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Old AC Question

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dreammmatt

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2002
Hi. I am looking to do something with phase change, either direct cpu cooling, or perhaps chilling water for a water cooling system. I dont want to spend too much, though, and i also dont really want to chop the radiator off of this old AC unit. I was thinking that if I use it as a water chiller that I will only have to run that power-hungry beast long enough to bring the water down to arctic temperatures. But that might make packing up for a LAN party difficult, if not impossible. I am told this HUGE old window AC unit is rated at 13,000 BTU's, is that good? What is a Promethia rated at? What do you guys recommend?

Thanx
Dreammmatt
 
umm....wow...and apparently...i was wrong...it isnt 13,000 BTU's, it is EIGHTEEN THOUSAND BTU's!!!!! IT was supposed to be able to take on a whole FLOOR, not just a single bedroom! I could run that for 5min and my water, even with antifreeze, would be like, slush! ~OWNAGE~ I think i will post a design I came up with, so that I can carry all this to a LAN party in pieces, it is really cool, it is all modular, and the way i designed it, u can disconnect hoses without worry of air bubbles ^_^.
 
Say I run the 18,000BTU/hr AC for a lil while, chill the water down to like, -20*C or more, how long will that last me? Without a radiator, that is, because i dont want to spend the money on one :D
 
Last edited:
dreammmatt said:
Say I run the 13,000BTU/hr AC for a lil while, chill the water down to like, -20*C or more, how long will that last me? Without a radiator, that is, because i dont want to spend the money on one :D

well, when you have the liquid below ambient, the radiator will only hurt your setup, it should last you depeding on the amount of liquid and your overclock:eek:
 
wow 18000!!!!!!

I am not sure how much abuse a compressor can take but you can set it up so it is on for 5 minutes for every 15-20 minutes. If you have a large RES the CPU will not heat up your water to near ambient as quick as a small res.

YOu could get 3-way valves and switch between RAD and CHILLED RES. that is very cool sounding. YOu could also get drip free quick disconects so you do not need to take the heavy *** compressor/ RES to the LANS.
 
nunez1980 said:


well, when you have the liquid below ambient, the radiator will only hurt your setup, it should last you depeding on the amount of liquid and your overclock:eek:

What if the radiator was submerged in the reservoir?
 
ok, think about this,

normal use,

why they use radiators in the first place?, it is design to expell heat, right!, but they use air to cooled it down, the air is ambient temp, so if you use the radiator with chilled water below ambient, how on hell will ambient air cooled it?, it can't right!
anvil82 said:

What if the radiator was submerged in the reservoir?

well it will hurt performance also submerged, why you ask?, picture a rest and the radiator inside the reservoir, the water in the reservoir will want to go and cooled the radiator because it will be warmer than the rest of the reservoir, the two liquids will be sepate by the metal of the radiator, acting as a barrier and thus hurting performance,


now the right way, you have just the reservoir, on one side you have a tube going to the water block, and another tube returning the liquid back to the reservoir, since all liquid are together the heat will be spread evenly troughout the whole reservoir faster than if there were a radiator in the setup!

I hope I didn't confused you :(
 
nunez1980 said:
well it will hurt performance also submerged, why you ask?, picture a rest and the radiator inside the reservoir, the water in the reservoir will want to go and cooled the radiator because it will be warmer than the rest of the reservoir, the two liquids will be sepate by the metal of the radiator, acting as a barrier and thus hurting performance,


ahh that's right, you would have to circulate the water in the reservoir also, hmmm.

Just an idea, hehe.
 
i have spent a long time in MS Paint (YES I LIKE PAINT BETTER THAN PHOTOSHOP) making the perfect desgin - - and I was planning on quick disconnects, and i was toying with the idea of valves and an internal radiator. I am glad to hear that you people suggest that as well. I am just concerned about power consumption now. Some d00d told me that I could chill it, and then go all day - that sounds unrealistic, but...i still was hoping for more than 20min...but wait... YES! with a plain-jane watercooling radiator inside the case, i dont needa run the chiller all the time...so once the chiller goes to ambient, i can start using the radiator...yes!

Hmm...i need to find out if my sister will let me post the pix on her site, so you can see them...
 
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