Pump survey

The alternative to direct air cooling

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Bat
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Pump survey

Post by Bat » Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:51 pm

For those of you who are into water cooling:
what pumps have you used, and what do you think of them?
How loud are they, and are they louder when in-line or submersed?

HaloJones
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Post by HaloJones » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:58 am

I use a MaxiJet 1000 inside a BeCooling aluminium res and I can't hear it all.
I also have an Eheim 1250 running in-line which is also silent but since it is in the base of my machine and that rests on the floor, if I put my ear to the floor six feet away, I can feel the vibrations! (Can't feel them through the desk, BTW.)

Any pump in a properly bled system will be silent.

herosformula
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Post by herosformula » Mon Nov 10, 2003 1:28 pm

Eheim 1046 12V version, on foam pad - almost no noise and no vibrations beyond 30 cm

Gooserider
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Post by Gooserider » Mon Nov 10, 2003 9:05 pm

Don't have it in a system yet, but when I was doing flow testing, I had my Iwaki MD20RT setting on the concrete pool apron with no damping or fastenings. I could hear a faint humming or buzzing if I got within 3-4 feet, but the wind in the trees (and the tree-rats :shock: ) made more noise.

I expect that by the time I get it mounted properly inside my sound absorbent / dampener lined case it will be silent for all practical purposes.

FWIW, This is one of the bigger pumps in common WC use - 8 GPM / ~30 LPM into a 14' / ~4.25M head rating. My flow testing suggests I'll get a little over 5 GPM at about 9' of head in actual practice.

Gooserider

pingu666
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Post by pingu666 » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:10 am

yeah there all pretty quiet, unless something is wrong

Choy
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Post by Choy » Sat Nov 15, 2003 10:03 am

I'm using a Eheim 1046 in one of my systems and it is practically silent when submerged. Together with a maze 3 and an actively cooled radiator i get approx a C/W of 2.0.

In another system I use a crappy small (5x3x3cm) aquarium pump with is absolutely silent submerged. On the other hand with a small passive radiator I just get a C/W of 3.2.

Zhentar
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Post by Zhentar » Sat Nov 15, 2003 11:18 am

I'm using a little giant PCL-020. Its stats are pretty close to the Iwaki MD15, but half the price, and twice the power consumption.

Its kinda noisy, I want to buy a Iwaki MD-15 when I can afford it. Submerging it made things worse.

Seal
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Post by Seal » Mon Nov 17, 2003 3:55 pm

Not many of them produce much sound, the only battle is against the vibrations they give out which are quite a fair bit.

I have an eheim 1048 (not to be mistaken for the 1046 (weaker one) or the 1250 - more powerful one), Its very quiet but does have a little vibration, suspending it elastically easily solves the problem.

Seal (read the siggy ;))

Bat
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Post by Bat » Thu Nov 20, 2003 4:08 pm

I've heard a Minijet making lots of rattling and buzzing noises, but there might have been something wrong with it.

snutten
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Post by snutten » Fri Nov 21, 2003 2:33 pm

The Eheim pumps have good reputation. Not much sound but LOTS of vibrations. Dampening materials just won´t do. You´ll need to hang the pump in elastic cords. I´ve been through this, totalled over 3 cm of foamy stuff under the pump before I realized soft elastic cords is the way to go.
Even so, the pump CAN be heard especially if you don´t sound isolate the case.
(Used 1046, now 1048, the bigger the more vibrations)

supastar
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Post by supastar » Thu Nov 27, 2003 10:40 am

The most commonly used pumps are the Eheim, for one major reason - their reliability. I tried to find alternatives but a major importer of small aquarium pumps refused to sell me anything else!

The 1046 should handle any system and Innovatek have a 12 volt version (and you can get a conversion kit for existing mains pumps). People get too hung up on larger pumps. The back pressure results in the pump burning out.

There are two mounting kits for the Eheim pump; one simple grommets and the other a bobbin type isolator. The latter is excellent.

The mains Eheim pumps are submersible but the 12 volt version is not.

Seal
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Post by Seal » Sun Nov 30, 2003 1:20 pm

supastar wrote:There are two mounting kits for the Eheim pump; one simple grommets and the other a bobbin type isolator. The latter is excellent.
Where would i get them from? Its very very difficult to suspend a wc pump because of its akward size/shape/weight... and its attached to a big pipe. also most pump locations make it akward to elastically suspend.

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:15 pm

Anyone have any experience with the Swiftech MCP600 pump?? It's a 12VDC pump, which is nice. According the Swiftech's website, it says
Superior real world performance versus any aquarium pump we have tested to this date (MCP300, Eheim 1250, Eheim 1048, Hydor L30), due to the closed impeller design.

Quiet Operation thanks to brushless motor.

Seal
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Post by Seal » Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:20 pm

it might be silent but it'll probably vibrate a helluva lot! I might look into buying a 12V eheim 1046 soon because my 1048 makes a little too much vibration, its however silent.

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:48 pm

Isn't there a way you could isolate the vibrations? I just started looking into water cooling today, so admitedly I don't know much, but I'm concerned the 1046 doesn't have enough flow rate. I'd be intrested to know how much your temps would go up after switching from the 1048 to 1046.

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:08 pm

Sorry for the double post, I just wanted to submit this question before I forgot it. (please don't forget my above question though). :D

Do the bigger pumps generate more of a hum noise too, or just more vibrations?

Seal
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Post by Seal » Mon Jan 19, 2004 4:22 pm

Yeah you can isolate vibrations by simply wrapping the pump in foam or suspending it with rubberbands in your 5 1/2" bays which is what i did for a friend with his 1250. This however isnt an option for me as i simply dont have the space in my already very crammed case.

Hum noise of the pumps are usually VERY low, they are inaudible at about 15cm, the rest of the hum noise is probably due to vibration.

I also am worried about temps switching from the 1048, i have a reasonably low restriction setup so im hoping it wont have too much of an effect but theres only one way to find out. try it! atm for my silence setup with a 5v 120mm fan on my heatercore i get full load temps of 40-45 deg C and no load temps of 37-42 deg C. Im also heavily overclocked.

Bailey
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Post by Bailey » Tue Jan 20, 2004 8:37 am

Do the bigger pumps generate more of a hum noise too, or just more vibrations?
As a rule, yes. I have a couple of large pumps running in aquariums (900+ gph). They make noise & vibrate but they're hard to hear over the sound of the moving water - lol.

I have a maxi-jet running in the comp & it's pretty quiet. It does vibrate a bit, but I'm working on that. The only time I can hear the pump is early in the morning when the house is DEAD quiet (even rolling the mouse button drowns it out).

Eheim's are fine pumps. They're very quiet because they have a big case around the pump, as with all pumps they vibrate.

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Tue Jan 20, 2004 11:08 am

Yeah you can isolate vibrations by simply wrapping the pump in foam or suspending it with rubberbands in your 5 1/2" bays which is what i did for a friend with his 1250.
So tell me if I have this correct. All DC pumps are inline (non submersible). AC pumps can be either or. Does the Eiheim 1250 come in both flavors?

Seal
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Post by Seal » Tue Jan 20, 2004 11:13 am

Eheim pumps do both, if you submerse it in water then itll do the same job!

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:56 pm

Hum noise of the pumps are usually VERY low, they are inaudible at about 15cm
Does this include the eheim 1250 (let's say wrapped in bands in a 5 1/4" bay or submerged? I don't want to hear anything. :D

Seal
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Post by Seal » Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:54 pm

If you dont want to hear anything id go with the 1048, the 1250 does vibrate quite abit. The 1048 is MORE than adequate to cool a very hot running processor. Its what i have at the moment. It'll be virtually inaudible when you elastically suspend it.

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Tue Jan 20, 2004 3:50 pm

Thanks Seal. Now I know what the highest flow, silent pump is. :D

Blackeagle
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Post by Blackeagle » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:03 pm

Iwaki MD15

A more powerfull pump than most listed here except the Iwaki MD20 posted above. If you are within a couple feet it makes a hum you can hear, but not loud by any means.

Inside a case lined with sound deadening foam I very much doubt you'd hear it at all. :)

I'd like to point out that noise in a water cooling rig isn't from the water pump, it's from the rad's fans and air turbulence aginst the rad & the air flowing through the rad. This is a much greater noise issue than the pump you use. Care in selection of both the rad & it's fans is VERY important to having a quiet water rig.

The larger the rad is, the greater the cooling area it offers and also a greater area for air passage. A large rad does not have nearly the turbulence noise of smaller rads as the same volume of air has a much easier passage. And the larger the rad, which gives greater cooling surface area, the lower volume the fans can be and still give great temps.

miker
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Post by miker » Thu Apr 15, 2004 5:53 am

I use a Hydor L20.

Pretty low flow, but very small and super-quiet. I use 80 durometer Sorbothane to stick it to the bottom of my case. It works perfectly for me in my application (just CPU and GPU blocks). I don't overclock much so I am not looking to blow seals with flow and I just run a 120mm fan at very low speeds to dissipate heat.

chylld
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Post by chylld » Thu Apr 15, 2004 4:14 pm

I use an eheim 1048. i love this pump. the only thing i'd change to would be a 1250, but that's totally unnecessary given my current setup.

it doesn't make any noise but it does produce a lot of vibration. i bolted it to a wooden box though which is sitting on carpet, so that isn't a problem anymore :)

1911user
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Post by 1911user » Thu Apr 15, 2004 8:29 pm

I started with a Quiet One 1200 pump. It's a good pump with specs comparable to a Hydor L30 or Ehiem 1250 for less than $30 shipped, but it's not a quiet pump. Many (at overclockers.com forums) who have tried the pump complain of a clicking sound that never goes away. I didn't really notice it much before starting to quiet my computers. Don't even think about it for a quiet rig. That's why I have the Ehiem 1250 now, but it's huge compared to similar pumps. If noise isn't an issue, it's a versatile, durable pump for cheap. I'm saving mine for a backyard fountain project where it will run submerged.

Dhurdahl
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Post by Dhurdahl » Thu Apr 15, 2004 11:56 pm

Im using a Hydor L20.

Small and quiet :) (it vibrates abit though... need decoupling :))

apocalypse80
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Post by apocalypse80 » Fri Apr 16, 2004 12:35 am

I'm using an Eheim 1250 , sitting in a cradle of 3cm thick foam to absorb vibrations and it's actually inaudible at 20 cm (the pump is inside the case).

One fact I don't see mentioned is that pump vibrations also move through the tubing to the rest of the loop.

My pump's inlet is connected to the radiator and the exhaust is connected to the cpu block.
The rad is mounted with rubber gromets so I can't feel any vibrations.
However touching the case , right behind the cpu , I can feel some vibrations (very little , but still).
And that is even using Tygon tubing (probably the best and most flexible tubing in existense).

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