Flow indicator

DWolvin

DWolvin

2[H]4U
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Messages
3,512
So I've always wanted a flow indicator or meter, and looking around the electronic flow and water temp units look sweet but seem to have a plethora of terrible reviews. Anyone here have one? Or; anyone here have a cool flow indicator?
 
I looked into this and spent far too much time. I find they look silly, I was going to hide it somewhere (somehow... not easy)

After doing my build, I simply hooked up the RPM tach wire (3 pin fan wire) to a fan header on the mobo and setup speedfan to #1 Auto start on windows startup and #2 Set an Event in Speedfan to run a .bat file to force auto shutdown my PC in the case that the pump RPM drops bellow 1500rpm (failing). DC5 runs about 4300ish in my system constant(non variable rpm version).

That's really the only need for you for a flow meter right, to protect your system in the event of a pump failure? Or do you really need to know the amount of actual flow? Just check temps once in a while and you'll know if the flow is down right?
 
Eh, it's a bit of both- having a shutdown would be nice, and the ability to see (and maybe measure) the flow works well with the OCD in me.
Probably going to go with something like this pic, because it reminds me of my Navy weapon system...
Flow_2.JPG
 
dabomb6 said:
I looked into this and spent far too much time. I find they look silly, I was going to hide it somewhere (somehow... not easy)

After doing my build, I simply hooked up the RPM tach wire (3 pin fan wire) to a fan header on the mobo and setup speedfan to #1 Auto start on windows startup and #2 Set an Event in Speedfan to run a .bat file to force auto shutdown my PC in the case that the pump RPM drops bellow 1500rpm (failing). DC5 runs about 4300ish in my system constant(non variable rpm version).

That's really the only need for you for a flow meter right, to protect your system in the event of a pump failure? Or do you really need to know the amount of actual flow? Just check temps once in a while and you'll know if the flow is down right?
Click to expand...

Most modern motherboards support features that will downclock the cpu and shut down the computer if a temp reaches a certain threshold.
 
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I use a Koolance flow meter, the -16 version I believe. Wouldn't have gotten it but it was a bundle of items bought from another member here. I have found that I don't bother checking it after seeing what flow rates were like initially.
 
I can see that being true- I also think that being able to see if the flow rate is slowing down will prevent me from about 3/4 of my teardown and clean cycles... :confused:
 
I had great success using industrial flow meters, such as the 800 series from Proteus. They are made from 316 stainless steel and use a paddle wheel with magnets, and a Hall sensor translates the rotation rate of the paddle wheel into voltage. These flow meters contain LEDs (green = flow is OK, red = low flow) and a relay that activates once the flow rate drops below a set value. I have two of these flow meters, one for each loop, and the relays from each flow meter are connected to two loud piezo buzzers that will get your attention in case the pump dies. These flow meters are widely available on Ebay.
Flow Meters 1.png


The two LED read-outs show the voltage outputs from each flow meter: 5V DC = 2 GPM. So, the loop measured by the top flow meter has a flow rate of 2V DC / 2.5 = 0.8 GPM, while flow rate of the bottom loop is nearly 1 GPM.
 
On the one hand, far more expensive than I can truthfully justify. On the gripping hand, GREAT SCOTT IS THAT COOL!
Love the faceplate setup also.
 
Those flow meters can be found on Ebay for around $60, which is not far from a watercooling industry offering for a similar product. And I appreciate the comments, I built the face plate out of 2mm steel that I salvaged from an expensive UPS (as in a battery backup) shipping box.
 
Rezistor said:
Those flow meters can be found on Ebay for around $60, which is not far from a watercooling industry offering for a similar product. And I appreciate the comments, I built the face plate out of 2mm steel that I salvaged from an expensive UPS (as in a battery backup) shipping box.
Click to expand...
Just a thought - it's a cool set up, but you could make a simple voltage divider before your voltmeter to reduce the voltage by a factor of 2.5, which would show you the exact flow rate on those displays :)
 
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