PC Cooling rig idea

[Seandutoit]

This one might sound like another bizarre fridge cooling idea but let me explain first. First plans first was planning on using copper piping in my rig to the main components running water through the pipes. For that extra little bit more cooling. The plan was to connect a mini freezer to the pipes outlet and thus freeze the liquids inside the pipes. The fridge then becomes a radiator. My question is will this be stable in terms of cooling and how long can I keep it on before reaching unsafe figures in temperatures. My goal is to reach in the 30 degree celcius mark and 50 under load. Please ask any other further questions for more details so i can explain further

 

[mudpuppet]

I can't comment on the custom bit, but if you're wanting those temps why not grab a closed loop system? or you're saying your goal is to design you're own unique cooling system?

 

[ThatVietGuy]

Freezing leads to condensation. Do you really want water in your system that's NOT inside the tubing?

And you can reach those temps with a normal custom water cooling loop.

 

[Seandutoit]

thing is i want it unique and the water stays in the pipe and the freezer sits externally

 

[JaxAxRho]

If you wanted something unique, I would just make a custom closed loop system. When you start lowering the temperature of the liquid below ambient, you start to have condensation on the piping unless you have some way to completely dehumidify the air going into your computer. Or if you were able to somehow insulate every little bit of the system. Foam could possibly work, but you'd have to make sure that the pipes were completely sealed off from the environment. Also the foam would probably look tacky. Either way that sounds like a very implausible idea. You could just wrap all the components with paper towels and change them every couple of hours, but that would be a HUGE environmental waste just for a daily use computer system.

 

[mudpuppet]

The water would stay in the pipes, yes, but any moist air flowing through the case would condense on the frozen pipes. That would end up forming water drops which would (murphys law) eventually get large enough to drop off and on to components. Again with the temps you're looking for a closed loop system would be a lot easier, less time consuming, and properly cheaper in the long run as custom cooling isn't cheap. If you want it totally unique, as in something that hasn't been done before, or at least something that isn't done exactly in the way you're doing it, think of a crazy theme to your build and see what you can come up with that way. You could always use copper tubing for a custom build, but trying to freeze it isn't going to be the best thing to try. I would imagine trying to run a freezer/fridge would be a lot on your power bill as well (in comparison).

 

[Seandutoit]

I was looking at an alternative to fans because they are noisy. I was looking at fabricating my own mini fridge/pump and covering the pipes with an absorbent cloth or something similar that is cheap.

 

[mudpuppet]

Covering the pipes with cloth won't really help either. You may not have condensation directly on the pipe at that point, but the cloth will still be cold and warm moist air can still condense, leaving you with damp cloth sitting in the case. This isn't to say it could never be done, but from the way you've explained it thus far I don't see it working well enough.

If you are looking for a super quiet build, there are lots of options out there. Hell there are small groups out there dedicated to pushing what they can do while making as little noise as possible. I'll point you to my build in my sig just as an example. I'm not going to say that you don't hear a damn thing with your ear against the fan, but I have it sitting about 2 feet away from me and can't hear a thing from it. The fans are super quiet and the case has noise dampening foam to help as well. I have rubber mounts in the rear fan and the others (radiator included) are all hard mounts into rubber padded edges/corners. My goal wasn't to make a super silent machine, but the previous PCs I had had LOUD GPUs or CPU fans as AMD always ran so hot.

I'm not trying to stomp out your creativity by any means, but I don't think using a fridge/frezer is the greatest approach.

 

[Seandutoit]

Well thank you i am but a gentle soul haha. In any case i'm open to suggestions and looking for the cheapest possible custom layout, and got a quote on copper piping yesterday. The price was well worth in my limited budget and I will be drawing up plans soon to put this all into place before i know this all will be viable.

 

[jasobnd]

Instead of using copper pipe why not use hep which is a high quality plastic equivalent used in heating systems.

I can't guarantee but would most likely reduce the risk of condensation.

Silica gel packets will reduce moisture content inside the case?

That or rice I think does the same.

I would say if your not looking for ridiculous low temps running your custom loop through a large double panel uncoated copper radiator would expel any heat in the water very fast due to the sheer size.

No facts to back this up of course.

 

[Seandutoit]

Oh and another thing I took a look at your rig. It is an awesome looking build but i want to do the same thing or similar at a lower cost

 

[Seandutoit]

Instead of using copper pipe why not use hep which is a high quality plastic equivalent used in heating systems.

I can't guarantee but would most likely reduce the risk of condensation.

Silica gel packets will reduce moisture content inside the case?

That or rice I think does the same.

I would say if your not looking for ridiculous low temps running your custom loop through a large double panel uncoated copper radiator would expel any heat in the water very fast due to the sheer size.

No facts to back this up of course.

Well the rice absorbs moisture so that part is correct and have not got any quotes on silica gel yet but great idea. I think totally plausible as long as i cordon off my fans from rice/silica gel. I really appreciate your contribution.

 

[Seandutoit]

So the rough idea at the moment will be copper piping with water running to the important internals like the cpu and gpu, and then numerous 120mm fans(about 4 or so) running at low rpm and silica gel/rice to absorb any moisture as well as piping or tubing to maybe direct airflow in a tiny case

 

[jasobnd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z7PgqBJh9k

Perhaps a good solution to use a standalone system that uses a car radiator. If it can cool the engine of a car then it can cool a PC.

I would completely advise against the use of copper pipes for two reasons.

1. condensation which would require you to deploy a dehumidifier which will increase costs and/or insulate the pipes which would also increase costs.

2. copper conducts heat which we all know! what you want is for the piping to contain the heat as much as possible until it reaches the external radiator. otherwise under load the copper pipe leading from the components in the system will be hot and actually give off heat inside the system (in theory). the high humidity and higher temps from the exit pipe could cause even more condensation on the intake pipe.

a side note is that proper HEP2O piping is very flexible has an easy to connect push fit system and is used for pressurized heating systems. Doesnt cost anymore than copper pipe.