Insulation (Condensation Proofing)

[Island6]

So I plan on doing a custom dual Peltier cooling system where I put a copper plate on the CPU then add a Peltier unit then put another copper plate on that unit then put another Peltier unit on that plate then put another copper plate on that unit finally putting a water block over that and water cooling it. If that sounds complicated, here's a somewhat easier representation of the order of things starting from the cpu:

CPU|Copper Plate|Peltier1|Copper Plate|Peltier2|Water Block.

But the problem here is condensation. I've watched a lot of videos on Youtube to get an idea of how much condensation one unit would produce and it's quite a significant amount; though nothing like LN2. Turns out that no one has ever tried this dual Peltier Water cooling solution before and I'll be the first to do so (yay). So here's the deal. I don't want to use any of that ugly looking resin or whatever it is and apply it with a brush on my motherboard. Because lets face it, that stuff is ugly. What I did manage to find online was liquid electrical tape. Then I found something even better than that; liquid electrical tape spray. So I was wondering if I can use the spray one instead. The problem is, I don't know what specific areas I should spray (knowing me I'd probably spray the whole thing for the lulz) But I want to spray the smallest amount of area on the board as possible while still rendering it safe from condensation. I would also like to use neoprene as it looks much nicer and it in some cases easier to manipulate. So if anyone can help me with this, that would be great. Also any tips on insulating the GPU without making it look ugly. Thanks!

 

[schmuckley]

Anything more then a heat sink/fan or a closed water cooler will begin to get expensive. A custom water loop is about as cheap as you can get for cooling. There are water chillers and phase change units but the price tag is high.
Koolance just introduced a water cooler that uses sub-ambient temps to cool the liquid and is sort of like an air conditioner and will use the refrigerant to cool the liquid. Condensation would be a concern if the humidity got too high.

http://koolance.com/exc-800-portable-800W-recirculating-chiller

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_373&products_id=32957

Those 2 units would be a waste of money. It's funny because they're so overpriced because they're crafted for PC use but you can build something that takes you down to -30°C for literally a fraction of the price. I could buy that, but it's like $1,000 down the drain that I can spend on something else like another GPU. So yeah, I'll plan out a custom chiller. Would you guys recommend insulating my tubing with neoprene or something to prevent condensation?

I would insulate the tubing..and around the socket.
I'd also recommend keeping the board flat;Like on a test bench
or something.
Maybe even the back, too.
Me..I don't run cold water all the time;so I just wrap a wife-beater around
the lines when i do 😀
I think 4Ryan6 has TEC chillers in his res.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/275185-29-exploring-ambient-water-cooling

 

[4Ryan6]

Nice setup man; haha I'll be fooling around with some Titans when I have free time. Anyways, I'm looking at a clock of 4.7ghz the least with the goal being around 4.8-4.9. Possibly 5 because I've seen some videos and read some stuff that some people went as high as 4.7ghz just on air cooling (Pretty hefty heat sinks though). Based on the Peltier unit, 4.8 - 4.9 sounds nice. Though I will try to hit 5.

Seeing as how you've already changed your mind a couple of times and hopefully you're still researching here's a link to some good education to what a peltier/TEC can and cannot do, it's some of the best information out there.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?38367-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-TECs

The link below is to my TEC chilled water cooling which has been in operation now for over 8 months, so it is a solid, reliable, below ambient cooling solution.

Since 4.7ghz has been accomplished on the same CPU you're running using high end air cooling, a high quality water cooling setup, (meaning enough radiator cooling area), will yield better results than air, but still at the mercy of ambient room temperature.

My TEC cooling setup takes ambient out of the picture altogether and will give you much better than traditional radiator cooling, of course how low you allow the temperatures to drop, determines whether condensation will be a problem or not, as this cooling can and will take you down to condensation territory.

In below ambient territory usually around 13c below ambient room temperature without condensation worries at all, condensation concerns is where this thread started.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/282844-29-peltier-water-cooling

 

[schmuckley]

275w for TEC
I get 6-11c sub-ambient with no TEC and a 45w pump
My cooler is something like this:http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/557313-rays-bong-build-how-56k-warning.html
I use a 48-qt cooler for res.

 

[Buzz247]

275w for TEC
I get 6-11c sub-ambient with no TEC and a 45w pump
My cooler is something like this:http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/557313-rays-bong-build-how-56k-warning.html
I use a 48-qt cooler for res.

What he doesn't reveal - yet again - is a) he uses ice in his cooler to do it so it has limited use and b) the dangers of this setup such as he puts bleach in which mists into the air, increased humidity in the room/home which runs the risk of fugal and/or bacterial farming etc etc etc. Schmuck, we've warned you about full disclosure on this.... I can't tell you how happy I am you have chosen the name you have

 

[4Ryan6]

275w for TEC
I get 6-11c sub-ambient with no TEC and a 45w pump
My cooler is something like this:http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/557313-rays-bong-build-how-56k-warning.html
I use a 48-qt cooler for res.

My setup draws 200w for one energized TEC assembly and 400w when the 2nd TEC assembly is energized, that's actual tested wall power load.

One energized TEC pulls a constant 200w and is always producing a water temperature 7.5c below ambient room temperature without my office AC running.

I only run my computer when I use it, so we're not talking a constant 24/7 yearly electrical load and those wattage usage loads are totally acceptable to me, but do need to be disclosed to anyone that even would consider the cooling I'm running.

When I was using ice to chill the water I had a 54qt Coleman cooler which occupied a lot of space, and a lot of my time changing out the ice, using 2 freezers freezing the ice.

Going to the TEC cooling dropped my monthly electrical bill by a full $50.00 a month, so it is totally gravy for me!

Even though the cooler using ice was very effective, it brought constant problems from opening and closing the cooler to change out the ice, dust in the air got on the ice just carrying them from the freezers to the cooler, requiring cleaning the cooler regularly, and having to run inline filters to trap the contaminants from entering my water block.

My TEC cooling is closed off to outside air contamination no longer requiring sometimes daily skimming of the surface of the water inside the cooler or filtering the pumped water for contamination.

So "Roll that beautiful bean footage", and tell us the pros and cons of your cooling setup?

 

[4Ryan6]

@ inzone

Wicked Avatar!

 

[Island6]

Nice setup man; haha I'll be fooling around with some Titans when I have free time. Anyways, I'm looking at a clock of 4.7ghz the least with the goal being around 4.8-4.9. Possibly 5 because I've seen some videos and read some stuff that some people went as high as 4.7ghz just on air cooling (Pretty hefty heat sinks though). Based on the Peltier unit, 4.8 - 4.9 sounds nice. Though I will try to hit 5.

Seeing as how you've already changed your mind a couple of times and hopefully you're still researching here's a link to some good education to what a peltier/TEC can and cannot do, it's some of the best information out there.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?38367-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-TECs

The link below is to my TEC chilled water cooling which has been in operation now for over 8 months, so it is a solid, reliable, below ambient cooling solution.

Since 4.7ghz has been accomplished on the same CPU you're running using high end air cooling, a high quality water cooling setup, (meaning enough radiator cooling area), will yield better results than air, but still at the mercy of ambient room temperature.

My TEC cooling setup takes ambient out of the picture altogether and will give you much better than traditional radiator cooling, of course how low you allow the temperatures to drop, determines whether condensation will be a problem or not, as this cooling can and will take you down to condensation territory.

In below ambient territory usually around 13c below ambient room temperature without condensation worries at all, condensation concerns is where this thread started.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/282844-29-peltier-water-cooling

Omg Ryan. Your setup is like exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing that link. What're your temperatures at idle and at full load? Also, my biggest question of all, how did you insulate your motherboard???

 

[Buzz247]

*facepalm* @island... did I not suggest looking at that thread on the 2nd response post? Boot to the head foru! Lol

 

[inzone]

@ inzone

Wicked Avatar!

@4Ryan6 , thanks but the credit goes to Rezasam1 and if you want to visit his thread you can check out his amazing wall papers and avatars. He also responds to requests but you have to be very specific, English is not his native language. He does this stuff for a hobby.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/1647-54-tomshardware-wallpaper/page-5#11176835

 

[4Ryan6]

Omg Ryan. Your setup is like exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing that link. What're your temperatures at idle and at full load? Also, my biggest question of all, how did you insulate your motherboard???

If you actually read my thread I linked, just below the pictures of the first page you'll see, 2700K @ 4500mhz Win7 64bit, Intel Burn Test, which shows the Idle and load, just click the link.

My motherboard is not insulated because I run below ambient but above the condensation forming temperatures, that's thoroughly explained in the thread.

Many think any temperature below ambient produces condensation, but that's not true.

 

[4Ryan6]

@ inzone

Wicked Avatar!

@4Ryan6 , thanks but the credit goes to Rezasam1 and if you want to visit his thread you can check out his amazing wall papers and avatars. He also responds to requests but you have to be very specific, English is not his native language. He does this stuff for a hobby.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/1647-54-tomshardware-wallpaper/page-5#11176835

Thanks!