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Oil Submersion

F

firewolfsm

Golden Member
I basically want to redo this project by pudget systems.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

The tank they use seems perfect for the job and I think I'll order that. I want to do this project as cheaply as possible so I need some advice. I think I can find mineral oil for about $40 for 6 gallons at walgreens. Also, I have this system which eats more power than what they used.

Q6600 @ 2.9GHz @ 1.15V (yeah, 1.15)
4GB ram
Asus P5K-E
4850 @ 690/1140

They had the same tank and without any radiator it got up to 85C after 12 hours of full load, I turn my computer off every night but I'm not sure if it would hotter or not. Currently my processor sits at 60C load and is stable, I wouldn't be ok with 80 but I'm wondering how long it would take to heat up that much. Less than their 12 I'm sure. I don't think I ever game for more than a couple hours straight but I do use it a lot for movies and web browsing it would always the night to cool though.

I might get a pump and radiator but I would need those as cheap as possible and I'm not sure where I would put them so it could still look professional.

The only other problem I have is the motherboard tray. I want to use the tray from my current case. It's a simple gray panel as large as an ATX motherboard. I'd like to paint it black and somehow mount that to the side of the tank at the right height. I need all the I/O ports to just pop out of the oil. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard but I do use USB ports often so those need to be accessible.

I'd rather not buy and cut up an acrylic panel like they did but I'm not sure how I could mount the motherboard to the side. I also need to mount the hard drive, but I was thinking of attaching it to the ceiling of the aquarium.

And my DVD drive seems to be a problem...
 
You don't want the drives submerged. It'll be a good idea to get a 1/4" sheet of acrylic for the top of the tank. Then the motherboard tray can be attached there and the drives can be mounted to the top of it.
 
With a 4850 replacing an 8600GT and a Q6600 replacing an E6600, your system is definitely going to get hotter than theirs.

I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that you're going to need to actively exhaust heat from the box somehow.
 
This kind of cooling is more of a novelty then a actual means for cooling a high end system. You might be better off running the system with no case fans.
 
I'm taking out the fans to save on heat, I think I'll also try and mount the PSU to the top of the aquarium for the same reason.

I think for the DVD drive, I'll leave a sata cable accessible to the outside and just connect the drive when I need it. I rarely use it anyways.

So, I was looking at my old motherboard and I had an idea.

Instead of the acrylic sheet they put, I'll run a thin bar across the top of the tank (still under the lid) and simply tie wires through the mounting holes on the motherboard and to this bar. It'll dangle in the oil. I'll make a stand on the bottom of the tank and clamp the edge of the PCB to it so it won't sway or move at all so it should work. I won't even need a motherboard tray at all.

If I do a well enough job, it should be very sturdy, but if it isn't there's all of a half an inch drop through viscous oil to the bottom, nothing bad could happen.
 
bump

I need to find the cheapest way to remove heat from the system. I have no idea how I should do this. Is there a way to run a radiator without a pump? Peltier? I really don't know.

So far I have my motherboard basically dangling in the tank, my hard drive attached to the top of the lid, 5 gallons of mineral oil, etc. I haven't bought anything, I need to plan this out though.
 
roflrofl

....

okey first off pumps dont like high viscous substances like oil.

Also, having TEC's on OIL = VERY VERY BAD. :X

Think of what happens when you point vegi oil in the fridge.


im not supporting this project unless your running a mini-itx.
 
This looks really cool! Are there other novelty computers I can check out?

@Aigomorla: I'm not technically savvy enough to debate with ya or anything, but did you check out pudget's article on it? They seem to have most things worked out with a stable system for over a year..
 
Originally posted by: Juked07
This looks really cool! Are there other novelty computers I can check out?

@Aigomorla: I'm not technically savvy enough to debate with ya or anything, but did you check out pudget's article on it? They seem to have most things worked out with a stable system for over a year..
Click to expand...

i think i was the first to show it off on AT.

Trust me it wont work with higher end computers with higher end overclocking.

Maybe on a AMD low wattage version it could be pulled off.
 
I posted something like this a month ago.

I was looking at at least $250 for a Lian Li case plus ~$300 for a custom-built water-cooling loop. Compare that to the price/performance of this build, plus the cool-factor, and I think we can make a compelling case here. Where you'll get owned is in resale value and some of the mess associated with upgrades or assorted hardware tweaking. Even adding more RAM can be a bit of an undertaking with this kind of thing.

It's temperatures are fine, but I HIGHLY recommend moving the oil through a radiator to keep everything cool. You can, however, probably get away with large, passive radiators without a fan. I believe they used a Resorator? You can probably use just about anything you want, to be honest. I might look at different pumps than they used. I also believe you could get better temps via more aggressive cycling of the oil, but it might get louder.

Also, since you're actively cooling the oil, there's nothing wrong with putting the PSU in the tank. Hard-drives are about the only thing you want to keep out. Make sure to seal the I/O panel well, especially if you want to use wired peripherals.

I'd google the concept further, or email the guys at Puget with any questions/comments you may have. It's a new(ish) and somewhat radical idea, so you get a lot of people poo-pooing all over it despite it's demonstrated viability.

~S
 
Originally posted by: semisonic9
I posted something like this a month ago.

I was looking at at least $250 for a Lian Li case plus ~$300 for a custom-built water-cooling loop. Compare that to the price/performance of this build, plus the cool-factor, and I think we can make a compelling case here.

~S
Click to expand...

the difference between the two will be night and day however.

Go with regular water, water by itself is a better medium for thermal transfer. And also good luck getting that oil off all your components.

Ugh cleaning a board after it was preped for a SS was a PITA job enough as it is.
 
Why does he ever need to get oil off his parts? They can just stay submerged until he is no longer using the parts... And a radiator really solves the heat issue...
 
Originally posted by: Juked07
Why does he ever need to get oil off his parts? They can just stay submerged until he is no longer using the parts... And a radiator really solves the heat issue...
Click to expand...

and what is he to do when his board dies? You cant really rma anything.
 
Hmmm...as my parents are scared this will burst into flames or destroy my carpet I decided to just build an acrylic case, it's also a much cheaper project.

I think I have to make a thread for that now...sorry, haha.

But still, someone should definitely try this with a higher end system, I really want to see the results.
 
Oil will contaminate over time.

And if ANY component on the motherboard has a crack or slight opening, the oil will get in there and degradation will gradually occur.

I'm glad you've given up on the idea.
 
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