Reader's Comments #2
Go to meci.com and go to the section on quot;coils". They have some AWESOME radiators for liquid cooling for $15-20. The inventory changes a lot, so just see what is there. I took mine and zip-tied it to a 19"" floor fan and it keeps things pretty cool. Make sure that the radiator is BEFORE the ice, or you will just warm your cold water with it. Good luck.
They look great. The little one is exactly what I'm after.. shame they're in the US. Should be able to find something here, though.
Your setup is pretty cool for a 370, I have a slot 1 so the there's a little bit more water block to work with. This is about the condensation. There are two things you can do to stop it, completely. I would not use that silicone, it's messy, and your water block will still sweat when you have real cold water going through it, including your 1/4 water hoses, trust me, I'm sitting here looking at some damaged goods because of it. My father is a heating/cooling engineer and he gave me two great products that he uses. I think you have to have a license to get the stuff, but I'm not for sure. The first is a spray called "No Sweat". This shit is awesome. It sprays a fine, textured mist over all of your parts and somehow it stops condensation completely. The second is the stuff I use here. It's a black foam (very thin), and it has a sticky side that will let you apply it to any surface, copper, aluminum, you name it. What I did was totally encased my water block in this stuff and made cutouts on it for the brass hose connectors and the slug. When this stuff is "pressed" together with the chip, it provides great insulation, and it's kind of rubbery to keep anything from shorting out. I filled a whole cooler full of ice and ran it through my water block and the foam wasn't even moist.
Sean Lair
Actually, I have experienced that - I put 4 trays of icecubes into the bucket while trying to hit 670, and I got condensation all along the tubing and on the copper block - even the back of the slocket was wet! Not good. That is the main reason why my current goal is to get the water constantly at room temperature, not "as cold as I can get it" .. I will definitely keep an eye out for that kind of stuff - thanks again!
I saw your article. Good work. I have built a lot of these type systems for car audio amplifiers. I didn't see a fan, but you still want in near the cooler to help pull off the heat. You DEFINETLY want to use some type of watter cooling device. I would recommend a transmission cooler though, as they are very small, cheap, and work JUST as well. You should defintely use a automotive fuel pump. They are extremly efficient, quiet (try a few), and they don't draw a lot of amps(I would just use another power supply from an old computer case). This is the same setup we used in a ton of car audio systems we made. The fuel pumps were usually quite enough, because nobody would have used them if they were noisy. Let me know how they work out. You could also use metal or braided tubing to help dissapate heat (another trick we learned after a few systems with rubber) because the rubber just HOLDS the heat in. You will also be able to get a sealed water container by using this system.
Ahh.. more useful info. Thanks, looks like I will be hunting for a fuel pump and transmission fluid radiator next.
I am an engineer specialized in thermodynamics. I have a few sugestions as to how you can cool your water tank. There are 4 ways that heat can leave acontainer:
1. Radiation
2. Convection
3. Conduction
4. Evaporation
Heat will only leave the container by radiation, convection and conduction if the temperature of the container is higher than the surroundings. This will ofcause happen eventualy. The only way that heat can leave a container if the temperature of the container is lower than the surroundings is by evaporation.
I will now go through the different means of getting rid of the heat:
Radiation:
Radiation is best accomplished from black surfaces. Blank surfaces will reflect heat. Make sure that your container is black. However paint insulates the container so the paint layer should be very thin and it would be best if the material itself is black. Radiation will not take place inside the container only on the outside. The amount of heat lost depends on the area of the surface.
Convection:
When air or water becomes hot it will start to rise and thus create movement at the surface of the container. This movement causes heat to be removed. from the surface of the container. You can force the air to move with fans. Faster air or water movement equals higher removal of heat.
Conduction:
Conduction happens in solid materials if there is a temperature difference. Counduction takes place in the CPU, heatsink and walls of the container. The best conductoer is Copper. Another good one is Aluminum. All metals are good conductors. Plastic, Paint, Wood, Rubber and the like are bad conductors. Use a copper container and use copper for heatsinks.
Evaporation:
Evaporation cools the surface if the humidity is below 100 % Evaporation can not take place at 100 % humidity. If you use an open container you will lose heat by evaporation.
The think to remember is that if you double the surface area you double the heat lost. This is why heatsinks have ribs. Another way to cool the container is to put it inside a freezer or fridge.
Peter Sorensen
Thanks for the info Peter!
I've a suggestion for ya to keep the water cooler. You could go pick up some 1/4 inch (approx .64 cm) copper/vinyl tubing, a 1/4 inch saddle valve, a swamp cooler float valve, some 1/2 inch (approx 1.27 cm) inside diameter tubing, a 1/2 inch stop cock (valve), and a 1/2 inch connector. Hook the 1/4 inch saddle valve to a cold copper water line in your house, then run the 1/4 inch tubing to your computer area. Mount the float valve in your reservoir of water at about the level you want the water(the float is adjustable so placement doesn't have to be perfect). then place the 1/2 inch drain connector at the bottom of the reservoir, run the 1/2 inch tubing out a window, to a sink, or even a floor drain in the house, with the stop cock located near the reservoir for convenience. When it is all hooked up, screw in the saddle valve (self peircing type) to open up the water line, open your stop
cock to let a little water out, adjust the float to let a little water in and whammo, you're off to the races. The water will only run when you open the stop cock! Not sure if you use swamp coolers down under, but the float valve is similar to what is in the tank of your toilet (except much smaller) to regulate water flow. Hope this helps.
Brandon Park
Now that is a genuinely useful, original idea! Thanks Brandon!
Finally, here are a bunch of other water-cooling freaks out there. This first one is so like my own, and was posted to the web a day or so before mine, that the guy jokingly accused me of stealing his idea. :)
http://hardware.externet.hu/cooling/HM1/index.htm - (in hungarian, but good pics)
http://freddy-intertaiment.webjump.com/water.html - water-cooling a video card.
http://www.frostyfox.com - the master. we're not worthy.
http://www.accsdata.com/drffreeze/ - the original and best (and looniest)
Dugedug's rig - beer can for a reservoir, very cool.. but where does the heat go?!
www.benchtest.com's rig - homemade copper block!
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