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Case Mod - In Progress Feeding Frenzy: November-11-2009 video card fan installed

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by Top Nurse, 23 Sep 2005.

  1. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Turned out that I didn't have to do any mods to utilize the internal temp sensor on the Aquastream. I just unplugged the internal sensor and shoved it down the hole and attached the inline water temp sensor. I then ran the wire out through the existing hole and no fuss no muss. :dremel:

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    I removed the second Aquastream controller from my Aquaero. I left on the hardware so it would be easy to attach another one if I want to. The outboard extensions are for a multiswitch if I ever decide to put it back on.

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    A big problem came up when I mounted in the pump/reservoir Aquabay unit. One of the fan wires didn't quite reach. :wallbash:

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    After contemplating taking out the radiator/fan assembly and redoing the whole fan wires I was thinking about taking a vacation from this project. Then I figured out that I could mount the Aquaero in the top slot and put the Aquabay below it. This has the advantage that no rewiring needed and no worries about water dripping into the electronics. However, there is a slight problem in that there are chassis tabs that prevent that from happening as the Aquabay is a dual slot affair. Time to get to get out the Dremel in the morning for a little cut-off saw action. :dremel:

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    I got the CPU radiator back in. A real PITA as I have to push the rad/fan combo as far back as I can and then attach the outside grill. Then I line up the fitting that goes to the lower compartment and slowly screw it into the radiator while it is sticking through the hole. Once the fitting is tight then I can mount the grill to the chassis. :sigh:

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    Now I'm thinking that FF is going to be wet by next week sometime so I get out my mounting hardware for my new Aquastream XT pump. It will be mounted right above the PSU and it's time to put the fittings on. I start screwing in the high pressure adapter and it doesn't seem to want to go in so I look down into the hole and see this.

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    What your supposed to see are threads. No threads are why the adapter won't screw in. :grr: :wallbash:

    The Aquastream pump manual says "The electronic system is designed for maximum performance and each system has been thoroughly tested before distribution. Furthermore, each pump is meticulously submitted to a test run; therefore you might find some moist residue within the pump."

    I am really curious as to how they did this test run with no threads in the pump. :nono:

    I have been working on this project for over four (4) years now. I'm beginning to think God just doesn't want this project finished. :waah: :sigh:
     
    Last edited: 30 Aug 2009
  2. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    How the hell do they test a pump when there are no threads to attach fittings to lol.
     
  3. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Now that is the million dollar question. Maybe they hook up the inlet side and see if water squirts out the top. Or maybe they don't test them like they say they do.

    I always thought that statement of 100% testing was suspect. No one can afford to do 100% QC testing.

    Well I can always hook up the CPU loop to the GPU loop while I await a replacement.
     
  4. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    Well duh, that means they test 100% of the working units ;) This has to be some kind of record for a longest-running project log or something. Hell I've easily had over a dozen of cases during the same time :D
     
  5. The boy 4rm oz

    The boy 4rm oz Project: Elegant-Li

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    You could always tap the hole yourself, or take it to a local machine shop and ask them to do it, would save you some time.

    I thought the 16months I spent on my mod was a long time lol but 4 years is real commitment.
     
  6. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Actually I modded another case in the interim: Feeding Frenzy Interlude. Yeah 100% of the working units is about right. :lol:

    IIRC the thread they used is an oddball and if it got screwed (no pun intended) while tapping I would be out some serious moula. Better to send it back and press them for some "extras" for the all the hassle. :naughty:
     
  7. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Got an idea

    I think I may have come up with a quick fix for my Aquastream problem. I have an extra "old style" Aquastream pump that has a separate controller board, which I was going to use on the hard drive loop. However, I was thinking of ordering an Aquadrive X4 copper edition and just use the regular case HD racks for the time being.

    After comparing the two pumps it appears that the only difference is the new board and the new back cover. So all I would have to do is to unsolder the controller board from the XT USB and solder it into the old style pump body. Then just snap the back cover on and I should be good to go. :dremel:


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    :idea:

    Now all I have to do is to get AC to buy off on the deal and allow me to just send the pump body back for an exchange. I think for all the trouble they should send me back a new pump body plus a XT USB controller board and new back cover. :lol:
     
  8. b0nez

    b0nez What's a Dremel?

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    Don't forget to perform the Eheim-Mod.
    A fixed rotor is nessesary for the AS XT.

    cheers b0nez
     
  9. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Can I just swap the rotor from the XT into the older Aquastream?
     
  10. b0nez

    b0nez What's a Dremel?

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    sure, why not - the dimesions should be the same
     
  11. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    So what is the Eheim-Mod? Are we talking about using heat shrink tubing to secure a solid Eheim rotor?
     
  12. Arcygenical

    Arcygenical What's a Dremel?

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    Dear god TN.

    I had no idea you had a log up here on BT (I should explore off my home forum every once in awhile). Very glad to see you're still at it :)
     
  13. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Yeah I'm a busy bee here and at the AC Forum. I tend to stay away from the Hardway, perhaps some time if Lethal gets the axe I might come back. Shoggy got banned by the same person for just asking for an Aquacomputer manufacturer title. :eeek:
     
  14. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    A couple more pics (infocus) of my Aquastream with no threads.


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    And one that is the way it is supposed to be.

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    After getting all the particulars from Aquacomputer I decided that my best solution would to take off the back cover, rotor/impeller assembly, and controller board from my Aquastream XT and mate it to an old style Aquastream that I have a few of. Returning the Aquastream XT is cost prohibitive when you have to pay to get it back to Germany AND pay to get it back home as well. :jawdrop: In the meantime I will order up a G 1/8 tap from McMaster-Carr for a measly $16 USD and order up an Aquastream XT controller kit for fixing up the Aquastream XT I'm currently eviscerating.

    As I stated before I had to cut-off some tabs on the 5 1/4 frame so I could put the Aquabay in the second and third position (from the top). Sorry for the bad pic here as it is really cramped and not too much light up here. The fitting in the lower right is part of the return line that goes to the Aquabay mounted Aquatube. I used one of the new in-line water temp gauges here as well.

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    Had to rearrange things with my CPU loop as things didn't seem to fit the same as they did a while back when I had an Aquastream cover and different fittings. So now I decided to just mount the Aquastream XT directly to the back panel above where the PSU goes. Hopefully there won't be any vibration problems. :worried:

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    The blue and brown wires you can see coming out of the pump are the ones I will be soldering to the XT controller board. The sleeved wire goes to the CPU loop fan in the middle compartment. This fan wire will eventually be hooked up to the Aquastream XT but till I get the Aquasuite in I will have to run it to a motherboard header. I guess there is something to be said for just getting the Ultra version of the pump to begin with as I wouldn't have this problem. :sigh:

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    I haven't gone into too much detail about what I am currently doing as it is covered well a ways back in this project. However, one problem is that I have to take off the CPU water block and put it on 180 degrees from where it is. With the water flow direction it would be going in the wrong hole if I want it to look clean. :wallbash:

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    EDIT
    : Yes that is a Tubemeter just barely visible in the CPU loop. The short cable coming off the Aquatube is the custom made USB wiring loom (took off about 25 mm of headroom) I made for my Tubemeter. This way I can unplug the USB wires and tubing which allows me to easily remove the Aquatube for maintenance.
     
    Last edited: 6 Sep 2009
  15. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    As you can see I'm back to creating a big mess in my household again. Fortunately I live alone and anyone that comes to visit can either lump it or like it. :lol:

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    If your going to do good wiring mods you need lots of tools and an even bigger mess. :dremel:

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    If you ever decide to upgrade an Aquastream to the XT version this may be of interest. If you follow AC's instructions you will have one big ass cord hanging off your XT. So what I did was to cut the wires coming out of the pump. You will then want to pre-solder or tin the wires so it is easier to solder to the XT circuit board.

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    When your doing these kinds of soldering jobs it is nice to have an extra hand in the way of a Pana-Vise. See the two holes near the top center of the circuit board? These are the ones you want to solder to.

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    I must have misplaced the last power mod I made for the Aquaero so I made another one and tried something different. This is easier to get on and off, but I think I like the older way better. However, this is easier and I have big hands so functionality wins out here.

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    Here I have put on some cable sleeving that eventually leads back to the PSU.

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    Thinking about putting in a stand-by power to the Aquaero with a relay use for either turning on the box or turning it off. More on that later: It will be glorious fun!

    So now I decided to put in my PCP&C Silencer 750. This is considerably longer than my 510 Turbo SLI PSU. Looks like a problem here with where to put all the wiring. :worried:

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    So it looks like it is time to ditch the lower compartment divider.

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    Ah, this looks more doable. :D

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    I got lucky and was able to get the main board loom in without having to take off the connector housing. It took a lot of pulling, bending, and pushing to get it through. When I went to plug it in the motherboard I almost had a heart attack because it didn't want to seat properly. Got it fixed right with a little more bending and cussing. :hehe:

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    So now I thought about figuring out how I was going to be doing the USB cables that go to the Aquaero, Aquastream XT (CPU loop), and the Tubemeter (also CPU loop). Got the USB cable in with a bit of a problem. Not happy with this as I thought I left plenty of room when I put in the radiator. Fortunately, I think I may have a solution to post sometime this weekend.

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    I also broke down and got some Koolance barbs to fit my top radiator and they should be here Friday. :baby:
     
  16. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    :idea:

    Forgot something, what's that little grommet doing laying on the middle compartment floor a few pics back?

    I have also been thinking about the case side and the window will look similar to this.
    The printing on the bottom and the Innovatek fish bait will probably not be making it in the final acrylic.


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 11 Sep 2009
  17. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Radiator mod

    Okay as I said before I really do have a solution to this problem with the radiator not having enough clearance to get at the USB ports on my motherboard. This mod isn't for the faint of heart because one wrong move and you visit the radiator repair shop or buy a new one. :eeek:

    So the first thing I noticed when I bought this Koolance radiator was that the outside edges weren't actual water tubes.

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    So it's obvious to me that I can remove part of one side and the first thing to do is to mark off the area you want to cut. I just used some of my blue tape to mark off the radiator. In this pic you can also see the holes I made for attaching the radiator to the fan shroud/case. Only four (4) bolts hold it in.

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    The first thing I did was to make the two (2) cuts in the aluminum side with a Dremel cut-off saw. The next thing I did was to cut the fins away from the side using the same tool from the top and bottom. This results in this condition.

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    Next up was to take a straight edge and flatten out the fins by pushing them down and only one way. This made even more room and doesn't really affect the cooling as the fans don't even blow on this part of the radiator.

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    Here it is bolted in again temporarily. It really makes for more room for attaching wires to the motherboard headers.

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    Here I attached an old custom dual USB cable I made. No problems now. :D

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    Now the only thing left here is how to finish the bare aluminum. The quick and dirty way is to just get some black paint. However, I have been thinking of painting on JB Weld so the the aluminum fins don't move around. Any suggestions on what to do here would be appreciated. :)
     
  18. Javerh

    Javerh Topiary Golem

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    Just cut the fins off. Mine broke easily enough by just scraping them with a knife. The resulting surface can then be sanded smooth.
     
  19. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Good suggestion :thumb:

    Used a pair of needle nose piers and my Buck knife to get most of it off. Then I used a Dremel band sander to smooth it down, Just need to do a little file work and I will be off to Auto Zone for some modding supplies. Pics later. :dremel:
     
  20. Top Nurse

    Top Nurse Minimodder

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    Off Topic Post: Remember 9-11

    Off Topic Post:

    Just a moment to remember all those who fell on 9-11 in New York City and those whose lives were affected.

    No mercy for the terrorists. Kill them all and let God sort them out...

    /OTP
     
    Validus likes this.

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