Wild Ideal on cooling!!: What about using a wine cooler

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hcforde

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Feb 9, 2006
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I just came from fry's and while there I saw wine coolers of various sizes. When looking at the instructions that came with them some are digitally regulated. They come in all different sizes and shapes, and are meant to keep the internay contents up to 30-40 degrees lower than ambient.The one I was interested in experimenting with was made by Avanti at avantiproducts.com Model number EWC12.

Internally it is 12.75D*7W*20H inches It has a glass front and locks. Maybe this could be a whole new genre of computer cases.

I am considering buying one in the near future when I have some free time and experimenting. IN the mean time I am going to call the company and see what obstacles I would face other than voiding the warranty.
 
this would definately not work for one reason. these coolers do not provide enough cooling power. they are designed to keep wine cool. wine does not generate heat.

they are only designed to negate the heat that would get in through the insulation to keep the inside cool. this is not enough to keep your computer cool.

a fridge or a freezer might have a chance, but your computer consumes enough electricity as it. this is generally just a bad idea.

you would be better off just investing in a watercooling system, it will work much better and probably end up cheaper.
 
When you call the company, ask them how many watts of energy the cooler can remove from it's contents in a given period of time.

You will probably find it isn't enough to be effective at cooling a PC, chilling your water in a water loop a few degrees? Maybe. If the funds are sufficient, give it a shot! Report back.
 
Actually the Prescott Coffee Man 5000 never left the design room. Apparently it boiled the coffee on contact, or it shattered the glass of the pot.
 
Coffee maker, psh, I need something for BBQ... maybe I get a 4 socket mobo, and then put a grill on top... mmmm BBQ... wonder if fat + electronics mix...

One more thing about chilling to sub-ambient temps... condensation, water and electronics don't mix so you'd have to spend a ton of money and effort to combat that problem. Good try, but no dice.
 
One more thing about chilling to sub-ambient temps... condensation, water and electronics don't mix so you'd have to spend a ton of money and effort to combat that problem. Good try, but no dice.
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I was thinking this as well when I began reading this thread. It may still be plausible since the cooling unit of the wine cooler is probably pretty weak and would not reach 30-40F. Maybe 60F at best? Which at this temperature would not produce condensation.

But, without trying it for real, there is no way we can determine what the actual inside temperature would be. Depends on -processor -how many drives you'll have etc etc etc.

The other problem is the fact that the compressor in the wine cooler, like many fridges, are not designed to be operating 24/7. The temperature control on your wine cooler would constantly try and achieve at least 40F inside - while I believe this is unachievable with a motherboard cpu etc all running inside - it would burn out the motor fairly quickly I would imagine.

And finally, I'm curiously how you plan on using optical drivers (CD-ROM etc) in this potential rig. You would need to keep a pretty tight seal for the wine cooler to effectively cool - that is if you surpassed all the prior obstables.
 
You'd have to see if the cooler would even work at an elevated temperature. The refrigirant picked as well as the component sizing in a fridge are picked because of the thermodynamic properties at the temperature at which the system will run. Since the refrigiration system is designed for a few degrees above 0, having a steady-state heat generation system inside may not allow as much heat as you think to be rejected to the room from the computer.

Jo
 
nice idea for a mod, if you can overcome the heat of the computer... hmm a wine chiller computer. I'll put that right next to my Prescott coffee maker.
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I've got a slightly different idea: put the wine cooler where the computer case used to be. Cool wine can be appreciated sometimes. Put the computer case outside where it is presently snowing. A dog house or something should keep the snow off the case. Since the outside temp is somewhere below freezing, the Zalman should blow enough cold air across the cpu to keep it frosty cold. If enough snow falls, you could make a snowman by the case to simulate a person working beside the cold computer case. Meanwhile, you can sit in the house, nice and warm, enjoying that wine cooler while palying a game.
 
nice idea for a mod, if you can overcome the heat of the computer... hmm a wine chiller computer. I'll put that right next to my Prescott coffee maker.
Click to expand...

I've got a slightly different idea: put the wine cooler where the computer case used to be. Cool wine can be appreciated sometimes. Put the computer case outside where it is presently snowing. A dog house or something should keep the snow off the case. Since the outside temp is somewhere below freezing, the Zalman should blow enough cold air across the cpu to keep it frosty cold. If enough snow falls, you could make a snowman by the case to simulate a person working beside the cold computer case. Meanwhile, you can sit in the house, nice and warm, enjoying that wine cooler while palying a game.

Lol, this responce had me laughin my a$$ off. I agree with the people above. Sounds like more trouble than its worth.
 
while i was trying to find an image i had seen a while back where someone used duct tape, 12pack soda boxes, and an air conditionery. They created a tunnel to his computer case.

But the wonders of the internet pointed me to this ->
http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/waffer_aircon/index.shtml

What happened to the good old days were I would take the side off my case and prop a box fan up next to it.
 
How about something like this?

closeview.jpg


I wonder what the thermals on the foam would be?
 
From the article about the foamy computer.

It's heat resistant up to 100°C and more or less in-flammable (ie. fireproof). It's also waterproof, non conductive and -and that's really important- it's light.

I don't buy all that though. I'm trying to look the stuff up to find out.
 
Wow! I'd be sold if it doubled as a coffee cup holder. 😀 My desk is cluttered with PC hardware and assorted fasteners. It would be nice if it gathered the disapated heat to keep my coffee steaming hot.

Here's an idea, how about using one of the WineCoolers to cool a single component like say: The hard Drives. (Probably still insufficient) but more plausible than the whole PC.
 
There are no small fridges that could withstand extracting 400-500W of heat continuously. As previously mentioned, fridges are designed to "keep things cool".... those compressors aren't meant to run continuously.

Here's a quick test you can try. Find a big powerful fridge, and a small "Black and Decker" 110V heater. Most heaters are 1000-15000W, but at their "low" setting they are usually around 500W

But that heater (at low setting) in the fridge, let it run and see what happens. The fridge will not be able to keep up.

A more interesting alternative would be to use an air conditioner compressor. Coupled with the watercooler for the PC, this could be a double-cycle heat exchanger. Put the PC radiator next to the AC cold coils and using fans pull the cold air through the PC radiator.

Also, as mentioned previously, if the PC's liquid coolant is sub-ambient you will risk condensation. the twin-cycle heat exchanger should have controls to prevent the liquid coolant to go sub-ambient towards the PC
 
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