How long have you been running a watercooling rig?

[furious trout]

I'm currently planning my first mod (which will include watercooling in one form or another) :D

What i want to know is how well these things stand up to everyday use? and how often you guys check them out for any problems. I assume you can't really install it and then forget about it :p

[mrplow]

I've had mine in for about 3 months.

I've never taken it all out to check it (actually that's not true anymore cos I just emptied my whole case out to cut a big-ass hole in it, so I may as well drain and refill/check it).

I constantly worry about it slightly, but I've never had a single drip at any joins in the system.

Glad to hear your moving over to the dark side with us ;)
... or is this the light side? :unsure:

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

2 weeks! Had a couple of teething problems at the beginning which are all documented in the forum lol.

Its all running nicely now although everytime i turn on the PC i nervoulsy check to see if the waters running. :p

[dutchcedar]

This rig has been running for over a year, all day, every day (and night)... except for a day when the CPU's were swapped out for a pair of L5 bridge modded 2400XP's. I trust da pump much more than da fans. :blink:

How they stand up to "abuse" depends entirely on how they're built and what they're built it with. ;)

Have fun and use a high quality pump.

[furious trout]

Thanks for the encouragement guys - from what i've been reading here it seems if you take the time to do it properly with some good kit it'll be fine.

Now for the hardest part - i've just got to figure out a way of convincing the lady of the house that I need to build a new machine :p

Any suggetions on how to win that argument would be greatly appreciated :blink: :D

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

The lady of my house actually funded most of my kit! (and no i'm NOT the lady of the house :p )

I used the noise argument on her as my computer is in the living room and she couldnt hear eastenders (UK soap) over the noise of it. :lol:

[Pug]

Originally posted by furious trout@Feb 3 2004, 10:59 PM

Any suggestions on how to win that argument would be greatly appreciated  :blink:  :D

Wait approximately *looks at calendar* ten days, then discuss it over flowers, dinner and drinks. :wub:
;) :lol:

[Pug]

I'll have to check my dates to be sure on how long my rigs have been in each configuration but in one form or another, I've had rigs run for up to a year or so where the only attention I've given them is when I decided to, rather than when they dictated.

Like Dutch, I've often run 24/7 for long periods of time, often at 100% load (when I used to DC a lot) and due to the fact that I have several watercooled rigs here, I don't tend to be able to watch them all should I even think it necessary.
After spending a few hours setting the thing up in the first place, that's generally it for me up to the point when I think something like "ooh, blue coolant - I'm bored of green" or something! :lol:

I leave my kids using them, even to the point of shutting down and starting up. All my pumps are now controlled on and off by the respective PCs (without seperat power leads, as they used to be), so I don't have to worry about the pump not being switched on or anything.
It's cool. Things have come along way to make things relatively painless by way of maintenance. :)

I think the biggest thing I normally have to deal with is dust build-up on unfiltered fans but then you get that with aircooling too.

[furious trout]

Originally posted by Pug@Feb 4 2004, 02:18 PM
All my pumps are now controlled on and off by the respective PCs (without seperat power leads, as they used to be), so I don't have to worry about the pump not being switched on or anything.

So how does this work? Do you use a relay? (he says revealing his noob status once and for all ;) )

[Darv]

Originally posted by furious trout+Feb 4 2004, 06:35 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (furious trout @ Feb 4 2004, 06:35 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Pug@Feb 4 2004, 02:18 PM
All my pumps are now controlled on and off by the respective PCs (without seperat power leads, as they used to be), so I don't have to worry about the pump not being switched on or anything.

&nbsp; So how does this work? Do you use a relay? (he says revealing his noob status once and for all ;) ) [/b][/quote]
AFIAK Pug's using the 12v AquaStream pump. You just need to plug it into a spare molex connector and it will come on and go off with the rest of your PC.

[furious trout]

Ah Haaaa! :blink:
Any idea how much one of these would set me back? :p

[Darv]

Last I heard Pug was going to sell them at £59.99

[furious trout]

Better add one of these to my list then...... :p

[Pug]

Darv's got it. My work rig has an AquaStream, my Lian Li one has an AP900 and HexaDragon has a modified AquaPower PSU (with built in relay) powering a 240Volt 1046.
The fourth rig (currently in bits) has a PCI relay card, so it does need a seperate power lead but it will go on & off with the PC too. :)

[Knipex]

Not to cost Pug an order or anything ;)

But my 240V pump comes on when i plug in my PC. I just cut the power lead and soldered into the back of the power socket on the PSU. It only too 5 mins and the pump is on as long as the PC is turned on.

Oh and to answer your origional question. Im runnign this rig about a year and the only thing I have done (after initial teething problems) was to change the coolant (I only did that tonight because photographer is coming tomorrow), and blow out the dust bunnies about once every few months.

[Pug]

Nice alternative, Knipex.
I'd originally planned to mod an internal IEC passthru socket on the inside of my PSU and splice a matching plug onto the pump but mislaid the socket I'd set aside for it.

The difference being, of course, that with mine, they're on & off with soft power switching, rather than the manual hardswitch that you have. :p

Good luck with your shoot tomorrow btw. :)

[Starbuck3733T]

Or you reverse what pug does and do what I do... the PSU won't turn on unless the pump is plugged in!

Watercooling for about 6 months -- not on the primary rig cuz I'm still working out all the details.

[furious trout]

Originally posted by Pug@Feb 4 2004, 08:18 PM
Nice alternative, Knipex.
I'd originally planned to mod an internal IEC passthru socket on the inside of my PSU and splice a matching plug onto the pump but mislaid the socket I'd set aside for it.

The difference being, of course, that with mine, they're on & off with soft power switching, rather than the manual hardswitch that you have.&nbsp; :p



EEeeek this is all getting a bit scary for a poor little noob like me :wacko:
seriously though...I think i'll maybe stick to the easy option for my first attempt and then take it from there afer all it could be an expensive experiment (that reminds me must begin my subliminal suggestion plan on the gf.....) B)

[dutchcedar]

I leave my pump plugged into the 'puter's surge protection and although I have a relay in the box, it's been by-passed since day one. I like to have the fluid flowing before powering up the rig. Besides, when using continuous duty pumps like Eheim, for example, starting them up and shutting them down repeatedly is not a good thing. Not that I ever turn the rig on and off, mind you... :o :rolleyes:

[dutchcedar]

BTW, you should buy a nice pump and act like a buddy gave it to you. Park that sucker on the coffee table and when she asks about it, suggest a fishtank for the shark your other buddy wants to give you. When she nixes that idea, tell her you heard they're good for cooling a PC and you'd only need to pick up a few more "little" parts. :D

[furious trout]

An excellent plan - i shall put it into action forthwith!, maybe i'll just leave my puter on with pages about keeping sharks open, just for a bit of reinforcement ;)