anybody ever make a 'chimney' or 'heatstack' for their case?

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soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
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considering one for the two fans exhausting out the top. Right now the hot air gets caught a bit under my desk.
 
know of fence

know of fence

Senior member
May 28, 2009
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I'm fascinated by chimneys and I often thought that the only way to construct a viable passive cooled system is using a chimney. Basically use the effect of hot air rising to move air.
For a while there were efforts to use solar power this way. Heat up air in a giant greenhouse and accelerate the air in a high chimney to drive a turbine. In theory one could even produce a tiny bit of electricity using your system's exhaust heat, in a kind of mini "solar updraft tower."
A normal fire place chimney has to be 4.5 meters high, but mostly these requirements stem from safety concerns, rather than efficiency, so even strong wind cannot push the gases the other way. Even a 1 foot chimney already improves air flow in an old-school samovar.
The mathematics of (laminar) air flows is pretty much rocket science, though.
 
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sm625

sm625

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May 6, 2011
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I always wondered why PC cases werent designed to biomimetically emulate the termite mound, similar to the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe. That building basically cools itself without HVAC units.
 
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Idontcare

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
21,110
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soccerballtux said:
considering one for the two fans exhausting out the top. Right now the hot air gets caught a bit under my desk.
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I've owned numerous desktop cases that exhausted air our the top. I thought the whole point of airflow through the case was to turn the entire case into a "chimney".
 
monkeydelmagico

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
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soccerballtux said:
considering one for the two fans exhausting out the top. Right now the hot air gets caught a bit under my desk.
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So you are going to drill a chimney hole in your desk? Good plan. Some paper towel rolls and duct tape should get you started.

Paging BonzaiDuck.....
 
KingFatty

KingFatty

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2010
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Active fans negate the need for chimney effect that harnesses natural updraft of warm air.

But, are you thinking of some ducting to better direct the air away from your personal area? Heating up the under-desk area can make things, ah, uncomfortable, and you may need to get ballsy with your efforts to reduce heat/sweat.
 
Yuriman

Yuriman

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Jun 25, 2004
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Back when I had a Core2Quad, I ducted hot air out a window. Since getting my Ivy i5, I haven't seen much point. The temperature in my computer rooms dropped signficantly, to the point where leaving the computer on or off doesn't make much difference. I have a single 120mm fan spinning at around 800rpm (dead silent) venting air from the case, and internal temperatures never really get above ambient.
 
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soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
Idontcare said:
I've owned numerous desktop cases that exhausted air our the top. I thought the whole point of airflow through the case was to turn the entire case into a "chimney".
Click to expand...

this is more to funnel it up and past my desk, instead of letting it get caught under it.
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
monkeydelmagico said:
So you are going to drill a chimney hole in your desk? Good plan. Some paper towel rolls and duct tape should get you started.

Paging BonzaiDuck.....
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lol not quite, but yes he's the one I thought of when I made the post

Soulkeeper said:
Wouldn't they be called a "smokestack" on a bulldozer ?
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this is a piledriver, but after it's overclocked it's more like a chimneysweeper?

Yuriman said:
Back when I had a Core2Quad, I ducted hot air out a window. Since getting my Ivy i5, I haven't seen much point. The temperature in my computer rooms dropped signficantly, to the point where leaving the computer on or off doesn't make much difference. I have a single 120mm fan spinning at around 800rpm (dead silent) venting air from the case, and internal temperatures never really get above ambient.
Click to expand...

last night after posting this I was fantasizing about when I have my own house I will cut a hole in the ceiling above my PC and reroute the vent air intake to that hole. Then I started worrying about whether I'll get married to the sort of woman who I have to ask before I do anything like this, and then started worrying about whether she's going to walk on me like my mom did, and what the right thing to do in such a situation where I'm stuck with her will be. I was talking to a guy who was buying something from me on craigstlist and in passing he mentioned his 65 y/o wife who's been teaching kindergarden her whole life and as a result is stuck in a kindergarden world and doesn't know how to treat people normally and has difficulty in the real world.
 
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Soulkeeper

Soulkeeper

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Nov 23, 2001
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I remember stories/pictures of people that lived in northern europe, canada, alaska where they'd send ducts outside to the snow.
 
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soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
Soulkeeper said:
I remember stories/pictures of people that lived in northern europe, canada, alaska where they'd send ducts outside to the snow.
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I think it went the other way, a duct for cool air -in- to the PC.

here's what I've been functioning with until today. I am about to go build a chimney

UQtUTv9.jpg
 
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BSim500

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2013
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soccerballtux said:
that's not nearly as easy.
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Not nearly as easy as building a custom made "PC chimney" through a desk? If you don't want to swap your components for ones that chuck out much less heat, then have you tried reducing your CPU voltage / overclock?

soccerballtux said:
last night after posting this I was fantasizing about when I have my own house I will cut a hole in the ceiling above my PC and reroute the vent air intake to that hole. Then I started worrying about whether I'll get married to the sort of woman who I have to ask before I do anything like this, and then started worrying about whether she's going to walk on me like my mom did, and what the right thing to do in such a situation where I'm stuck with her will be. I was talking to a guy who was buying something from me on craigstlist and in passing he mentioned his 65 y/o wife who's been teaching kindergarden her whole life and as a result is stuck in a kindergarden world and doesn't know how to treat people normally and has difficulty in the real world.
Click to expand...
:eek: :confused: o_O ... On second thoughts, seriously, just buy an i5-4670S and leave your ceiling & future wife worries alone... :biggrin:
 
Yuriman

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
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Marry a woman who you can stand being around, and who can stand being around you.
 
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Idontcare

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
21,110
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soccerballtux said:
this is more to funnel it up and past my desk, instead of letting it get caught under it.
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You aren't looking for a chimney, you are looking for what every clothes dryer on the planet does to pipe heat away from said clothes dryer :D

Get a $5 flexible dryer tube from Home Depot and call it a day ;)
 
ClockHound

ClockHound

Golden Member
Nov 27, 2007
1,111
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soccerballtux said:
this ducting solution will help me get laid
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Oh...you didn't say it was personal emergency. Dang!

You need 2 minutes with a jigsaw. Cut a hole in the desk. 120mm-140mm - measure before or after cutting. Not during tho.

Mount a decent fan on the underside of the newly breathing desk vent - fan blowing up into the hole. A ball-bearing fan would be best - a GT or Vadar. Caution: the color choice will be crucial.

Get a pretty, but cheap flower vase. Preferably one larger than the diameter of the freshly cut hole in the desk. I know, more time-wasting measurements.

Cut the bottom out of the vase. This is why you selected a cheap plastic vase, but a good looking one. That is key.

Place the now bottomless vase over the desk 'vent' - secure using duct tape or gravity. Gravity is prolly the better aesthetic choice.

Place some low airflow restriction unnatural (or natural if you want to keep doing this every frikkin' day - also need an inner water container for the natural ones) flowers in the vase (did I mention the step about a grille over the fan? No matter.) What/where do you get low airflow restriction flowers?

That's a question for your local craft shop airflow expert. I know, there's no time for that. So, go with some thin stemmed mock tulips or other low drag petal shape. Arrange in a unique artistic layout that displays your sensitive artistic side.

Voila...in less than 15 minutes you've untrapped the hot, trapped under-desk air, created a functional vent stack that is a work of floral art. A visual testament that not only are you an innovative DIYer, but that you appreciate above all beauty in its many forms.

TIP: Do not let her touch or sniff the fake flowers. This could jeopardize the goal of the entire endeavour.

Cook her a gourmet meal. This is another key. Not good with the gourmet cooking. Watch some episodes of Hell's Kitchen - don't do what they do, just do what Gordon does - esp. with the sauces. Leave out the colorful language.

Voila! Mission accomplished.

:biggrin:
 
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