Will i need a radiator in my minifridge setup?

Hi,
Im going to be building a rig in which my res will be placed inside a mini fridge. My question is that, since my water is already cooled, do i really need a radiator?

Also, would a Hydor L30 320gph pump be able to be used submersibly? It is recommended as inline, but says that it will also work submerged under water. Will 320 gph be enough to push my water up about 4 feet into my case and then back down again, or should i go higher?

How much water is considered a good size res? 2-3 cubic feet will be the size of mine...

Thanks...

Do not put a radiator outside the fridge. That would kill your temps by actually letting in heat.

Can't really say on the pump without knowing more info about it. 4 feet straght up is kinda pushing it though. My 360gph pump struggles to push my water over a 2 foot high, 3 foot long section of tubing. You could always get an immersable pump and then use that to help out if it cant make the distance.

I have a 5 gallon fishtank for a res, it works out nice. Make sure you can fit the evpaporator in though.

What if instead of getting the evaporater under water (assuming i couldnt) i put a radiator up inside the fridge next to wear the evaporater originally is?

I guess its not really 3 feet, its from a fridge on the floor (which hopefully fits under my desk) to the computer on top the desk. Its actually more of a table, so i guess its like 2 feet. Would it be better to have it go at an incline over a longer distance instead of straight up?

fridge

I would do it like this:

Fridge and computer parallel. You want as little rise as possible unless the pump is inline.

for your inline system use a T-pipe and about 8 inches of hose mounted vertically in your case. Stopper off the top. That will be your bleeder to get air out and also your res where you refill the system when it runs low (it usually will lose water no matter what you do to vaporization). You'll have to shut it down to refill and bleed the air.

Have another res in the fridge, but don't use it as a res. Instead make your inline system's radiator be submerged in the res. To make this cheap, buy about 12 feet of copper tube and use a bender (its basically a spring that fits over the outside of the tube, costs $5 at a hardware store) Bend the copper into a coil. For your res, use a bucket. Now, attach your tubing to both ends of the copper coil and submerge the copper coil in the bucket, all inside the fridge. The water in the bucket will get nice and cold, and you'll have the coil acting as a radiator submerged in it. This should give sub-ambient temps without straining the fridge and without getting so cold you get a whole lot of condensation on your waterblock.

If you protect your board against condensation you could use bucket/fishtank with antifreeze and let the icebox sit in the solution.

what about putting the rad before the fridge so the fridge can get the water colder

Rads in the fridge really dont work as well as putting in the evaporator- its just a much less efficient connection between the two cooling systems. If at all possible, get the evap in that water.

what im saying is this

waterblock-pump-rad-fridge-waterblock
this way the fridge doesnt have to deal with the heatload from the pc but can lower the temperature more

just put the damn radiator in the fridge. putting the res in the fridge.... i wouldn't do that. put the radiator int he fridge!

listen to me;
I run fridge cooling.

Do not put a res outside. It will not work- I have tried it. All does is inject heat into the system. Its like leaving your freezer door open. At best, that will get you ambient temps. At worst, it will cause the fridge to overheat and conk out (it did for mine).

As I said, rad inside the fridge might work, but not as well as the evaporator. Its a much less efficeient method of heat transfer.

i say look at the tems going into the fridge.... if above ambient, throw a rad in right before the fridge. if under ambient, leave it out, as it would be adding heat. and i think that a rad inside the fridge along with your res would also keep the water as cool as possible. the best thing to do, tho would be putting the evaporator inside of the res, and having no rad (unless the water going back to the res is above ambient....) i hope this makes sence to you... not makin much sense to me any more... lol

I was assuming the water going to the fridge was above ambient and cooling it more would get a better temp in the long run

If the water is above ambient, why go through the trouble of a fridge?

Your water is below ambient on the way back to the fridge?

Yes, the difference between the high side and low side is infitessimal. Its just that those small differences add up.

My water ranges from -6c to 8c. Ambient is 25c. (its 1/4 antifreeze)

thats one helluva fridge

Its actually a total POS.
60bux at fries (floor model)

It really is just about the weakest fridge you can buy.

The reason that it gets below freezin is that the evaporator must be much colder than freezing to get the air to just above freezing. When the evaporator is in the water, it acts like a mini freezer compartment.

My fridge has a 1/10hp compressor and an internal condensor. Midsize fridges usually have a similar compressor, but an external condensor that makes them much more powerful. Full size fridges often have 1/4 hp compressors.

do you have a problem with your lines condensing, and dripping?

I use pipe insulation on all of the pipes. If there is condensation, it doesnt show on the outside. You will need it anyways for your temps.

Its only about 1buck/10ft at home depot.

The hard part is making a good joint with the block, before I changed out my cpu last, I was getting some condensation in the joint. Now its siliconed up and just fine.

ok. ive heard people say they can run chilled water without insulating the tubes, but i always thought that sounded weird. did you just run the tubes through the back of your case? did you have any problems getting the insulated tubes to bend? what wb did you use? any pics?


edit: boy, sorry about that. that was a thread hijack if ive ever seen one . you dont have to answer those here.

lol its ok, I have fun talking about it

I had to really ghetto rig the tubes coming in. I have 2 valves mounted on the side so I can disconnect it easily. Originally, I had holes drilled by the valve openings so the tubes would go through the case panel. That caused horrible kinking, so they are going through the slot meant for video (on mobos with onboard). The insulated tubes bend fine, they are just foam. There is a tape like thing on either side that you pull off so the sides stick togeather.

I dont have any pics now, but if you look serch on the forums for a fridge thread, I know I posted some a while back. If you cant find them, I can always get the digicam out.