Simple Water Cooled PSU

b@llz0r · 5th November 2009, 3:08 AM

Ive been reading johnyguru's psu reviews trying to figure out how i can desolder heatsinks, fabricate psu blocks, resolder shit back together etc. Tonight i opened up my old Tagan TG1100-U96 1100W PSU and stumbled on a very simple PSU mod.

All you need is a length of annealed copper tube... this shit is soft so you can bend it by hand. I bought this at bunnings for about $20

I made a U shape and put it thru the heatsinks with a little thermal paste in there to assist heat transfer

First time I flicked the switch, all the lights went out and i thought "well that f#$^@d it"... after I flicked the power back on I opened the unit back up and plugged the fans back in thinking there may be some failsafe in the PSU to prevent it from working if the fans die.

Bingo... this is running gpus only at 300W read from a meter at the plug.

the Fan-Man · 5th November 2009, 3:36 AM

W O W

man you've got guts! love it!

im gonna hell try this!!!!!

nice work

edit: you may also need a fan there too, the components like transformers and diodes do get fairly warm

DeejW · 5th November 2009, 3:38 AM

indeed looks promising, illegal but promising

would be nice to see before and after results though

b@llz0r · 5th November 2009, 3:47 AM

not many psus have heatsinks this easy to water cool...

this one should

http://www.abs.com/app/itz1300_details.asp

but i cant find a single review of it out there

b@llz0r · 5th November 2009, 3:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Fan-Man

edit: you may also need a fan there too, the components like transformers and diodes do get fairly warm

yeah i was thinking of replacing the cover with mesh and undervolting an 80 to pull air out the back of the unit.... the stock fans run real loud tho

hi_lectro · 6th November 2009, 8:44 AM

no offence, I admire what you have done, but its a pretty dangerous thing to allow water to get in such a close vicinity to the psu, which has 240v running through it in places. If there's a fire and its found out, good luck to getting insurance.

In agreeance with others that you should keep the fan in there to stop the capacitors / etc from overheating.

still very professional work though.

de_overfiend · 6th November 2009, 9:35 AM

My only critisism is you should have run the copper pipe longer where you connect it.

If you had the copper pipe protruding from the back of the psu by an inch or so, and then put grommits around the pipe where it passes through the PSU casing; it would be alot safer.

someone from here did one back in the day ... cant remember who.... they removed the stock heatsinks and ran custom copper heatsink blocks with copper pipe soldered to it ... pretty hardcore mod.

Glock · 7th November 2009, 8:00 PM

Think that was Goth, if memory serves..
EDIT: Nope, he was going to, from the sounds of it, but I can't find any results - however..
link1896 has one.

Yes, dangerous, cool, dangerous.
Always treat it like the dodgy conductive-liquid-cooled-mains-powered device it is.

Other than that, very nice work - I'd recommend some variety of airflow though, because the caps and other components will get warm(er) even if the main power-transistors are taken care of.

b@llz0r · 7th November 2009, 8:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glock

Think that was Goth, if memory serves..
EDIT: Nope, he was going to, from the sounds of it, but I can't find any results - however..
link1896 has one.

Yes, dangerous, cool, dangerous.
Always treat it like the dodgy conductive-liquid-cooled-mains-powered device it is.

Other than that, very nice work - I'd recommend some variety of airflow though, because the caps and other components will get warm(er) even if the main power-transistors are taken care of.

Yeah link is a mate of mine, and gave me the idea for this mod

http://www.realredraider.com/vbullet...read.php?t=318

he built his from scratch tho... theres no way i could do that

elstado · 7th November 2009, 8:32 PM

Wow.. that's pretty insane, and dangerous.

Personally I'd prefer to replace the PSU can and ensure there's adequate case airflow rather than LCS it.

salochin · 7th November 2009, 8:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b@llz0r

not many psus have heatsinks this easy to water cool...

this one should

http://www.abs.com/app/itz1300_details.asp

but i cant find a single review of it out there

What about this one:

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1154

Or this one:

http://hi-techreviews.com/reviews_20...1300/Page1.htm

Or this one:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=480

Or even:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Tagan+ITZ+1300+Review

b@llz0r · 7th November 2009, 9:39 PM

lol @ lmgtfy

yeah id seen that psu

iNoob · 7th November 2009, 9:51 PM

Wow nice!
Well all i know, me + water + electricity =

lol

ravencs · 8th November 2009, 9:10 AM

If its half inch copper pipe, do yourself a favour, and attach one of those copper 1/2" to 1/2" pipe joiners.
They are perfect fit to allow a G1/4' tap inside, which means you can then use any size barbs you wish!
(giving away my next build secrets here....)

If its a thicker pipe, use a 3/4' to 1/2' downsizer and then tap in the thread

b@llz0r · 8th November 2009, 9:58 AM

im planning on attaching a couple of these

5th November 2009, 3:08 AM	#1
b@llz0r Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Perth Posts: 128	Simple Water Cooled PSU Ive been reading johnyguru's psu reviews trying to figure out how i can desolder heatsinks, fabricate psu blocks, resolder shit back together etc. Tonight i opened up my old Tagan TG1100-U96 1100W PSU and stumbled on a very simple PSU mod. All you need is a length of annealed copper tube... this shit is soft so you can bend it by hand. I bought this at bunnings for about $20 I made a U shape and put it thru the heatsinks with a little thermal paste in there to assist heat transfer First time I flicked the switch, all the lights went out and i thought "well that f#$^@d it"... after I flicked the power back on I opened the unit back up and plugged the fans back in thinking there may be some failsafe in the PSU to prevent it from working if the fans die. Bingo... this is running gpus only at 300W read from a meter at the plug. Last edited by b@llz0r; 5th November 2009 at 3:46 PM.

5th November 2009, 3:38 AM	#3
DeejW Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Perth Posts: 642	indeed looks promising, illegal but promising would be nice to see before and after results though __________________ FOR SALE - Orange Wasp:http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...d.php?t=826738 Currently Building - Contrast: Raven RV01/i5 750/8gb Ripjaw 1600/P55-UD5/G Skill Falcon/WD20EADS/HD5850/Essence STX/MODU82+ 625/ Good Traders: Moonsha/Geekface/zTorma/skitzo666/D1k_is/Kathshan/scared&profane/Bradis86/Automaton/Dicko/Ub3r/ DiscoFrank/KrisT/eddigan/cippy/alba +more

6th November 2009, 9:35 AM	#7
de_overfiend Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Gold Coast Posts: 506	My only critisism is you should have run the copper pipe longer where you connect it. If you had the copper pipe protruding from the back of the psu by an inch or so, and then put grommits around the pipe where it passes through the PSU casing; it would be alot safer. someone from here did one back in the day ... cant remember who.... they removed the stock heatsinks and ran custom copper heatsink blocks with copper pipe soldered to it ... pretty hardcore mod. __________________ Sucessful trades: Too many to count. PC:-\|-AMD Phenom II @Stock ghz-\|-4gb Gskill 1066 RAM-\|-4Tb-\|-8500GT-\|-D-Tek Fuzion GPU-\|-Original Black Ice eXtreme Rad-\|-Swiftech MCP600-\|-Gigabyte MA790x-ud4p-\| My 89 Skyline Wagon

7th November 2009, 8:00 PM	#8
Glock Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,187	Think that was Goth, if memory serves.. EDIT: Nope, he was going to, from the sounds of it, but I can't find any results - however.. link1896 has one. Yes, dangerous, cool, dangerous. Always treat it like the dodgy conductive-liquid-cooled-mains-powered device it is. Other than that, very nice work - I'd recommend some variety of airflow though, because the caps and other components will get warm(er) even if the main power-transistors are taken care of. __________________ White P!!! NINTENDO™ DS Lite Owners Club Member #0060 Last edited by Glock; 7th November 2009 at 8:05 PM.

7th November 2009, 8:32 PM	#10
elstado Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 942	Wow.. that's pretty insane, and dangerous. Personally I'd prefer to replace the PSU can and ensure there's adequate case airflow rather than LCS it. __________________ Current mod project: Green machine -updated 27.09<---Click me! Uni/gaming rig: E8400@3.6GHz, EP35-DS3R, 4GB DDR2, 9800GT, 2x 500GB WD, Antec Sonata III, Zalman 9700, 22" Samsung, 24" BenQ + more Successful trades [PERTH] WANTED: Cheap working notebook PC, click this for info

5th November 2009, 3:47 AM	#4
b@llz0r Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Perth Posts: 128	not many psus have heatsinks this easy to water cool... this one should http://www.abs.com/app/itz1300_details.asp but i cant find a single review of it out there

6th November 2009, 8:44 AM	#6
hi_lectro Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: melb Posts: 39	no offence, I admire what you have done, but its a pretty dangerous thing to allow water to get in such a close vicinity to the psu, which has 240v running through it in places. If there's a fire and its found out, good luck to getting insurance. In agreeance with others that you should keep the fan in there to stop the capacitors / etc from overheating. still very professional work though.

7th November 2009, 9:39 PM	#12
b@llz0r Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Perth Posts: 128	lol @ lmgtfy yeah id seen that psu

7th November 2009, 9:51 PM	#13
iNoob Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Western Sydney Posts: 324	Wow nice! Well all i know, me + water + electricity = lol __________________ Thermaltake V9, i7 920 @ stock - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - 6GB 1600mhz Corsair DDR3 - Galaxy 9800GT 1Gb - 550W generic psu (on upgrade list) - Samsung 1TB - G25 - Razer/Hp Lycosa

8th November 2009, 9:10 AM	#14
ravencs Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Sydney Posts: 319	If its half inch copper pipe, do yourself a favour, and attach one of those copper 1/2" to 1/2" pipe joiners. They are perfect fit to allow a G1/4' tap inside, which means you can then use any size barbs you wish! (giving away my next build secrets here....) If its a thicker pipe, use a 3/4' to 1/2' downsizer and then tap in the thread __________________ Q6600 @ 3200Mhz \| EP45-UD3P \| 4GB Corsair 1066 DDR2 \| 4TB \| PC HD4870 100% homebrew copper watercooling setup.

8th November 2009, 9:58 AM	#15
b@llz0r Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Perth Posts: 128	im planning on attaching a couple of these