A Rad water cooling question

[WarYur]

Hello all.  For whatever reason I started to build my newest computer back in July/August but had to post pone things for a while so I am now back at it and learning to install my own water cooling system and not use the Koolance pre-made items that I used to use.

My question regards the single fan rad (a Black Ice GT Xtreme 140mm that is 55.7mm thick or 2 3/16") that is going to go on the back of my Corsair 800D in that fan space back there.  At first I was just going to install it on the inside of the case and I had purchased two fans (140mm x 25mm Aerocool Shark Blue Edition), one for the back of the case and one for the front of the rad so a push/pull hoping to get another couple of degrees out of an extra fan.  When I began to install the rad and front fan I found that it took up far too much room to do it that way and the end of the fan came out about as far as the Heatkiller I have on the CPU which just looked to busy to me anyway.

I then decided that maybe I could just put the rad on the outside of the case and a fan on the back of it and then one on the front on the inside but would pretty much need to make two extra tubing holes in the steel case which at the moment I haven't the proper tools.  There are two tubing holes just above where the rad sits however but the tubing won't bend to that angle and I am afraid that to be able to install tubing through those two holes and to the single fan rad would look like something out of Dr. Seuss because the tubing will not bend to that sort of angle. 

I have also tried putting just the rad on the inside and a single fan on the outside but the screws I have wouldn't quite get to the rad through a screen covering the fan and of course the fan itself.  I must have a ton of new screws now after learning that many of the screws that came with other items such as the three fan rad on top of the case and the two sets of fans that are installed above and under that but for this I need yet another size bigger screw and now I am pretty much ready to begin pulling my hair out! 

I really would rather have two fans on the rad however so here I am asking if anyone might have a suggestion as to how they did this or another way to install the rad that I might not have thought of.   I understand that I could probably go out and buy yet more screws but already know from experience that I won't be able to find the black ones I need or anything the exact size so that I wouldn't have to cut them back.  Then too as I have already mentioned i would rather have both fans on the rad when I am done.

This is the only thing I have left to do besides adding tubing and water to fire this thing up  so if anyone has any suggestions at all I would be most appreciative.  Learning we are... 

[Dark Mantis]

Hi WarYur,

To help get around the problem with the tubing going through the case but not bending at the right angle I would suggest using a couple of bulkhead fittings and then some right angle fittings attached. It should allow a neat and tidy job as wel as making sure there is no chaffing of the pipework.

[WarYur]

Hi DM, always Johnny on the spot.  Now bulkhead fittings...  By that you mean something that installs in the Corsair 800D cases tubing holes that are already there both front and back of the case wall?  I'm having a hard time seeing what you mean.  LOL, I wish that we could draw pictures on here!  I have plenty of right angle fittings but am not sure of what you mean exactly by bulkhead fitting and then to match everything I am using so far it should be black but then to get this thing up and running I would use almost any color right now.  Almost...

I have so far been using mostly black bitspower fittings except for the Koolance quick disconnects that I will use mostly for drainage probably out the bottom of the case somewhere.  I know you're busy but might you happen to have a URL to view said bulkhead fitting?  No problemo if you don't but when I looked for bulkhead fittings just now there were a bunch of different shapes and sizes and my brain isn't working properly.  ;O)  Or something...

Earlier I had tacked the rad to the back of the case and installed a right angle to one of the rad's holes and tried to get a piece of tubing to go through there but it is such a tight space that I don't know if even what you are suggestion (or what I think you are suggestion anyway) will work.  So would I still need to use a small amount of tubing from the right angle to the bulkhead mounting?

With the rad on the back of the case, those tubing slots on the case and sit directly above the rad almost touching it with one slot (hole) centering on the top left side and the other one just 13.5mm to the right.

[Dark Mantis]

There are many different types around but here are a feww I put my hands on to give you an idea of what is available. The ones in the slot cover can be used with or without that cover.

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/koolance-bulkhead-fitting-g1-4-female-thread-to-1-2-barb-fitting.html

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/slot-cover-with-2x-g1-4-lead-through-threads.html

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/bulkhead-fitting-g1-4-female-thread-to-3-8-barb-fitting-black-nickel.html

[WarYur]

Thanks DM, that was what I thought you meant and had thought of the slot slot cover with lead through as I already have one or two of those but the angles involved are still pretty tight.  I'll play around with it more tomorrow and see what I can come up with.  I just wanted to ask for advice because I still fairly new to w/c as you know.  I probably should have taken a quick picture of where those existing holes are too so that you could see how close they are to the rad and to one another. 

Thanks for the suggestions!  Time to go play some Deus Ex HR!

[Dark Mantis]

Just checked out some Bitspower Black fittings that would suit your build and this looked like a likely candidate for a bulkhead connection that would take any 1/4" BSPP threaded fittings on each end so should be very adaptable.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28425

[WarYur]

Thanks again DM!  I will take a closer look tomorrow on that site and a few others and try and see what I can come up with.  Did you catch my meaning when I said looking like something out of Dr. Seuss?   

[Dark Mantis]

I do understand now after googling it but I had never heard of him before that! I see what you mean though and it wouldn't be a good look.

[WarYur]

LOL, Sorry about that.  I thought most people knew about him but guess not.  Actually he was an American children's book writer and when he connected piping in some of the books and cartoons they were all over the place.  I would have hated to see the plumping in his house!

The best case scenario (pun intended) would be to be able to drill holes in the case and connect the fittings to the rad through those.  It would certainly look the best but I don't have anything big enough to do that at the moment.  As I said though at some point today i will go looking around to see what kind of angles I can connect to get to those two top case holes on the 800D. 


These are the holes that I am talking about and the top of the 140mm rad sits just below the holes almost as if they are sitting on it with as I said earlier the middle left side of the rad being almost dead center on the left most hole and the right hole not being all that far away from it;

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/1941/corsair800d.gif  I  need to review how to make the images from File Shack show up here I guess.  I also tried to get the picture on here from my computer but it wasn't working right or probably more I wasn't working right.   

[Dark Mantis]

Hi WarYur

Check out this link for uploading photos.

http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,22.0.html

I don't think after looking at the picture that you should have any great problems with connecting up there. A bit tight maybe but possible. Also you could mount the radiator with the connections at the bottom if it would be any easier.

[WarYur]

Thanks for the link.  Loved that last forward by the way.     Pretty radical...   I don't know though DM, I installed the 3 fan rad on the top of the case so that the fitting holes are towards the back of the case so it would be too cluttered to use the top 800D holes and no pass through fitting.   Then too installing one of those pass through slots that I thought I had around here but turned out to be one that went with one of the Koolance all in one top of the case cooler (Exos 2.1 I think) products I have here and should sell.  Now that thing is fairly new too but I am very bad at selling stuff and usually end up giving stuff away rather that bothering with selling them.  I need to get over that when it comes to computer parts though because I have hundreds if not thousands of bucks worth of gear scattered about the apartment not doing anything besides collecting dust. 

Anyway, I am leaning in the direction of trying to drill holes in that steel but I don't know if that is possible yet.  NO, I know it's possible but whether or not I have a powerful enough drill is the question.  I am going to try a pilot hole back there in a few minutes with my biggest drill though so I will know pretty quickly.  That would certainly look the nicest too if I can pull it off.  If it is too loud in the doing though I may have to wait until tomorrow during the day or my nice neighbors could turn ugly on me.     I need to figure it out soon though becasue I WILL have this thing up and running for "RAGE" coming out on the 4th of October I believe.  Still can't believe I'm still screwing around with it as it usually only takes a couple of days to build a rig but then that was using those "toys" as you called them and then I am a bit worse for wear these days and far slower than I used to be in more ways than one.   

[Dark Mantis]

Yes  know what you mean WarYur, everything seems to take twice as long as it used to and tyhat is if everything goes well. If it doesn't ..OMG. The drilling of large holes can be difficult in these steel cases. You really need a stepped bit. Don't forget to make sure all the swarf (metal cuttings) are completely cleaned up before rebuilding.

I have been busy with reviews and have just finished a review of a case, the AeroCool XPredator "Evil Black Edition". It is a beast and will be uploaded soon. Just going to fill it with Gigabyte components before finishing.

[WarYur]

LOL,  Ya well the ONLY thing that hasn't happened in the last few months to me or to the rig that is allegedly being built here is that I haven't dropped dead yet!    Or at least I don't think I have...  Hey, you never know.   My animals probably would frown on it though because they want their treats on time.  They seem to all have some pretty rock solid inner clocks that tell them what time it is on just about everything they/we do.

Anyway,Ya I have those holes on the case for the back single fan rad down to a half inch as we speak and then found out that I don't have a 3/4" drill bit so I rushed out to a hardware store that is close as it was 10PM here and they were all closing only to find out that a 3/4" drill bit wasn't something that neither Ace Hardware nor WalMart carried.  Guess I will have to post pone yet again and go out and find a 3/4" drill bit tomorrow unless I can grind it down with my Dremel enough.  I was able to drill those initial holes though far easier than I thought it would be.  Thanks for reminding me about the metal cuttings by the way.  I took almost everything out of the case save the motherboard and covered it with a towel so it didn't get anything on it and had some L-shaped swivel nozzles on the CPU block turned down so that nothing will get into that too.

I was looking around the net earlier today and ran across an older manual drill that came with a vise called a "Cole Drill" that would be pretty spiffy for drilling out steel case holes.  I then went to eBay and looked for it after reading around  some of the DIYers forums that said eBay is a good place to find them but the one that was there was $375 for Buy it Now and $75 for shipping as they were considering it an antique.  No thanks...  I guess though that you can find them a lot cheaper on there once in a while so I will be watching for one now.

That case you have reviewed is pretty nice isn't it.  I will look forward to your review of it although that yellow is a bit much for me.   Does it come with other colors inside of the case?  I guess I'll just have to wait and see huh?

[Dark Mantis]

AeroCool do the plain XPredator case which is the model below this one that is plain black so maybe that would suit you better. No need for drilling either!