Multi radiator idea

[Neo-revo]

I have been custom cooling for years, and  have have a good amount of fun doing it, over the years, have acquired more rads.   Recently i got my hands on a Haf-Stacker 915F and am thinking i would like to mount 2 480's a 420 and perhaps the very first 240 i got, all inside the case with a little angle bracket and custom modding, i think mounting would be no issue,  just considering getting a pair of Enzotech 5 way round cross-flow splitters that i could use to  take the exit of the loop, and split it to run through each rad independently and same connector to join back before it exits the stacker case back to the other case.

 

Any thoughts to the split idea?  my thought is water will flow slower through them and cool off more.   i have dual d5 so i am not worried about head pressure flow has never been an issue.

 

 

[Mick Naughty]

No reason it wouldn't work, would just need to split and come back together.

 

Even with a pair of pumps I wouldn't run than many in parallel. All the extra hose alone would make me not want to do.

[triforcemack]

personally i would like to see something like this done. it is in no way practical but it would sure look cool. you could theme it aswell.

[Neo-revo]

2 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

Even with a pair of pumps I wouldn't run than many in parallel. All the extra hose alone would make me not want to do.

-Thanks for the Reply and thought. My plan would be to keep all the inlet/outlet on one side of the 915F (near the back i feel) and use the pictured fitting to have a short line (3-4")  to go from the split to rad, and  essentially the same length tube  to return,   I understand i am doubling the amount of tube needed, (8 vs 6 if i went from each rad in series)  But  i have spare g1/4 and panel mount QDC fittings so  the idea is to keep the  stacker removable from the loop easily when needed for maintenance. Any how thanks again,

8 minutes ago, triforcemack said:

it is in no way practical but it would sure look cool. you could theme it aswell.

What do you mean, Practical to have that many radiators?  OR to have them mounted in a separate case?    would you be surprised that any one  who would think about a adventure like this:

that he has a Spare mid sized case in-between the Full size and  tiny haf stacker idea, that has a ac/dc switching PSU to power TEC chips that i have mounted with CPU air coolers and a Custom copper block that allows me to mount 2 cold side (2 TEC) on the same chill plate that i can put into a  separate chilled water loop if  felt like it. into any system.  

-Watercooling esp, custom WC  always seems to be best when gone all out and no-brakes or holes barred.

 

 

Its less a idea if i will, and was more like an attempt to see what sort of feedback, and possible experience if any one had some, I've run multi rads, but never in parallel SO i jsut wanted to run it by a community to see what kind of feed back i got.   In good time i will most likely do this  as i miss having all the HDD cage space the Full size tower that i lost when i mounted a 480 on the bottom with a 420 on the top and the 240 pushing out the back panel of the case.   so i can get Nice clean lines (hopefully)

 

Thanks -

[MaratM]

I think this is not a good idea. the water will flow through the rad with less restriction and the others will not work. Parallel rad setup will work only all if the rads are the same.

[Neo-revo]

7 minutes ago, MaratM said:

I think this is not a good idea. the water will flow through the rad with less restriction and the others will not work. Parallel rad setup will work only all if the rads are the same.

thanks  for the the thought, i have considered this.   are you speaking from experience? In parallel the flow is split and slows: it does not choose a direction and avoid the other all together. It may how-ever make bleeding them difficult since the pressure to each would be lowered  (or easier in my position since they would all be orientated the same way).

Rad's are also generally the least restrictive part in a loop.

  i think i may achieve greater heat shed by slowing the flow down in each rad this way, over multi-passing the fluid through each radiator in succession.

[For Science!]

3 hours ago, Neo-revo said:

-

I can only really see the negatives in this setup.

 

- Slowing down the flow in the rads and cool off more is not really a valid concept, since the flow in the waterblocks will also be slower and therefore components will be hotter.

- I think you are seeing the fluid temperature change between components (i.e. hot after a waterblock, cold after a radiator) whereas in reality the fluid temperature changes across the system as a whole. 

 

I would still do a series loop and keep it simple.

[Neo-revo]

5 hours ago, For Science! said:

 

- Slowing down the flow in the rads and cool off more is not really a valid concept, since the flow in the waterblocks will also be slower and therefore components will be hotter.

- I think you are seeing the fluid temperature change between components (i.e. hot after a waterblock, cold after a radiator) whereas in reality the fluid temperature changes across the system as a whole. 

Thanks again for another reply, I do not plan to split the flow between any components (gpu in parallel is not bad any how) as you mentioned that water temp is not significantly affected by water flow in the radiator is not an appreciable difference between the inlet and outlet (i personally have tested this and agree)   Water in a closed loop is going to try and reach an equilibrium of input and output. where input is hot components (plates/blocks)  and output is time spent in rad tube=amount of heat transferred to fins for fans to dissipate.  Basic thermodynamics understanding would appear that splitting the flow to the  radiator would increase the exposure of the water to the tube, perhaps allowing it to reach its equilibrium faster (thus more heat shed) vs passing the all the water at system flow speed though each rad in succession.  

 

   My intention is to regain lost space in my Full-size case. Not to gain cooler water for each block.   In my first post i linked a fitting,  i would be getting two of these and  using it to have short lines to each rad and same for return.  As the radiators i am thinking of moving them into the 915F HAF Stacker  i would send one line from my loop to the split, and combine them all before returning it to the loop.

 

Block restrictiveness would become a major factor if you were to try and run water to blocks with different manufacturing specs in parallel (why dual gpu in parallel is ok if you have identical blocks)   flow rate per block restriction would be a factor for sure.   radiators on the other hand ( some exceptions)  are basically as easy to pump the water through as the 1/2" hose i use.

[Pixel5]

10 hours ago, MaratM said:

I think this is not a good idea. the water will flow through the rad with less restriction and the others will not work. Parallel rad setup will work only all if the rads are the same.

i also think this will happen unless the flow rate is very high, the flow through the rads will still not be the same but there will be some in all of them.

 

best way to avoid this would probably be a separate pump for each rad but that could be too much flow.

[Neo-revo]

7 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

i also think this will happen unless the flow rate is very high, the flow through the rads will still not be the same but there will be some in all of them.

that is kind of what i would like to achieve by nature of discussion.   Again  Radiators (generally)  are not flow restrictive.  the rad's i have are all about the same  MCR-switech's and a single XSPC 420 that  had no appreciable difference  of flow resistance when installed into my system to replace a 480 mounted on the top,   if anything i noticed that  the pump was able to pull water from the loop more violently than with the 480 in that position feeding the pump/res combo. But since i re-organized my loop it could have been just on account that i removed some difficult bends to make the loop more 'clean'
 

 

Thanks Pixel5 .  my Flow rate with dual D5 in series is more than adequate.  for system reliability, pump failure protection, head pressure. I reduced the operating speed of the pumps to stop air from being re-circulated immediately via head pressure suction.

 

Thanks every one for ensuring that no detail in the cooling realm is left  UN-thought.   When i get the idea setup, i will report back with my findings.  I am not saying that i wont ever run them in parallel i just think i can avoid a lot of hard curves, that i would encounter if i ran rads in series.

the split would be mounted to a female QDC and  that would connect to  tube going up through the case to the 915,

[For Science!]

10 hours ago, Neo-revo said:

-

I guess I'm struggling to see how splitting the flow increases the exposure. While the initial incoming water will be hotter, each thread will stay in a radiator for less time than a single flow going across all tubes of the radiator. The amount of radiator space is the same in parallel vs series.

 

Either way, my money is that there is no appreciable difference between parallel vs series and just potential for more problems of unequal flow if one radiator is more restrictive or clogs up more than another.

 

If it helps to do your runs better, fine. I will be looking forward to see if you get around to doing a comparison.

[Neo-revo]

3 hours ago, For Science! said:

I guess I'm struggling to see how splitting the flow increases the exposure.

The amount of radiator space is the same in parallel vs series.

I will be looking forward to see if you get around to doing a comparison.

you  are right there on the money, the amount of rad face is identical.   but i feel that  even with a assumed 25% split to each rad that would result in the water moving 75%slower in each rad. While not affecting the overall flow of the entire system.   it is my assumption that  slowing the water pass will allow longer exposure to the tubes. Where  flowing in series, the water would quickly pass through each rad. I have had better results running pumps at 2/5  instead of 5/5 or another speed.. so there is some justification on my part that this may have an effect ,  slowing the water may improve temp performance (not core temps on cpu's  or the fluid temp)  to reach equilibrium faster.

 

When i can get my Mobo back from RMA  i will likely have the rads setup to try this.

[Technous285]

The HAF Stacker 915R/F only can mount 3x120mm fans/360mm rads at the most on the side panels.

So you better be ready for a LOT of work to get anything bigger than 360mm rads to fit on it.

 

Having my old Beast Rig built in a HAF Stacker 945 made from a 915R for the bottom (holding storage), 935 for the core (Mobo, GPU, Pump/res, opticals) and 915F for the roof (twin 360mm rads), you can only fit the following fans/rads on the cases;

915R: upto 3x120mm fans/360mm rad on either side panel (PSU would mount over Rear I/O).

935: 2x 120mm fans on the front panel & a 120mm fan/rad or 140mm fan/rad over the Rear I/O.

915F: upto 3x120mm fans/360mm rad on either side panel and/or a 120mm fan over the Rear I/O.

 

I can store upto 9x 3.5" (or 2.5") drives in the 915R as the basement, and run a pair of 360mm rads (in effectively push-pull) on the side panels of the 915F as the roof, because I'm running the main guts of my rig and pump/res combo in the 935 serving as the core of the build.

[Neo-revo]

14 hours ago, Technous285 said:

So you better be ready for a LOT of work to get anything bigger than 360mm rads to fit on it.

 good thing i am using the case as a house, and not to actuality mount them.   My plan (since the rad fit in )  is to use some angle bracket  and make 2 squares. Then run some bracket the length of the rads. that way i can secure them inside the case, all attached to the angle bracket.  ( since i already have the aluminum bracket  its not that much work for me, my dremel and drill)    and soldering/brazing and 'making'/modding things how i want is a forte in my wheelhouse.

 

i appreciate you taking the time to make sure i knew this fact about the Rads too.      I don't know if you can imagine the setup inside the case i 'see'   but it would essentially be the same as you with a rad on each side and one on the top,   i just don't know if it will sit on on my case, under it., or beside it  and  my main rig is in an enthoo primoo ultimate. 

 

i plan to not cut up the 915,  in case i ever feel like making a mini-itx build (seems like an awesome case for a baby rig) which is why i will do the mods with angle bracket.

 

 

[Technous285]

Fair enough, at least you've got a plan and know what you wanna do with the build, so good luck with the build then mate.

[Neo-revo]

So its been a journey,  i got a deal on some used parts so i have done a Hardline conversion.   the Rads i ended up using were a 480 and 420.  i wanted to use both 480's but i quickly realized after i got those two in that  i would have issues either getting the next one in, or connecting the tubes after i had it in,  i might have had an easier time if i hadn't changed to hardline, But for 100$usd cant go wrong with score i got.

 

This is the end result, and the rads are held in place so they cant move about and also the mini case is mounted to a modified plank to aid in not allowing the mini case to move around significantly or fall off the top,