mcbeen.com

I’ve been very happy so far with my water cooled results. Its much more effective than I ever though it could be with such a simple setup. That being said, there are areas for improving my system.

1) Higher water capacity reservoir and draining capability. The volume of water in the system is sufficient, but I would like a little more thermal mass to absorb energy. Currently, Im getting about 1ºC increase every second in the reservoir as long at my cooling fans are off. I also want to setup an efficient way for me to drain the system for maintenance, preferably into a reserve tank.

2) Vibration Dampening. With the system running so quiet, the vibrations caused by the pump have become rather annoying. I wouldn’t call it loud, but it resonates through my desk. To deal with it for now, I have taken some wide, medium density weather stripping, and lined the bottom of the pump/reservoir. It seems to have stopped the problem for now.

3) Control and monitoring. Since ESA is dead, and this system depends on it for instrumentation, I pretty much don’t have an effective way to use the system. I having to substitute external components to make up for the gaps. So far if got and indoor/outdoor thermometer sitting in the reservoir for temp monitoring. Its not perfect, but it is accurate.