Pump Controllers

cs2000 · 8 Sep 2013 at 14:12

Hey all, been struggling with this for a few days, my upcoming build will use two EK pumps and 4 fans (2 each on 240mm rads) and im really struggling with how to control them. Its worth mentioning these will be two totally separate loops.

Currently I use a Bitfenix Recon but the start up current draw for a single pump far exceeds what this can handle never mind when I want to add another pump to the mix.

The loops will be cooling CPU and GPU independently and I want to avoid using the fan headers if at all possible, it just looks cleaner that way (plus I don't know about the current draw limits on motherboard headers).

SO, my question is this, what controller can I use that will provide enough power to control the speed of two pumps based on temp sensor readings and also the 4 fans that will be on the rads. Id prefer one that I can hide away inside the case rather then a bay mounted one so was looking at the Aquero LT but I don't even think that will do the job.

For anyone not sure, the pump specs are below.

Starting voltage: DC 8V above
Power Consumption: 6.5W +/-10%
Load current: 0.62A +/-10%

Any help is greatly appreciated

Avathar77 · 8 Sep 2013 at 23:41

Either 2 x LTs(one in slave mode) or an LT and a Power adjust(or Ultra) will do.
one pump on LTs pwm header and other on Power adjust.

OR just wait for the AQ6

but they are only on XT and Pro versions(no LT)

But why 2 loops for just a single CPU and singl GPU?
Temp difference in dual loops is negligible compared to single loop(specially with just 2 blocks)

cs2000 · 9 Sep 2013 at 09:14

Seems overkill to need £100 worth of controller ( with 2 LT's) to control 2 pumps but I appreciate its an odd way of doing things.

As for why, its purely because I like the looks

Going to be using Pastel red and pastel blue coolant, just always thought it looked cool, no other reason

What would you thing of running the pumps both on 7V and concentrate on controlling the fan speeds to keep on top of the loop temps. Top speed of those EK pumps is about 2100 RPM @ 12v so im guessing somewhere about 1400-1500rpm?

Avathar77 · 9 Sep 2013 at 11:11

I have not worked with EK pumps to be honest.
Always used DDC and/or D5 pumps and I have under volted them both using the LT and another fan controller(for testing)
I found D5 to be so silent compared to DDC so I stuck with it at setting 5 all the way

I tried dynamically changing the voltage of the D5 using a fan header of the LT(Curved controller) but temp difference was minimal at lowest and highest RPMs and there was minimal noise difference as well(D5 and DDC both made bit more different noise at lower voltages).
So IMO there is no need for undervolting DDC/D5 if your pump is silent(and properly decoupled).
Having said that I have been looking at the MCP 35X and D5 PWM pumps

cs2000 · 9 Sep 2013 at 11:33

Hmm, think its going to have to be a suck it and see job then. Ive just read that doing the old skooll 7v/5v pin hack mod may not be great for such a high current draw component, im going to have to go straight 12v from a molex adaptor and then concentrate on controlling the fan speeds instead. The EK pumps are a little noisy running full chat, maybe il try a Shoggy Sandwich to dampen some of the vibrations.