Topic: Project: custom 19in rack passive cooling system - page 2. (Read 14477 times)

I was able to spend a few hours on the project again this weekend after having to take the last few weeks off due to family commitments. I drilled and tapped the final set of radiator segments that will make up the lower module. This picture was taken just prior to completing masking and marking the segments prior to drilling. As you can see on the right, another T-connector was damaged in shipping (I hadn't spotted this earlier.) Fortunately Aquatuning had preemptively sent me some spares on my last order so it's no big deal.


I also received the USB isolator two weeks ago and should be ready to try again when the Aquaero 5XT comes back from repair from Aquacomputer in Germany. Aquacomputer received my non-functioning Aquaero on 10/31, but thus far they haven't completed the inspection to determine what is needed in terms of repair.

I was able to assemble the module segments for the upper module and to a test fit with the mounts and things are looking good.



I'll next need to tear it all apart again, drill the holes for the mounts to attach with the rack, re-assemble everything, rough-fit it to the rack and take the final set of measurements for the lower mount for the bottom module to make sure everything still looks ok dimension-wise before drilling the module mount holes.

With the Aquaero 5XT on the slow boat back to Germany to be repaired, I am focusing my efforts on the radiator modules again. I spent a few hours this morning drilling and tapping the 56 screw holes of the segments for the upper module:


I still need to remove and re-tension the inter-segment clips as most of them seen to have been shaken loose (and some have fallen out) in shipping. I will then attach the segments to the mounts to ensure alignment and fit, then on to the third and final module.

That is unfortunate, their market is after all modders.  You can't be the first guy to try this.

@Aahzman Why thank you sir, fortunately nothing seems damaged, a quick teardown and I was able to put the rig back online in time for the [H]orde to retake #1 in folding at home.

After a bit of back and forth with AC they are having me send it back for repair. Unfortunately their opportunity to shine is rapidly diminishing with every exchange...

Per Shoggy on the AC forums "The damaged part is a surge protection diode. We can try to repair it but we would not exchange that board since it is clearly an overvoltage damage which is not covered by the warranty."

I have been quite clear with then on what happened, and rather than being apologetic I get snarky, terse comments like this. IMHO this is a design flaw. After all, when was the last time you blew up an external USB HDD (which requires external power) by plugging it in to a PC?

Sweet zombie Jesus! I am suffering so much nerd envy right now, I'm probably emitting gamma radiation.

Yeah, it's nice to know we are all over BFL.  Now if only we could see inside the building...hehe 

Ahem... BFL Releases Renderings of New BFL Single WaterBlock and Heat Sink

It will be quite interesting to see if Aquacomputer takes care of you, they have an opportunity to really shine here.

I spent a little more time inspecting the Aquaero 5XT mainboard this morning and unfortunately it looks like one of the components is damaged. It's hard to make out the part number with half of the cover of the IC package blown off (you can see the upper-left lead exposed inside the package), but it appears to be a diode on the +5V supply rail:


Prior to blowing up the AQ , I was having some difficulty using the touchscreen (most buttons did not respond, but one appeared to be stuck down and the plastic portion of the touchscreen kept popping out). When I inquired about this in the Aquacomputer support forum one of the Admin's suggested that I get the touchscreen replaced. Here is what it looks like:



I have reached out to Aquacomputer to attempt to get replacement parts but this undoubtedly will take some time.

In advance of the replacement Aquaero boards coming I ordered a USB isolator to prevent the same thing from happening again, but the lead time for receiving it is a full month. I will need to focus my construction efforts on completing the radiator modules in the mean time...

Thanks for the kind words and sorry about your rig

Thus far I haven't heard back from Aquacomputer, but my leading theory is a ground loop due to both devices running from DC supplies, and inadequate USB isolation built in to the Aquaero. The good thing is USB isolators are relatively inexpensive, so even if AC can't offer an adequate solution, there is a path...

i'm gonna be really sad when asic's start shipping and more or less make the need for such creative rig building unneeded. i love this stuff.

maybe i'll water cool... *shifty eyes* my HOUSE!

wait... i live in my brothers basement... crap! foiled again!

This project looks amazing! That sucks about the burnt up electronics. Hopefully you can get that all figured out soon and keep this build going

Dammit dude!

I feel your pain man...bummer

If it makes you feel better, GF called last night (I'm working on the road) and the rig I linked above is no POST no fan as of yesterday...

ouch , too bad .. melting picopsu?

I was able to finish off the hardware for mounting the Aquaero and picoPSU. Everything powered up and looked great save some issues with the touchscreen on the Aquaero 5 XT...





...but, after hooking up the USB connector and double-checking the pinouts and wire color codes I then started up Aquasuite and plugged the USB cable into my laptop and poof: the laptop shutdown, the PicoPSU and Aquaero both shut off and the acrid smell of burned electronics permeated the air Nothing would power up afterwards, but after a little cooling off I was able to get the laptop to power back up, but the USB port I had used is totally dead. The PicoPSU power brick had only blown a fuse, and after replacing it, the power brick and the PicoPSU came back to life. Unfortunately, not so for the Aquaero, it won't power up no matter what I do.

Prior to plugging the USB cable in, I check and re-checked the pinouts and cable color codes and everything looked good. So you can imagine my surprise when this happened. Afterwards I checked again and nothing with the USB connection appears to have been wrong. I am using an internal to external USB adapter (the same type sold on the Aquacomputer online shop here). I am only using four of the five USB pins, leaving the outermost ground unconnected per Shoggy's recommendation in the post here: Aquastream USB Connector mod

It would appear as though the USB port on the Aquaero is not adequately isolated to allow the use of an external power supply, but have reached out to AC support for further clarification.

I called it a day at work a few hours early and was able to finish drilling the primary and countersink holes on the upper radiator module mount, and cut the 1.5" L channel that will serve as the mounts for the Aquaero 5 and Poweradjusts. However, after reviewing the Poweradjust 5.25" drive bay mount in the rack shelf, I have reconsidered the mounting location and decided to mount the units on opposite ends of the shelf. This is far simpler and leaves more space available in the middle for additional switches or components down the road.

Shelf and Poweradjust drive bay mount faceplate


Revised drawing

I didn't make much progress on the construction this week due to family commitments but I was able to mark and drill the pilot holes for the upper radiator module mount. (no pics this time) Still remaining is to drill the primary and countersink holes, and then drill and tap the upper 14 radiator segments that will comprise the upper module. 

I also acquired the USB cabling and power plugs as well as the L-brackets for mounting the Aquaero 5 XT and Poweradjust 2's to the rack shelf and updated the controller drawings with the current plans (and a minor correction on the shelf detail.)

Higher resolution version here.

Let me know if you need any parts cut, we'll work something out.

That's an impressive build jojo69.

I have been tempted to get one of those mini mills myself, but first need to convince the wife