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Hi, I was talking to another tech about Tt's new peltier unit, and an interesting question came to me.
Regarding water cooling setups, is there another liquid that could be used in place of water to make the whole unit more efficient? I figure that if there was, then that would be used, not water. I suggested isopropyl alcohol, but he said it corrodes tubing and such.Any other ideas? Something realistic (no liquid nitrogen ideas here). I dont' have water cooling, but it would be interesting if there was any other fluids around that conduct heat better than water.
that's right everyone... your computer with looove alcohol once (s)he's introduced. but just make sure you use the right kind. you see, alcohol doesn't do dumb things like freeze. so what you could do is run the tubing through your freezer. that'd be sweet. if you do that, you must email me. have fun!
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Definately alcohol, or like InNeedOfH2O mentioned in rather technical terms ;), anitfreeze. Run it through a small refrigerator condensor/compressor (readily available from your local junkyard) and that can exhaust out of your window or whatever.
Good luck keepin' it cool.
-Just curious as to what you're running...
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The main purpose to use Glycol would be to run at subfreezing temperatures. Using Glycol would probably drop efficiency because of increased pump requirements due to increased viscosity. Alcohol does not have as high of a thermal conductivity value as water (k=btu*hr*sf*DegF*ft = .105 for Ethyl Alcohol at 68 deg F verses k = .343 for water at 32 deg F or k = .377 for water at 140 deg F.
The addition of nanoparticles of metalic particles such as copper oxide can increase heat transfer dramatically with the addition of just a small percentage per volume of water, as much as 15% increase for 1 volume % of copper oxide nanoparticles. This is still a relatively new idea and I don't know if it would be available for small scale or home use or what the drawbacks are. The idea is already in use in computers however in thermal compound such as Artic Silver, which uses nanoparticles of metal solids to improve heat transfer.
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Can a chip underheat? Lke get to cold. I'm afraid the liquid nitrogen or simal items might freeze the chip and make it very fragle to a poing were a slight movememt of the case would crack it. Could that happen?
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This is more theory than anything. If I had a liquid cooling setup and the cash to spare in case of burnt CPUs, I would test out other liquids.
Alcohol seems to be the dominant choice. On another cooling forum (ars-technica) one guy is using 15% isopropyl alcohol.What about some completely unique ideas? My physics and chemistry are rusty. What about something like soybean oil or another natural oil that won't readily clog tubing?
One more unusualy theory: formaldehyde. It keeps things cool doesn't it? Although the idea of having a computer smell like a funeral home would be kinda eerie. I would have to paint my case black and airbrush the Reaper on it.
So I guess all in all, I am wondering if there is a liquid that is more thermally conductive than water.
Thanks for the input so far.
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By the way hackman, I am currently running an Athlon TB 1Ghz (7.5x133) on an Asus A7V133 mobo. I plan on overclocking, but even with a copper based HSF (Startech brand) and Arctic Silver 3, my temps idle within the range of 42-44C. Under load it can get up to 50C. My case temps stay within the 28-30C range.
I am running out of options to economically cool my chip so I can overclock it. This thing is a real monster when it comes to heat.
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I looked into using this stuff a year ago and somewhat lost interest, but check it out.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/oil_gas/specialty_materials/node_2KJ8NGV19Gbe/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_G1F6DNZDBVge/gvel_X65PZNZ1SHgl/theme_us_oilgas_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html
I found out about this stuff while in the Navy. It's used to cool a mega 400hz converter.
Ask me if you want more info about it and where to get it. It's relatively cheap, and isn't conductive, so you can imerse anything in it. The major downside is the evaporation factor.
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I would like more info on it. Evaporation is a problem? So, if it was in an airtight setup, it wouldn't have anywhere to go, right? Would it burst the piping in that case? Or would it stay in liquid form?
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Why are you avoiding water in favor of a less conductive material such as alcohol or antifreeze? Yes, less conductive. Using either of these is a compromise to efficiency. They allow you to lower the temperature at which the water that is mixed with them will freeze, you only use the amount that you need for your temperature range expected.
Adding metal to the water can increase the efficiency. As I said, water has a coeffiecient "k" of .3, while metal like copper has a "k" of 224 approximately 750x higher.
Are you trying to avoid the electrically conductive problems possible when using water? Or are you trying to get more cooling? If you are trying to get more cooling, you should be looking at how to lower the temperature of the circulating water. This is the weak area, the heat is usually transfered from the water to air through a coil and air only has a conductive coeffiecient of .016 at 60 deg F. about 1/19 that of the water.
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Well, I guess I am looking to add some creative, off the wall PHATness to my possible setup. The PHAT factor is important, although I should consider a window kit before I worry about showing it all off, or perhaps vice versa.
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Phat phactor is important. How about evaporative cooling your condenser? Figure out some way to spray water on the condenser coil (the part on the outside that cools the water) this will allow the system to take advantage of wetbulb temperature. What this does is on a day with 90 degree air and relative humidity at around 50% the evaporation can lower the temperature on the coil to about 75 degrees. Sort of the way sweating cools the body. Not really necessary for a computer system, but hey, phat phactor would be pretty darn good if it works.
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Maybe a few modification to those gadgets hung around the neck while jogging the release the "cool mist" would be an intresting start. I to will be installing a cooling sys after I build my new desk..cant beat designing and building your own desk when wanting to take advantage of better cooling options. Thanks for input.
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