Does this exist?

JEN · Post by **JEN** » Wed May 28, 2003 9:20 am

Is there something which can cool the ambient air before it goes into the PC? For example, a small block of something really cold which will not affect overall ambient temperature but will dramatically reduce the temperature of the air as its being sucking into the case.

Something similar to dry ice, but not as dangerous, not as expensive, should never melt, should never finish, and should never degrade in anyway.

DanOnKeys · Post by **DanOnKeys** » Wed May 28, 2003 9:47 am

Oh, is that all you want

?

Well, you could make a duct from an air-conditioner unit (or vent) and aim it at your intake (even seal it?) -- or put your machine in front of the fridge and open the door -- or even buy a tiny freezer and set it in front of your machine (with the door open).

Um, that's all I got.

counterpt · Post by **counterpt** » Wed May 28, 2003 9:55 am

Anybody try putting a computer in a refrigerator?!
Cools and cuts noise!

Kostik · Post by **Kostik** » Wed May 28, 2003 9:55 am

I was thinking about the same thing yesterday. The problem is : you can't "produce" cold without producing heat somewhere else. You will have to use a device that takes the heat out of a place (cools this place) to transport it somewhere else. There's a name for such a device : a fridge

There are three ways a fridge can cool things : compression, absorption, and peltiers. Compression is noisy (most fridges use it), peltiers are expensive. Absorption is probably the best way, and it's totally silent.

But having been thinking about using parts from an absorption fridge to cool the air entering my computer for at least 30mn, I came to the conclusion that it was too bothersome to be worth the trouble

.

rpc180 · Post by **rpc180** » Wed May 28, 2003 11:39 am

Aren't the VaporChill's these these types of phase change systems? Watercooling is also a way that people get "colder" materials to cool off heatsinks.

Athlon Powers · Post by **Athlon Powers** » Wed May 28, 2003 11:42 am

rpc180 wrote:Aren't the VaporChill's these these types of phase change systems? Watercooling is also a way that people get "colder" materials to cool off heatsinks.

You got it. They are expensive and not exactly silent, around 30DB I think...

sorenbro · Post by **sorenbro** » Wed May 28, 2003 11:51 am

What about sticking a tube of some sort out your window (if u live some where cold) and suck in cold air that way. But it'll only work at night or in the winter

Kostik · Post by **Kostik** » Wed May 28, 2003 11:56 am

The vapochill uses a compressor, and therefore it must be noisy. Also, I think the vapochill is designed to cool a cpu, not cool the air below room temp before it enters the PC as Jen want's to do. Cooling the cpu to below room temps can be done with peltiers, which are quiet but require a watercooling that can be noisy.

Watercooling by itself can't cool anything to a temperature below that of the room.

I have yet to find an absorption based cooler in a computer. That's what's interesting about this idea

.

JEN · Post by **JEN** » Wed May 28, 2003 12:22 pm

Its way too hot here today. I am used to ambient temp @ 21C, but today, my room is @ 28C

The temp of my hard drive is normally 29C, but today its 36C, CPU 50C, and system is 42C

This is not good for the PC, the 7v fans are not enough today to cool the computer, so I have had to resort to switching the controller up to 12v

, and its noisy.

That was when I thought of getting the ice try out of the freezer and putting it under the PC inlets so they would cool the air before it entered the PC.

Can you not get some sort of cold metal block, which can be placed next to the inlet which could cool the air as it enters the PC ???

Does anyone know anything about dry ice?

i.e.

is it dangerous?
how long does it last
how much for a tiny block
why can I get it from

HadroLepton · Post by **HadroLepton** » Wed May 28, 2003 12:44 pm

i have the same problem, during winter my psu was almost silent but now as temps are rising my psu fan is turning max speed

when you cool the air below room temperature you must watch out for condensation water. i don't know where the condensation will occur but i'm pretty sure that it will somewhere. maybe on the outside of the casing? because the case will be cold but the air around the case will be hot (hotter than the air in the case at least).

Bat · Post by **Bat** » Wed May 28, 2003 2:10 pm

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, so you wouldn't want too much of it getting into the air, but it would take a lot to matter. Air you breathe out is usually a few per cent carbon dioxide. Don't put it in a sealed container: it's likely to burst, just as if you put water ice in a container in an environment at 180C.

It's at -78C. You can handle it with bare hands so long as you're careful and hold it lightly and not for too long, but it's better to wear gloves. It doesn't last long. A "tiny piece" would be useless: you would need at least half a kilogram just to try it out once. Generally it's sold in big blocks, or sacks of pellets: several kilograms for not many pounds/dollars/whatever.

I think you'd be better off using ordinary water ice.

DryFire · Post by **DryFire** » Wed May 28, 2003 3:05 pm

you could go peltier for your computer but that usually requires watercoolign or a very noisy hsf combo.

I was always thinkg about taking a heastink and attatching some copper pipes to it and stick it into a cooler fll of ice. convection would help cool the cpu.

P.S. don't ever put dry ice it a closed containter. It will make plastic like galss and even eplode. A guy in my chemistry class once needed to get 17 stiches after a full of dry ice exploled and shards cut his face.

powergyoza · Post by **powergyoza** » Wed May 28, 2003 5:31 pm

JEN wrote:The temp of my hard drive is normally 29C, but today its 36C, CPU 50C, and system is 42C

No need to despair, 36C and those other temps are perfectly safe!

Athlon Powers · Post by **Athlon Powers** » Wed May 28, 2003 6:27 pm

powergyoza wrote:
JEN wrote:The temp of my hard drive is normally 29C, but today its 36C, CPU 50C, and system is 42C
No need to despair, 36C and those other temps are perfectly safe!

Dont do any serious CDROM work, if you look closely CD lasers are supposed to be kept under 40c otherwise they can get so hot the can melt partially, not to mention the CD coming out almost scorching hot. I think the CPU and HDD temps are fine but you need more airflow in there for the system temp.

My two cents...

aphonos · Post by **aphonos** » Wed May 28, 2003 7:07 pm

Athlon Powers wrote:Dont do any serious CDROM work, if you look closely CD lasers are supposed to be kept under 40c otherwise they can get so hot the can melt partially, not to mention the CD coming out almost scorching hot. I think the CPU and HDD temps are fine but you need more airflow in there for the system temp.

Hmm, that's new to me. What are you referencing for these temps? My quick survey of drives shows operating temp specs up to 60°C. My DVD burner is rated to 55° operating temp. Is there a difference between the drive operating temp and the laser temp range?

I didn't look closely enough at JEN's posts to see what model CDRW she uses. Are you referencing the drive in her rig?

DigitalGriffin · Post by **DigitalGriffin** » Thu May 29, 2003 8:08 am

1. Having multiple fans PULL air work better than some pulling and some pushing. Don't worry, the case has plenty of leaks around it to let air come in.

2. You could build a fancy peltier block on the exterior of the case. You would put a perforated cool side (cooling radiator) on the inside of a tube that is fed to a intake fan. The top hot side would sit outside the duct and could be cooled enough by a quiet fan. Where I work do something similar when we cool chemical samples in a vial rack for testing. We can achieve 32F sample this way. There are a couple disadvantages to this 1) The immense heat generated by peltier hot side. 2) The large power supply necessary for the peltier.

Any machinist up to the task? It could be the next great cooling idea!

Fastman · Post by **Fastman** » Thu May 29, 2003 8:21 am

DigitalGriffin wrote: 2. You could build a fancy peltier block on the exterior of the case. You would put a perforated cool side (cooling radiator) on the inside of a tube that is fed to a intake fan. The top hot side would sit outside the duct and cool be cooled enough by a quiet fan.

Could you seal the case and use fan(s) to circulate the cold air inside rather than constantly trying to cool new air?

DigitalGriffin · Post by **DigitalGriffin** » Thu May 29, 2003 8:45 am

Fastman wrote: Could you seal the case and use fan(s) to circulate the cold air inside rather than constantly trying to cool new air?

Well you could, but it would make less sense. You bring in 22C outside air and cool it down 16C, or recool inside air of 32C and bring it down 20C (Increased efficiency on the 2nd due to Newtons Law of Cooling. (Final temps: 6C fresh air or 12C recycled air.) Either way the hot side of the peltier would still have to be on the outside of the enclosure (Tube vent or case)

Bat · Post by **Bat** » Thu May 29, 2003 12:40 pm

You wouldn't have to worry about condensation though. Just put a bit of drying agent inside the case before you seal it up.

scalar · Post by **scalar** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 12:28 pm

If you use a recycling airflow on a standard case, you'll probably want to go with external ducting, where there is a tube that directs air from the power supply/back fan output around to the front of the case. This way you have a straight-through airflow from front to back through the case.

Simply sealing up the case and blowing air around randomly is not advisable even with a cooling coil/plate in there. There will be pockets of dead air that may fry components. Using an external duct to wrap airflow from the back around to the front would help prevent dead spots in the case.

Generally, if the cooling plate/coil is not directly touching any motherboard or electronic components, the cooling plate/coil itself can be used to dehumidify the air.

Simply put a catchpan below the plate, and any moisture in the air flowing over the plate will condense on the cold plate/coil, and drip down into the catchpan. (This is in fact how a regular house dehumidifier works.)

If there is sufficient condensation, put a drain tube on the catchpan to drain the excess liquid out to a container outside the case. Voila, no moisture problem and you can make the air inside as cold as you want.

External condensation might be a problem on the surface of the case and around openings, though, so putting all this inside an insulated box is be a good idea. (Whoops, there goes the standard case.)

Condensation on the outside basically steals cooling capacity away from your cooler, so preventing condensation on the outside will help the system cool more efficiently. I'd suggest going so far as putting insulated doors over the CD-ROM and floppy openings, to prevent moisture condensation there as well.

-Scalar

Does this exist?

Does this exist?

Cooling interior temp

Re: Cooling interior temp

Re: Cooling interior temp

Recycling airflow / Dehumidification