Mineral oil instead of water

[paul49]

just wondering what if you setup water cooling blocks pump hoses and cooler but instead of water run mineral through if you do get leak np clean up and fix but with water bad news would the mineral transfer heat and work as good as water that i guess is the question

 

[rubix_1011]

I'm not a fan of using mineral oil in PC cooling. There are many rubber seals and o-rings as well as acrylic and silicone that could potentially break down due to the oil...not to mention seals and bearings in the pump that might prematurely wear out.

Paul49- Where from? Why the idea of mineral oil instead of just using water? Plain water is plenty safe- I've watercooled for over 9 years and only lost 1 video card due to my own negligence...it was replaced via EVGA warranty, though.

 

[paul49]

im us louisiana it was just a thought i saw where people were submerging whole system in mineral oil so was wondering why not just use watercool setup with mneral oil that all

 

[rubix_1011]

Most of those mineral oil submersion setups are fairly gimmicky...they work on some older hardware, but without good circulation, the oil traps heat in pockets around the components and can still overheat.

Think about it: if oils were a better coolant (vs. engine lubricant) why aren't cars oil cooled instead of water/coolant cooled? I'm not saying it isn't a possibility, but using water is the majority-accepted way. Let me look up some thermal properties of oil vs. water...

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know it's not the end-all source for 100% accurate data, but it is peer-reviewed and generally accepted to be very, very close to proven fact in most cases):

Thermal conductivity of:
[W/(m*k)]

Mineral oil 0.138
Water 0.6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity#Experimental_values

 

[paul49]

never checked to see the cooling properties always figured that reason a car uses water for cooling is it cheapest most handy readily avilable as oil motorcycles and vw dont use water at all earlier models the oil and air are their colant no water at all and look at a harley davidson no water there either but they do use oild coolers and fins for air cooling my cobra mustang uses an engine oil cooler with out it it would run hot but if water is the better coolant than mineral oil so be it i got answer was just wonder if mineral oil was close wouldnt it be better than having leak destroy componet versus mineral oil just clean off fix leak keep computing guess it not ass good as water so now i know thanks for the input i do plan on doing water build but will start off as air then swap over next year been doing air since old 386 stop home building when athalon came out that was last desktop went over to laptops but after missing desktop decided to build one again but water just gonna do air to get her up and running so would you recomend barbed or compression for connecting hose thanks

 

[rubix_1011]

Barbs or compression fittings? It's preference, really. Both work well...it depends on your choice.

There are reasons why we leak test and take our time when building a water loop...obviously that water and electronics don't work well together, but when you do it right, there shouldn't be cause for concern.

If you aren't going to do it well, don't do it at all.

 

[DSpider]

Oil heats up faster than water. So, no. You'd have to pump it faster and cool it down more (meaning a higher RPM for the fan, which translates to louder noise). It's a bad idea.

Motorcycles are different. Those fins, coupled with highway speeds, cools them down. But your PC case isn't travelling anywhere, is it? Some high-end air-coolers get the job equally well (if not better) than mainstream watercooling solutions, minus the short-circuit risk. So it may not be worth it if you're not a huge overclock zealot (I know I'm not).

Also, learn2punctuate.

 

[paul49]

didnt know i was in english class lol but thanks for info noise would not be problem for me as radiator would be outside (in another adjacent room) but i see your point . so as long as i check for leaks makes no difference barb or compression thanks

 

[rubix_1011]

Some high-end air-coolers get the job equally well (if not better) than mainstream watercooling solutions

If by watercooling solutions you mean LCS coolers like Corsair and Asetek, this would be correct. However, against an actual water loop, no...there isn't any comparison.

 

[jitpublisher]

Holy cow I cant even begin to imagine the mess you are going to have if you use oil. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

 

[rubix_1011]

There are a few articles online that show people using it in the past. Poor idea for almost everyone as it ultimately ruins PCB and you can never get it out...let alone the fact that its really more of an insulator than thermal conductor.