Fridge cooling

[Emultra]

I'm thinking about modifying a small refrigerator to house a chassi, with holes for air intake/exhaust and cables, sometime in the future.

What do you think? Would be pretty cool, yes? So to speak.

You know, if the air used for cooling is 15C it will be nice. I know it's somewhat of a cracy idea, but couldn't it work?

 

[Gamingphreek]

Condensation prevents that from working.

 

[Emultra]

Crap...isn't there some way of solving that? What about putting a bunch of those mist absorbers in there?

Might be uneconomical, I know, but it would just be so cool...

 

[imported_Kensai]

I don't think so. You can get a water-cooling kit and stick the radiator in the fridge though.

 

[Emultra]

Well, one way or the other, I'm using a fridge or whatever machine is in it that makes it go cool inside, to cool my computer. Sometime.

That last thing might be good...

 

[jaedaliu]

there used to be a website where a guy built a styrofoam case for his computer, and sealed everything but the CD drive inside, and had some gel that absorbed the extra moisture. He had to replace the gel every 6 months or so. It should definitely be doable.

 

[Emultra]

And he placed the whole thing in a refrigerator? Nice.

Either that or putting a watercooler pump in the fridge actually seems sort of plausible.

 

[Loomen]

If you go HERE You can read about a guy using refrigeration and water cooling. THIS is a good link also for a guy using a fridge for cooling.

Good luck!

 

[Emultra]

That looks like good stuff.

 

[cavemanmoron]

why not run a hose to an A/C vent,that will cool the case,
like dryer vent hose?
Or put the tower in the cellar,where its cooler??

 

[Emultra]

Good ideas, but there are 2 problems:

1. There are no air-conditioning units in Swedish homes.

2. There are no cellars in appartment buildings.

The second one is understandable, but the first one is stupid. It really isn't very cold here. In the summer it can reach 30 degrees Celsius, and you bet that's what its's going to be inside as well. And the coldest temp I've seen now this winter is maybe -12 tops. More like -2 to +1 most of the time.

And the gigantic windows aren't exactly helping...it's basically like having the radiators on full heat in the summer, all the while you're already sweating your @ss off. Last couple of summers, I've have had to use water in a spraybottle and icecubes (really, it's true) to be able to sleep at all, when the room temp was 30 degrees with high humidity at 02.00 a.m.

Well, if I can move to the US, maybe it'll get better.

 

[Cha0s]

haha, just put it outside in winter

 

[phisrow]

One thing to consider is that your average el-cheapo minifridge is not exactly designed to exhaust 200-350 watts continuously. Most refrigerators only have to come on from time to time to deal with leakage from the outside, and occasionally to deal with someone putting a pot of hot soup or something in there. Obviously high end gear can manage it easily enough(e.g. those mildly nutty vapochill setups) but your basic dorm style minifridge is more likely to bake your computer than to cool it. Even if the lousy little compressor motor doesn't burn out at some inconvenient time, just look at the radiator on the back. For a purely convection cooled unit, it isn't all that big. You might, theoretically, be able to knock something workable together(fan cool the rear radiator, monitor pump health, start with a good fridge to begin with, etc.) but you are easily getting up into the cost range of watercooling, or even proper vapochill, depending on the quality of the fridge you start with.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Get water cooling and put the radiator and a fairly large resovior in the fridge(or maybe even the freezer?)

 

[Emultra]

The freezer might be a bit extreme, but the fridge sure.

phisrow: yeah, that's what I was afraid of. How do you think a fridge would fare from putting the water pump of a water cooling system (if/when I get one) in there?

 

[Idleuser]

if you put the reservoir int he freezer your temps for the delta will dip below ambient and you must know how much due point - the temperture at which saturation occurs.. also must factor in that as well. unless you get a dehumidifer... but it will bring your equipment will over the 400 mark in that case you might as well phase change... anyways itll be fine if you put the reservoir inside the fridge control it at let say 40°F which is about 4°C and @ night around here the duepoint never gets above 55°F and averages around 40 so a safe temp range from me would be to have the water be above 10°F and ofcourse below ambient which is about 22-25°C which equals to about 70°F for the h2o. againt these are my calculations that i'm doing right now before I do anything stupid since I dont want to deal with condensation which can lead to many problems.

 

[phisrow]

Just using water to transfer the heat into the refrigerator, rather than putting the computer in there, won't solve the problem(same number of watts being exhausted). However, you could set up a two stage system if you are feeling enthusiastic. Something like the following: Coolant is pumped through the waterblock(s), picks up heat, moves to a fan cooled radiator, drops back to just a few degrees above ambient, then passes through a refrigeration system, drops well below ambient, and flows back to the waterblock(s). This would, in theory, allow you to get sub-ambient cooling(beware the dew point, as above mentioned) without having to buy a refrigerator that can pass several hundred watts continuously. Even if the refrigerator dies, you'll only have ordinary water cooling. You might have a much easier time(and a more portable system) by just having a peltier or two in your coolant basin. Something like http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/p...mber=G14582&variation=&aitem=2&mitem=3 embedded in the wall of the coolant tank, with the cold side fully exposed to coolant flow, and warm side fan cooled, will get the sub-ambient coolant effect without the entire minifridge.

Of course, once you bring watercooling into the picture(as you basically have to) you really start to wonder if it is worth it. A properly designed watercooling system already owns all but the craziest air cooling systems, without the considerable nuisances that sub-ambient cooling introduces(condensation, uneven thermal expansion, etc). Also, every sub-ambient cooling system is less than perfectly efficient. It will release all the heat generated by your system, plus some extra that they generate themselves. Your core will be cooler; but your room will actually be hotter(unless you bleed the heat directly outside). So, unless you just want to do it because it is a hardcore mod, or you happen to be really, really cranking your core speeds and voltages, don't bother with anything above watercooling.

 

[Emultra]

Extra room heat wouldn't be that much of a problem in the winter, but it would in the summer...

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Loomen]

Dude,

Just stick it in the fridge. (And tell us what happens)

 

[Ken90630]

if you put the reservoir int he freezer your temps for the delta will dip below ambient and you must know how much due point - the temperture at which saturation occurs..

No offense, but it's dew (spelled d-e-w) point, not "due" point.

Emultra, if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing with your computer to need this sort of radical cooling mod? Or are you just trying to see if it can be done?

 

[Idleuser]

ken you dont have to be an ass about it I didn't even check my spelling mistakes until you pointed it out..... maybe you should get a life instead of trying to correct what i typed out wrong... no offense GET A LIFE

 

[Ken90630]

Originally posted by: Idleuser
ken you dont have to be an ass about it I didn't even check my spelling mistakes until you pointed it out..... maybe you should get a life instead of trying to correct what i typed out wrong... no offense GET A LIFE

Wow. How do I even respond to that level of misguided hostility? What are you, about 12 years old? I specifically said "no offense" in my post because I meant no offense. Which of those words don't you understand? And why did you assume --incorrectly -- that they weren't sincere? I wasn't attacking you, as you seem to think.

A mature adult would have admitted he was wrong and said, "Thanks for the correction." Being defiant and defensive is inappropriate. Perhaps you should grow up a little.

Okay, this is where you do another post, with an escalated level of pointless hostility, and make even more of a fool of yourself. You can have the last word, as I've already wasted too much time with you.

EDIT: The fact that I didn't mention, in my earlier post, the fact that there are more than 30 grammatical and spelling mistakes in your earlier post and that it's utterly illiterate should indicate -- beyond any doubt -- that I truly meant no offense before. Had I meant offense, I could easily have dismantled your entire post and buried you. But what would be the point of that? I was simply trying to help you by correcting a mistake so that you wouldn't keep making it. Why you chose to respond with pointless hostility is beyond me. I'm sorry you felt so offended.

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: Ken90630

if you put the reservoir int he freezer your temps for the delta will dip below ambient and you must know how much due point - the temperture at which saturation occurs..

No offense, but it's dew (spelled d-e-w) point, not "due" point.

"No offense, but please allow me to treat you like a child, OKAY?" Hostility in the face of this sort of anal-retentive BS is appropriate. I agree with idleuser, you do indeed need a life.

 

[Emultra]

Nothing wrong with a little help. Unsolicited, yes, but polite.

Ken: well, both really. I want to see if it can be done, and my room gets very hot in the summer.

 

[Ken90630]

"No offense, but please allow me to treat you like a child, OKAY?" Hostility in the face of this sort of anal-retentive BS is appropriate. I agree with idleuser, you do indeed need a life.

Hmmm ... reading thru both your post here, HardWarrior, and idleuser's:

1. Please explain, specifically, how simply telling idleuser how the word "dew" is correctly spelled is "treating him like a child." Be specific and provide tangible reasons as to why you misinterpret it that way.

2. Also, please explain how a person would correct either of you without you becoming defensive and reacting in an irrational, hypersensitive way. Again, be specific in your answer.

3. Also please explain how simply pointing out the correct spelling of the word "dew" qualifies as "anal-retentive BS." Again, be specific.

4. Also explain your position that I need to "get a life." What is it about simply mentioning the correct spelling of a word that means that I have no "life" and somehow need to "get" one. Again, please be specific in your answer.

5. Lastly, how long did it take idleuser to PM you and ask you to respond for him or in his defense?

In all of your answers (except for Question 5), I challenge you to use only what I said in my original post as supporting evidence for your positions.

I/we await your answers.

PS: Is this just about the silliest cyber argument ever, or what? :Q