# Aquarium chiller yes or no?



## CyberDruid

Absolutely.

The larger units suitable for several hundred gallon aquariums are cerainly capable. What I was unable to dtermine from the literature is how loud these units are.

I am sure that a unit designed for 100 times the capacity of a PC loop wuld provide sensational cooling.


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## DeaDLocK

Seems like a high cost solution but would work, probs to the point you may need to insulate hardware because of condensation. But none the less a idea that will work.


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## Nuxes

If you do it, take pictures, this will be epic.


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## DuckieHo

Some of the smaller aquarium chillers are just TEC units. Those won't be.... provide the specs and we can tell.


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## TLa

I agree that noise will be a factor. They all produce humming noise when they are on. But on the other hand, the bigger reservoir will eliminate the probability of it to be constant on. Nonetheless, it will be noisier that most conventional PC water cooling solution since those chiller are designed and operated in living room environment.

How about this chiller
http://www.championlighting.com/prod...353&bestseller

Here's the review of much bigger chiller with quiet operation sound test.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review3/view


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## leastbay

I have kept reefs for the past 10 years also, the JBJ articas are very good and also very quiet, the smallest one would work great especially being the small volume of water.
this one would be perfect

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...ct~JB1131.html


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## leastbay

here it is for $269 at premium aquatics, their customer service is excellent and they will take care of you if you have any problems
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...egory_Code=JBJ


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## Nuxes

So, are you going to have fish in this aquarium?


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## RonindeBeatrice

So... is the idea to use these as part of a loop or to drop a radiator in a giant tank? I'm guessing the larger the volume of water the harder it would be to warm up/cool down, so that effectively negates using a giant reservoir. Does this unit do its own pumping? Could you use it to supplement a traditional radiator design? Interesting ideas, but would this thing really hold up to 24/7 usage?


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## tr8rjohnk

Hmm, this seems like an interesting idea. Subscribed in case this comes to fruition.


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## TLa

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RonindeBeatrice* 
So... is the idea to use these as part of a loop or to drop a radiator in a giant tank? I'm guessing the larger the volume of water the harder it would be to warm up/cool down, so that effectively negates using a giant reservoir. Does this unit do its own pumping? Could you use it to supplement a traditional radiator design? Interesting ideas, but would this thing really hold up to 24/7 usage?

For the time being, this is just an idea. I just don't have time and budget yet to put this into reality. But if i did, I would consider the following:

*The bigger the holding reservoir the better it is in terms of performance and efficiency*. These chillers usually come with automatic temperature control which will turn on the chiller once it senses higher water temperature readings than specific setting within plus or minus 1Â°C. You really don't want it to be constantly on and off in short period of time due to small water volume in most conventional water-cooled system. Whether these units can hold up 24/7 usage in PC environment, it's hard for me to say but the fact is that these units are designed to operate 24/7 in aquarium setting.


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## tr8rjohnk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TLa* 
For the time being, this is just an idea. I just don't have time and budget yet to put this into reality. But if i did, I would consider the following:

*The bigger the holding reservoir the better it is in terms of performance and efficiency*. These chillers usually come with automatic temperature control which will turn on the chiller once it senses higher water temperature readings than specific setting within plus or minus 1Â°C. You really don't want it to be constantly on and off in short period of time due to small water volume in most conventional water-cooled system. Whether these units can hold up 24/7 usage in PC environment, it's hard for me to say but the fact is that these units are designed to operate 24/7 in aquarium setting.

Am I understanding this correctly? This system is a pump, res, all-in-on sorta thing so you pretty much need tubing and a waterblock, no?


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## TLa

the chiller just replaces fans and radiators, of course you will need water block, tubbing and pump to operate. I also have the feeling that these nano aquarium chillers are not much noisier than those fans in conventional WC setup. Maybe it's even quieter. Another plus point is that they are not constant on (if setup right) which gives you total silence operation.


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## Sistum Id

Its the same idea as using a drinking fountain such as I did. Those JBJ dont say how low the temps will go down tho.



















Sloppy, but it does the job.


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## tr8rjohnk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Sistum Id* 
Its the same idea as using a drinking fountain such as I did. Those JBJ dont say how low the temps will go down tho.










Drinking fountain??? What exactly are you refering to? Is there a thread on this?

Sorry to take OT.

EDIT: Pic just loaded up.

EDIT II: Is this complete yet? Results?


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## MasterKromm

I'd give someone major props if they set up a WC system that kept an aquarium warm(completely functional no less) in the winter while doubling as cooling for their rig. I don't know where the OP is from but in the winter I needed to use heaters to keep my African Cichlids from dying(my poolroom is not insulated or connected to the central heating and air). I think it would be bad arse if someone could "recycle" the heat generated by their rig to warm a large aquarium.

-EDIT-

Sorry I know that was a little OT.


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## TLa

drinking foutain chiller doesn't have temperature control, does it? There's setting for water temperature in aquarium chillers which is also a plus point thus eliminating probability of condensation.

Again the review of 1/3 HP chiller (which is considered big in PC application): http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review3/view

It gives you an idea how much temperature it can pull down.


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## Sistum Id

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tr8rjohnk* 
Drinking fountain??? What exactly are you refering to? Is there a thread on this?

Sorry to take OT.

EDIT: Pic just loaded up.

EDIT II: Is this complete yet? Results?

Yeh sorry both pics of before and after are up. my cpu idles at 2 - 4 C and under load is about 12 - 15c. The chiller I use was made in 1980 and use r12 but works like a champ 1/5 hp or 1/4 hp. It runs 24/7 cycles on for 4 mins and off for 12 mins or so. It will get below freezing but I never used any anti-freeze to see how low I could get it.

Bad thing is condensation.

That aquarium chiller is the same setup as a drinking fountain. Just more cleaner, compact, less noisey and more energy efficient.


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## Sistum Id

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TLa* 
drinking foutain chiller doesn't have temperature control, does it? There's setting for water temperature in aquarium chillers which is also a plus point thus eliminating probability of condensation.

Again the review of 1/3 HP chiller (which is considered big in PC application): http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review3/view

It gives you an idea how much temperature it can pull down.

Yes it does have temp controller. Its just not fancy like the aquarium. Its a knob and you turn with a screwdriver left or right. I think the highest I can set it is 20c before the chiller kicks on. Still havent found the lowest it can go. If I take the temperature reader probe out of the condensor it will just run and run until the water freezes.


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## TLa

Sistum Id, if you know someone who is in reef hobby, you can borrow the chiller off him and post the result


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## FrankenPC

I had about 200+ gallons in my reef aquarium before I sold that #%^#@&!!! Boy was I happy to see it go.

Anyway, yeah, I used a heavy duty titanium chiller on mine. I had to. The aggregate heat from all the pumps and the intense lighting made it mandatory. I was running two 175W halides and 4 55W power compacts if I recall correctly. Because the noise and the heat from the chiller were really pissing off my GF, I relocated the chiller outside. I drilled through the wall of the house and ran plumbing to my deck. I relegated the chiller to a doghouse (literally) to protect it from the weather.


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## TLa

lol I just sold my 90G tank and got out of reef hobby in September. The damn thing broke and flooded on me. I scoop back a little more than 2k. Well, it must be strange for heavy duty chiller rated 180G tank to be quiet. What ya expect? 

Best of luck to keep your tank water temp. low.


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## The_Rocker

Great! Put some fish in it!


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## leastbay

alright, check it out

http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php


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## mrkryz

The issue with this is that its relatively easy to hold 78F in an aquarium









An aquarium once its cooled to 78F (Regardless of water volume or the time required to do it) is pretty easy to hold there given that guppi's and goldfish don't radiate enough BTU's of heat to even mention lol . And no sane person puts expensive fish into an environment that will kill them before the temps are just right.

An aquarium has no significant heat source and rarely will you find a cold tank in an environment that is more then 95F ... So its really a matter of cooling a finite amount of water to 78F that has no *ACTIVE* heat source.

When you place one of these units into a PC config... your reducing the volume of water in a scenario where the temps must drop quickly despite the watts of heat increasing rapidly..... and thus loading a system several orders of magnitude beyond its rated thermal dissipation per hour.


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## TLa

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mrkryz*


The issue with this is that its relatively easy to hold 78F in an aquarium









An aquarium once its cooled to 78F (Regardless of water volume or the time required to do it) is pretty easy to hold there given that guppi's and goldfish don't radiate enough BTU's of heat to even mention lol . And no sane person puts expensive fish into an environment that will kill them before the temps are just right.

An aquarium has no significant heat source and rarely will you find a cold tank in an environment that is more then 95F ... So its really a matter of cooling a finite amount of water to 78F that has no *ACTIVE* heat source.

When you place one of these units into a PC config... your reducing the volume of water in a scenario where the temps must drop quickly despite the watts of heat increasing rapidly..... and thus loading a system several orders of magnitude beyond its rated thermal dissipation per hour.


Yes I see your point regarding about heat source. That's also a concern if someone wants to give it a shot in this kind of setup.

In reef hobby, most hobbyists use metal halide as a light source to provide energy for photosynthesis to take place. Metal halides can range from 150W bulbs up to 1000W but most tend to use either 250W or 400W bulbs. These bulbs put a significant amount of heat and usually placed at about few inches off the water surface. You might get sun-burn effect if place your hands at few inches off these bulbs.

For my 90G reef aquarium I used 2x250W metal halide bulbs and couldn't hold the temp at even 82F. Plus all the pumps contribute to heat problem. I had to used fans and turn down the heat in winter time and max air-con in summer.

Just look at this system setup and scroll down to the Lighting section, you will see how many active heat source there are: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-12/totm/index.php

The point is that heat can be an issue in aquarium and metal halides are the main *ACTIVE* heat source. The only difference is the volume of water and this might be a problem in PC setup.


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## Jj23

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TLa* 
I came from a reef hobby and in this hobby people tend to use aquarium chiller to keep tank water cool around 78F. These chillers come with automatic temperature control which will turn on itself to specific setting. You might also need a bigger reservoir.

Would this be more efficient that conventional radiator with fan type setting in terms of performance? Has anyone tried it before? I know ppl talk about mini fridge and all but in the aquarium trade, fridge doesn't work either to keep tank water cool.

Aquarium Chillers:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...rs__index.html

Very nice discussions on this possibility. I'd like to bring in some numbers and physics... Someone said there was no technical information available by those companies... but I found something on the biggest one that has been submitted in the topic :

The 1/3 HP one

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/8/review3#h2

OK so my goal here is to answer to the question : ok it's good to cool an aquarium without that much heat source but will it resist to constant heat from a PC. And a good way to solve these problems is to transfer everything in Energy.

If you look at Pulldown Specs :

The capacity specifications are intended as a guide at a room ambient temp of 86Â°F & heat load of 1.25 W/gallon
* 130 Gallons (27 F Pull down )
* 260 Gallons (18 F Pull down )
* 525 gallons (9 F Pull down )

And the good old equation Q = m*c*deltaT

If you look at the test they made at the bottom of the page, you will see that
in the initial power on of the device, the system pulls down temperature from
78Faranheit to 67Faranheit which correspond to a DeltaT, in celcius, of 6.11 over the course of 105 minutes.

Let's assume there is no heat transfer from the aquarium to the environnement, which is false but in the worst case, this would lead us to underestimate the power of the device. With this assumption, let's evaluate the capacity of the device. How much energy Q did we need to transfer out of the aquarium water to reach a 6.11 deltaT over 105 minutes considering a mass m of 170 kg and a heat capacity of water, which is generally a constant of 4186 J*Kg-1*C-1

The answer is Q = 4347998 Joules

but we didn't transfer this energy in a single shot, we did it over 105 minutes

So if we divide by hours, we will have the power of the device to transfer energy in an hour which gives 2484570 J/Hour, which as I discussed before is an underestimation of the device's power because we assumed that there is no heat transfer from the environnement (lightings, etc) to the aquarium. So the device should be a little bit more powerful than 2484570 J/Hour.

Now at this point of the discussion I'd like to tell you that I'm not a physicist, nor a mathematician, and I have no idea what I'm doing so if you guys know anything about electricity and power consumption and if you want to tell me I'm completely wrong, I won't be offended.

So now the question is does an equipment which pumps 2484570 J/Hour of heat is enough to cool a CPU. I'll investigate that.

Is this calculus realistic ? yes. The device spec says 2620 Btu/H and 2484570 J/Hour = 2356 Btu/H (which shows that our underestimation was of approx 300 Btu/H).

now 2620 Btu/H = 767.3 Watts (or our underestimation = 690 Watts).

As you know, computers use power supplies from 400 to 1000 watts. But these power supplies heat components that you won't include in your circuit : hard disks, dvd readers, etc...

So 767.3 Watts of heat pumpin seems more than enough to cool your CPU and maybe your GPU... Consider that the maximum wattage of your power supply (say 600 watts) is actually never reached...

I think this is really promising. Actually I've come across this thread because I plan to do exactly the same thing in 1 month, and i'll come back with a report... I have a Tai-Chi Watercooling system from Thermataltake with the whole TaiChi case and I'd like to modify it a little bit to include this device, the 1/3 HP. The numbers seem to tell us that's possible.

The only problem thats left is : are these device as good at low temperature. Because for now we investigated the behaviour of the devices at 78-67 Fareinheit, but do they ever offer the option to go lower? Also another thing to consider : 767.3 watts (or 2620 Btu/H) is the heat pumping when the device is always on. So now the % of time the device will be ON depends on how much watts a computer really pumps. I guess it can be from 400 to 600, big maximum, but how much of these watts goes into the CPU and the GPU that we want to cool ? maybe someone can bring us the answer

*Edit :

I just read something that says the whole computer generates 682.80 BTU's / H so the 1/3 HP device is like 3 times what you would need to pump the whole heat generated by the computer, including hard disks and everything







That's good news







Of course this is considering you want to MAINTAIN a temperature. Now what we want is more than maintain, we want to maintain it below ambiant room temperature... So I think the 1/3 HP is a good option.. costs a lot however.


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## USFORCES

I've thought about doing this before, they sell nice ones at a supplier in Chicago for heavy duty use, expensive though but you can set the thermostat so you don't have to worry about condensation so much but keep it cold.


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## Jj23

So all these news mean we don't necessarly look for a 1/3 HP with 2600 BTU/H

Here are some 1/15 and 1/10 alternative, much lower cost

http://www.petsolutions.com/default....02680&SID=NXTG

In strict theoritical terms, the 1/10 with 1500 BTU/H may be enough to maintain it below ambient temperature, however we're walking on a small line

Here is a 1/5 HP on ebay for 319$

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-5-HP-Via-Aqua-...sid=p1638.m118

I think I'll go for 1/5 or 1/6, it's a good trade-off between performance and price.

Here is a nice 1/3 for 399$

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-3-HP-Via-Aqua-...QQcmdZViewItem


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## TLa

Some nano aquarium chilllers are just about $200. Jj23, if you have a chance to set it up this way, please report it here with your own review. Maybe with some photos it would be nice as well. The good thing about this setup is that you don't have to worry about condensation because you can set the thermostat as low as about 70-75F which is about room temp. They also offer the accuracy of the thermostat within few degrees so you always know the water temperature of your closed-loop system.

If the computer is just idle, I don't think there will much heat generated.


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## XFreeRollerX

I read the whole 4 pages here and i got to say... WOW

While i think this is a great idea, as stated before - an added resivoir to increase water volume and eliminate water temperature fluctuations would be really beneficial

For a completely watercooled system, I would estimate around 40-65 oz. of liquid is needed.... add maybe another 40 for 100 oz, maybe someone knows how to calculate how fast water would heat up with the system heat dump... then calculate how much more water would be needed to bring the water temperature delta to maybe .5-1* per hour... as this seems about the same as a decent size aquarium with lights

I figure if it takes maybe a couple liters, you could fabricate an acrylic reservoir similar to Swiftec's Mirco Res... Then mount it under your computer case, kind of like a foot stand for it... Of course it needs some reinforcing to avoid cracking (maybe box the acryllic in a steel/aluminum tube cage, or just painted wood)

I think this is a viable, tryable, and should be attempted experiement. While i would love to - I can probably do this for OCN over the summer as I do have the funds but I am in college, I dont have the time right now

What i would do is build a separate computer, specifically for this project. Probably have someone help me fabricate my "Footprint" resivoir to go under my case, then pick up one of those aquarium chillers (Saw one that was good price, and was quiet enough)

I just am not sure if the chillers have pumps in them... If they do - what is their max PSI? I dont wanna be blowing apart waterblocks !

IF it does not, then I would think I need something like Dual D5 pumps to get decent flow with the long tubing from the chiller

Another issue: portability.... With two units, how easily can this thing move? Is it viable to have some kind of shut off valve system tied onto the hoses and a place to insert a delectable hookup? much like how garden hoses work, except valves on both ends to prevent leaks

If i gather enough $$ after my next build then I may very well attempt this!


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## Jj23

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XFreeRollerX*


I read the whole 4 pages here and i got to say... WOW

While i think this is a great idea, as stated before - an added resivoir to increase water volume and eliminate water temperature fluctuations would be really beneficial

For a completely watercooled system, I would estimate around 40-65 oz. of liquid is needed.... add maybe another 40 for 100 oz, maybe someone knows how to calculate how fast water would heat up with the system heat dump... then calculate how much more water would be needed to bring the water temperature delta to maybe .5-1* per hour... as this seems about the same as a decent size aquarium with lights

I figure if it takes maybe a couple liters, you could fabricate an acrylic reservoir similar to Swiftec's Mirco Res... Then mount it under your computer case, kind of like a foot stand for it... Of course it needs some reinforcing to avoid cracking (maybe box the acryllic in a steel/aluminum tube cage, or just painted wood)

I think this is a viable, tryable, and should be attempted experiement. While i would love to - I can probably do this for OCN over the summer as I do have the funds but I am in college, I dont have the time right now

What i would do is build a separate computer, specifically for this project. Probably have someone help me fabricate my "Footprint" resivoir to go under my case, then pick up one of those aquarium chillers (Saw one that was good price, and was quiet enough)

I just am not sure if the chillers have pumps in them... If they do - what is their max PSI? I dont wanna be blowing apart waterblocks !

IF it does not, then I would think I need something like Dual D5 pumps to get decent flow with the long tubing from the chiller

Another issue: portability.... With two units, how easily can this thing move? Is it viable to have some kind of shut off valve system tied onto the hoses and a place to insert a delectable hookup? much like how garden hoses work, except valves on both ends to prevent leaks

If i gather enough $$ after my next build then I may very well attempt this!


Most chiller ive seen didnt have a pump so just use a separate pump, theyre designed to handle strong circulation which has nothing to do with what you will do with a computer









I think you're seeing this more complicated then it is. These chiller basically cold the water they contain. Any pump that would handle a normal water system like the pump that came with my tai chi will do the thing... it won't be that long you can just put the unit beside your computer, or under like you suggest...


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## XFreeRollerX

Ok well now say water gets so cold it condensates from tubing

i have absolutely no idea how to protect from that


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## Jj23

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XFreeRollerX* 
Ok well now say water gets so cold it condensates from tubing

i have absolutely no idea how to protect from that

All these chillers are equipped with a thermostat so it will stop at the temperature you set them... and for condensation you isolate the system like you would do with a phase change or anything else


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## XFreeRollerX

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jj23*


All these chillers are equipped with a thermostat so it will stop at the temperature you set them... and for condensation you isolate the system like you would do with a phase change or anything else


Again, i dont know how to properly insulate, i would have to research it...

But i am really looking into this

Whats a good water temp? like 45-50* Fahrenheit?

I live in Arizona, home of single digit humidity %, single digit dew points, and what we like to call the living OVEN (aka desert)


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## Jj23

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XFreeRollerX*


Again, i dont know how to properly insulate, i would have to research it...

But i am really looking into this

Whats a good water temp? like 45-50* Fahrenheit?

I live in Arizona, home of single digit humidity %, single digit dew points, and what we like to call the living OVEN (aka desert)


For the insulation, there's a complete guide available in the Phase Change section of the forum... just do like they do; they cold it at -40 and they succeed so do the same thing for your aquarium chiller

the temperature, you choose it. You may want to pick a temperature where you dont need insulation. This would be a temperature just above the dew point. If you want to calculate the dew point, theres a lot of dew points calculators on google that will take into account humidity and temperature.

but if you insulate correctly, then the dew point is lowered because it's not about the temperature of your liquid, it's all about the temperature at the surface of you insulation surface. so if you have extreme insulation, then the temperature at the external surface of your insulation should be over the dew point, thus you have no condensation. It depends on the material you use to insulate, and the thickness.


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## XFreeRollerX

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jj23*


For the insulation, there's a complete guide available in the Phase Change section of the forum... just do like they do; they cold it at -40 and they succeed so do the same thing for your aquarium chiller

the temperature, you choose it. You may want to pick a temperature where you dont need insulation. This would be a temperature just above the dew point. If you want to calculate the dew point, theres a lot of dew points calculators on google that will take into account humidity and temperature.

but if you insulate correctly, then the dew point is lowered because it's not about the temperature of your liquid, it's all about the temperature at the surface of you insulation surface. so if you have extreme insulation, then the temperature at the external surface of your insulation should be over the dew point, thus you have no condensation. It depends on the material you use to insulate, and the thickness.


ok thanks for the insulation info

and most likely i will have the water around 60*F to avoid condensation untill i can get good insulation materials


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## TLa

One point to consider: Most aquarium chillers don't go below room temperature at around 21C. The chiller thermostat just shuts off the chiller unit when it senses the water temp is at specific setting. It's safe to say that you don't have condensation problem in this type of setup.

XFreeRollerX, you brought up a good point about its movability. There will always be 2 tubes coming in and out of PC computer case. So you probably need valves there to isolate the PC system from the chiller and res. unit. Of course, chiller and res unit will also have their own valves otherwise water will be everywhere when you disconnect PC from chiller.

I see where this is going to. Valves are bulky.... unlikely for regular John Smith to implement this kind setup


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## deafmetal

Did any of you guys go ahead with the chiller? I ended up putting an "Ice Probe" in a custom made reservoir. Dunno that the TEC probe is going to provide much cooling, but has been a fun side project. Been looking at doing a chiller since I'm already outside my case to a triple radiator.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *deafmetal*


Did any of you guys go ahead with the chiller? I ended up putting an "Ice Probe" in a custom made reservoir. Dunno that the TEC probe is going to provide much cooling, but has been a fun side project. Been looking at doing a chiller since I'm already outside my case to a triple radiator.


What's an Ice Probe or a TEC probe?


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## deafmetal

Google

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari..._iceprobe.html


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## LeeH

Well, this is my first post here. I registered when I found this thread on a search of aquarium chillers. I'm in the process of watercooling my qx9650 and Striker II Extreme.

I'm just thinking ahead a little here. I have a swiftech 655 for a pump. My question is how do we match (if we even have to) the minimum flow rates on the chillers. What is the consequence of having a flow rate below what the chiller says is the minimum.

My current plan is to just water cool the cpu and chipsets until I see where this rig takes me and then maybe add a chiller instead of going to 2 loops and additional rads when adding the graphics

I've got a swiftech 320 rad that I will use push/pull fan arrangement.

Any thoughts from you aquarium guys on the flow rate issue (if it is one)?


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## deafmetal

Can't help ya mate. I've been researching aquarium chillers myself, but haven't found one worth spending the $$$ to try yet. I just ordered some new fans and shrouds to do a complete push and pull on my feser 480 quad rad.

Running a QX9650 on a Maximus Formula SE here. About 18c, but I use a Swiftec Peltier waterblock.

Edit: Maybe I can help. I've been running a Swiftec MCP-655 pump for years, and it's rated at ~317 GPH. I'd assume after running through my loop, which also includes and unfortunate reduction from 1/2" ID to 3/8" ID, I'm probably looking at 200 - 250 GPH. Looking at These Chillers that flow rate easily fits into their operating range. And some of them have 1/2" barbs.

Dunno... someone buy one and let us know how it goes. I just want to get to ~70F on my water temp and stay there, I'm almost at 90F now, hopefully my quad radiator/fan/shroud upgrade will bring it down to atleast room temp.


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## LeeH

Problem with that flow rate is that it is with no pressure on the loop. You may only be running 1.5 -2.0 gpm in the loop itself.

Oddly enough I have been looking at essentially the same chillers that you have been. I think the question I will have to pose at the local aquarium shop is what chiller can handle a constant duty cycle (if any) and what are the consequenses of being below the flow rate. I have learned (I think) that aquarium pumps are sized to be large enough to turn the water 5 times in an hour and I wonder if the flow rate for the chillers is really something similar.

Can't wait to see the the reaction when I tell them I need a chiller for my computer


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## SeigiSama

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TLa*


One point to consider: Most aquarium chillers don't go below room temperature at around 21C. The chiller thermostat just shuts off the chiller unit when it senses the water temp is at specific setting. It's safe to say that you don't have condensation problem in this type of setup.

XFreeRollerX, you brought up a good point about its movability. There will always be 2 tubes coming in and out of PC computer case. So you probably need valves there to isolate the PC system from the chiller and res. unit. Of course, chiller and res unit will also have their own valves otherwise water will be everywhere when you disconnect PC from chiller.

I see where this is going to. Valves are bulky.... unlikely for regular John Smith to implement this kind setup


I work in plastic thermoforming. We use water to cool our tooling. The water line-tooling connections are self closing quick disconnect fittings. Think of an air line fitting but when you pull them apart both sides close off. Ours are in the 2.25"+ range but if fittings like that could be found closer to 1/2" than it would be cake. Valves would not be needed. Although the fittings would hamper flow a bit, so would a ball valve.


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## SeigiSama

This chiller: http://www.aquastealth.com/polarbear...umchiller.aspx

would probably do a damn good job! 1/5 HP and set points 41-99 degrees F







Not Quit 0 deg. Celcius but still damn good. But It would require a decent pump. My D4 only pumps about 60 GPH with middling pressure. I don't know if adding another D series in the loop would double up or not. Probably need a decent submersible pump. Which would add heat to the loop.
This is a modified version of the same chiller http://www.aquastealth.com/modified15hpchiller.aspx which will allow setting the control to 0 degrees celcius. They specifically did it for Computer cooling.


----------



## SeigiSama

I had a thought. What if you were to use one of the chillers I listed above but instead of one loop you Had 2? Like the first loop with a large aquarium pump moving the Coolant out of a large Rez like a inslated fish tank or a big thermos. That pump moves the coolant through the chiller and the right back into the Rez. Then have a smaller pump say a d4 or d5 vario pump coolant from seperate ports through your wc loop and back into the Rez. That way the hot coolant get absorbed into the cold coolant in the Rez and then the chiller won't have to work so hard... Since it's cooling the large mass of water slowly rather than a small mass of water quickly. I'm seriosly thinking about buying one of these...


----------



## Varjo

Hmm, Good idea, the issue is insulation. If your large body of water is subambiant, you will waste a lot of heat unless you insulate your res.

I would mod a cooler to be the res to minimize this.


----------



## SeigiSama

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Varjo* 
Hmm, Good idea, the issue is insulation. If your large body of water is subambiant, you will waste a lot of heat unless you insulate your res.

I would mod a cooler to be the res to minimize this.

Well how about a beverage cooler? Or buy a plastic aquarium and then a metal box that's slightly larger than the aquarium and then fill in the space with insulating foam.


----------



## NidStyles

Have any of you considered using the actual computer itself to control the duty cycle of the chiller?

You could setup a larger rad with a solenoid valve that would take the water flow/supply from the chiller circuit to the rad circuit depending on the load of the system. Using USB and a simple script that is loaded at startup and a microcontroller. It could be a simple micro controller setup too, like an nano Arduino/AVR with a simple on/off water valve system. It would take more water, and a bit more tubing, but the outcome could be pretty good.

A little more cost, but it would be pretty cool.


----------



## SeigiSama

Actually If I set it up, I would coat my motherboard, insulate my CPU block and water lines and then adjust the Temperature setting on the chiller until I got a good blend of temps and run time on the chiller.


----------



## NidStyles

SeigiSama - After doing a few calculation's on my own time. I don't think it would be more cost effective to run it that way. It seem's you would still end up running the chiller far more than needed. With the current Mobo's offering real time overclocking utilities, and most of these utulities offering scriptable overclock's it wouls seem wiser to just run the chiller as needed for higher overclock's, than to run them 24/7. With energy consumption being a very big issue these day's I would prefer to use scripting.


----------



## cathode

Has anyone thought about putting fish in their WC reservoir?

... don't hate.


----------



## NidStyles

So they could add bacteria, and debris into your water line's?


----------



## SeigiSama

I'm not pumping fish poop through my Dtek and XSPC water blocks <.<


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

Chillers?? Over in Canada it's basically mandatory to have heaters in the tank. The fish would die without it.


----------



## walker450

A lot of aquariums have so many lights and pumps in them that add heat to the water, that they must use chillers to keep the water from heating up too much. I believe it depends a lot on the type of fish also.


----------



## FlashG

So nobody has actually put one into their loop yet?

I've been playing around with my new i7 975 on a water loop in my dx58so. I'm very pleased with it so far. I have hit 4.6GHz (base clk of 133 with 35x turbo multiplier on all four cores) easy... with only 238mV dynamic voltage offset and no slope. Temps are great.... runs aroun 32C at idle and hits 70C at full load. The water loop can easily handle the 70C. Stock uncore and QPI voltages.

If I try to nudge past 4.66, even one clock up to 36x or 37x, the voltage needs shoot up way past 300mv offset AND to get it to boot I have to increase the uncore and QPI voltage up to 1.45. Runs fine..... except when I put it under load (any benchmark), the temps shoot up too high. Hits my thermal limit and shuts down. Means I need a better cooling system.....

I am going to get a better pump (new ver3.2 Laing DCC), better rads (Black Ice 480s) to remove some flow restriction AND I am going to add an aquarium chiller to the loop (85w peltier based version... unistar uni-85 in Aus, Aqua Euro Nano CL-85 in the US... same machine). I already ordered it. Being shipped as I type...

I'm not trying to get my coolant down to 4C.... I just want to scrub 10 to 15C off my base idle temps (idles at high 30s to mid 40s at 4.9Ghz) AND increase my ability to take heat away from the proc when it gets under load. I reckon I will be happy with just over 5Ghz on this system.

I'll let you know what happens.

FlashG


----------



## Varjo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


So nobody has actually put one into their loop yet?

I've been playing around with my new i7 975 on a water loop in my dx58so. I'm very pleased with it so far. I have hit 4.6GHz (base clk of 133 with 35x turbo multiplier on all four cores) easy... with only 238mV dynamic voltage offset and no slope. Temps are great.... runs aroun 32C at idle and hits 70C at full load. The water loop can easily handle the 70C. Stock uncore and QPI voltages.

If I try to nudge past 4.66, even one clock up to 36x or 37x, the voltage needs shoot up way past 300mv offset AND to get it to boot I have to increase the uncore and QPI voltage up to 1.45. Runs fine..... except when I put it under load (any benchmark), the temps shoot up too high. Hits my thermal limit and shuts down. Means I need a better cooling system.....

I am going to get a better pump (new ver3.2 Laing DCC), better rads (Black Ice 480s) to remove some flow restriction AND I am going to add an aquarium chiller to the loop (85w peltier based version... unistar uni-85 in Aus, Aqua Euro Nano CL-85 in the US... same machine). I already ordered it. Being shipped as I type...

I'm not trying to get my coolant down to 4C.... I just want to scrub 10 to 15C off my base idle temps (idles at high 30s to mid 40s at 4.9Ghz) AND increase my ability to take heat away from the proc when it gets under load. I reckon I will be happy with just over 5Ghz on this system.

I'll let you know what happens.

FlashG



Putting a radiator and a chiller in the same loop is kind of silly and counter productive.

Let's consider the two possible cases here. Note: *I am talking about coolant temp, not cpu temp.*

Either:

1) Your coolant is below ambient temp.

or

2) Your coolant is above ambient temp.

In case 1, all your radiator is doing is heating up your coolant. It is running comparatively warm air over cooler water, exit temps out of the rad will be warmer than the water flowing in.

In case 2, your chiller is just doing the job that a second radiator could do. Instead of spending power trying to actively cool the coolant, just get a bigger/another rad.

I am really interested in this idea, however, the *only* point would be to get sub-ambient coolant temps (not necessarily CPU temps though) in which case using a rad would hurt your temps, not help.


----------



## FlashG

Its not counter productive if I can turn my rad fans off









Fan switch will be easier than the flow switch somebody else suggested earlier in the thread.... would be nice to switch the rads out of the circuit... but maybe too much work. I will do a bunch of dry run mock builds to see what might be best. It's going to be fun to watch and optimise.

I think I will have at least 2 temp probes in the coolant and will aim for slightly sub-ambient. 5C sub ambient if my... room temp is 22 to 27 should be OK. Not too much since I don't want to bother with condensation in this build.

All I want to do is build a bit more cooling power into the coolant on the extreme temps... and get above 5Ghz stable.


----------



## FlashG

I took a guess at the 5C sub-ambient target being safe for avoiding condensation. I found a condensation threshold calculator on the web and it turns out 5C is very safe....

Its not my room temp that I need to consider as 'ambient', its hot spots in my case. At low relative humidity (30%) and 27C case temps (worst case) I can hit 8C and not worry about condensation!!! Woohooo... this will be fun


----------



## FlashG

Looks cold... fits the tube size I hope to use:

What should I hook it up to??


----------



## FlashG

How bout we pair it with this for a start:


----------



## walker450

Flash- I have been experimenting with a mini-fridge chiller. My thread is in the cooling experiments section and labeled "A Cooling Experiment". Good luck with your setup and I'm interested to see what kind of a difference it makes.

About chillers in general, I came across a site that sells drinking fountain chillers. I found it interesting to read the specs on them. I would like to find an old cheap one to experiment with. Site is here: http://www.usadrinkingfountainparts...._Chillers.html


----------



## FlashG

Hi Walker

Yes, I have seen your thread.... cool. Very cool









Mini-fridges take lots of skill. I have two left thumbs.... I need easy. Plus I'm not trying to get my coolant as low as most fridge rigs. Originally I just wanted to include a small peltier in the loop to scrub off some extra heat. Not as a cpu cooler, just as an additional heat scrubber. Again, I have no build skills so I went for easy: some of the lower end aquarium chillers are peltier based









So, lets see how it ends up.....

Cheers,

Flash


----------



## LarsMarkelson

This is not an aquarium chiller but actually a beer flash cooler for bars: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=613635

Looks highly effective however probably expensive and the cooler is as big as the whole computer case.


----------



## FlashG

Very cool... but if you used a 'flash' beer cooler, it would mean that somewhere in the world, beer is going uncooled!!! That would be a crime


----------



## FlashG

I think the 5405 is a very good RAID controller:


----------



## FlashG

Better than hamsters in a treadmill:


----------



## FlashG

No, not a mirror image... gotta have two!!!


----------



## FlashG

... and a couple of blocks for the second water circuit:


----------



## FlashG

It was either this or Mountain Mod. I am sure MM's are good, but the finish on the Danger Den Double Wide Tower is perfect.... and there is _probably _enough room


----------



## FlashG

I've never worked with Tygon tubing before... now I doubt I will work with anything else. Most of the plumbing will be with 1/2id - 3/4od Tygon 3603... but I got some 1/2id - 5/8od Tygon 1000 for 'tight turns'. The 3603 is soft and bendy... but this bend is with the 1000. It is VERY bendy.. but you gotta have the anti-kink coils to keep it open (these ones are PrimoChill).


----------



## Mike-O

It's not a double, or even a triple post. It's a septuple post!

A new record on OCN, if I'm not mistaken!









Nice loop nonetheless!


----------



## FlashG

Thanks









All the packages come in at different times..... so I thought a series of pics was best









Glad you like them....

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

RADical!!! OK, maybe too radical. If you know the layout of the case, you know what I mean.... but hey, who could resist.

The new Feser fans look like they know what to do.. and I am sure the Black Ice rad will do the job.... but remember, this is a Aquarium Chiller build.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Yeay... my D0 stepping 920 arrived!!!!


----------



## FlashG

Who could resist an unlocked Xeon w3580









FlashG


----------



## FlashG

DD Double Wide Tower with two Black Ice rads on the off side... I need a triple wide next time!!!

The Feser fans are twice as wide as normal.. but still... I can barely fit the twin Laing DDC 3.2s with the Bitspower head.... plus these rads look BIG. I may need more pumpage.

Fittings on the top or bottom shouldn't make much differece.. same net work... but at the top, I may not be able to fit the lid on with the Bitspower compresison fittings for my 3/4 in od tubes!!! Wo is me....

FlashG


----------



## LarsMarkelson

***patiently awaiting results***


----------



## FSF-Foxhound

I'd like a fish swimming around my PC. When I get hungry, I'll start up intel burn test + furmark and boil that fish


----------



## Ktmrida4life

How badass would it be though to have a reef chiller cooling a large reservoir (fish tank) with fish swimming around in it which cools your pc! lol

People would walk in your house and be like "oh thats a nice fish tank, but why do you have it?"

" I use it to cool my computers internals" lol


----------



## Mygaffer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson*











***patiently awaiting results***


So this thread was started 3 years ago. Did the OP come back to it or are you just VERY patiently awaiting results?


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mygaffer* 
So this thread was started 3 years ago. Did the OP come back to it or are you just VERY patiently awaiting results?











That would be hilarious... but anyway I should've quoted as I meant that in reply to FlashG's post with his multiple radiator setup.


----------



## FlashG

No return of the OP... this is a New Begining....

I am building a Hot Chilly Rig









FlashG


----------



## FlashG

... this is what I was waiting for.... my EK-Backplate. The Classified seems to be a pretty strong mobo, but I want my AquaComputer Cuplex water block to have the best possible contact. No 'bowing' with this backplate in position.


----------



## FlashG

... and build. Now I can start to put the big bits together. Mount the mobo, add some storage....


----------



## FlashG

Now for a bit of plumbing.

These Shoggy Sponges will be great mounts.

I asked CyberDruid to make me a WaterFall (or Cylinder, his choice) for this build... and I still have my fingers crossed for that arriving.

I think I might drop him a Hello and show him how the build is going....

FlashG


----------



## Shrimpykins

Why two 355's if ya don't mind me asking?


----------



## FlashG

The 355/ddc is a 'preload sensitive' pump. This means that the efficiency of the pump depends on the pressure / amount of fluid entering / priming the pump.

The top I am using puts these two 355 pumps 'in series'. One pump sends its output directly into the input stream of the second pump. Because the second pump is receiving fluid at an accelerated rate, it pumps fluid out at a much more accelerated rate. From what I have seen at Skinnee Labs, this effect is more than additive.

The human heart is also a pump that is 'preload sensitive'. The left side of the heart is the bigger more muscular side that does most of the work of pumping blood to the entire body. The only purpose of the right side of the heart is to 'preload' the left side so that the left side is more efficient. Without the 'preload' from the right side, the left side couldn't possibly pump enough blood to keep the whole body satisfied.

In short, by running these two 355s in series, I reckon I have 1.5 Iwakies









I think I may need this much power because I will have an Aquarium Chiller in my main loop. Although it wont add much restrictive resistance, I think it will add a bit of work.

In more practical terms, knowing the 355/dcc is 'preload sensitive' tells you that you shouldn't let the pressure go out of your loop before returning fluid to the pump. For example, a waterfall reservoir lets the pressure drop to zero. Water enters the reservoir at the top and flows gently down a couple of levels (waterfalls) and rests in the bottom of the resie at zero pressure. A cylinder resie, that is closed, will allow you to keep any pressure in the loop that is still in the loop after passing through your blocks and rads. In both examples I assume the resie is the last piece in your loop before the pump. If you keep any residual pressure in the loop, it will server to 'push' more fluid into the pump and thus increase 'preload'. But enough of that.. .back to the build.

FlashG


----------



## LarsMarkelson

You better hit 6GHz 24/7 stable. Going to be an epic rig.


----------



## Shrimpykins

Overkill if ya ask me but nothing wrong with that. I got a GTX 480 running my C2D hehe







. Nothing else in the loop.


----------



## FlashG

Deft overkill.... for sure.... but like I said earlier, I want to make sure I put in a good cooling system and taking the heat away from the proc quickly with high flows is probably quite important.

I've been doing a lot of reading, and playing at home, on pushing the i7 up through 4.5 to 5.0ghz. Voltage requirements, and thus heat, increase dramatically in this range. Skinnee (Skinnee Labs) is playing around with benches on an OCZ Cryo-Z unit. You can see how heat load increases dramatically even sub zero. I won't be able to take this rig sub-zero because I'm not protecting for condensation. On low humidity days, I will be able to take it down to 10-15C to start.

Bottom line: I will be THRILLED if I can get even a smidge above 5ghz. I think you need LN2 for close to 6ghz. I do have an unlocked xeon w3580, which is a bit of a 'dark horse' and may have way better o/c chracteristics than pliain i7s. Although the proc overclocks on HWBOT suggest maybe the i7 975 goes up to 6ghz easier, I am hoping the w3580 is better around 4.8 to 5 on 'cold water'. At the very least, I know the w3580 will give me MONSTER memory o/cs!!!

Onward with the overkill!!!

FlashG
ps - Have 'plumbed' the chipset water loop. Piccies will follow soon. I know the x58 chipset doesn't get too hot, so this is overkill too... but I'm happy


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shrimpykins* 
Overkill if ya ask me but nothing wrong with that. I got a GTX 480 running my C2D hehe







. Nothing else in the loop.

I just looked at your fan shroud build log Shrimpy. I feel like a newb standing in my underware.... I have NO build skills. I am trying my best on this build, but I gotta use all stock bits and I know it is going to look like a FrankenRig to someone like you. Kudos to your shroud....

Flash G


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Unlocked i7 Xeon? Yes please... I'll take one sir.









.......

ZOMG I JUST LOOKED AT NEWEGG. AVERT YOUR EYES!


----------



## Shrimpykins

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


Deft overkill.... for sure.... but like I said earlier, I want to make sure I put in a good cooling system and taking the heat away from the proc quickly with high flows is probably quite important.


Good flow *is* important. But only to a certain point. There is a point, and it varies depending on the loop components, at which the water is moving at a rate so fast that it can't pick up much heat as it passes through the block. At that point you are just pushing more water than needed. One of those 355's has about 20ft of head which is quite a bit. You would need to put some serious restrictiveness in your loop to get the flow rate to a point where it would be detrimental. That's why I use the 355 and not the 655. Upgradability. You start putting restriction in the loop and a 655 will drop flow considerably where as a 355 won't, so *even though *it has a lower flow rate, the 355's flow rate is more than enough to begin with and it holds it's own against restriction.

Surface area and turbulence are more key to water picking up heat in a loop than flow is. Unless you go way down in flow. It's on a curve really if you understand what I mean.

Thank you for the compliments on the shroud =). I have been so busy lately I haven't even had a chance to use the darn thing. It's still untapped = \\...


----------



## FlashG

I agreee, the relationship between heat uptake and 'flow rate' is on a curve and heat transfer gains for increase in speed will start to drop off with very high flows.

This recent water block review from MadShrimps  suggests the block I chose has a reasonably strong relationship between pump pressure (flow rate) and heat transfer, probably because it is a bit restrictive. The heat transfer of the cuplex improved a reasonable amount at the highest pump speed.... so, I figured dual ddcs in series would be better than a single with this block. Especially since I am sending the flow through a BIG rad (GTX 480) AND a water chiller.

I don't think this pump combo will go insanely off the deep end... way too fast flow so it goes onto the downward side of the heat transfer curve... but who knows. I have a controller coming that should allow me to vary the power to the pump and thus flow speed, so I can play around a bit.

If I was really being pure, I would have chosen a different block that is less restrictive and has higher flows at lower pressures.... like maybe the watercool heatkiller... but I LOVE the looks of the cuplex. 'Love' should always have a lot to do with the decisions we make....

FlashG


----------



## Raul-7

I just stumbled upon this thread, but this has always been an idea in the back of mind for ideal water cooling. This is of course because my passion for aquariums has a long history in comparison to my newfound passion for PC's.

Now I see you're actually putting this into practice! I eagerly await look the results.

But I have a couple of questions, sorry if these were already answered.
1) Do you plan on putting the chiller on the same closed-loop as the PC? 
2) Why not use an aquarium (no fish of course!) as a reservoir and then have the chiller on it's own separate pump chill the aquarium. Then have a second pump use water from the reservoir to cool the PC? That's the way I was thinking of applying it.


----------



## FlashG

1. Yes, I intend to put the chiller in the main CPU loop.

2. That is an excellent idea... but I don't have enough room to do that. My office is a bit to cramped.... and I'm not sure I need such a large reservoir. I think it will work with this loop.. but how knows. Maybe I will do that later.

If you want to see more along the line of the big resie you mention, do a search on some of Walker450's posts. He's done some stuff like that... and more!!!

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

How do you get a Rep? Can I Rep myself or will I go blind???

FlashG


----------



## falco216

By me hitting the +rep button under your name, such as me doing it for you making an aquarium chiller.


----------



## FlashG

Yep, feels just as good as a real Rep!!!

Thks Falco









FlashG


----------



## Raul-7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
1. Yes, I intend to put the chiller in the main CPU loop.

The only problem with this is that most aquarium chillers are not designed to run constantly.


----------



## FlashG

I think the one I chose will... or perhaps more importantly, I will find out if the one I chose will run constantly....

This chiller isn't a refer. Its based on a peltier, and seems to have a nice size heat sink and fan. The titanium reservoir (because it was built for salt water too) is about 300 to 400 mls. I know the tank size it was made for and the heat input the tank would normally receive. I don't think the chiller will run constantly with my rig. I can set an upper temp for it to cycle on and off... an upper range... I think I will have 2L+ circulating in my loop. I think it will cycle on when it needs to. If it blows, I have one huge MF rad in the GTX 480. Plus some pretty good fans in the nebelwerfers... I mean TRIEBWERK fans.

Best way to find out how it works is to do it... so far as I can see from this thread, lots of ppl have talked about it, but I can't find anyone who has done it. Action, not words...

FlashG


----------



## Raul-7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
Best way to find out how it works is to do it... so far as I can see from this thread, lots of ppl have talked about it, but I can't find anyone who has done it. Action, not words...

Rep-worthy.


----------



## i_ame_killer_2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raul-7* 
The only problem with this is that most aquarium chillers are not designed to run constantly.

This is true. It will work but you will encounter the same problem as with cooling your pc with a fridge. These things are note designed to run constantly. It will wear out quickly. This is not will not work in the long run, its not even worth the try.


----------



## FlashG

Two reps in one night.... I'm exhausted!!! I need a ciggie









FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *i_ame_killer_2* 
.... It will wear out quickly. This is not will not work in the long run, its not even worth the try.

But I am having fun. If it looks like fun, try it. If it is fun, it is worth it: That is the essence of life.

Besides, as I mentioned before, my chiller is a peltier unit. This is a commercial peltier with a decent heat sink, a good fan and a titanium reservoir (I should probably be using a 'capital' P for peltier). I chose a peltier unit for a reason.

What wears out on a peltier?

FlashG


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Could you go into some detail about why you decided on the Aqua Euro Nano CL-85? It's got a very nice price here in the USA, only $160 here: http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3231656

As well how do you plan to hook it up? This might be my next build! This unit looks very nice and small.


----------



## FlashG

It was the largest peltier unit I could buy here in Australia. I think there is a larger one out there somewhere, but I can't get it here in Aus.

All the other chillers are refrigeration units, and probably aren't meant to run all the time. The compressors are likely louder too.

This peltier unit has a temp control, so I can fine tune it and it is passive. It doesn't have its own pump. I'm going to put it into my loop like any other reservoir, except it will be outside the case. Does that help??

Wait to see if mine works and is any good before you decide to get one. I should have mine up and running before Christmas. It won't be perfectly tuned by Chrisse, but I can post some Realtemp screens at base clock speeds....

FlashG


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Cool man thanks for the info, +rep'd. Sounds like that it is going to be a good unit. Quiet too!


----------



## Shrimpykins

Interesting idea... Basically that of the two people who are trying to machine peltier water chillers from large plates of copper with several peltiers sandwiched in between. You would most likely get better temps by actually buying high powered TEC and under-powering it and using that as a direct cooler for the CPU and then using the water loop to cool the TEC.


----------



## FlashG

Thats the great thing about this game. If you can think it, and you have the build skills, you can do it.

My approach is the easy way because I am using commercial parts and keeping their bits in the original package. I have no doubts you could go close to zero or sub zero with a powerful peltier. I also have no doubts mine will go to 5C or 10C, if I want.... but I don't want to have to insulate for condensation, so I won't take it anywhere near that low except of very low humidity days.

I just want to be able to take a few degrees off my water, maybe no more than five, sometimes ten (down from 22C to 17 or down from 27 to 17) AND I want a better flow in my system so that I can reduce the voltage requirements / remove the heat faster when I get up around 4.8GHZ... maybe just enough improvement in my cooling to take me over 5.0GHZ.

In my current rig, I can get my i7 975 booting at 4.8GHZ, but the temps soar up under load and trigger my thermal limits.... shut down. Thus, the desire for better cooling









FlashG


----------



## Raul-7

I only know of two to three aquarium chiller companies that use the Peltier system and they're really expensive.

One is Peltech Ocean: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...Path=40_43_205

The other is GHL: http://www.firststopaquatics.co.uk/a...x_Chiller.html

The last is by CoolWorks: http://www.marinedepot.com/chillers_...eprobe-ap.html

Which unit are you using?

Honestly, I'm really tempted to try it out with the last one. But probably not until I recover monetarily from my recent build.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raul-7* 
I only know of two to three aquarium chiller companies that use the Peltier system and they're really expensive.

One is Peltech Ocean: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...Path=40_43_205

The other is GHL: http://www.firststopaquatics.co.uk/a...x_Chiller.html

The last is by CoolWorks: http://www.marinedepot.com/chillers_...eprobe-ap.html

Which unit are you using?

Honestly, I'm really tempted to try it out with the last one. But probably not until I recover monetarily from my recent build.

The first two you link to look really cool. If I had found them, I would have tried to get one here in Aus.... but that is sometimes difficult. I have seen the IceProbe before. Doesn't look like it would suit. Not powerful enough and no reservoir.

I am using the Unistar Uni-85. If you take the cover off, the working bits are very similar to the peltier units in your first two links. I like it because I think it won't be too powerful and has a very good built in temp control.

It is made by a parent company in China and is markted in the US as the Aqua Euro Nano CL-85. I'll try to look up the name and link to the parent company. I remember that the parent company does create a more powerful peltier unit, but I couldn't find it shipping anywhere.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

... is Resun. I couldn't find the CL-150 shipping anywhere in Aus, so I went for the CL-85.

I may have gone for one of the more powerful units you found Raul. When I take the cover off my unit, it looks very similar to those open peltier units, but the 'reservoir' on mine looks larger.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

.. read your history. The Romans did so many cool things with 'plumbing'. Mostly using lead (pb), but as long as your water isn't acidic, that is OK. Drinking water, hot houses (saunas) etc. I like plumbing. I wish I had build skills. I can see what I want to do, but I need somebody else to do it. This is difficult for me. Deciding what you want and where something should go. You need to know what tools you have at hand and what your materials can do. The Roman Engineers were BRILLIANT at using their materials to the extreme. Here I am trying to figure out what my Tygon tubing can do and where it should go next. You really should build with Tygon... it can do ANYTHING...

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

So, this is what I ended up doing with with Loop 1, the chipset loop. I know the x58 chipset doesn't get too hot, but the BitsPower Black Freezer blocks LOOK so cool, they must be cool !!!

You might be able to see a Y-connect on the top of the reservoir. I am going to fit a fill / drainage tube to this. Still waiting for some more plumbing bits to accomodate the fill tube.

The final pic doesn't really show anything to do with this loop. It was just a cool view through the Double Wide Tower lit by the window behind









FlashG


----------



## FlashG

I am pretty sure its not two 5870's on one board. Most comparisons of 5870's in Xfire beat the 5970. Its probably 2x5850's.... but if you got two 5970's in X-fire, how good would that be? Too good to resist?

Let's see if this e-bayer is legit and my order (x2) comes through.

FlashG
ps - it wouldn't be a real go at an Aquarium Build if I didn't give it every advantage possible. Except for alternate cooling systems, am I missing anything???


----------



## FlashG

Had to take a bit of a detour from the main mission because my Rampage arrived.. .so I spent some time setting it up. Right now I'm fighting with Windows 7 and a dual ssd 5405 raid 0 boot install on this machine.

I like this Thermaltake case.. I have had lots of systems in it. I hope the external GTX black ice rad works.. the Triebelwerk fans (Nebelwerfers???) should do OK. LOVE the Feser I blood red no shock fluid...

Now back to the main build...

Oh, almost forgot... the dual 5970's almost blow my wiring job... but I wanted to make sure they drew from different rails









FlashG


----------



## Varjo

I really don't understand why you decided to hijack this random thread for your (not very good) random buildlog.


----------



## FlashG

I agree that last post was random and off topic.... but I enjoyed it









This thread is about Aquarium Chillers and I am putting one into the cooling loop of the other system I am building.... so it is not such a random build log. It is right on topic...

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

I had a lightening strike about 4 to 6 weeks ago that caused a spike in my power line. It took out 2 power supplies, an i7 975 and a very cool D0 i7 920.

One of the power supplies only lost its high-end capacitors. Thank god that was all that happened in that machine. It was my Skulltrail.. with 2 x 9775s. Phew.... it was an Enermax Galaxy. I will buy Enermax simply because this machie ONLY lost the power supply!!!

The other machine was an Antec. At first I thought it was the proc that was dead.... so I put the 920 in. It ate that too.... no more Truepowers for me.

Yes, both machines were turned off... and behind a decent UPS. Unfortunately another machine was on and the power out drained the UPS batts and then the lightening stike occured on the power line ... Now I know that this particular UPS stops providing surge protection when the batts drain!!!

Moral of the story: I just set up an APC 3000W UPS (smart -UPS XL) to protect my Aquarium Chiller build. It is cool....

FlashG


----------



## NidStyles

^^^









Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


I agree that last post was random and off topic.... but I enjoyed it









This thread is about Aquarium Chillers and I am putting one into the cooling loop of the other system I am building.... so it is not such a random build log. It is right on topic...

FlashG


No it's not on topic, and you come off as a bit of a douche.....

IBM syseng??? From Australia??? I've worked there before, and wasn't aware they had offices, other than distribution, there.


----------



## USFORCES

My computer is lava cooled! Take that damit! Oh wait...

Back on topic: I thought about using a Aquarium chiller in the past matter a fact I made a thread here a couple years back, I was at one time looking at a small industral chiller that was more heavy duty than any aquarium chiller but never went through with it.
Anyhow if it's hot where your at or you don't have a good AC an aquarium chiller will make it hotter .
Watercooling is good enough for just running a good overclock, My QX6700 could of used it but 40nm cores really don't need it even at 4Ghz mine don't anyhow.

Unless your out for a record you don't need it, If you are go with dryice.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NidStyles* 
^^^









No it's not on topic, and you come off as a bit of a douche.....

IBM syseng??? From Australia??? I've worked there before, and wasn't aware they had offices, other than distribution, there.

Thats because I am orginally Canadian.... and if I remember correctly, so is IBM. Proof? I think the last year IBM did support on APL was '84... or there about. I didn't do support on APL, but I took the IBM internal course on one of the last years it was offered.

Douche that.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *USFORCES* 
My computer is lava cooled.....

..... Unless your out for a record you don't need it, If you are go with dryice.

I want my first posting on HWBOT top 100 with this (on topic aquarium) build.... and maybe in the next couple of years I will play around with SS, DICE, Cascade or LN2.

I will never be AndreYang or stummerwinter, but I will have fun trying. This Aquarium build is my first step after more than a few water cooled builds. Maybe next build I will try something that requires protection from condensation... but not yet.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NidStyles* 
^^^









........

Or is this the type of proof you were after? Its only a 4.4GHz o/c with mem at 1800, but I am happy with it. It is the first two days with a new mobo....

It's not The Chiller... and I think my Smackover handled o/c on the 975 better than this Rampage.... I think it will be tricky to get over 4.7 GHz... but I am sure this will get better. I am also sure I can get better on The Chiller.

FlashG


----------



## NidStyles

You'll never go far with an Aquarium chiller for cooling. I'm being blunt with you for obvious reason's. I see a lot people come and go around here, and various other site's I frequent, yet they all claim to have oddle's of high-performance computing gear and it get's irritating when they spout off about thing's, and haven't the basic knowledge required.

Aquarium chiller's are typically made with SS, Ti or ceramics thermal couplings, and none of those are great for cooling. They are built with corrosion resistance and longevity in mind.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


Thats because I am orginally Canadian.... and if I remember correctly, so is IBM. Proof? I think the last year IBM did support on APL was '84... or there about. I didn't do support on APL, but I took the IBM internal course on one of the last years it was offered.

Douche that.

FlashG


You're a Canadian in Australia, and you claim to have worked for IBM even though you have no knowledge of the company at all.

IBM was never Canadian. It was born from a merger of three different companies in the late 1800's. 
None of which are even remotely Canadian. The main office is where it's been for over a hundred years, right here in New York. It's a 2 hour drive from where I'm currently at. I've been there before, in case you haven't inferred that yet.

I don't see how it's possible to work for a company like IBM, and not know this. Even their training seminar's are filled with them promoting their history.

I did estimation work for them on server site cooling design. My solution was too expensive for them, so I wasn't contracted.

IBM still provides support for APL and APL2.

You're still a douche.


----------



## FlashG

So, where was the name IBM first used?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...es_Corporation

That makes it 'Canadian first' to me. I guess if you work in Canada, you get a slightly different version of IBM. You probably also think Hockey is an American game...

FlashG
ps - as for the other comments:

1) when I did the course I was told this was going to be one of the last years of internal support. Perhaps it was one of the last years that Candian IBM supported it. Look at the timelines of the development of APL2. It fits right in with me being told support was ending and

2) I am glad you know the answer to something you haven't even tried. I may be wrong and you may end up being right... but except for your antagonism, I am having a lot of fun finding out what happens by actually giving an aquarium chiller a go....


----------



## usmcz

If this is real, some of us are eagerly awaiting the results


----------



## FlashG

I just installed Win 7 this morning. Need to install my BigNG software so I can start monitoring temps in different parts of the loop. Maybe later today.

No testing under load with fans reduced etc, but it can certainly scrub 5 to 7C off the loop temp, measured with the Aq Chiller temp monitor, with no load, fluid flow and zero fans.

Overall, I never intended to run the loop 'sub-zero', but if I can scrub 5C off the coolant just before it goes back to the CPU, it will be worth it









BTW, I think the Xeon 3580 will run cool under load. My RealTemp indicates 33C on all cores right now







I know there are problems with RealtTemp accuracy etc (no need to post Nid...), so I will stick some BigNG probes in the right places to confirm...

Back to work....

FlashG


----------



## NidStyles

^^^
Which cooler are you using?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
So, where was the name IBM first used?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...es_Corporation

That makes it 'Canadian first' to me. I guess if you work in Canada, you get a slightly different version of IBM. You probably also think Hockey is an American game...

FlashG
ps - as for the other comments:

1) when I did the course I was told this was going to be one of the last years of internal support. Perhaps it was one of the last years that Candian IBM supported it. Look at the timelines of the development of APL2. It fits right in with me being told support was ending and

2) I am glad you know the answer to something you haven't even tried. I may be wrong and you may end up being right... but except for your antagonism, I am having a lot of fun finding out what happens by actually giving an aquarium chiller a go....

_"*The company which became IBM was founded in 1896 as the Tabulating Machine Company[7] by Herman Hollerith, in Broome County, New York (Endicott, New York or Binghamton, New York),* where it still maintains very limited operations. It was incorporated as Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation on June 16, 1911, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1916 by George Winthrop Fairchild. CTR's Canadian and later South American subsidiary was named International Business Machines in 1917, and the whole company took this name in 1924 when Thomas J. Watson took control of it."_

I don't see how that was so hard to figure out. Subsidiary does not make it a company. That make's it a business owned by a corporation. This is basic econ here.

Well if Hockey isn't truly American, then where in the hell is Canada actually located? Next you'll tell me it's a white man's invention too.

APL2 was being implement as APL was on it's way out. They both were eventually outdated as micro-computing, and UNIX both ate up the IBM mainframe market. They did exist together though, why IBM would tell you otherwise make's no sense to me.

What make's you think I haven't tried an aquarium chiller? I've even tried Mineral Oil, which is a great way to go as well if you are feeling froggy enough to deal with the issue's involved, but that's another thread.


----------



## zipdogso

It always amazes me how people come on here and without really checking say they have the most amazing way to cool such and such...
For every idea anyone can come up with *there IS at least one other person who has already done it...*

....and that includes aquarium chillers...it's nothing new....

Try it by all means and put your results here (we are interested.) BUT don't kid yourself your a pioneer....


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zipdogso* 
It always amazes me how people come on here and without really checking say they have the most amazing way to cool such and such...
For every idea anyone can come up with *there IS at least one other person who has already done it...*

....and that includes aquarium chillers...it's nothing new....

Try it by all means and put your results here (we are interested.) BUT don't kid yourself your a pioneer....

I did a LOT of looking around before I started this. I have seen the mineral oil fish tank (no thanks) and many converted FrankenFridge builds (I don't have the build skills for that).... but the best Aq/C thread I could find was this one... and nobody posted results.

Never in a million years did I say I was a Pioneer, nor did I think this was the first time it might have been done... but I couldn't find anything that DEMONSTRATED that it wasn't worth trying.

I am fighting with my bigNG, trying to get it working under Win 7 (any hints would be welcome)... so there is still a LOT of work to do. I will post results and more pics as I go along...

FlashG


----------



## zipdogso

Well I don't want you stop doing what your doing...

And I hope you will prove me wrong....

A few considerations :-

1.) Aquarium chillers are designed to cool a body of water that has no heating beyond conduction from the ambient and perhaps some from various bits of equipment - sterilizers, osmosis units, lights etc but nothing that imparts a great heat. That's why why it works with 85w peltiers and also 1/10 hp compressors - not much heat. Larger chillers are for much larger tanks which often have a larger lighting load etc and some of them are pretty big.
Now if you consider the heat of a PC it is very much more and your model of peltier chiller is about the smallest around.

2.) Aquarium chillers have been used in PCs before, the recommended compressor size is *1/3 hp minimum* for CPU+GPU and I know you are only doing CPU but these units are rather a lot more than your 85w peltier.

3.) From what i know about peltiers, and i have used them for a while, perhaps I should say, what i know about 80w peltiers, I don't think this will work too well. I dont know the TDP of a xeon but I suspect your aim of a 5 degrees off the loop temp under load is going to be hard to get.


----------



## USFORCES

Has he bought one yet?


----------



## nub

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
It was the largest peltier unit I could buy here in Australia. I think there is a larger one out there somewhere, but I can't get it here in Aus.

All the other chillers are refrigeration units, and probably aren't meant to run all the time. The compressors are likely louder too.

This peltier unit has a temp control, so I can fine tune it and it is passive. It doesn't have its own pump. I'm going to put it into my loop like any other reservoir, except it will be outside the case. Does that help??

Wait to see if mine works and is any good before you decide to get one. I should have mine up and running before Christmas. It won't be perfectly tuned by Chrisse, but I can post some Realtemp screens at base clock speeds....

FlashG

Actually if you are using an aquarium chiller you will want to get a phase change based unit not a TEC based one. Some aquariums have large constant heat load from lighting as well as ambient temperature. Phase change aquarium chillers designed for use with those can handle a pc. However the issue is cost. They are not cheap. (here is a 1/6 hp unit for 325 http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Hailea-Chille...3D10%26ps%3D63)

If you want to build a water chiller you can do it for much less using a window ac unit.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zipdogso* 
Well I don't want you stop doing what your doing...

And I hope you will prove me wrong....

A few considerations :-

1.) Aquarium chillers are designed to cool a body of water that has no heating beyond conduction from the ambient and perhaps some from various bits of equipment - sterilizers, osmosis units, lights etc but nothing that imparts a great heat. That's why why it works with 85w peltiers and also 1/10 hp compressors - not much heat. Larger chillers are for much larger tanks which often have a larger lighting load etc and some of them are pretty big.
Now if you consider the heat of a PC it is very much more and your model of peltier chiller is about the smallest around.

2.) Aquarium chillers have been used in PCs before, the recommended compressor size is *1/3 hp minimum* for CPU+GPU and I know you are only doing CPU but these units are rather a lot more than your 85w peltier.

3.) From what i know about peltiers, and i have used them for a while, perhaps I should say, what i know about 80w peltiers, I don't think this will work too well. I dont know the TDP of a xeon but I suspect your aim of a 5 degrees off the loop temp under load is going to be hard to get.

I wish I had found your recommendation for the 1/3hp chiller earlier. Although I didn't really want a compressor, I may have been talked into it...

The temp drop through the chiller is very sensitive to flow rate. I am still sorting out optimum flow, and the temp drop may be greater at higher inflow temps, but right now I am seeing a 2-3C drop.

Still lots of work to do tho....

FlashG
ps - will post some screen captures and pics soon...


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 

......I am fighting with my bigNG, trying to get it working under Win 7 (any hints would be welcome)... so there is still a LOT of work to do. I will post results and more pics as I go along...

FlashG

The controller software for the bigNG (Navigator 2.9) does work with Win 7... with my rig, the secret was switching from the internal USB to the external USB... works like a charm









FlashG


----------



## Varjo

Just get as much flow as you can. Too much flow will never hurt temps (baring turbulence causing air pockets).


----------



## FlashG

Well, this is what I was aiming for: a top 200 in HWBOT.

This is nowhere near as fast as I can get the proc to go and I do need to play with flows, fanspeed and voltages. It seems that the aquarium chiller can take 2C off my fluid temp. Not off th entire loop, but off the temp of the fluid returning from my rad going to my proc.... what that is worth is subjective.

Now I'm going to try and find the sweetspot for flows (Ex. if the fluid flows through the chiller too fast, temp drop isn't as low... it also seems like if the fluid flows through the cpu block too fast, idle temps increase).

I think I need to do a few runs with prime95 with and without the chiller to see where that flow sweetspot is.

FlashG
ps - yes, a 1/3 hp compressor unit may have been the better choice ... but turing the house A/C down to 17C is much easier


----------



## Varjo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 

Now I'm going to try and find the sweetspot for flows (Ex. if the fluid flows through the chiller too fast, temp drop isn't as low... it also seems like if the fluid flows through the cpu block too fast, idle temps increase).

Wrong Wrong Wrong, too much flow NEVER hurts temps. It's a loop not a river, temps will equalize in the end, it becomes a mater of how fast heat can be pumped out of the loop by the cooler. Faster is never worse, though there is a point where faster will no longer help your temps.


----------



## FlashG

Well, I've been playing with it for a few weeks now, and the more I play with it (the aquarium chiller!!!), the more impressed I am.

Without Hyper-Threading, I can take 3 to 4 degrees off the normal operating temp of the coolant going straight to the CPU... no matter how much load I've been putting on the system, it is 3 to 4C lower PLUS I just found I can take this coolant to 3 to 4C lower than room temp too!!! Straight away at start up, I can idle the system and the temp will drop to below room temp. Best I had was down to 20C with 24.5 room temp!!! Since I am into benching (not 24h burns... short classifal benches), this is a big deal to me. I would deft do it again.... but of course, bigger IS better and I might have gone for a more powerful chiller... but then it would have to been compressor based, and would be noisy.

BTW, I had been setting the chiller to 15C.... assuming that I would never make it that low anyway... and assuming the chiller's control circuit simply ran the peltier at the same 'wattage' and simply triggered a kill circuit when/if the temp was reached. For fun once, I set it to 4C, which is the lowest possible. This is when I realised I COULD pull the processor flow loop to below room temp. Turns out if you set a lower threshold temp, the peltier runs colder (more current)!!!!! Anyway, I think the answer to the Yes/No question is Yes... because I would do it again.... but of all the things I purchased for this rig, the unlocked xeon i7 (w3580) is the BEST!!! It is super cool and very efficient!!!

FlashG


----------



## windfire

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


Well, I've been playing with it for a few weeks now, and the more I play with it (the aquarium chiller!!!), the more impressed I am.

Without Hyper-Threading, I can take 3 to 4 degrees off the normal operating temp of the coolant going straight to the CPU... no matter how much load I've been putting on the system, it is 3 to 4C lower PLUS I just found I can take this coolant to 3 to 4C lower than room temp too!!! Straight away at start up, I can idle the system and the temp will drop to below room temp. Best I had was down to 20C with 24.5 room temp!!! Since I am into benching (not 24h burns... short classifal benches), this is a big deal to me. I would deft do it again.... but of course, bigger IS better and I might have gone for a more powerful chiller... but then it would have to been compressor based, and would be noisy.

BTW, I had been setting the chiller to 15C.... assuming that I would never make it that low anyway... and assuming the chiller's control circuit simply ran the peltier at the same 'wattage' and simply triggered a kill circuit when/if the temp was reached. For fun once, I set it to 4C, which is the lowest possible. This is when I realised I COULD pull the processor flow loop to below room temp. Turns out if you set a lower threshold temp, the peltier runs colder (more current)!!!!! Anyway, I think the answer to the Yes/No question is Yes... because I would do it again.... but of all the things I purchased for this rig, the unlocked xeon i7 (w3580) is the BEST!!! It is super cool and very efficient!!!

FlashG


What is the max core temperature at 4ghz? (and at what coolant temp and what ambient temp)?
Thanks.

BTW, looks like you are having fun! Enjoy what you are doing. Keep going!


----------



## Liability

Whatever it is, it's not worth it. He's already in the price range of phase change and his temps are higher than a decent TEC would provide...


----------



## LarsMarkelson

I wanna know what max core temps are running Linx at 4.5GHz?

Also, it'd be cool to know how high you are able to clock that 3580? Unlocked i7... Very nice.


----------



## wcdolphin

those things are super expensive...For the same price you could order a chiller or a phase unit from someone here


----------



## windfire

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


Well, this is what I was aiming for: a top 200 in HWBOT.

This is nowhere near as fast as I can get the proc to go and I do need to play with flows, fanspeed and voltages. It seems that the aquarium chiller can take 2C off my fluid temp. Not off th entire loop, but off the temp of the fluid returning from my rad going to my proc.... what that is worth is subjective.

Now I'm going to try and find the sweetspot for flows (Ex. if the fluid flows through the chiller too fast, temp drop isn't as low... it also seems like if the fluid flows through the cpu block too fast, idle temps increase).

I think I need to do a few runs with prime95 with and without the chiller to see where that flow sweetspot is.

FlashG
ps - yes, a 1/3 hp compressor unit may have been the better choice ... but turing the house A/C down to 17C is much easier










For many typical watercooled systems, a faster flow rate is not always better(see attached graph). But since you have a GTX480 and a chiller, perhaps this characteristic does not apply to yours. But regardless, I think it is good to do experiments with various flowrates and see what happens.
I suppose the sweet spot may be slightly different when your system is at idle and when it is at full loading. I am interested to see your findings.


----------



## windfire

I see that many people show concern whether this aquarium chiller is 'worth' or not. 
Well, quite often it is not the 'cost' or even the 'cost performance ratio' that determines. Rather, it is the enjoyment of the process. The entire process, beginning with doing research and finishing with the actual working product, produces a lot of joy for the DIYer. Sometimes, the end product may not even work up to the initial expectation. But nevertheless, the builder has already enjoyed much throughout the whole project. Is this not the most important part of the spirit of a DIYer?

Read through FlashG's post and see how many exclamation marks he has used. Just imagine how much fun he had at those discoveries.


----------



## Naja002

Let's see.....An 85w chiller on a 130w (stock) chip. This must be a radiator based cooling loop (Black Ice 480) otherwise all you would see is BSOD.

*
MODEL : Unistar MCC-UNI-85
*
FLOW : max 300L/pHr
*
POWER : 130watts/85w chilling
*
DIMENSIONS : 21 x 25 x 18 cm(very slim)
*
Inlet/Outlet : 12mm with free tubing/pump supplied
*
WEIGHT : Just 6Kg
*
TANK SUIT : Recommend up to 60Litres(1ft to small 3ft)
*
WARRANTY: 12months

So. You really have no clue what you're doing or what is actually going on. If you are happy with your setup...then I am happy for you. But, please, don't tout this as some kind of success, or something that others might want to invest in. Once again, more money than sense...

You could accomplish more with a $20-30 bong setup.....

4.256ghz on a 3.3ghz (stock) i7.....you could do that on air.....


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *windfire*


What is the max core temperature at 4ghz? (and at what coolant temp and what ambient temp)?
Thanks.

BTW, looks like you are having fun! Enjoy what you are doing. Keep going!


Max core temp is 46C at highest o/c. Goes up to mid 70Cs... but I run all sorts of o/cs at different Vs, so I can't just give you one temp. Soz..

I boot at 4.5GHz with 1.48V. That gives me 42C base temp and 65C full load. 4.5 GHs stable for everything. After boot, I use the EVGA Eleet util to overclock/overvolt.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Liability*


Whatever it is, it's not worth it. He's already in the price range of phase change and his temps are higher than a decent TEC would provide...


I don't want phase change (yet). I don't want the condenser and I don't want the condensation. Same with a VERY powerful tec. I just wanted a very hot (cold!!) unit I could clock to the max and then game with.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson*


I wanna know what max core temps are running Linx at 4.5GHz?

Also, it'd be cool to know how high you are able to clock that 3580? Unlocked i7... Very nice.


All 8 threads on FULL LOAD would be mid to low 60s at 4.5









Highest I have got on the system so far is 4.8GHz. I validated cpu-z at this clock... but so far not much esle.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cdolphin*


those things are super expensive...For the same price you could order a chiller or a phase unit from someone here


Nope. Look up the unit I am using. $250 tops....

A 1/3 hp condenser chiller might be about $800... but the one I used is cheaph.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Naja002*


........

So. You really have no clue what you're doing or what is actually going on. If you are happy with your setup...then I am happy for you. But, please, don't tout this as some kind of success, or something that others might want to invest in. Once again, more money than sense...

You could accomplish more with a $20-30 bong setup.....

4.256ghz on a 3.3ghz (stock) i7.....you could do that on air.....


I have lots of clues... and Yes, I like my chilled bong too... water cooing with ice is always better









Its not 4.25. I'll post some o/c screen captures....

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

cpu-z


----------



## shurik06_83

250$ for chiller







70$ for a 3x120mm rad 20$ on fans for push pull and u will be in the same ball park temp wise for under 100$ and 150$ can buy alot of Beer









the water chiller is working at the brink of failure with anything over 100w on it, put ur hand near it u will feel it pukeing out crazy hot air , be very happy it has workt so far and if it dies dont be too suprized

if u want that thing to live past spring put a rad in the loop to cool the return water down a bit so its not such a huge load and the chiller will only have to deal with water that is slightly over room temp insted of water that is almost doubel room temp 
basicaly a rad in the loop will make it as close to its desing temp as ur ever gona get


----------



## LarsMarkelson

1.48v full load 65C is really nice.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson* 
1.48v full load 65C is really nice.

Yes, the w3580 Xeon is a very nice CPU. It seems to be optimised for certain code streams too. I get crazy ass cpu scores on 3Dmark Vantage with it... much better scores than the i7 975 running at much higher speeds.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shurik06_83* 
250$ for chiller







70$ for a 3x120mm rad 20$ on fans for push pull and u will be in the same ball park temp wise for under 100$ and 150$ can buy alot of Beer









the water chiller is working at the brink of failure with anything over 100w on it, put ur hand near it u will feel it pukeing out crazy hot air , be very happy it has workt so far and if it dies dont be too suprized

if u want that thing to live past spring put a rad in the loop to cool the return water down a bit so its not such a huge load and the chiller will only have to deal with water that is slightly over room temp insted of water that is almost doubel room temp
basicaly a rad in the loop will make it as close to its desing temp as ur ever gona get

I've got a rad in the loop. A BlackIce 480 (gen 2 I think)... with 4 Triebwerk Feser/Noisblocker fans. They are sweet fans... but I would love to overvolt them to push 4,000 rpm.

Not to worry about the beer budget. I have a special savings account for that









FlashG
ps - I am happy with the o/c speeds I get... and probably couldn't push too much more out of the chip without going sub-zero (theres that condensation thing again!!!)... realistically, the only thing I may have done differently would be TWO 85w peltier based chillers. Still not sure I want a condenser for a larger chiller running constantly. Maybe if EVGA comes out with its EXTREME dual xeon (and the xeons are unlocked) i7 mobo, I will build a bigger chiller (the BIG chill??) next year....


----------



## Cepheus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


I've got a rad in the loop. A BlackIce 480 (gen 2 I think)... with 4 Triebwerk Feser/Noisblocker fans. They are sweet fans... but I would love to overvolt them to push 4,000 rpm.

Not to worry about the beer budget. I have a special savings account for that









FlashG
ps - I am happy with the o/c speeds I get... and probably couldn't push too much more out of the chip without going sub-zero (theres that condensation thing again!!!)... realistically, the only thing I may have done differently would be TWO 85w peltier based chillers. Still not sure I want a condenser for a larger chiller running constantly. Maybe if EVGA comes out with its EXTREME dual xeon (and the xeons are unlocked) i7 mobo, I will build a bigger chiller (the BIG chill??) next year....


Take the rad out of the loop and try it. The radiator will be transferring heat from the environment into the loop, so to speak.


----------



## shurik06_83

if he takes the rad out his chiller will go into melt down mode his best bet is to have a big rad on the return hot line to cool the return down before it hits the chiller and insulate the hell out of the feed that is not so cold anyway

the chiller is 85w it might have been ok for pIII or soker A pree 1800xp

the temps that are showing up could have been reached with a good WC rig with a proper rad cause a singel 120mm rad wont help much it dosent have enoghf surface area to move the heat fast enoghf when cooling anything over a singel core


----------



## Cepheus

good point, I didn't see the power rating of the chiller.


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## IOSEFINI

I used that chiller (called Aqua eurousa here) but is "weak", it didn't help (85w=290 BTU). Replaced it with an 800 BTU chiller... BIG difference.!!!


----------



## shurik06_83

so thats something like 230w how cold dose it get ? how much u pay for it ?


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## Cepheus

Here's one http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaEuroU...INQCBC-vi.html


----------



## IOSEFINI

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shurik06_83* 
so thats something like 230w how cold dose it get ? how much u pay for it ?

IT was $229 (Christmas sale) now it is $279
Compared to 85W chiller is like 25'F colder


----------



## IOSEFINI

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaEuroU...INQCBC-vi.html


----------



## IOSEFINI

I did some tests today. See the difference !!!

CPU: PhenomII x4 955
IBT : High, 10 times

STOCK (CHILLER OFF): 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)
STOCK (CHILLER ON) : 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 27'C (79'F)

O.C. (CHILLER OFF) : 3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 53'C (126'F)
O.C. (CHILLER ON) :3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)


----------



## Frosty88

Quote:


Originally Posted by *IOSEFINI* 
I did some tests today. See the difference !!!

CPU: PhenomII x4 955
IBT : High, 10 times

STOCK (CHILLER OFF): 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)
STOCK (CHILLER ON) : 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 27'C (79'F)

O.C. (CHILLER OFF) : 3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 53'C (126'F)
O.C. (CHILLER ON) :3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)

Nice, that's a huge improvement.


----------



## IOSEFINI

Here are the pics. (Roanie25 requested)


----------



## shurik06_83

lol not bad but i think next week when my chiller is done my temps will be just a bit lower


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *IOSEFINI* 
I did some tests today. See the difference !!!

CPU: PhenomII x4 955
IBT : High, 10 times

STOCK (CHILLER OFF): 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)
STOCK (CHILLER ON) : 3.20GHz, 1.35Vcore, max. temp: 27'C (79'F)

O.C. (CHILLER OFF) : 3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 53'C (126'F)
O.C. (CHILLER ON) :3.96GHz, 1.60Vcore, max. temp: 40'C (104'F)

Great temps... great price. Congrats....

FlashG
ps - you are only the second person to post to this thread who actually has a chiller. Yes, I would go bigger NEXT time (wouldn't we all??)... but YES, I would rather have my little chiller than no chiller at all... no double meaning intended


----------



## IOSEFINI

Thanks FlashG
That's true, better with chiller even it is small. I will go bigger soon but right now I'm waiting for the ... GREENS.(extra GREENS, income tax time







)
Keep the secret. My wife doesn't know. She will ...







or


----------



## shurik06_83

my chiller build is funded by the canadian revenue agency will be maybe another week of waiteing on the parts but i think the temps will be worth the waite


----------



## FlashG

You don't need a chiller if you live in Canada, eh? Just open the window (this time of year)!!!

FlashG


----------



## shurik06_83

actualy no this winter has been a bust maybe like 4 days of really cold weather the rest was all like -5c max a few yrs ago i used to get some awsome oc's all i had to do was take my computer out to the shed and give er

damn global warming makeing me build my own chiller so i can get some nice clocks


----------



## LarsMarkelson

wrong thread


----------



## crazybonze

if it works on keeping large tanks cool running when you have your pc on should be no problem. if your water reservoir is the rite size it may work the same amount as if it was cooling a larger tank.


----------



## FlashG

I got every other part of the system right, this weekend I got the Chiller right...

I assumed a decent (85w) chiller would be able to work with a good rad/fan combo to achieve any reasonable loop temp. I thought the chiller would push everything 'over the edge' and allow me to do what I wanted. Nope... so...

This weekend I switched my 85w peltier unit out for a 1/4hp compressorr unit. I learnt:

1) the compressor is WAY quieter than I thought it would be

2) it is WAY more efficient that I thought it would be. Just spent the night o/c at levels I COULDN'T get near before... and my room didn't even get warm!!!!

3) with a 300w+ chiller I can take my loop temps to wherever I want...

Pics and proof to follow!!!

FlashG


----------



## jackeyjoe

you guys know that this thread is about 3 years old don't you? Anyway, thatsw looking nice flashG, i'm jealous


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


I got every other part of the system right, this weekend I got the Chiller right...

I assumed a decent (85w) chiller would be able to work with a good rad/fan combo to achieve any reasonable loop temp. I thought the chiller would push everything 'over the edge' and allow me to do what I wanted. Nope... so...

This weekend I switched my 85w peltier unit out for a 1/4hp compressorr unit. I learnt:

1) the compressor is WAY quieter than I thought it would be

2) it is WAY more efficient that I thought it would be. Just spent the night o/c at levels I COULDN'T get near before... and my room didn't even get warm!!!!

3) with a 300w+ chiller I can take my loop temps to wherever I want...

Pics and proof to follow!!!

FlashG


Nice, congratulations. Sounds like a really cool setup now.

Which compressor is it and where'd you get it? Sounds quite interesting...


----------



## Cepheus

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jackeyjoe*


you guys know that this thread is about 3 years old don't you? Anyway, thatsw looking nice flashG, i'm jealous










and? This isn't a help thread, and this is all on topic and interesting, it's not just some guy bumping it because he has the same problem.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


I got every other part of the system right, this weekend I got the Chiller right...

I assumed a decent (85w) chiller would be able to work with a good rad/fan combo to achieve any reasonable loop temp. I thought the chiller would push everything 'over the edge' and allow me to do what I wanted. Nope... so...

This weekend I switched my 85w peltier unit out for a 1/4hp compressorr unit. I learnt:

1) the compressor is WAY quieter than I thought it would be

2) it is WAY more efficient that I thought it would be. Just spent the night o/c at levels I COULDN'T get near before... and my room didn't even get warm!!!!

3) with a 300w+ chiller I can take my loop temps to wherever I want...

Pics and proof to follow!!!

FlashG


So so jealous


----------



## windfire

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


I got every other part of the system right, this weekend I got the Chiller right...

I assumed a decent (85w) chiller would be able to work with a good rad/fan combo to achieve any reasonable loop temp. I thought the chiller would push everything 'over the edge' and allow me to do what I wanted. Nope... so...

This weekend I switched my 85w peltier unit out for a 1/4hp compressorr unit. I learnt:

1) the compressor is WAY quieter than I thought it would be

2) it is WAY more efficient that I thought it would be. Just spent the night o/c at levels I COULDN'T get near before... and my room didn't even get warm!!!!

3) with a 300w+ chiller I can take my loop temps to wherever I want...

Pics and proof to follow!!!

FlashG


Great!
Looking forward to see pictures. And please do some stress tests to see some low temperatures!


----------



## Naja002

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


This weekend I switched my 85w peltier unit out for a 1/4hp compressorr unit.


Sounds like you're on the right track now....


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson*


Nice, congratulations. Sounds like a really cool setup now.

Which compressor is it and where'd you get it? Sounds quite interesting...


I picked up a Hailea HC-300A. I had my loop temp down to 10C last night... running wPrime 32m. Got worried about condensation. Better go back and find that dew point calculation web site.









Not sure who makes the compressor... but it is quiet. Picked it up at an aquarium store on-line. VERY happy!!!

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

No pics of loop temps yet, but here are some initial o/cs on HWBOT.... these are 'first steps' at one notch above the levels I was previously stable at:

Aquamark at low 4.8GHz. Aquamark is highly processor speed driven... plus doesn't need HT so the heat load with just 4 cores is less than benchmarks that need 8 logical cores. Always like to start with the 'easy classics'









3dMark Vantage at 4.6GHz. I like this one because the processor bench puts out a LOT of heat... and I have NEVER been able to run it at anything above 4.5... so I am very happy with this.

Both were easy to hit... so I have no doubt I will go higher.

FlashG


----------



## windfire

So, simply put, you have HC-300A in your CPU-only loop and are able to full stress your w3580 while the coolant temperature remains at 10C all the time? Is that it?
How long is the stress test (in minutes/hours)? I suppose the compressor of HC-300A was 'on' all the time? What are the maximum temperature for the cores? Give some numbers now and supply those pictures later.
(I am eager to see a couple pictures of your entire loop)


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *windfire*


So, simply put, you have HC-300A in your CPU-only loop and are able to full stress your w3580 while the coolant temperature remains at 10C all the time? Is that it?)


Yes, basically. I do have a rad in the loop, but turn it off when I am cooling with the chiller and want to run below room temp.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *windfire*


How long is the stress test (in minutes/hours)? I suppose the compressor of HC-300A was 'on' all the time? What are the maximum temperature for the cores? Give some numbers now and supply those pictures later.
(I am eager to see a couple pictures of your entire loop)


There is quite a bit of volume in the loop (2L plus) and probably 2 or 3C hysteresis built into the chiller. The chiller takes the loop down to target then switches off. It may take 15 mins to creep up 2 or 3 degrees in the 2L loop... depending on load... so the chiller doesn't cycle on-off-on too frequently.

I have attached some pics with temps. There is nothing special about this proc speed or vcore volts. I boot up at these settings then use an EVGA o/c utility to go higher after windows has booted.

Stock loop temp settles 2C above room temp at 26C, no load: Proc temps about 42C
Stock, after 153 seconds of wPrime 1024, loop temp has increased to 27.5C: Proc temps about 76C

Chiller set to 18C (18C loop temp): Proc temps about 29C
Chiller set to 18C, wPrime 1024: Proc temps about 64C

I think that is a VERY nice temp gain









FlashG


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
I picked up a Hailea HC-300A. I had my loop temp down to 10C last night... running wPrime 32m. Got worried about condensation. Better go back and find that dew point calculation web site.









Not sure who makes the compressor... but it is quiet. Picked it up at an aquarium store on-line. VERY happy!!!

FlashG

Wait the compressor you got isn't the Hailea HC-300A? I'm confused... maybe a link to the compressor?


----------



## windfire

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
Yes, basically. I do have a rad in the loop, but turn it off when I am cooling with the chiller and want to run below room temp.

There is quite a bit of volume in the loop (2L plus) and probably 2 or 3C hysteresis built into the chiller. The chiller takes the loop down to target then switches off. It may take 15 mins to creep up 2 or 3 degrees in the 2L loop... depending on load... so the chiller doesn't cycle on-off-on too frequently.

I have attached some pics with temps. There is nothing special about this proc speed or vcore volts. I boot up at these settings then use an EVGA o/c utility to go higher after windows has booted.

Stock loop temp settles 2C above room temp at 26C, no load: Proc temps about 42C
Stock, after 153 seconds of wPrime 1024, loop temp has increased to 27.5C: Proc temps about 76C

Chiller set to 18C (18C loop temp): Proc temps about 29C
Chiller set to 18C, wPrime 1024: Proc temps about 64C

I think that is a VERY nice temp gain









FlashG

I need some time to digest your data. 
In the meantime, would you please post a few pictures of your loop? I love to see how the components are connected, especially with the radiator and the chiller.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson*


Wait the compressor you got isn't the Hailea HC-300A? I'm confused... maybe a link to the compressor?


Sorry Lars, I'm probably being a bit too specific. The Chiller is a Hailea HC300A, made in China... but I understand that a lot of these types of companies may source complex high-tech parts from overseas. Just like the capacitors in my EVGA mobo may be from Japan... the 'compressor' in this Chinese unit may be from another country. A lot of the REAL aquarium discussion boards talk about very specific types of comperssors... so in response to your q, I haven't opended up the unit to see the specific type of compressor, but the unit itself is a Hailea.

FlashG
ps - I did include a link in one of my previous posts


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Ah okay, I thought it was the Hailea + another thing. Makes sense, reminds me of RAM and Hyper/Elpida BBSE/MGH-E/etc.









Thanks for the info again. Sounds like an awesome build... do you have any plans to run the compressor 24/7?


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *LarsMarkelson*


Ah okay, I thought it was the Hailea + another thing. Makes sense, reminds me of RAM and Hyper/Elpida BBSE/MGH-E/etc.









Thanks for the info again. Sounds like an awesome build... do you have any plans to run the compressor 24/7?


No plans to try and run 24/7. At most, I get to play with this one for a couple of hours a day. I have another rig for full-on gaming.

FlashG
ps - I see you got a new system in your sig. Sweet


----------



## windfire

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
Yes, basically. I do have a rad in the loop, but turn it off when I am cooling with the chiller and want to run below room temp.

There is quite a bit of volume in the loop (2L plus) and probably 2 or 3C hysteresis built into the chiller. The chiller takes the loop down to target then switches off. It may take 15 mins to creep up 2 or 3 degrees in the 2L loop... depending on load... so the chiller doesn't cycle on-off-on too frequently.

I have attached some pics with temps. There is nothing special about this proc speed or vcore volts. I boot up at these settings then use an EVGA o/c utility to go higher after windows has booted.

Stock loop temp settles 2C above room temp at 26C, no load: Proc temps about 42C
Stock, after 153 seconds of wPrime 1024, loop temp has increased to 27.5C: Proc temps about 76C

Chiller set to 18C (18C loop temp): Proc temps about 29C
Chiller set to 18C, wPrime 1024: Proc temps about 64C

I think that is a VERY nice temp gain









FlashG

Q1: When you said you turned off the radiator, are you using a certain valve system to separate the radiator and the chiller (eg put them in a parallel layout) ? That is, when the chiller is turned on, coolant is completely shut off from going into the radiator and is channeled only through the chiller.

Q2: I suppose when you did the stress test, the chiller's compressor was 'on' during all those 166 seconds?
How do you know that those are the maximum core temperatures? I mean, if you prolong the test to say 5 or 10 minutes, would core temperatures rise from 64/65/62/62 ?
Perhaps you can use OCCT to do a stress test? An useful feature of OCCT is that it generates graphs over the whole period of testing. So you can observe whether the temperature is stablizing or still rising at the end of a certain test period.

Q3: In light cpu usage (eg surfing the net), how often does the compressor turn on? On-off cycle in minutes?


----------



## LarsMarkelson

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


No plans to try and run 24/7. At most, I get to play with this one for a couple of hours a day. I have another rig for full-on gaming.

FlashG
ps - I see you got a new system in your sig. Sweet










Yes it is sweeeet









Still need to finish cleaning/re-organizing my room, then I'm going to attempt to enter air cooling nirvana... got Indigo Xtreme + NH-D14 waiting to be installed


----------



## Naja002

Actually starts about Post #4:  Hailea HC-500 or HC-1000 Any Good For Water Chilling?

 camouflage has finished his latest cooling project (large pics inside !!!) 

.


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *windfire* 
Q1: When you said you turned off the radiator, are you using a certain valve system to separate the radiator and the chiller (eg put them in a parallel layout) ? That is, when the chiller is turned on, coolant is completely shut off from going into the radiator and is channeled only through the chiller.?

Sorry, I meant I turn the rad fans off. Thought about changing the plumbing, but no need.... easier to turn off the fans.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *windfire* 
Q2: I suppose when you did the stress test, the chiller's compressor was 'on' during all those 166 seconds?
How do you know that those are the maximum core temperatures? I mean, if you prolong the test to say 5 or 10 minutes, would core temperatures rise from 64/65/62/62 ?
Perhaps you can use OCCT to do a stress test? An useful feature of OCCT is that it generates graphs over the whole period of testing. So you can observe whether the temperature is stablizing or still rising at the end of a certain test period.

Nope, the compressor was not on the whole time. The compressor cools the loop down to target (18C) then turns off. It only turns on again after the loop temp increases to about 20C. In one of my pics, I am pretty sure I showed the overall test results in a 1.5C loop temp increase... which means the chiller doesn't turn on again during the test. The load temps during this test stayed stable over the entire test. No real drift up...

I'll look at OCCT... but I am more than happy with RealTemp running in the background.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *windfire* 
Q3: In light cpu usage (eg surfing the net), how often does the compressor turn on? On-off cycle in minutes?

Under normal use (but I NEVER use this system normally!!!), the compressor cycles on/off after about 10 to 15 minutes.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Naja002* 
Actually starts about Post #4: Hailea HC-500 or HC-1000 Any Good For Water Chilling?

Thx.... mine is the 'silent, easy to manage little cousin' of the larger versions discussed on that link. If you want to cool your NB/SB and GPUs, you likely need a compressor that puts out more cooling power (750W) than the combined power use of your system. I didn't want to lock my GPU in place with water cooling.... so I just needed a unit large enough to do my CPU. Its a very nice size (like a wide mini-tower case) and quiet.... much quieter than any of my graphics cards cooled at 100% fan speed.... they sound like dust-busters from hell!!!

FlashG


----------



## windfire

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FlashG*


Nope, the compressor was not on the whole time. The compressor cools the loop down to target (18C) then turns off. It only turns on again after the loop temp increases to about 20C. In one of my pics, I am pretty sure I showed the overall test results in a 1.5C loop temp increase... which means the chiller doesn't turn on again during the test. The load temps during this test stayed stable over the entire test. No real drift up...

I'll look at OCCT... but I am more than happy with RealTemp running in the background.
FlashG


Is there any reason why you tested for such a short duration (169 seconds)?
During the test, the CPU core temperatures stayed stable and I suppose this is because the 2L coolant was still absorbing the generated heat while its own temperature rose from 18C to 19.5C. If the test was prolonged, coolant temperature would defintely rise above 20C and this would trigger on the compressor. 
I think it is more interesting and important to see how your chiller system handles the heat from this point onward. Can the compressor handle a constant heat input? So far, this is still unknown.


----------



## shurik06_83

no its not unknown i have saide it before his 85w chiller will die rather soon pulling a cpu that puts out 2 times as much heat as the chiller can move

if anyone wants to go into tank chillers they should look at 200W+ rateing to run 24/7


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *windfire*


Is there any reason why you tested for such a short duration (169 seconds)?
During the test, the CPU core temperatures stayed stable and I suppose this is because the 2L coolant was still absorbing the generated heat while its own temperature rose from 18C to 19.5C. If the test was prolonged, coolant temperature would defintely rise above 20C and this would trigger on the compressor. 
I think it is more interesting and important to see how your chiller system handles the heat from this point onward. Can the compressor handle a constant heat input? So far, this is still unknown.


I have had it up and running for two nights now. Ran just fine for the 3 to 4 hours of use each night and each night I was targetting the upper limits proc freqs, using vcore voltages based on my previous experiences/proc temps.

The 'longest' bench I have run is 3dMark Vantage... which puts out a LOT of heat on the proc tests after 5 to 6 mins of full on multi-threaded gpu tests. I have watched the loop temps DROPPING during the final cpu tests after the compressor turns on. It can handle FULL cpu heat output....

I now need to step back and be patient. I know I can run previous stable proc freqs at MUCH lower vcores. When I find out how this new temp range impacts on vcore volts, I will do some longer benches. Right now, I haven't seen anything to suggest this 300W baby can't manage the 160W output of my proc... but I'm not going to jump into longer benches until I am ready.

FlashG


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *shurik06_83*


no its not unknown i have saide it before his 85w chiller will die rather soon pulling a cpu that puts out 2 times as much heat as the chiller can move

if anyone wants to go into tank chillers they should look at 200W+ rateing to run 24/7


Hi Shurik,

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I replaced my 85W peltier unit with a 1/4hp (300W+) compressor this weekend. Like you said, it is MUCH better...

FlashG


----------



## shurik06_83

if u got 300W then ur all good u dont need the rad just set ur temp to like 20c and make the chiller do what it dose best


----------



## windfire

HC-300A is 1/4hp which is 180W? How does it become 300W+?









From what I have read in the net, it seems to me the general consensus is to use 1/2hp (minimum). I have not seen much actual test data supporting this figure and this is one reason why I am interested to see how a 1/4hp chiller performs.


----------



## shurik06_83

Quote:



Originally Posted by *windfire*


HC-300A is 1/4hp which is 180W? How does it become 300W+?









From what I have read in the net, it seems to me the general consensus is to use 1/2hp (minimum). I have not seen much actual test data supporting this figure and this is one reason why I am interested to see how a 1/4hp chiller performs.


yes u are right 1/4hp is about 180w but thats the motor the chillers watage depends on the condensor 6x6 inch doubel row condensor can move 250w+ of heat

if ur building a direct on die evap phase to go sub zero 1/2hp is king

but for a chiller that dosent go sub zero 1/4 is more then enoghf i am actuly looking for a tiny 1/8 hp copressor to build a small sub ambient system just for a cpu to go 24/7 and not pay crazy power bills


----------



## FlashG

Quote:



Originally Posted by *shurik06_83*


yes u are right 1/4hp is about 180w but thats the motor the chillers watage depends on the condensor 6x6 inch doubel row condensor can move 250w+ of heat

if ur building a direct on die evap phase to go sub zero 1/2hp is king

but for a chiller that dosent go sub zero 1/4 is more then enoghf i am actuly looking for a tiny 1/8 hp copressor to build a small sub ambient system just for a cpu to go 24/7 and not pay crazy power bills


Everything I have read about the Haelia HC-300A suggests it can provide between 280 to 380 Watts of chilling.... providing heat is often more efficient, and the 'heating' rating can be higher hence the estimated range for cooling, and the name: 300A.

Not sure exaclty how much 'cooling power' it provides in Watts... but this 1/4 hp chiller it is MORE than enough for my CPU at very good speeds and high voltage.

I had very low humidity last night and pulled the system down to 12C under load no problem...

FlashG


----------



## shurik06_83

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
Everything I have read about the Haelia HC-300A suggests it can provide between 280 to 380 Watts of chilling.... providing heat is often more efficient, and the 'heating' rating can be higher hence the estimated range for cooling, and the name: 300A.

Not sure exaclty how much 'cooling power' it provides in Watts... but this 1/4 hp chiller it is MORE than enough for my CPU at very good speeds and high voltage.

I had very low humidity last night and pulled the system down to 12C under load no problem...

FlashG

if ur pulling down to around 12c get rid of the rad cause at that point it will put heat in the system by makeing ur water room temp or atleast turn the rad fans off

how cold can it go ?


----------



## FlashG

... but it is in Dutch









FlitsG


----------



## IOSEFINI

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FlashG* 
Everything I have read about the Haelia HC-300A suggests it can provide between 280 to 380 Watts of chilling.... providing heat is often more efficient, and the 'heating' rating can be higher hence the estimated range for cooling, and the name: 300A.

Not sure exaclty how much 'cooling power' it provides in Watts... but this 1/4 hp chiller it is MORE than enough for my CPU at very good speeds and high voltage.

I had very low humidity last night and pulled the system down to 12C under load no problem...

FlashG

My compressor has 1/13 hp and drops my core temp by 13'C , so yours is more than enough. Good JOB !!!


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## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shurik06_83* 
if ur pulling down to around 12c get rid of the rad cause at that point it will put heat in the system by makeing ur water room temp or atleast turn the rad fans off

how cold can it go ?

Yep, rad fans off.... BigNG.

I think it says it will go down to 4C.... but I don't think I will ever go much below 12C due to risk of condenstation.... gotta be a cool night with LOW humidity for me to go down to 12C.

FlashG


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## shurik06_83

playing with epic monster A/c chiller i found out if ur 10c below ambient no condensation if u go 15c below at first nothing then 20 min in lots

now when u take the chiller down to 12c whats ur core temp saying ?

cause i am selling my A/c chiller and geting reddy to build a tiny chiller out of a water cooler compresor and vauporchill conny


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## FlashG

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shurik06_83* 
playing with epic monster A/c chiller i found out if ur 10c below ambient no condensation if u go 15c below at first nothing then 20 min in lots

now when u take the chiller down to 12c whats ur core temp saying ?

cause i am selling my A/c chiller and geting reddy to build a tiny chiller out of a water cooler compresor and vauporchill conny

Finally got around to posting some temps. Sorry... I've just been having too much fun!!

At 5ghz, no load, the 980x runs around 20 to 25C on all threads with the Chiller set to 12C (water temp of 13C). On a normal humidity day, no condensation at this temp.

I can bench Aquamark and run ALL my games at these settings. There are posts on HWBOT that show the 980x can handle a lot more voltage than this, so someday maybe I'll drop the temps a degree or two and push for 5.1ghz... but the only other set-ups I see hitting these speeds are cascade setups. Even then, its only 5.1 or 5.2ghz for single thread benches. I LOVE my chiller (but not in any illegal ways!!!)...

FlahsG


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## fishingfanatic

I tried a EC 150 32 gallons/hr. Couldn't even keep my cpu cool

Waiting for the JBJ Arctica Titanium 1/3hp 480 gph. Don't ask how much, too much. Canadian $ is way down, so I bought b4 that happened this time.

Hopefully I'll be testing it out by this time next week.









Any particular things to watch for, other than the usual, when using it for the 1st time?

Not sure if I'm going to leave 1 rad in or not. If you stick s block of ice in front of it will that help? LOL Might actually try to put a pr of frozen juice jugs in place just for a laugh.
I had been trying a pail of water with 2 frozen juice jugs to c if there were any obvious issues with insulation and just to have some fun.

I did manage to get my gpu oc to run a bit higher for a few benchmarks...lol

Just for fun i eliminated 1 rad and put block jugs in front of the rad. I can tell you this much, it gets awfully cold from the fan breeze, other than that, pretty much a bust.

Have to go hug my furnace now to get the chill out....









FF


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