2015/06/02 07:22:31
nateman_doo
I would make sure you get closed cell foam.  As close as you are, McMaster has EVERYTHING.  You should get it the next day.  McMaster is your friend.  Trust me. 
 
http://www.mcmaster.com/#closed-cell-foam/=xg6959
 
 
2015/06/02 13:36:52
johnksss
As nateman_doo says....Mcmaster is you friend!.
 
As to your line. It means the foam around it is either not tight enough to keep ice from forming up and draining on to your board. Your next best friend there is going to be electrical tape. that foam needs to be married to the line. It was also part of my problem when i built my first SS.
Here are some pics...
The first one shows what is going on under neath the foam if you do not make that as tight as possible.

Here is it fully closed

Here is the bare line.

And this is what it looked like right after i bought it from a forum member. I showed up broken and need repairs.
As you can see. The only thing I kept was the case bottom. LOL And I have the compressor still. It has been sealed and still sitting in the garage.

These things are not cheap to tinker with unless you have all the parts to fix them. About a 1000 dollars in tools and refrigerants and regular shops will try to refill them like it's an A/C compressor and it will work far worse. So be careful when getting it refilled. I was lucky. I have and A/C company as a client so I was able to learn off the learning curve. lol
 
As to you taking the board apart....I wouldn't. Once you get this SS licked then you will be all good. Start with that foam around the line. and go from there...
 
 
2015/06/02 13:59:51
Scarlet-Tech
Perfect timing to post, as I was coming to post pictures.  I tried to post earlier, but my internet was down so I couldn't do anything.
 

 

 

 
I remove all of the foam that I have put in.  this is how the system was delivered, so I may need to pull it apart and reseal it, because there obviously was no previous seal.
 
I added the shop towels in just so I could see where the condensation is building up, and you can see exactly where in the pictures, since the shop towels are drenched through.
 
the foam that was previously in there was added by me.  All of the foam has been replaced with the foam that GunSlingerOCS normally uses with LN2 cooling.  I would think that anything used with LN2 would be fine for phase change, but obviously I need something better somewhere.  I am fine with putting more money into the system, but this tearing it apart anytime a storm rolls through to redo something is old at this point.  This will be the 6th time tearing it apart.  I am NOT willing to waste this time over and over every few days because something isn't right.  I want to get it figured out and fix it properly/permanently, or get rid of it completely.  Putting an extra $200-300 into a system after spending so much to get it up and running is not cost effective at all, especially when it is said that it is supposed to be fairly "Set and go" (compared to LN2/DICE) which it is not at all.
 
I will order the foam from McMaster, but which one am I supposed to get? there are hundred of them, and I looked at the neopreme and the Super resilient xtreme temperature silicon, and then the extreme temperature silicon.
 
The Yellow hard foam in the mount doesn't stop anything, which would seem pretty obvious, which is why I have considered sealing the top so that condensation doesn't drip down in through the mount.  I can say for a fact, if it continues to happen after spending another handful of cash, I will get forced to get rid of everything with the phase change completely.  I really don't want to, since I have come to figure out that my electric bill isn't all that bad after most of a month of folding, but having this system down and fighting with it for over a month is getting old. 
 
 
2015/06/02 14:44:14
hallowen
All you need is a piece of Armacell Closed-Cell insulation that is normally used for insulating hot and cold water pipes.
Electrical tape should also be used to seal connection between the Evap Head insulation and the Armacell.
 

2015/06/02 14:48:37
Scarlet-Tech
hallowen
All you need is a piece of Armacell Closed-Cell insulation that is normally used for insulating hot and cold water pipes.
Electrical tape should also be used to seal connection between the Evap Head insulation and the Armacell.
 



Headed to Lowes and home Depot right now.
2015/06/02 16:15:25
Scarlet-Tech
Done... I am done! This is not worth it. The freaking (I want to use much worse words) phase change just sprung a leak while trying to pull the mount off. This is a waste of time and money.

Go figure it's right after I waste another $30 going to Home Depot to get the stuff..

I am putting the Ln2 pot on the 4790k and will just use it for benching. It's already at 5.1ghz, so what can it hurt. Does anyone want this phase change for a project?
2015/06/02 16:40:59
hallowen
Man!....Sorry to hear about the refrigerant leak, But Why did you have to pull the mount off?
You could have left the mount on and just pushed the Armacell down into the top of the evap enclosure and around the flex pipe and sealed it.
Did it break at the evap head or somewhere else?
2015/06/02 17:36:19
Scarlet-Tech
Unfortunately, when I read that electrical tape should be used to seal the connection between the evap head and the armacell, that I need to actually get to that part, which is inside of the mount. 
 
Every time I have removed it, the evap head wasn't loose, but it was easy enough to slide it out of the mount and the hard foam normally guides it out.  This time, the evap head itself slid out and as soon as it slipped, the hissing started.  All part of life.. obviously, a very frustrating part, but still just part of life.
 
Oh well.. I will make sure if I see anyone else with the issue, to pass it on to them not to remove the mount.  I am really good at assuming when someone says one thing, that is what I need to do.  Kind of like when I asked over on OCN about the flex I was seeing on the EK block was normal, 2 times, and no one responded, I assumed it wasn't.. I posted a picture after lapping, and within 1 minute, 5 people had told me how stupid I was to lap the block.  I guess that professionals assume amateurs will know without knowing.
2015/06/02 18:25:07
hallowen
Scarlet-Tech
Unfortunately, when I read that electrical tape should be used to seal the connection between the evap head and the armacell, that I need to actually get to that part, which is inside of the mount. 
 
Every time I have removed it, the evap head wasn't loose, but it was easy enough to slide it out of the mount and the hard foam normally guides it out.  This time, the evap head itself slid out and as soon as it slipped, the hissing started.  All part of life.. obviously, a very frustrating part, but still just part of life.
 
Oh well.. I will make sure if I see anyone else with the issue, to pass it on to them not to remove the mount.  I am really good at assuming when someone says one thing, that is what I need to do.  Kind of like when I asked over on OCN about the flex I was seeing on the EK block was normal, 2 times, and no one responded, I assumed it wasn't.. I posted a picture after lapping, and within 1 minute, 5 people had told me how stupid I was to lap the block.  I guess that professionals assume amateurs will know without knowing.




Well, Although I tried to explain the best I could and it's not going to help now, I really meant for you to use the electrical tape to connect the evap head insulation on the flex pipe after you pushed the Armaflex all the way into the evap housing until it bottomed on the hard foam leaving about two inches showing outside the top of the evap housing and then tape the two together, although there is always a chance the flex pipe will eventually break upon repeated installing/uninstalling.
 
Not that it's any comfort to you and believe me I DO relate to your frustration, But I have encountered the same thing happen to numerous Phase Change units in my past at one time or another, although since I have been building these units for years, I still have all the necessary refrigeration tools, Brazing setup, Vacuum pump and Freon supply to repair them in case of another refrigerant line failure.
 
Unfortunately, Unless you or someone you know have these tools and supplies readily at hand or available to you it would be otherwise rather expensive to get it repaired/recharged and even finding a replacement would probably run around $300 to $500 for a USED one, Not to mention the exorbitant shipping costs involved due to the weight of the unit.
 
In this "Hobby" of pushing both Electrical/Mechanical Limits, I have personally Broken/Destroyed Countless MB's, Graphics Cards, CPU's, Memory Modules and other components resulting in massive $$$ losses and almost my Sanity at one point or another, But for whatever reason I find that I just Can't Stop doing it until the Smoke Clears!
 
  
2015/06/02 18:36:58
Scarlet-Tech
Since either am in the military, and we have a ton of HVAC guys right next door, I may see if I can hire one for a case of beer and cost of equipment to do the repair for me. If I can, no harm no foul (post repair....)..  I honestly am glad I pulled all of the insulation off, because it was barely held on.  There was condensation about 5" above the actual case.. If I can get it repaired, I am going to push the tube in there, and seal it extremely well all the way back to the case in hopes of avoiding this issue. 
 
but, until then, let me see if I can break something else:
 

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