Project: Water Cooling Turbine

Hi everybody!

My water cooling kit came in today.

Here are my ideas for the setup to house the radiator, fans and Resevoir.

My cooling system: the Swiftech H20-120 Premium Kit

Fans: Thermaltake A1926 120mm Blue LED Case Fan

Resevoir: XSPC Passive 250mm Reservoir - SILVER

Basically it will look like this:

Back exhaust:

Front looking down tube:

Here is a section cut from the top:

The unit will sit ontop of my computer and, the large tube will house the radiator in the center and air will flow over it to help cooling, then the tube will taper to meet the entering fan and be pushed thru the radiator. I'm going to add a second fan on the back side to help also.
Obviously I did not add any colors to anyting.
It will mostly be silver and black with Blue lights
I'm not sure how to "Dress up" the outside of it yet. but I"m working on it.

I have to order the resevoir yet, but I thought I'd see what you guys thought before I get too far into this.

So... What do you guys think?

I love the look of this! I think thats going to be a great idea!

As far as the decoration/color for the outside, this thing makes me think "jet engine" or rocket. It's got a sort of outerspace/sci-fi look to it, so why not do something that looks mech/industrial, with some deep-space damage/debris to it? Paint it to look like panels and rivets make up the shell, and have some warning stickers near the intake and exhaust maybe. :D

This case has the sort of damage/detail to it that I'm talking about.. like blaster fire marks and a general dirtyness that would come from flying through space. :)

That does look pretty cool, reminds me of a jet engine.

Thanks for the comments, Yeah, the jet engine is where i got the Turbine name. -Hopefully it doesn't sound like one though, I want quiet!

I went shopping tonight for the 6" tube. -The only thing I found was a 6" dia. section of pvc that was 10' long. Way more than I need plus it was close to $30. I also found a 6" dia. metal supply duct. but its too flexible. Hmmmm...

dude, thats freaking awesome, go for it 100%. going on the jet engine look it reminds me of a pod racer engine from star wars. is the rad in between the two fans?

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Originally Posted by Spawn-Inc

dude, thats freaking awesome, go for it 100%. going on the jet engine look it reminds me of a pod racer engine from star wars. is the rad in between the two fans?

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Thanks

Yes, if you look at the plan section, you can see the "fins" of the radiator between the two fans.

Well, looks like this might actually get under way. My first real creative Modding project. Everyone wish me luck please!

Today at lunch I went to a local concrete block facility and picked up a 2' section of 6" dia. Sonotube. Its basically a thick hard cardboard tube that has a coating on the inside to make it smooth for forming a round concrete column. It was only $1.50 per foot too. but the bastards charged me $3.00 to cut it. LOL

I'll try to get some pics tonight after my bowling.

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Originally Posted by rendermandan

It was only $1.50 per foot too. but the bastards charged me $3.00 to cut it.

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thats gotta be one of the funniest things ive ever heard. nice design BTW, its gonna looks sweet sitting on your case. :devious:

wow, I'm really getting sucked into this. I just ordered the resevoir, some tubing clamps some steel blue non-conductive coolant and some EL wire. -I'm going to integrate that into the outside of the tube. Man the gears have really started turning on this. not to mention my pocket book is getting thinner by the minute!

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not to mention my pocket book is getting thinner by the minute!
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Lol, yeah the obsession does cost. But it's worth it.

It looks like a good idea.The fan would really help due to the passive cooling elements of the reservoir.

Looks like a great idea and, when in operation, should keep your temps low. The only thing you might want to check would be is the pump powerful enough? (I'm not really knowledgeable on WC'ing.)

I think to make it look even better, you might want to taper the tube toward the back as the air pressure will lessen at the back otherwise. While you're at it, might as well make the back end look like a jet fighter. (vector nozzle? A non-moving one, of course.)

ok, Here is what I got done over the weekend.

Here's a shot of the parts and the tube I purchased:

I started by laying out where to cut the tube so the radiator and fans will slide down into it from the top:

here are the holes i had to cut:

And here is the radiator assembly in the tube:

Next I cut a section of board to form the backing for the back of the tube.
I then cut the hole out of the middle for air.

this piece will help me to mold and shape the exit of the tube.

And here it is glued into place:

Thats it for now. :)

Looks good so far, I can feel that this is gonna turn out well. Just letting you know that those Thermaltake fans can be quite loud.

Hmmm... here are the specs posted on NewEggs website.
Model
Brand Thermaltake
Series Thunderblade
Model A1926
Spec
Type Case Fan
Compatibility Case
Fan Size 120mm
Bearing Type Sleeve
RPM 2000 RPM
Air Flow 78 CFM
Noise Level 21 dBA
Power Connector 4 Pin
Color Transparent
LED Blue


21 db doesn't seem that loud to me.
especially for 78 CFM. Most of the ones I've seen in that CFM range are around 30 db or more.

20 dBA doesn't seem like much but in a quiet room you notice them. My friend had a pair and they annoyed him so much he got rid of em, but they are good fans. I've got one of the Thermaltake 120mm Smart Fans with the thermal probe and speed controller. The probe and the speed controller are broken and the fan running at full speed howels like a banshee.

wow nice idea ! This will turn out good :D

Oooohh,

That does look wicked cool. The case for the turbine out of clear acrylic tubing will be really cool. Being able to see that cool reservior on the inside will be awesome.

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Originally Posted by Commando

Oooohh,

That does look wicked cool. The case for the turbine out of clear acrylic tubing will be really cool. Being able to see that cool reservior on the inside will be awesome.

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i rather like that idea.. maybe you can cut windows on the tube and melt(shape) some plexi over the window.

i know its to late but i've heard good things about panaflow fans. i'm gonna grab a couple when i w/c my computer. i'm not sure what look your going for but you could add some tubes and pipes running into the side of the tube for a steampunk kinda look.
is that kill bill on the tv in one of the pictures??

Spawn, I had the same idea about some tubes on the sides, I'm going to go for a "industrial"-futuristic look. Kind of hard to explain, but very geometric shapes with glow wire that follow the shapes in "grooves" cut into the tube.
Kind of hard to explain. I like the idea about the plexi tube, but couldn't think of how to make it without ruining or scratching the plexi to form the shapes in the rear. -see my next post!

FYI, your close, I was watching Paycheck.

Here's my next update:

I left off with just one round form on the rear, so I made another for the front:

Then added some bondo:

and some more bondo:

after some sanding I added some spot putty:

here is the finished end.

Up next was the front part. I first had to make a template to help shape the bondo as access to this area was kind of tight.

Here is my first attempt. I think it turned out pretty good.

and here is a shot after adding spot putty:

While that was drying, I turned my attention to the base. I cut some plastic panel to shape:

then I beveled the edges of the sides so they will fit better to the tube:

Thats it. Next up is to cut a design in the sides of the bottoms, and sand the inside of the tube.

FYI, my resevoir, coolant and glow wire should be delivered tomorrow. YEAH!
Later!

nice work on the bondo. i like the way it looks, reminds me of the mythbusters jetpack episode. +rep.

Oh my bad,

I thought that tube was clear with the cardboard stuff on the outside. I see now what it is. I would try to do something so you can see that wicked cool reservoir. The reservoir is really too cool to be hiding in the guts of the mod.

Whatever you decide, it's looking really wicked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Commando

Oh my bad,

I thought that tube was clear with the cardboard stuff on the outside. I see now what it is. I would try to do something so you can see that wicked cool reservoir. The reservoir is really too cool to be hiding in the guts of the mod.

Whatever you decide, it's looking really wicked.

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Thats ok, I can see where you thought it was clear tubing covered in a protective layer.

I'm thinking about having some type of pattern cut into the tube, but I"m not sure how everyting will layout. It just depends on how large the openings want to be to look good. We'll see.

damn man this looks awesome... I've somehow missed seeing this one before... bad plan that.

+rep
/subscribe

Thanks for the rep, alphastryk! You just gave me my third green Bar!!!! woohooo.

Unfortunatly, I wont have anything new for you guys tonight, my wife and I are taking our son to see a ball game and the fireworks show here tonight. So no modding tonight. Sorry.
But I should be back on it tomorrow night. :)

If you want to make some easy plastic "slots" in the cardboard you could use a piece of plastic from a water bottle i.e Coke or something of the required size. Saves you bending sheet plastic and doesn't cost much.

holy mother of water cooling turbines! that looks nice. cant wait to see more :D

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Originally Posted by The boy 4rm oz

If you want to make some easy plastic "slots" in the cardboard you could use a piece of plastic from a water bottle i.e Coke or something of the required size. Saves you bending sheet plastic and doesn't cost much.

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Excellent Idea, I might have to try that! +reps

and as expected, my stuff from Frozencpu showed up today. WOW that resevoir is sweeeeeet! You guys are right, I'm going to have to cut some type of window in the tube because it is such a thing of beauty that I don't wan't to cover it up.

Later

cant wait to see that res in action! amazing an innovative desgin ^BTW

No problem, thanks for the rep rendermandan.

pictures of the res!!!!!!

First page has a pic of the res Spawn-Inc.

i know but i want to see the "real" one, not just a staged(right word?) photo.

Ok haha sorry. The first pic looks awesome though.

Ask and ye shall receive:

Here is all the stuff I got from FrozenCpu:

The resevoir next to a 12" ruler:

The end. -Notice the small scratches, I could not see them untill the flash.

The end with the cap off.

The cap itself:


I got just a small amout done yesterday. I was way to busy with parties and family.

I laid out a pattern on the side of the bottom frame.

Then I taped the two sides together

I have to go get my scroll saw from my Dads workshop to cut them out.

Later.

That res is awesome, I want one lol. I'd have no where to put it though ;)

cant wait to see the scrollsaw action! :D

So anybody have any ideas on where to mount the pump?

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Originally Posted by rendermandan

So anybody have any ideas on where to mount the pump?

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maybe put it on the side somehow and make it look like some sort of random cool tech thing on the side/top?...idk how to describe what I'm thinking :|