AIO Surgery Experiment - Is It Possible ?

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 08:08

Hello,

I have a standard cpu AIO attached to a 240mm radiator, pump in the cpu block as usual.

Questions is... Can I take off the tubes that are on it and drain the water and then replace the tubes with flex ones and have it part of a custom loop?
E.g res/pump combo ----> cpu block (with pump) --->radiator ?

Distracted · 9 Apr 2019 at 08:56

CLC are normally very low flow rate and the fluid used is designed to ensure that there is no corrosion from any mixed metals used in the closed loop.

These are the most obvious hurdles i can think of if we are talking a sealed unit such as a kraken etc.
Adding such a unit to an open loop may overwhelm the pump and may expose the rest of the loop to metals you would normally want to avoid.

I'm sure it is possible and i would imagine that it has been done before. The best thing to do is search for info on the unit in question and see if anything obvious jumps out at you.

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:03

Distracted said:
CLC are normally very low flow rate and the fluid used is designed to ensure that there is no corrosion from any mixed metals used in the closed loop.

These are the most obvious hurdles i can think of if we are talking a sealed unit such as a kraken etc.
Adding such a unit to an open loop may overwhelm the pump and may expose the rest of the loop to metals you would normally want to avoid.

I'm sure it is possible and i would imagine that it has been done before. The best thing to do is search for info on the unit in question and see if anything obvious jumps out at you.

Do you mean the pump would be overwhelmed with having a seperate pump/res pushing into it, as that is what i would be doing, basically using hte cpu block/pump as a custom cpu cooling block as you would in a normal custom loop, my thinking was it would be better as it would be 1 and 1/2 pumps pushing the water around.
Google does not yield anything useful on the subject so I turned to here

The biggest problem is that the radiator for it is aluminium, but i thought that modern fluids like mayhems contain anti corrosive agents so this wouldn't be a problem?

Bugbait · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:09

In theory it should work, although if the AIO pump is switched off it will introduce some restriction. Clearly not ideal but it would work as a cheap way of reusing the AIO as a CPU block, which I guess is the point?

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:12

Bugbait said:
In theory it should work, although if the AIO pump is switched off it will introduce some restriction. Clearly not ideal but it would work as a cheap way of reusing the AIO as a CPU block, which I guess is the point?

Yeah but i would keep the pump active along with a seperate pump to combine the pumpyness of the both acting as 1 and 1/2 pumpings for the cpu section of the loop, the only thing im concerned about is mixing aluminium and copper, will the mayhems fluid prevent this being a problem?

Bugbait · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:12

Illuminist said:
The biggest problem is that the radiator for it is aluminium, but i thought that modern fluids like mayhems contain anti corrosive agents so this wouldn't be a problem?

As long as you have corrosion inhibitor (most pre-mixes should but double check the one you're using) it should be fine.

Distracted · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:16

Illuminist said:
Do you mean the pump would be overwhelmed with having a seperate pump/res pushing into it, as that is what i would be doing, basically using hte cpu block/pump as a custom cpu cooling block as you would in a normal custom loop, my thinking was it would be better as it would be 1 and 1/2 pumps pushing the water around.
Google does not yield anything useful on the subject so I turned to here

The biggest problem is that the radiator for it is aluminium, but i thought that modern fluids like mayhems contain anti corrosive agents so this wouldn't be a problem?

Ah I see, sorry i'm still half asleep.

Yes this is possible.

Mayhems premix does have inhibitor and biocide in it but as far as I am aware that is designed for loops where you arent intentionally mixing metals.
When you are mixing metals, particularly aluminium and copper you find that manufacturers use other fluid-something bright green seems to be the stuff they turn to for clcs.
I know people use stuff like antifreeze in their own loops when mixing metals and have said that that works.

The pump in the clc could help or hinder flow, I'm of the opinion that it would hinder the flow but I'm only speculating.

It is an interesting idea but I can understand why you havent found much info on whether it would work or not.

It is certainly worth a try if you have a unit you don't mind taking apart to repurpose as a cpu block.

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:18

Distracted said:
Ah I see, sorry i'm still half asleep.

Yes this is possible.

Mayhems premix does have inhibitor and biocide in it but as far as I am aware that is designed for loops where you arent intentionally mixing metals.
When you are mixing metals, particularly aluminium and copper you find that manufacturers use other fluid-something bright green seems to be the stuff they turn to for clcs.
I know people use stuff like antifreeze in their own loops when mixing metals and have said that that works.

The pump in the clc could help or hinder flow, I'm of the opinion that it would hinder the flow but I'm only speculating.

It is an interesting idea but I can understand why you havent found much info on whether it would work or not.

Hmmmm, so it's possible but unknown

Distracted · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:26

Illuminist said:
Hmmmm, so it's possible but unknown

I'm not trying to stifle your enthusiasm, it is worth a try.

Maybe contact mayhems to ask about the premix in a mixed metal loop? Or see if google gives any results for mayhems premix with aluminium rads and copper blocks. I imagine plenty of people have tried that.

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:30

Roger that, thanks all for the advice, just needed some other peoples brains to bounce the idea off. Gonna close the thread now,

You are wonderful humans, thank you very much.

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 09:31

Okay well thank you all fantastic humans for helping me, I shall google the fluid or email them

LePhuronn · 9 Apr 2019 at 10:55

I'm all for crazy experiments and such, but I don't get what you're trying to achieve here. If you already have a pump in your res/pump combo, you're not going to gain anything by having the pump in the AIO. If you're looking to replace the pump in the pump/res combo for space-saving then the AIO pump is likely to be underpowered to run a full loop.

However, if you really do want to save on space then look at the Alphacool DC-LT pump, and even the new Eisbaer LT expandable AIO cooler (that seems to be a better platform for what you want to do).

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 11:03

LePhuronn said:
I'm all for crazy experiments and such, but I don't get what you're trying to achieve here. If you already have a pump in your res/pump combo, you're not going to gain anything by having the pump in the AIO. If you're looking to replace the pump in the pump/res combo for space-saving then the AIO pump is likely to be underpowered to run a full loop.

However, if you really do want to save on space then look at the Alphacool DC-LT pump, and even the new Eisbaer LT expandable AIO cooler (that seems to be a better platform for what you want to do).

I want to remove the tubes and replace them with transparent flex tubes to fit the rest of the custom loop, I would be using a seperate pump/res combo to power the gpu block and the cpu block, thinking that the aio pump would help also with that.

The reason Im doing it is to simple replace the white non see through tubes of the cpu aio and because I dont see the point in buying a Cpu water block and new radiator when I have both in the AIO

LePhuronn · 9 Apr 2019 at 12:51

Fair enough. I don't see the point personally because you're opening yourself up to all manner of headaches with galvanic corrosion from mixed metals, leaking fittings and ports from tapping in G1/4 threads and whatnot just to, essentially, make the CPU portion of a full loop. Especially as it seems your actual reasoning for this is purely aesthetic.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the hassle - if you're after performance then just stick with the AIO as it stands and do a custom loop for the GPU. If you're after the aesthetic unity of a single loop then get a CPU block and radiator (and sell the AIO maybe to recoup some money). Otherwise I fear your halfway-house idea is going to end up as a halfway-house job, bork the AIO permanently and ultimately have to shell out for the block and rad anyway.

Illuminist · 9 Apr 2019 at 13:21

LePhuronn said:
Fair enough. I don't see the point personally because you're opening yourself up to all manner of headaches with galvanic corrosion from mixed metals, leaking fittings and ports from tapping in G1/4 threads and whatnot just to, essentially, make the CPU portion of a full loop. Especially as it seems your actual reasoning for this is purely aesthetic.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the hassle - if you're after performance then just stick with the AIO as it stands and do a custom loop for the GPU. If you're after the aesthetic unity of a single loop then get a CPU block and radiator (and sell the AIO maybe to recoup some money). Otherwise I fear your halfway-house idea is going to end up as a halfway-house job, bork the AIO permanently and ultimately have to shell out for the block and rad anyway.

Some well made points sir, thank you very much for your input.
Selling the aio might be the way forward in this case

Legend · 9 Apr 2019 at 15:28

I certainly wouldn't see any benefit (and only downsides) doing this with a regular AIO. Something like the EK Phoenix would be better suited to such Frankensteining, given it already uses custom loop parts anyway (and the pump is decent), which would make for a better end result. Still, you'd be voiding the warranty by doing so (on what is a very expensive piece of kit), and also putting the rest of your system at risk by doing so.

Ultimately depends what you're looking to achieve. If you're looking to build in a small case or where you have very little space, you can certainly find parts and build something more 'traditionally'. If it's just a fun project for giggles, then have at it!

MikeTimbers · 11 Apr 2019 at 21:28

Having two different pumps in a loop would be weird. The more powerful one would be pushing flow through the second one faster that it wants to go potentially.

A typical AIO has a relatively poor block, a low-power pump and an aluminium radiator. A better block is £15 from the auction site, use your new pump and if you want to re-use the radiator you can but they often have soldered thin barbs rather than G1/4 threads. A copper 240mm with G1/4 can be had for around £25 if you know where to look.