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AceX
01-18-2006, 02:49 PM
Ok, I have a crazy and outlandish idea for my next case. I kow its crazy and outlandish because when I told my friends and family, everyone but my dad looked at me like I was nuts. Trust me, you will probably think I am in a second...

Ok, I want to put a water fall or wall of water in my case.

Crazy, I know...

The idea is to get two pieces of acylic or plexiglass and make some sides out of 1/2" spaces, making a box about 12" high x 12" wide x 1" deep. The whole thing would be sealed tighter than a vault. The inlet would be at the top and would have a copper or clear tube going across the top with several holes drilled into it, making the feect of there being a wall of water. The outlet of this feature would be completely submerged in at least 2" of water at all times, which would keep any air out of the system.

I want to try and make this water fall the radiator for the cooling system. I already have a pump selected and I already have the lines needed. I'm just rying to figure out what kinds of problems I may run into.

Just for a small visual imagination; Imagine looking at a computer when it's off. It's got the Corvette flags laser etched into the glass, the visible parts of the chasis are powder coated black, and when you hit the power switch, a wall of water suddenly engulfs the side window, blurring all the new activity just enough so that it's still visible, yet undefined. Blue lights would illuminate the water as it tricles down the side. All making for one hell of a display...

crazybillybob
01-18-2006, 05:43 PM
I'm not sure It's crazy but it's going to be one big build!
Make sure you plan the flow rate of the falls and the rate of draw from the pump to keep the 2" min in the res. Bonus is that the water fall will help cool the water!


Good Luck,
Crazybillybob


I'll be watching for this one!:D

AceX
01-18-2006, 07:24 PM
I honestly believe that that will be my biggest hurdle. The trick will be in planning the amount of water that will be in the system and the amount that will be released by the hose up top. I'll have to do some math to match them up, but it is very doable, just got to double check my math and make sure I don't mess it up.

I'm looking at this (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=201&products_id=3434) pump right now. I has a low flow rate compared to others and its already a DC, making it a breaze to supply the power to it.

Aero
01-18-2006, 09:55 PM
dude this just gave me a swweet idea for my mod :D.


I never thought of a waterfall....hmmm...this could be good, of course with several twist, but the idea of free flowing water in a case, or on...or out of.....oh this is going to get messy

Smitten
01-19-2006, 02:14 AM
easiest way i can think to control your waterfall is a potentiometer. 2inches in the bottom of the *reservoir* shouldnt be an issue. want i dont suggest is having the tube at the top with holes in it. the released water will be less the farther it is from the source unless you have enough pressure for it to reach that far or feed the tube with water from both ends (easily accomplished with a Y connection). this may still show an uneven flow with less at the center unless, again, enough pressure from the pump is given. this would, imo, still give it more of a rain looks than a waterfall look.

If you want to be creative, limit your tubing, and since you're already working with acylic sheets, try making the top be fed by just 1 tube at its center and feeding the fall between two sheets very close to one another. i suck at drawing, so will try to explain this the best i can.

basically, if you take a garden hose and 2 triangles and make a box from the triangles, placing them 3-4mm apart for the water, sealing 2 sides and leaving the third side open. the corner opposite the open side is where the hose would feed the water. doing this will give you a very even, non-rain looking sheet of water, just like a waterfall. in essence, you'll be changing the round tube into a very thin rectangle, same flow throughout. this will possibly put back-pressure on the pump as its very similar to putting your thumb over the opening of a hose. if this is too confusing, i'm sorry and hope someone else who understands my logic can explain it better.

8)

AceX
01-19-2006, 02:49 AM
I understand what you are saying. The original idea was to have a sort of "ledge" the would fill up with water and then the water would over flow into the viewable area. I've seen it done on garden fountains. It's not *too* complicated. The idea is that the water will over flow evenly across the entire surface or the "ledge."

Another Idea I had was to take the tubing to be placed up top and cut a slot along the entire length of the tubing, making it all come down over the entire acrylic. I would run the feeds from both side in order to make sure that the pressure stayed equal. This would require a larger pump however.

I'm still working on the design. Talking with some guys who build custom aquariums, trying to get their feeedback on this. Maybe they know something I haven't thought of yet...

snickells
01-19-2006, 05:31 AM
I know where Ive seen this b4, in my aquarium! All you need to do is make sure that the res (which I assume the water will be falling in to ) is deep enough to accommodate a large enough water supply to the pump. Easy!

Can’t wait to see it in action ;)

AceX
01-19-2006, 02:23 PM
I just picked up a chasis to try it out on.

public_eyesore
01-19-2006, 06:35 PM
ive seen someone do a watewr fall in their case. It was fetured in cpu and was some like japanese theme, where it had one of those rock walls with water running down, it was pretty cool, but kinda usless.

AceX
01-20-2006, 12:09 AM
This one will actually be put to work. I'm just in the final stages of planning. I just need to settle on a final design.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to build a custom side panel.

AceX
01-20-2006, 01:22 AM
OMG! It hit me, just a minute ago!

Ok, on the panel covering the backside of the mobo, I'm going to attach three pieces of angle iron to the outside and use them to hold the acrylic. I'll use bondo to slope the angle iron in, making it part of the panel and the acrylic will be a window to the backside of the mobo. I'll use a CCFL on the bottom to light the water down low. It will be a part of the case and not a removeable side panel like I was originaly planning!

Now all I have to do is design the actual "tank" and I can get crackin!

public_eyesore
01-20-2006, 08:30 PM
This one will actually be put to work. I'm just in the final stages of planning. I just need to settle on a final design.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to build a custom side panel.
what do u mean its going to be put to work?

AceX
01-20-2006, 11:16 PM
I mean that it will actually be part of the cooling system. I think I will run a secondary radiator so that I can run cooler temps.

public_eyesore
01-21-2006, 12:03 AM
i would think that there would be a problem with air in the radiator, but if you can pull it of, that would be sweet.

AceX
01-21-2006, 03:51 AM
THats what I'm trying to overcome right now...

Overconfidence
01-21-2006, 04:35 PM
Look into Bong/Evap cooling (XS and Procooling should have some stuff on it)... you can get some serious cooling from that, and if you can get a big acrylic tube, it'll look awesome. Ambient or below temps. Downsides are that it gets a bit humid in your computer room, and you need to refill it.

thephreak99
01-22-2006, 04:13 AM
Hope you make a worklogg of this! Sounds sweet! :)

onelegout
01-23-2006, 08:38 PM
I have seen a window full of water with bubbles going through it, but this sounds different :D You better post a worklog!

OvRiDe
01-24-2006, 01:48 AM
I have a desktop fountain that I have to fill every day or evaporation ends up whisking away a significant amount of water. So if you have one side open to the air to aid in cooling, you may run into problems keeping fluid in it.. All in all I think its a killer idea.. VERY ZEN.. heh

AceX
01-24-2006, 02:17 AM
Heheh, it would be a closed system, completely sealed. Only access to it would be the fill port.

OvRiDe
01-24-2006, 03:13 AM
Right on.. I guess I misunderstood by it being a part of the cooling system.. anywho as others have stated WORKLOG WORKLOG WORKLOG.. heh. I am really looking forward to this one..

AceX
01-24-2006, 04:47 AM
I will work log it, to the fullest extent that I can. Got a few expenses coming my way very soon and I just paid for all my books and stuff for the new semster, so money is a little tight, but rest assured, I will have this thing going as soon as I can. I'm still planning out all the details right now.

I'm teaching myself to make those 4-pin molex connectors for power supply. It's alot harder than I originally thought, but then again, I'm a perfectionist, and this case will be flawless.

I think I'm going to go w/ a blue/silver color scheme. I'm looking for the color shifting paint that Duplicolor makes that goes from silver to blue. Can't find it at any of my local car shops, so I'm going to have to try and order it online.

I'm thinking of running two different systems now. One for the CPU, and one just for the visuals. It would solve a few problems I am worried about and make for a better system overall... don't know yet, just exploring my options.

snickells
01-24-2006, 11:31 PM
What about those mist generators you can place in a bowl of water that create a low cloud of mist that holds on to the water..... that would look awesome floating over the water falling down... maby?

AceX
01-25-2006, 01:31 AM
Well, I've decided to run two seperate systems.

1. Traditional water cooling system (Probably CoolerMaster Aquagate-Mini)
2. A small pump system to run the water fall(s)

Now, My dad and I were watching Overhaulin' tonight (more @ www.overhaulin.com) and I decided that I would like to design/build a computer for none other than Chip Foose himself. I think I can do it if I take my time and do things right, not like my last project, which I should almost just tear down and do over again... More on this as I can get it to you.

OvRiDe
01-25-2006, 03:21 AM
I watched that episode too .. Very cool.. They couldn't have done it better or for a better person. Chip Foose seems to be genuinely one hell of a nice guy! I think he would be more then pleased to have a fan build a case in his honor.

AceX
01-26-2006, 05:18 AM
EDIT: Nevermind, I thought of a name. (Suggestions will still be taken however.)

grimace
03-04-2006, 05:01 PM
Hi im totally new to this site and case moding alike. I have always followed case mods and love to look at other peoples work. Though I havent started moding yet maybe I can help. Lian li makes a side panel which is an aqaurium it has a bubble pump at the bottom and comes witha light fake fish and some pebbles to cover the pump/light. The thing is this side pannel only fits lian lis pc 60 case. Anyways I just thought this would help. here is a link to the case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811112098

p.s. Im using this case in my next rig ;)

jofultner
03-04-2006, 09:38 PM
I have read other ideas like yours and all the know it alls said it could`t work.I feel if the water fall is separate sealed compartment on either side of case it would work fine.It can even be treated like Resi.in water cool system as long as enough water is always at bottom(pickup).Jo

Slug Toy
03-04-2006, 11:15 PM
ok, time for some more of my very inspired ideas.

jofultner has got a point. this waterfall could serve as a reservoir quite well. the question is, though, how would it work. the answer could very well be simple, my friend.

why not have the waterfall sandwiched between acrylic? have it just a few degrees off being perfectly straight up and down, so you get a little bit of proper flow instead of just falling water. you can also texture the acrylic to liven up the descent. this type of thing would probably be ideal in a situation where you have a small space to work with.

another idea is to have an acrylic box in the front of the case. inside this box would be some real or fake rocks to simulate a top and bottom pool, and a waterfall connecting them. what im picturing is one of those postcard-esque tropical waterfalls where there are always people diving off the top. with this acting as part of a watercooling loop, it would be very neat because of the water additives. a fourescent green or blue waterfall would be interesting.

i definitely like my second idea better. its pretty hard to really know what im talking about sometimes unless you can see into my mind. for that reason, im willing to fix up a drawing if this kind of thing is what you're looking for, AceX.

one last thought about waterfalls in computers... that would be a really cool thing for a farcry mod. the whole tropical waterfall thing would fit into the tropical island setting. thats just a suggestion for anyone who is thinking about a farcry mod. i might even use my own suggestion... eventually.

Crimson Sky
03-05-2006, 12:28 PM
remember that ANY water feature contained in a sealed space will create condensation on the glass, completely obscuring the view! Also, if the water is not treated regularly, fungus and mold will grow in several days, creating a slime on every surface it touches.

AceX
03-07-2006, 12:35 AM
I have looked into this more and more and have arrived at a solid design that I think will work. Crimson makes a very good point, but I don't believe that that factor will be too much fo a problem considering that the entire piece will be at a constant temperature that is very clsoe to the rest of the area around it. If I need to, I can put in a fill port up top or something so that air can move freely.

Jetty_200
03-07-2006, 10:38 AM
Ok sorry i was thinking about this before, like when this thread started up...but i thought it would be a stupid input, right now i work for a huge contractor company...EllisDon...and the project that i work at right now has a 'cooling tower' on the roof. (yes i pictured in my head how kool would a mini version of that (about the size of a house) would be ontop of my comp.?) it's a rather big project, and a rather big cooling tower as well but i had heard, will be confirming and learning more about this later on, that the cooling tower just chills the water from having a small waterfall like situation with huge fans infront of it. And trust me this thing cools like a lot!...i'm thinking that there is a perfect way to mimic this. maybe with a nice looking water fall and a couple of 120mm fans blowing over the water, out the oppisite side of the computer intake. i dunno as long as you are sure that the water is safe where it is i'm sure that someone kould go a long long way with this...i am sure i will be trying it eventually...just not sure when, i wish sooner then later but i already have some other projects inline...anyways good luck acex

.a.n.t.
03-08-2006, 02:31 PM
Hey, first post, so hi...

Been thinking about this mod...

how much pressure do water cooling pumps put out?

With a waterfall I'm thinking it might be pushing too much water through meaning it builds up in the waterfall compartment instead of the resevior.


Haven't got water cooling yet, but it's def on the cards and am considering something like this...

xris
03-09-2006, 09:41 AM
oh that would be cool and the good part is there is info that you can use to do this....There is a TV show called "pimp my ride" on MTV. On one of thier shows they put a wall of water in the back of a Van with a recliner and a computer with a LED hanging screen....man i want that Van...

It can be done man just give it a try...oh and do not forget to put a valve in a corner so that you can empty it easy if you have too....lol

AceX
03-09-2006, 10:15 PM
Trust me when I say that this mod will truly be bad ass.

The actual fall will be completely sealed with the exception of a fill port possibly and will sit in a seperate frame that will be attached to the chasis. It will be made fo 1/4" acrylic that will be sealed with clear silicone and screwed together every 1/2" to 1" The pump for the system will be very small and silent. I might try and make a cover for it, but I'm not sure yet.