Build Log: The Green Dragon

[jappe66]

Welcome to my very first Build Log! I'm not very good at blurbs or anything like that so I'll just get right on it.

Last week I finally ordered the parts for my build. Today one package arrived but I'm still waiting for a second package from different shop. I should have just ordered all parts from the same website so I could have started to work on the build today already 😛

I don't have much for you yet, but I will show you what is my starting point and some teasers!

So my case is a white BitFenix Shinobi XL. I've heard a lot of people complain about it being plastic and crappy but I just don't see what there is to complain about? The finish on those parts is absolutely amazing and it feels very nice to my hands. The side panels are metal as well as the back and bottom. The front and top have BitFenix SofTouch finish.

The case cost me about 150€ about 6 months ago and I wouldn't change it to anything! Now there's so much room and I started to enjoy watching water cooling build logs so I fell in love with this new hobby.

It turned out to be quite big thing on the money side but I decided, what the heck. "I want it so I'm gonna do it!"

My main colors will be white and green. White coming straight from the case itself mostly and the tubing and liquid will be green. Also green LED fans.

Here's my first plan that I made a couple weeks ago:

At first I was planning to mount the reservoir outside the case like mentioned in the picture but then I found one that would fit perfectly on the inside. To the same location. And when I start building this there will probably be more changes to the plans. Or so I've heard from people who have done this before 😀

Now here's some teasers for you to enjoy:

So there you go! I named my project The Turtle because I couldn't come up with anything better. Actually I could go further with this idea and get some turtle figures standing on the case when it's finished or something. See how crazy this watercooling makes me? 😀

You will have to wait until early next week for some build pics but I'm hoping to get the other package by Friday.

Not much to show yet but you gotta start somewhere!

 

[jappe66]

Yeah I figured that would be the case. Well the block is now firmly locked in place and the motherboard is already installed back inside the case so let's hope I installed it correctly 😀 also got the radiator installed to the case.

Fans are in pull mode now. They will pull the air from the front through the radiator and the rest will go out from the back. I will be installing 230mm fan to the top (like it used to be) but can't install the 120mm fan anymore to the back of the case since the reservoir will block it.

Next operation will be mounting the pump to the bottom of the case and then the reservoir. You'll get pictures today

 

[manofchalk]

Good tip, put some of the foam that should have come with your various bits under the pump and then screw it down. Fairly good for absorbing vibration, which will help reduce noise. I'v used a fair bit of foam on my pump mount, and its very quiet, no vibration induced noise at all.

 

[jappe66]

I bought the EK D5 UNI holder kit what I'm using to mount the pump. It came with 4 vibration dampers what you can see in this picture:

Do you think those are enough or should I use some foam as well?

Also another question. It's about the drain port/point. I will be placing it probably between the reservoir and pump. I'm using a picture from your build log 😉 is this how the T-line will be sitting during operation:

And this is just for filling the loop:

This has been one thing I've been wondering a lot lately. I think I asked this before already in the other thread but better make sure 😛 Isn't the T-line going to fill with water?

And how long is that tube in your T-line? Hard to say from picture 😀

 

[4Ryan6]

Excuse the stupid question please.

Why didn't you just buy the pump as a whole unit, with all those parts you do have the pump impeller?

Right?

With all the individual pump parts and shipping I don't think you saved any money piecing it out like that, but that's just my opinion.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=28303

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=21689

 

[manofchalk]

Yep, use the foam as well 😛.
Some rubber washers on the screws arent going to cancel all the vibrations.

It does fill with water yes. The water in it doesn't flow or get out of the T-line as far as I can tell, but don't think there are any negative effects from that.
If your thinking that it could potentially introduce air into the loop when you seal it then put in its normal position, it could. But that's why you fill the line to the brim before putting the cap back on.

The length of the tube in those pictures, too short is how long it is 😀.
From my drain line V2 (when I directly mounted it to the pump via male-male G1/4 adapter) was perfect length.
Then on my recent water upgrade, my drain line is the same length as before, but now that its placed far lower its ridiculously too long.

When cutting your drain line, put one end of the tubing wherever its going to be, and run the other end out of the rig and onto a table, then add a bit more. Means that its easy to just drop the end of the line in a bucket and walk off. With whats in the pic I had to hold it while it drained.

 

[toolmaker_03]

I do not use a T line at all I use a double T with 3 1/4 turn shut off valves so that I can force the loop through a external open reservoir like a couple of gallon jugs with the tops cut off of them, one filled and the other empty, or a large bowl filled works to, as a external reservoir for filling or flushing the system out.









They are both the same design and serve the same purpose the only difference is the materials used to make them.

 

[jappe66]

Excuse the stupid question please.

Why didn't you just buy the pump as a whole unit, with all those parts you do have the pump impeller?

Right?

With all the individual pump parts and shipping I don't think you saved any money piecing it out like that, but that's just my opinion.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=28303

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=21689

I have the EK D5 Pump top installed so I didn't need the original pump top at all. Saves me about £10 and now I don't have a useless pump top laying around

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Alphacool-VPP655--Laing-D5-Single-Edition-Pump-with-Tacho-Signal--VPP655SE-pid-13118.html

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Alphacool-VPP655--Laing-D5-Vario-12V-Pump-with-14-Threads--Tacho-Wire--VPP655-OT12-pid-13316.html

Yep, use the foam as well 😛.
Some rubber washers on the screws arent going to cancel all the vibrations.

It does fill with water yes. The water in it doesn't flow or get out of the T-line as far as I can tell, but don't think there are any negative effects from that.
If your thinking that it could potentially introduce air into the loop when you seal it then put in its normal position, it could. But that's why you fill the line to the brim before putting the cap back on.

The length of the tube in those pictures, too short is how long it is 😀.
From my drain line V2 (which was directly mounted to the pump via male-male G1/4 adapter it was perfect length.
Then on my recent water upgrade, now my drain line is the same length as before, but now that its placed far lower its ridiculously long.

When cutting your drain line, put one end of the tubing wherever its going to be, and run the other end out of the rig and onto a table, then add a bit more. Means that its easy to just drop the end of the line in a bucket and walk off. With whats in the pic I had to hold it while it drained.

Thanks! I will use those tips for sure 😛

I do not use a T line at all I use a double T with 3 1/4 turn shut off valves so that I can force the loop through a external open reservoir like a couple of gallon jugs with the tops cut off of them, one filled and the other empty, or a large bowl filled works to, as a external reservoir for filling or flushing the system out.









They are both the same design and serve the same purpose the only difference is the materials used to make them.

That looks very cool! It's only little too complicated for me as a starting watercooler 😛 But I heard there's endless capabilities in the world of watercooling and anything is possible. I hope the T-line fits with my build

 

[4Ryan6]

I have the EK D5 Pump top installed so I didn't need the original pump top at all. Saves me about £10 and now I don't have a useless pump top laying around

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Alphacool-VPP655--Laing-D5-Single-Edition-Pump-with-Tacho-Signal--VPP655SE-pid-13118.html

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/Alphacool-VPP655--Laing-D5-Vario-12V-Pump-with-14-Threads--Tacho-Wire--VPP655-OT12-pid-13316.html

Ok I truly get the pump top laying around idea I just don't get the saving 10.00 concept.

You bought:

@ 56.99

@ 14.99

@ 6.65

Equals 78.73

And some how saved 10.00 over?

@ 68.99

My calculator says you spent 10.00 more than if you had just bought the pump as an individual complete unit?

That was the main point I was attempting to make, piecing it out cost more.

 

[jappe66]

Tubing is now installed. Here's some status pictures.

Starting from the reservoir. Very short tube connects to the T-line. I think this place is perfect for the reservoir after having doubts about it.

A closer shot on the T-line. I know it's very short 😀 but if it turns out to be too short after first draining, I have 1 metre of tubing left so I can put longer piece there.

A picture showing how much the T-line comes out when needed.

After T-line comes the pump. You can't really see it from this picture but I did use the foam between the case and the pump holder.

Here you can see the cut I had to do to fit the radiator to the front. Left one is inlet and right one is outlet.

Next up is the cpu block. Upper is intake and lower is outlet. I know the blue style of the motherboard doesn't really fit with the green tubing but I'm a little short of a budget to buy a green styled motherboard. There's not many of those out there anyways 🙁

Now onto leak testing. I'll leave the GPU out because I'm only cooling cpu now. I will probably do the test tomorrow morning.

I got my old power supply now what I will be using to power the pump and fans. So I'll just use a paper clip to connect the green wire of the motherboard 24-pin cable with a black wire and I'm good to go?

Should I install all the cables and peripherals (dvd-drive, fan controller) now or after the leak test? I need to figure out where do I put my SSDs now. Luckily they can be mounted almost anywhere.

Also should I use a hose clamp for the T-line since there's currently only that sealing plug (shown in picture above)?

More pictures coming when I get more parts back together!

 

[jappe66]

Ok I truly get the pump top laying around idea I just don't get the saving 10.00 concept.

You bought:

@ 56.99

@ 14.99

@ 6.65

Equals 78.73

And some how saved 10.00 over?

@ 68.99

My calculator says you spent 10.00 more than if you had just bought the pump as an individual complete unit?

That was the main point I was attempting to make, piecing it out cost more.

I actually spent even more. I was actually going to buy the pump you linked (£68.99) plus the pump top and UNI-holder. inzone suggested to just buy the cylinder of the pump because I'm going to change the pump top anyway.

And the reason I didn't buy only the pump with pump top already included is because the EK pump top looks much cooler in my opinion. Also it gives better push power for the pump (or at least that's what the website said I bought it from, lol)

 

[4Ryan6]

Ok I truly get the pump top laying around idea I just don't get the saving 10.00 concept.

You bought:

@ 56.99

@ 14.99

@ 6.65

Equals 78.73

And some how saved 10.00 over?

@ 68.99

My calculator says you spent 10.00 more than if you had just bought the pump as an individual complete unit?

That was the main point I was attempting to make, piecing it out cost more.

I actually spent even more. I was actually going to buy the pump you linked (£68.99) plus the pump top and UNI-holder. inzone suggested to just buy the cylinder of the pump because I'm going to change the pump top anyway.

And the reason I didn't buy only the pump with pump top already included is because the EK pump top looks much cooler in my opinion. Also it gives better push power for the pump (or at least that's what the website said I bought it from, lol)

The pump looks really Good!

The reservoir looks great, I have the same design in the 400mm length.

I was waiting on manofchalk to blow me out of the water with the 10.00 concerns after what I have invested in my setup, so I'll save him the trouble!

Boooooom! (Text imitation of massive explosion!)

 

[inzone]

The place you put the reservoir is going to be blocking the screws for the pci-e slots and you may have problems installing the card. I put a reservoir in that same spot and found it problematic so I eventually moved it. Before you finalize the loop try putting in the video card to check what it looks like.

 

[toolmaker_03]

+1 for dry assembly, before final build and fill!

 

[jappe66]

The pump looks really Good!

The reservoir looks great, I have the same design in the 400mm length.

I was waiting on manofchalk to blow me out of the water with the 10.00 concerns after what I have invested in my setup, so I'll save him the trouble!

Boooooom! (Text imitation of massive explosion!)

Thanks! I actually measured the spot and bought the 150ml version because it was the biggest I could attach to that part of the case. The money needed for custom watercooling actually suprised me 😀 I could build a normal PC with the money I've spent / will spend to this.

The place you put the reservoir is going to be blocking the screws for the pci-e slots and you may have problems installing the card. I put a reservoir in that same spot and found it problematic so I eventually moved it. Before you finalize the loop try putting in the video card to check what it looks like.

Good one. This is what I was thinking about too since when the loop is filled and something won't fit in place, then I'd need to drain the whole loop already.

 

[inzone]

In this case with the clamps that you have and the tubing direction you would be able to loosen the clamps and move the reservoir to do the video card and then put the reservoir back. Just more work but something that you should know before you lock it down. Once everything is in place you won't have to move it unless your doing something with the pci-e slots.

 

[jappe66]

I managed to move the reservoir outside of the case enough to screw the gpu in place. Didn't need to open clamps

Now I would be all set for leak testing. I will be using only the water and when it's leak-proof I will be adding the laser green color.

Here's an overview of the build before leak testing. One from the side and one from the front.

The lighting is not very good in the latter picture, sorry about that.

Am I doing this leak testing correctly? I have 1x molex and the 24-pin motherboard cables attached to the PSU. Molex is powering pump and fans (I just want to see how the fans look like 😀). Then I put a paper clip between green and black wire of 24-pin connector. Then power on from PSU and it should go on?

I've seen a few videos when the builder has filled the loop so I know that I first need to fill it up with water up until the top of the reservoir and then turn on the pump for a second and then fill the reservoir again. Repeating this until the whole loop is full and then I can leave it on.

Please correct me if I'm wrong 😀

 

[inzone]

This is correct however you will find that getting the air out and the water seeking it's own level will make things diffacult. You may need to put a short length of tubing in the top of the reservoir for filling because you have a tube connected at the top of it, when the tube is full and you loosen the plug it will allow the liquid to come out that port because it is lower then the tubing. That's what I mean by water seeking it's own level.
Usually on a tube reservoir like that one you have the tubing attached to the bottom of it and none at the top, just the screw plug for filling.

 

[jappe66]

This is correct however you will find that getting the air out and the water seeking it's own level will make things diffacult. You may need to put a short length of tubing in the top of the reservoir for filling because you have a tube connected at the top of it, when the tube is full and you loosen the plug it will allow the liquid to come out that port because it is lower then the tubing. That's what I mean by water seeking it's own level.
Usually on a tube reservoir like that one you have the tubing attached to the bottom of it and none at the top, just the screw plug for filling.

Doesn't the water just drop down from the top? 😀 I have actually used all of my fittings in the loop so I have no option to put a piece of tubing to the top for filling :/

In this video there's a same kind of setup with the reservoir like mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GO_DnAggLI

At around 18:45 in the video he is filling the loop and when he turns on the pump he's keeping his finger on the filling hole. Is that to prevent more air going in there?

 

[jappe66]

It's up and running now! What's the best way to get air bubbles out 😛 I managed to get a big bubble to the reservoir by moving the tubing but when I stop the pump, the bubble goes back up there...

 

[inzone]

That's what I was talking about when I said that you have the tubing connected at the top, it makes it very diffacult to get all the air out.
With the top tube being a return you don't have to worry about air because it's a return and when you stop the system then you naturally do not have to worry about any air pockets. As long as it's flowing it's ok but if you want to get all the air out the return should be in the bottom.

 

[jappe66]

I managed to get most of the air out now. I was keeping the pump on and randomly at times I heard a big noise from inside the radiator and then I saw air bubbles going forward in the tubing themselves without me even touching the system. Actually quite scary when everything is so silent at first (pump doesn't even make a sound, or at least my ear can't hear it) and then suddenly there's that kinda "slurp" noise. I got scared two or three times that there was a leak and the water was bursting out when that happened 😀

I think I can get most if not all of the air out even though the return tube is on top. There is that metal funnel or whatever on the top what brings the water down even lower. So the return port is still constantly under water.

Preparing for the worst. My first ever experience on leak testing.

And it was a success!

Will continue the test in the morning and try to get the rest of the bubbles out.

 

[inzone]

The most important part is that there are no leaks so it looks like you did a good job of connecting the tubes. You will have to let the system run for n hour or two just to clear most of the air out and even over time you will see the water level in the reservoir go down as the radiator gets all the air pockets out so keep some of the liquid handy for a time.
As an example my system has been running for several months now and the liquid level in the rear reservoir has gone down a few inches, I have also had to add liquid to the front reservoir also.

 

[jappe66]

I'm luckily using only distilled water and I have about 2 litres left so that's not gonna be a problem
Does the water evaporate in time from the loop causing the water level to go down?

 

[manofchalk]

I was waiting on manofchalk to blow me out of the water with the 10.00 concerns after what I have invested in my setup, so I'll save him the trouble!

Boooooom! (Text imitation of massive explosion!)

Nahh, arguing trivial matters is an old mans game (Yes I know you browsed that forum).



Looking good Jappe!
You'l have a bit of evaporation initially, but not all the time. Your res is large enough for it not to be an issue anyway.

 

[inzone]

If you keep the system closed then there is no place for it to evaporate to, but as I said over time the radiator will give up all the air and become fully saturated also any other place that will trap an air bubble.