Dry ice as a case cooling method..

Apr 9, 2003
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Would it be dangerous to stick a small box of dry ice on some neopreme on the bottom of the case and have it cool down the case mass?
 
Apr 9, 2003
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Originally posted by: Vonkhan
dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood !!! :confused:

dry ice is cold, but doesnt melt into water, so no water damage, i dont see the problem, but, i dont know much about computors
 

sodcha0s

Golden Member
Jan 7, 2001
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The problem is that wherever you put the dry ice, you will get condensation. If, somehow, it works really well in cooling the case, you MAY see condensation forming on components, but I kind of doubt that.
 
Apr 9, 2003
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what if i put it in a box covered in neoprene or some kind of sponge deal, i was thinking of putting it next to my pci slots, but against the side of the case, seeing as i have no pci cards, there would be plenty of room for the coolness to spread, or, tubes connecting to the top of this box, and have them threwout the pc, like those heatcore things, and a little 40mm fan pushing cold air into em?
 

SolrFlare24

Member
Feb 13, 2002
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Again, with temperatures that low you stand a good chance of developing condensation inside your case as the case temps really drop. Its not so much condensation leaking from the container, its the general mega drop in temps on your case that may result in condenstation forming. If you live in a relatively dry area however, you may not run into any issues.
 
Mar 11, 2003
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Yeah - short of a university chemistry department or an industrial chemical mfr, where the fruck does one acquire dry ice every single day?

Inquiring minds...
 

EeyoreX

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2002
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Moreover, I'd think that would end up being a constant expense to coo; your PC. And a higher one than the electric bill... I can't imagine paying that much for this (at least in my experience, it's costly to buy dry ice) Of course, if you have lots of cash to spare, I have PayPal and do accept "donations"... ;)

\Dan
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
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Originally posted by: AllucardCasull
Would it be dangerous to stick a small box of dry ice on some neopreme on the bottom of the case and have it cool down the case mass?

Dangerous - possibly. The condensation problem has been well covered, and heavily insulating the dry ice from the environment would sort of defeat the purpose of putting it in there in the first place.
Practical - not at all. The stuff would sublimate daily, so you would need a lot of dry ice. And like NewbieCanadian said, dry ice isn't cheap. You might do better with something like Vapochill's PC coolers, or something similar - a mini air-conditioner for the computer.
 

Wurrmm

Senior member
Feb 18, 2003
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A system could be devised around the CPU mount area that uses thermal grease to prevent condensation damage and vent off gas. It would have to be a cell type design since the cooling source is solid. I could probably rig something together in my small machine shop in my garage. However, like others have said, it would be expensive and not economical. It would be good for quick OC tests and stuff, but I think even a liquid nitrogen kit would be cheaper. If you want a crazy cooling system, go vapochill.
 
Apr 9, 2003
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The big ice cream company in town, Greaters, sells huge bags of dry ice for like 5$, thats where i would have gotten it, oh well, thanks for the input, but i shal take your advice and not do it
 

gururu

Platinum Member
Jul 16, 2002
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that's pretty cheap for dry ice. I'd be tempted to try something out too. What you can do is put the computer and dry ice in a closed environment with a few openings. Put desiccators at the openings to serve as water filters. That will keep the inside of the box dry. I wouldn't think its that hard. You can use Calcium carbonate (chips, not powder) as a desiccator. Just put it into some poreous plastic bags and stuff it into the opening.

The box'll be full of cold CO2, and I don't know if the power supply or other stuff will be affected. Also CO2 is heavy and it might make your fans work a little harder.