to get nice results, sometimes just a little cooling can go a long way too

Gray

[K404]

Nice to see a Vapo being updated in a subtle but useful way!

Now, PhilM....theres a forum waiting for your bench scores at ExtremePrometeia!

K

[PhilM]

Thanks for all the great comments guys

I love this setup, it takes whatever I throw at it, and the temps hardly change. Heats my room lovely too, it's boiling in here now Saves on the central heating bill eh Have to sit here with the windows open....small room + phase change = toasty

Just a quick update with regards to overclocking with her, my little Vapo, Asus P5BE-Plus and E6320 Core2Duo combination have just 3.47Ghz with out too much bother (495x7). 14.991 1M Super Pi. And the Vapo display hit only -23.5c (http://www.phil-m.com/14991.jpg)

I reached my target for this evening which was to break sub 15s, and now I'm done it's time to chill for a week or two before having another bash at more

[Brettbeck]

Fantastic job Gray! It's great to see how happy your customers are with the work you've done !

[sk8ter646]

ive always like this machines if only my dad would let me have one as ive now outgrown water cooling

[HoriWanderFuLL]

Hi ..Gray how is ya ...And a good job ...you said this about the system u modded

**At 200w, though, it held really nicely at about -20.

Not bad for a little TL4 Danfoss compressor.**

This is the same compressor my Xe2 has in it ..mines a tl4cl whats the last 2 letters on yours say as u just said tl4...

Also are you going to tell me how u modded that chill control for the 240v system?? i really need to know as i have 2 spare cc here waiting to go onto a system...needed just for temp readings not a startup.

Thanks Hori

EDIT....TL4A i just re read the post cheers...

The TL4CL is about 10mm taller, and won't fit


Edit my TL4CL fits ????

[Gray Mole]

Yes Hori, and I am quite sure they have simply adjusted the build for the XE2 to allow for that larger compressor size.

I could have lowered the plate to get something larger in there, but it wasn't really that kind of mod that was wanted. Just a nice cold temp, along with quiet operation, and to be rid of the 12v issues with PSU's.

Wiring is easy, you only need a 12v over 240v (or whichever voltage you use in your country?) relay or contactor, rated for the compressor that's being used, and an additional IEC plug (kettle plug rated for the compressor that's being used) and it uses the original large yellow and black wires that would go to the 12v compressor for the relay switching.



Oh, and if all you want is to read temps, just install the temp probe and power the CC. If you don't want to use it to switch the compressor on or deal with booting the PC, you don't have to connect any of that to the CC. If you want the safety aspect of the CC, then connecting as explained gives it full functionality.


Gray

[HoriWanderFuLL]

Thanks for that info on the CC Gray it will come in handy...

Power up the cc but wich pins do that ..as i didnt want to have the whole unit wired up to a power supply ..just a small tec supply that fits into hdrive bay..

anyway ill play around with it .

wandering about case size though as my sons Xe is the same size as my Xe2..

unless the cases of say 2 years ago or older was maybe a tad smaller im not sure...Maybe they just lowerd the Compressor tray ....

Thanks
Hori

[HoriWanderFuLL]

Gray..
I did the cc hookup and thanks it works...i just made the power out into a molex connection.

But the temps fluctuating a bit like up or down 3c.

did you notice this with the Vapo mod you did on this particular thread ?

so sumtimes its on -37c and second later its on -34c or -35.5c

Wander Why.?

[elsupremo]

Very nice looking unit!

[HoriWanderFuLL]

Very nice looking unit!

yes it is a good unit my sons drueling over it ...he wants rid of his vapo and in with a bigger compressor like this..and it fitted in the case wich is a good sign..

kayl My sister shifted to Perth on Saturday her Partner is from there and they both headed back there with the new baby...How long they will last God knows....

I wander what part of Perth they live in compared to your Suburb...

I had a dream last night it was sumthing like this eheh.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hori visits Sister Brings Vapo boxes with ....sneaks out drops of picks up few days later little modded and smiling more ?

Makes me wander ay....especially when u see this Mod Gray has done to system same as my sons....

Cyas Hori

[SoddemFX]

Nice Gray

What was the suction pressure of this system under 200W of load, holding at -20C evaporator?

Tom

[teyber]

how many horsepower is the TL4 Danfoss compressor?

[n00b 0f l337]

What was the discharge as well?

[SoddemFX]

how many horsepower is the TL4 Danfoss compressor?

140W motor, 3.86cc, 50Hz

Tom