Chilled Water Setup!
Chilled Water Setup!
I was checking out this product on Amazon and it caught my attention. I thought about using it in a custom loop setup—first cooling the air before passing the water through it. It’s available in sizes of 1/10, 1/4, and 1/2 horsepower. I’m not aiming for very low temps; I just want to keep the water around 10-15°C. I understand the power rating is about 700 watts per horsepower, but I’m unsure what the right wattage would be. Anyone have an opinion? Would it be practical or too much work?
Those are commonly used for aquarium setups (a hobby I was once heavily involved in), so I'll give you my knowledge on the subject.
1) EcoPlus is meh. There are better brands. I'd rather use an Active Aqua or JBJ.
2) A 1/10 HP chiller is used usually on tanks around 40g to drop them maybe 10-15c. These tanks usually try and run around 25c. I have no idea how the chiller would handle warmer water than that, like the water coming off a GPU. On a really small volume like in a watercooling setup it can probably drop temps 30-40c or maybe more. I still probably wouldn't use more than a 1/10hp.
3) Chillers mostly are on/off. They use a ton of electricity so running one full time would be loud and costly, and I don't know how it would effect...
Those are commonly used for aquarium setups (a hobby I was once heavily involved in), so I'll give you my knowledge on the subject.
1) EcoPlus is meh. There are better brands. I'd rather use an Active Aqua or JBJ.
2) A 1/10 HP chiller is used usually on tanks around 40g to drop them maybe 10-15c. These tanks usually try and run around 25c. I have no idea how the chiller would handle warmer water than that, like the water coming off a GPU. On a really small volume like in a watercooling setup it can probably drop temps 30-40c or maybe more. I still probably wouldn't use more than a 1/10hp.
3) Chillers mostly are on/off. They use a ton of electricity so running one full time would be loud and costly, and I don't know how it would effect the longevity.
4) They take a couple of minutes to warm up (cool down?) You would still need good rads for boot up time.
5) They need a beefy pump. I have no idea how well a watercooling setup would handle something like a Mag 6 with 600GPH flow and all that head pressure. You might be able to get away with less pump. Luckily you can just put a gate valve above the pump output to restrict the flow if you buy too much. Or you can get one of the fancy new DC pumps.
Place a reservoir inside a water tank made of polycarbonate, around five gallons, and run the chiller there. Otherwise, water will be moving too quickly and won't matter much. If the temperature gets too high or too low, change the tank size accordingly.
I agree with that concept. However, it might be simpler just to place a radiator directly into the tank filled with cold water—it would work much better. Instead of using fans, consider using a few underwater powerheads (ideally those with a tight flow design) such as the MJ 1200 models.
The minimum flow rate for a 1/10hp JBJ Arctica is 240gph, while the maximum reaches 900gph. A higher-end water cooling pump like the EK-D5 offers 400 GPH and a 4m head height. Although this is quite high for most aquarium pumps of that size, it’s reasonable considering all the constraints. The real flow might be even lower. Still, the thought of installing something like a Mag 7—providing sufficient flow for the chiller with adequate head to manage the loop—remains a bit concerning.
Yeah, because you're familiar with aquaria, you know the pumps work better and are more affordable. The radiator concept is solid too—just having it sit in chilled water would be a big advantage. As long as it doesn’t lead to corrosion, I guess. But I think it should be okay as long as there’s no unusual outside coating.
Additionally, your suggestion of using an external water tank provides another advantage—you can later sell the chiller. If you connected the chiller directly to the loop, the water would touch the copper inside the waterblocks, causing minor contamination. Copper is highly harmful to marine invertebrates, with concentrations as low as 50 parts per billion capable of damaging a reef tank filled with thousands of dollars worth of live coral.