Submersion cooling! 8d

Ait'al · 2013-03-23, 03:49 AM

Anyone ever considered this? Getting a 5 gallon fish tank. Decking it out to hold motherboards and pc parts and the other small things, Filling with mineral oil and using it as a case.

It's technically water cooled. You can do anything you want to adjust the efficiency. You never have to worry about standardization much. And you can use it all you want for whatever you want including multiple PCs. Plus easy to decorate!

It seems so convenient in so many ways. But last time I brought it up everyone mocked it like it was the dumbest thing in the world. I can bet it's better than air cooled. You can technically do anything to it you can with water cooling and with peltiers. What is the downside?

Mineral oil doesn't evaporate either. Y0u just have to make sure it doesn't leach up the wires and leak from what I've read. Which can be easily fixed with fittings for plugs at the top of the case. Just about like what you do to a fish tank anyway.

You would never need another case again. You can mod it however you need. It's supposed to be a very good efficient space saving way to deal with servers on top of it. So why not desktop PCs! you can learn all kinds of fun engineering stuff along the way too! And a lot cheaper than college! 8D

The knowledge to do this and say half make any of the parts like thermometers or peltiers is pretty much past the knowledge to get a job at a pc store and other low end jobs, besides doing stupid things like Backing up PCs and whatnot. So.... It could even help you get skills to get a job. And probably more competency than 99% of the competition! 8) Sky's the limit technically.

So where is the downside/negative opinion in general coming from!?

Rbstr · 2013-03-23, 05:25 PM

People do it. I'm sure you've read this site http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

It's messy as hell and you still need to introduce some cooling by cycling the oil through a radiator or something. Otherwise it'll just keep heating up. You need to keep the oil circulating so you get convective transfer.

If it was actually worth it, I think you'd find more people doing it.

Ait'al · 2013-03-25, 07:07 AM

I thought the point was to use volume first. You can add stuff like bubbles blowers and fans from the pc to make it move. It's supposed to dissipate heat through the walls into the air.... I figured enough oil could do the job! 8) Maybe i need a swimming pool sized one! gotta get my special swimming gear to do some maintenance!

I think it could be fun if you use it to experiment with making electronics stuff yourself like Thermometors and whatnot. You could use it to test and begin making stuff yourself as an experimental computer. 8) You could make it a test bed pretty easily to test cooling. It's already in the case!! >< ...HAL how are you feeling today! Just lovely DAVE! HOW ARE YOU! Then when you put in the plastic fish he starts to go insane with ideas of producing his own army and taking over the world!

I think when I'm imagining 5 gallon I'm actually imagining 10+ gallon! Could be the difference. I was thinking a 2-3+ foot long tank that you use for a good amount of fish...

I was thinking you dec out the top so you can hang the Mobos parallel to the length. And you can then pull them up and let them drip dry back into the case before you move them. Or just lift them up while you mod them. 8) Line the top with stuff for connectors and whatnot and a cover etc. Make it convenient! then add more holders for more mobos! they could even make them slidable somewhat for adjust ability!

It would need something that holds and slides up from the bottom corners and snaps in at the top or acts as a rale along the side of the mobo somehow. 8) . And so it can slide up and hang back from the top at an angle and drip! 8) Could be cool. Just need something make one! then you only have to touch the top and get rid of the mess!