I have a Scythe Kaze Master fan controller, which has a maximum load of 1 amp per channel. I would like to have some basic control over my water cooling pump (EK DCP 4.0), and thought I could rig it up to this. However, this pump draws 1.8 - 2 amps (depending on load/ startup draw etc). This also means I can't plug it into motherboard headers (Gigabyte have 1a max). Since I don't want to overload the Scythe controller, I was thinking of using a relay - the fan controller's potentiometers would hopefully control (but not power) a separate power source for the pump. Alternatively I could buy a different fan controller, but there aren't many that have suitable power delivery AND match my case (brushed black aluminium. My Scythe has a custom fascia). If all else fails I will resort to using a 5v resistor cable (pump starting voltage is rated at 8v, though mine runs fine at 5v). So, does anybody have any experience, thoughts or pointers? (PS I noticed there are plenty of pump + relay guides on the net, but nothing like this. They are all aimed at 240v mains AC pumps that are plugged into the wall).
For what it's worth, i ran my XSPC X2O pump-res combo off of a Zalman MFC1. It ended up leaking but i'm sure that's not a result of controlling it. I think MaverickWill ended up finding the leak and fixing it, too.
It doesn't work that way. Also, be careful with the resistor cable. If the current draw is very high, it will burn out the resistor. You'd be better off swapping which pins on the molex cable it's connected to, so the pump is either 5v or 7v powered.
The Lamptron FC2 will easily control that pump (make sure there's enough voltage to start the pump though), looks pretty good and isn't a bad price http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=1832 My pump's also run OK at 5V and they're a lot quieter at that voltage. A resistor worked fine with mine until I got the Lamtptrons.
The mCubed T-Balancer series is designed specifically for this, BT did an article on them. Link. The do a selection, so you can pick the one which meets your needs.
Thanks for your thoughts guys. Yeah I'd love an mCubed but just have zero time now to configure it properly before I go away, but I've had my eye on the miniNG. I have temporarily swapped the molex pin to run at 5v, but prefer to be able to ramp up power if needs be. I will probably stick with this though unless I find something else. I was thinking about the resistor cable being overloaded but wasn't sure, guess you are right. If I can sell my Kaze Master I will pick up a Lamptron, they look pretty good! Thanks for the suggestions.
It's black, but I would only sell it with original fascia (I'm keeping my custom aluminium one!). Price I'm not sure of, it has a few light scratches on the front so perhaps £15, not sure yet. http://scythe-usa.com/product/acc/028/km01_detail.html
How do you scratch up a fan controller? :/ Anyways, if you can post some pictures of the damage i'll consider it.
