Watery Coldy Bits
Earth to Pump...come innn Pump!
When I originally modded the power supply I wired a jack socket into the underside, that directly connects to the mains earth. The plan was to bring the pump's earth wire there. I started modding...
I cut down a section of shower hose complete with fitting and screwed it onto the threaded insert I had made for the pump housing. The end was sealed with heatshrink to protect the wires passing through. The pump power cord was stripped and the live, neutral and earth were separated. After masking off the pump...
...the earth wire was vinyl dyed silver. The other wires were cut right back and stripped. The earth wire was then sleeved in Techflex braid and aquarium hose with some heatshrink added to secure the end.
The earth wire was wired to a jack plug...with enough length to reach the earth socket in the underside of the PSU. When plugged in, the pump is earthed and I have a little more piece of mind!
A closeup showing how the other two wires attach to the relay card. The blue wire is actually is meant to go in the '3' hole when all's said and done. I was just checking the fit, making sure I had left enough exposed wire for them to hold securely. Whenever working with mains power, always read any instructions carefully!
GFX Card Waterblock
After mistakenly cracking the lexan top of my previous GFX waterblock with isopropyl alcohol, I opted for a new, all metal Dangerden block. This also suited me better as, unlike my old block, it had sideways-facing (chrome) barbs. Perfect. Being chunky and black was a bonus.
I mounted the block using the stainless steel hardware I had ordered. I had previously had all the brass thumbscrews throughout the watercooling system chromed, and after tightening, used a Dremel to cut off the excess threaded rod.
Looking good so far. The only hose fittings I had that would fit and not touch (and likely short circuit) the soundcard below were some white plastic clips. Black vinyl dyed...
...and fitted. The hose is 3/8" Tygon on 1/2" barbs. It fits and is ultra-tight so I felt better about using only plastic clips. At the other
end of the short lengths of hose I attached a couple of 3/8"-1/2" fittings using Pi-Thon hoselocks.
More Clips and Clamps...
Running in the narrow gap between the HDD rack and the side of the case is the length of hose running from the radiator to the pump inlet. Being thick-walled tubing it had a mind of its own when run on the outside of several cables, always wanting to stick out sideways. I needed to secure it.
The offending hose. I'll be securing it to the lexan base of the HDD rack. I had some wire left over after re-sizing a fan grille...
...which I bent into a clip shape with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Holes were drilled and tapped in the lexan base...
...and the clip was installed. M4 screws with washers secure the ends and the errant hose is brought under gnomish control once more.
Another problem I ran into was that there wasn't enough room for me to fit a Pi-Thon hoselock onto the pump inlet. I wanted the inlet to at least partly match the outlet (sporting a shiny Pi-Thon hoselock) so set about modding. This is another example of the seemingly never-ending modding required I alluded to in the introduction - most of it problem-solving in some form or another.
I disassembled a hoselock, checked the normal worm-drive clip would fit and marked up the section of hoselock I wanted to use.
After cutting with a Dremel and filing, the normal clip fits snugly inside. So, how does it all look when connected?...
Earth to Pump...come innn Pump!
When I originally modded the power supply I wired a jack socket into the underside, that directly connects to the mains earth. The plan was to bring the pump's earth wire there. I started modding...
I cut down a section of shower hose complete with fitting and screwed it onto the threaded insert I had made for the pump housing. The end was sealed with heatshrink to protect the wires passing through. The pump power cord was stripped and the live, neutral and earth were separated. After masking off the pump...
...the earth wire was vinyl dyed silver. The other wires were cut right back and stripped. The earth wire was then sleeved in Techflex braid and aquarium hose with some heatshrink added to secure the end.
The earth wire was wired to a jack plug...with enough length to reach the earth socket in the underside of the PSU. When plugged in, the pump is earthed and I have a little more piece of mind!
A closeup showing how the other two wires attach to the relay card. The blue wire is actually is meant to go in the '3' hole when all's said and done. I was just checking the fit, making sure I had left enough exposed wire for them to hold securely. Whenever working with mains power, always read any instructions carefully!
GFX Card Waterblock
After mistakenly cracking the lexan top of my previous GFX waterblock with isopropyl alcohol, I opted for a new, all metal Dangerden block. This also suited me better as, unlike my old block, it had sideways-facing (chrome) barbs. Perfect. Being chunky and black was a bonus.
I mounted the block using the stainless steel hardware I had ordered. I had previously had all the brass thumbscrews throughout the watercooling system chromed, and after tightening, used a Dremel to cut off the excess threaded rod.
Looking good so far. The only hose fittings I had that would fit and not touch (and likely short circuit) the soundcard below were some white plastic clips. Black vinyl dyed...
...and fitted. The hose is 3/8" Tygon on 1/2" barbs. It fits and is ultra-tight so I felt better about using only plastic clips. At the other
end of the short lengths of hose I attached a couple of 3/8"-1/2" fittings using Pi-Thon hoselocks.
More Clips and Clamps...
Running in the narrow gap between the HDD rack and the side of the case is the length of hose running from the radiator to the pump inlet. Being thick-walled tubing it had a mind of its own when run on the outside of several cables, always wanting to stick out sideways. I needed to secure it.
The offending hose. I'll be securing it to the lexan base of the HDD rack. I had some wire left over after re-sizing a fan grille...
...which I bent into a clip shape with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Holes were drilled and tapped in the lexan base...
...and the clip was installed. M4 screws with washers secure the ends and the errant hose is brought under gnomish control once more.
Another problem I ran into was that there wasn't enough room for me to fit a Pi-Thon hoselock onto the pump inlet. I wanted the inlet to at least partly match the outlet (sporting a shiny Pi-Thon hoselock) so set about modding. This is another example of the seemingly never-ending modding required I alluded to in the introduction - most of it problem-solving in some form or another.
I disassembled a hoselock, checked the normal worm-drive clip would fit and marked up the section of hoselock I wanted to use.
After cutting with a Dremel and filing, the normal clip fits snugly inside. So, how does it all look when connected?...
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October 14 2021 | 15:04
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