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umm car radator?

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hkh said:
I was just wondering if any one hase ever tried using a car radator? And would it give you good cooling?

Well, sorta. I'm using a Heater core from a 89 chevy caprice. and it gives the best damn performance if had so far, but an actuall RADIATOR? i dont think so, simply because the rad inlet and outlet holes are 2" inner diameter on most cars, and the standard for water cooling products is like, 3/8 to 1/2" (ID) So im sure SOMEONE could do it, but i dont think everyone would be able too. Also, the heater core is not the radiator in any way, it is completely seperate.

PS: First reply! lol
 
You could probably rig up your own 2" to 1/2" adaptor... but you would most likely need a pretty powerful pump, I imagine. I have a Caprice HC also, one that I paid $20 for. Before that I had a Danger Den Black Ice II Extreme, which I paid around $100 for. The HC is a bit ugly, and no attachments for fans as is, but those two problems could be easily remedied. They both seem to perform the same, right now I have them both in my loop with no fans at all. (Hydor l30>Caprice HC>Black Ice II>RBX>Maze4 Chipset>Resevoir) and with my overclock I get about 38-40C load temperatures.
 
good point. especialy about the pump...also, STRAP SOME FANS ON THAT SUCKER!!! you could get awsome temps with it. especially if yousend water through first rad, then cpu, then through senond rad, then through vid card...IF thats your setup. other wise just run both rads befor cpu.
 
Someone around here (senior member maybe?) is using a car rad... But they have a huge pump as well. Don't know how well it performed... They said they had to convert the rad to 2-pass because the water wasn't running on the outside of the rad, decreasing performance.
 
This kinda got me thinking...I know you can get an aluminum radiator from autzone for about $100 and some change...and I know there are electric water pumps for cars that run off a 12V system...I Think it would be a little overkill. Could also hook up some permacool fans on that thing...I believe they're rated at 2600cfm each(16"). Radiators come with an attachment for a reservoir too. I think it's completely possible...but highly impractical unless you produce as much heat as a car engine...For the reducers, I bet you could find something at Home Depot/Ace Hardware/Lowe's etc. You can pretty much make anything from the parts at a hardware store if you just look passed what the parts were originally intended to be used for.
 
yeah but, those fans to cool with would be loud as F*#! right? Also i know it is possible, i even said so, i also said it wouldnt be so easy for many to do, so your better off customizing it yourself anyways. right?
 
The thing to remember is-

The Law of Diminishing Return.

Almost any radiator device will work to some degree as a radiator for a computer water cooling system, but some work better than others and for various different reasons.

Automotive heater cores are popular because they perform well and can fit inside a computer case.
The best overall compromise seems to be a single-pass, dual 120mm fan sized core.

An automobile RADIATOR would take considerably more work to use, and most likely NOT fit inside a case. ;)
The improvement in temp would vary with many things, but at best I would think just a few degrees at low noise levels, if the radiator is in the same room as the pc.

This is not something I have experimented with though, so I am working on some barely eduated guesswork. ;)

As for the fans: I seem to recall something being posted about auto-rad fans having a pretty hefty power draw.....as well as being quite noisy!
I also know that there are 120volt table/window fans that are nearly silent and might fit something like that pretty well. ;)
 
I seem to rember a guy using a car rad and mounting it outside his house. I suppose in winter this would give some really good temps :bday:
 
I use the radiator, fan, and shroud out of a Geo Tracker. Used plumbers epoxy to embed 3/4" brass pipe nipples into the existing fittings, and attached 5/8 barbs to the nipples. It's a two pump single res system: MCP600 feeds the CPU and GPU blocks, a cheap 60 GPH fountain pump feeds the radiator. I run the fan on 5V, and can barely hear it; it's at the foot of my bed, the hard drives across the room are louder. Even with a hunk of filter foam in front of the rad to kill the dust bunnies, the water in the res is only 0.8C over room temps (5 degrees cooler than it was with a 6x9 heatercore).
 
That only proves his point though...Few Degrees. I mean, if your worried about squezing the last few off, than you might as well go extreme like phase change, or something else.
 
I think there would be a much larger difference if you planned on going for a completely silent setup. No fans on the radiator.
 
dont like 90% of people use car radiators? all these people i see having chevettes, caprices, and bonneville core...
 
Hellion said:
That only proves his point though...Few Degrees. I mean, if your worried about squezing the last few off, than you might as well go extreme like phase change, or something else.
Show me where I can get a phase change rig for the $40 I spent at the junkyard for that radiator.
 
SwampThing said:
Show me where I can get a phase change rig for the $40 I spent at the junkyard for that radiator.

Now your just being a smart ***. Dont start flames.

You obviously didnt take in what i said. I said.. If you use a radiator to cool, than your MOST LIKELY a pro that tries to squeeze every last degree. So if your gonna try THAT hard, might as well go for pelt or phase change. I NEVER SAID ANYTHING about it being cheaper.
 
Let's all play nice, folks. :)

There is a huge difference between Phase Change and water cooling- if not price, then the amount of time needed to DIY.
For most, one or the other make it not worth the effort to go for Phase Change.
Performance is on another level entirely though. ;) (Or so I have read: I have not done it either. ;))

Kudos to you for experimenting with alternative ideas, swampthing. :)
(How about some pics of that setup too? I'd love to see it!)

I know that there are other who have used huge radiators of one type or another, and I have some plans and parts waiting for some tests of my own...

But for most people, it is probably not worth the hassle for the performance improvement you get...
For example, my LAN rig is smaller than most car radiators, so using one to cool it down would be a royal pain. ;)

That is what I mean by Law of Diminishing Returns-
Not that it WON'T improve, but merely that you hit a point where the improvement may not be worth the extra size, hassle or money.

I am not of the "scientist" types, so I can't give accurate figures, but- as an example:
Say that a 6x6 inch heatercore gets a pc to 40 degrees.
A 6x12 core may get it to 38
A 12x12 may get it to 37...

As I said, the figures are NOT intended to be accurate, just an example. ;)
 
plus a diy phase unit can cost around 3-400 + pending how well you can put it together
and a w/c diy will cost you about 100 if you get what you need and build you own water block but good luck getting the copper lol it is $$ if you dont have somewhere where you can pick it up cheap
 
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