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Future watercooling project.

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I am starting to plan a water cooling project its still a very early idea. I'm trying to find a decent pump for it. However I doubt any of the normal pumps will work. One of my other hobbies is cars, and I have a new radiator I don't need for anything.

My idea is to use that radiator to cool 3+ PCs.
I know I could use an automotive electric water pump, but if possible it would be nice if there is an option less then $250, and I'm not sure I would need 55gpm.
 

sneekypeet

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Eheim pumps come to mind. They have 300 to 3400 liter per hour models, and while made for ponds is a brand I have used for both PC and fish over the years with good results. Should be able to find something in your price range without sacrificing power.
 
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Unless I missed something those are 230v pumps, and I wont have access to 240v circuit for this. I probably need a 120v pump.
 
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Unless I missed something those are 230v pumps, and I wont have access to 240v circuit for this. I probably need a 120v pump.

you could buy small step up transformer? from 120v to 220v if you cant find 120v one
 

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can you put a pic of the rad up please...:toast:... i am looking forward to this build methinks.
 
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here's a pic of a heater core that I use on my mail server with a MCP350 pump. Cools cpu, gpu, & 3 1TB hdds even @ peak loads never see temps above 40c.
 

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Unless I missed something those are 230v pumps, and I wont have access to 240v circuit for this. I probably need a 120v pump.

Smaller versions come in 110V, not sure how much power you are going to need, nor do I know what the pet stores will max out at off the shelf. Considering most fish hobbyists don't have a 220V outlet in their room behind it, there has to be something that will fit your needs.
 
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If I am ready this right I think the op wants to use the engine radiator. Now how are you planning on running the hoses and also adapting the 2.5" or so hoses on the rad down to the 3/8" or so lines on your components? If you are planning on the engine rad, that maybe one hell of a undertaking and there is going to be a crap ton of water in the loop and you are going to need a pump that can move that water through 3+ rigs to the big ass rad where the pressure is going to drop tremendously. Also will need to keep and eye on the pressure so how at the components so it doesn't go to high and blow the lines off. I like the ideal though. A loop with that big ass rad with a 3 to 4 gallon capacity cooling multiple rigs sounds full of win. You are going to need to find a low pressure high volume pump and make some type of coupler the will input 3 or so 3/8" line into the pump with a 2.5" or so outlet.
 
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You are correct ThE_MaD_ShOt it is the engine radiator for a 1963 C10 with a 283 V8. I don't have any pictures. I am also thinking about putting the radiator outside.

I have a few different ideas for connecting multiple systems.
A distribution block to split the flow into 3 or 4 1/2" hoses.
A small reservoir above the level of the PCs with one inlet, and 3-5 outlets.
 
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You are correct ThE_MaD_ShOt it is the engine radiator for a 1963 C10 with a 283 V8. I don't have any pictures. I am also thinking about putting the radiator outside.

I have a few different ideas for connecting multiple systems.
A distribution block to split the flow into 3 or 4 1/2" hoses.
A small reservoir above the level of the PCs with one inlet, and 3-5 outlets.
Interesting idea and I can picture the rad in my head just trying to see how its going to work and what kind of pump will be needed. The rad due to its size and hose diameters will basically be a giant reservoir with cooling fins.
 
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The best pump I have found that looks decent so far is 650gph with a maximum of 43psi, and 1" NPT inlet/outlet.
 

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Even though that is for a car it really isn't going to work that great especially when trying to cool 3 computers at once. An engine runs at 200F+ or 93C and the radiator is meant to handle those very high temps. So even though it is a heavy duty radiator it will not cool a computer any better than a normal pc radiator and it might actually perform worse. It's all about Surface area, Fins density, and Airflow. This radiator has a massive fan attached when not moving or highway wind speeds of 60+mph and has lower fin density due to the massive fan and forced airflow. I would estimate this radiator having the ability to act as a 3x140mm or maybe 4x120mm PC Rad.
 
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I've seen some car radiator setups before (example 1 (BMW radiator), example 2 (a/c condenser), example 3 (Honda radiator, shows adapters)). I've been wanting to do something similar with the whole mounting it outside thing. If you can find a waterproof fan, it should work well. As others have said, might have to take care with corrosion prevention.

Seems like the results are typically very good though.
 
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Having a polished intercooler hanging of the side of the case would look cool.
It could be modified to run coolant through it.
 
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Having a polished intercooler hanging of the side of the case would look cool.
It could be modified to run coolant through it.
Air/Water intercoolers are a thing and the ones I've seen are set up to run 3/4" ID hose. I'm actually looking at one for my car now. They're usually aluminum though.

Edit: They're normally installed like this. If you can mount it somewhere and get airflow on it, you'd probably be golden.
 
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I had one for my car with three inch inlet and outlet, for a turbo.
Ended up giving it away.
 
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Even though that is for a car it really isn't going to work that great especially when trying to cool 3 computers at once. An engine runs at 200F+ or 93C and the radiator is meant to handle those very high temps. So even though it is a heavy duty radiator it will not cool a computer any better than a normal pc radiator and it might actually perform worse. It's all about Surface area, Fins density, and Airflow. This radiator has a massive fan attached when not moving or highway wind speeds of 60+mph and has lower fin density due to the massive fan and forced airflow. I would estimate this radiator having the ability to act as a 3x140mm or maybe 4x120mm PC Rad.

What temperature a car runs at depends on the year, make, model, and design temperature. Two of the reasons engines run around 200F is for reliability, but mainly emissions. The reliability part is that the oil needs to be hot enough to evaporate the unburned fuel that gets into it

This is a problem or a potential problem with the small block chevy depending on how the coolant is routed. The thermostat on the SBC stops coolant flow when closed (unless modified) this has caused many radiators to crack (near the inlet), because of thermal shock. The thermostat does not open until it is over the temperature rating. The three common temperatures are 160F, 180F, and 195F.

The thermostat in a car engine is not there to keep it cool, but rather to keep the engine over that temperature. You can run an engine with the thermostat removed but they will run too cold. I ran an old l-head from a CJ with out one and it would never go over 150F, and was probably much colder when moving. Keep in mind that the CJ2A had a 4 cylinder, and a small radiator (single row around 19x13"). More recent radiators can have 1+ rows, and some of the heavy duty truck radiators are 4 row.

The radiator I have the core is around 17x25 inches, and with tanks is around 23x25". I know that these old trucks normally take around 4 gallons of coolant to fill from empty. I know this is not the best thing for an engine, but my old C10 had the heavy duty radiator, 454V8, and it would not overheat (even while towing) with the radiator at about half full. The inlet tank had cracked, and would leak coolant out above that level.

As for the car that is has a higher priority for now. If you can identify my profile picture accurately enough you can get a somewhat close guess as to what the car is.

PS
Also remember that a car engine runs on exploding fuel, and generate a lot more heat then a PC does.
 
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