Monster-Mod: Passive Convection CPU Water-Cooling (Part 4 of 4)
- Tubes and Fittings
- Mounting the Water Block
- Putting It Together
- Testing
- Tips for This Monster-Mod
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Crunch time is on us, and we have just over a day to put this Monster-Mod together and test it. After mounting the radiator on top of the case with a block of high-quality, machined aluminum (see Figure 1) that we found in our scrap bin, it's time to connect the components.
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Figure
1 This random piece of aluminum that we found in the shop looks great and
works well for bolting our radiator atop the case. It used to be the shoulder
joint of a 1980s robotic experiment. You can also bolt it to the side of the
case, or make it stand-alone. The only limit to design is your
imagination.
Tubes and Fittings
To link the system parts, you can use any kind of half-inch hose. I prefer clear, flexible PVC tubing (see Figure 2) because it looks good. It also lets you see the water flowing. And if you add UV-reactive dye to it, it looks cool against the UV lighting in your case. I think the optimal way to attach hoses is with spiked connectors. These plastic or metal "fittings" taper at each end and have grooves to grip the tubing from inside. You don't need to use hose clamps with them, but I think clamps are a good idea for redundancy—especially if you'll be carrying your setup to LAN parties. You can also use special thread-sealing tape around the fittings to help ensure a tight seal. Half-inch fittings and accessories can be found at any case-modding store online or on eBay.
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Figure
2 Clear PVC tubing lets you add UV-reactive dye to your water; this will
look cool against the UV lights in your case.