Im definetly going water cooled for my next rig. I got to thinking, why not use a smail 1-2 cuft fridge with say 10ft of 1in copper tubing coiled in it with an external 1in aquarium pump inside the fridge. Then run adapters to 1/4 or 1/2in flexi tubing up to the system and use all the regular water blocks. Has anyone attempted this or have any thoughts about it? I think it would definetly out perform all of the best water cooling kits and you can get a small fridge for like 70$ at wallmart.
anyone ever tried using a fridge?
- Thread starter tony4704
- Start date
dunno man, seems like an interesting case! Never tried it but try putting some LEDs on that, be the coolest fridge ever!
People have tried it, and it works well with the normal parts- big rad with a big fan. What you're doing looks better though. Tell us when you finish, I might try it.
lol dme im not talking about making a fridge case, just the piping and pump would be in there. There would be fittings to 1/4 or 1/2in that would go up to a normal pc case. Though a fridge with led would be funny as hell. I want to go with a koolance rig but it just sounds like I would get better performance at a way cheaper price with a fridge as my radiator! It may be kind of loud though and im trying to go as silent as possible.
This has been done many times. I almost tried it, but decided not to for a few reasons. Mainly, minifridges are designed to cool things down and then keep them cool. Not constantly cool something down. Word around the office is it would have burnt out quite fast having to always cool the water. Also, I got a free water bubbler (drinking fountain) from a friend. I used that instead. Worked fine, but wasn't any quieter than my case (due to the refrigerant fan always kicking on, plus I needed a fan blowing on the block to prevent condensation). Also, a fridge unit will cost a lot more due to electricity costs. Finally, with refrigerated water, you have to worry about condensation. It's what killed my rig. 
Google refrigerated water cooling and you should find a few results.
Google refrigerated water cooling and you should find a few results.
Elfear
Diamond Member
- May 30, 2004
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Tu13erhead makes some good points. Condensation would have to be taken care of. Most people just insulate their motherboards and use caution. I think if you set it up like you want it to than a mini-fridge MIGHT be enough to cool a few coils of copper tubing consistently. The water that goes through my loop doesn't get very warm at all so I don't think the fridge would have to leech off a ton of heat. If you had a radiator before the fridge with a some decent fans on it I think the fridge might be adequate to cool things down another 10-15C maybe.
My brother and I were thinking about doing this too but we wanted to put all the computer components inside instead of just some coils. A mini-fridge would have been very inadequate for that setup.
My brother and I were thinking about doing this too but we wanted to put all the computer components inside instead of just some coils. A mini-fridge would have been very inadequate for that setup.
I think that it would be ok in gaming, but it would be real nice if you could attatch one of those switches they have for WCing to the fridge that the fridge would only be on if the PC was on. I mean those switches that let the pump run for maybe 15 sec. before the PC comes on.
The problem isn't that the water running through is hot, but that it's constantly needing to be cool. Fridges are designed to keep something cool that is cool, not to cool off something. Having to constantly be running would kill the fridge relatively quickly. Plus, the fan would be on a lot, meaning you'd be getting little to no noise reduction.
Elfear
Diamond Member
- May 30, 2004
- 7,163
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Originally posted by: Tu13erhead
The problem isn't that the water running through is hot, but that it's constantly needing to be cool. Fridges are designed to keep something cool that is cool, not to cool off something. Having to constantly be running would kill the fridge relatively quickly. Plus, the fan would be on a lot, meaning you'd be getting little to no noise reduction.
That sounds right actually. Although if the OP is considering a fridge to help with temps than I assume he's looking for the max oc and isn't too worried about noise.
There's got to be an article online about someone who's tried this. It would be interesting to see how well a mini-fridge would perform.
I can see it helping with temperatures of the water, provided the surface area of the water tubing inside the fridge was large enough. Too small and the ebenfits are.. Well, no point if it's too small
Might be better getting a mid-size fridge, with a freezer, and moddin it through that beasty. Use something similar to anti-freeze in your coolant mix, and it shouldn't freeze.
If you do it, be sure to post some pictures and temperatures, looks like it might be a fun mod to try when I have some spare cash
Might be better getting a mid-size fridge, with a freezer, and moddin it through that beasty. Use something similar to anti-freeze in your coolant mix, and it shouldn't freeze.
If you do it, be sure to post some pictures and temperatures, looks like it might be a fun mod to try when I have some spare cash
Most people who want extre,e would just get a real vapor-phase unit.
Maybe suspend the fan/radiator inside the fridge and have the pump near the computer to keep pressure high where it needs to be.
Maybe suspend the fan/radiator inside the fridge and have the pump near the computer to keep pressure high where it needs to be.
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