My ground cooling loop!

Veland · Sep 19, 2004

So, while I'm rebuilding our familys cottage to be my house, I'm laying down two cooling loops for silent cooling of my server and computer. The first loop is complete, and here are some pics:

This is the cooling loop for my server. I didn't get a pic of the first stage, just the copper, so I've drawn where the tube run. I's a 22mm copper pipe, soldered with elbows in the shape shown here. The pipe rest on solid rock or on built up rock, with some gravel around it.

This picture is after filling the top layer of gravel. So the area on the left is now buried under about 50cm of gravel. On top of this, there will be 10cm of insulation followed by heating and tiles.

Total lenght of this loop is 10m, which should provide adequate cooling. After all, even in the warmest summer, this will stay rather cool. It's solid rock, so..

The loop for the other computer will be copper->air, so it will be a lot longer. Around 30m I guess.. This will be in the crawlspace under my living room floor and has a dual purpose of both cooling my computer and keeping the crawlspace frost free, giving a somewhat warmer living room floor :clap:

Icebl@ster · Sep 19, 2004

LOL I dont see why u people do this but its all was fun to look at and how much did it all cost?

wfarid · Sep 19, 2004

hmm, um where is the rad going to go, u still need a rad don't you. And what pump are you going to use?

2Busy · Sep 19, 2004

Results

I will be curious to see your final results. From what I have read regarding geothermal applications, your best results would be from deeper in the soil, below the frost line. The earth temperature tends to stay constant year round, and your loop would be in direct contact with soil, not with crushed rock. Still yet, the medium around it should remain more constant than the air, but not as constant as it could if it was deeper. You make no mention as where you live. I hope you have no problems with your heating radiating downward and warming your loop. By all means, please keep us posted. And be sure to pressure test before you seal up your loop with your flooring.

Veland · Sep 19, 2004

Cost is about 60$ since the only "added" cost is the copper. After all, I'm doing the floor regardless of it's "cooling potential". So it's cheaper then many commercial WC radiators (that we have here in Norway...)

And no, there's not going to be a radiator. That's the whole idea. Instead of using a radiator (surface area->air) I'm using a long copper tube (surface area->stone). So instead of a radiator heating up air, I have copper heating up stones.

Veland · Sep 19, 2004

Another replay just as I was typing...

My loop can't be any deeper without blasting away solid rock. So it's not going to have a constant temperature, but vary somewhat during the year. I guesstimate the ground to be at about 15c in the summer, and towards 0c in the winter. I have no idea how this will relate to coolant temperature, but I should be able to reach a comfortable temperature for alle components. Not going for supercooling, just quiet cooling.. The big ? is how well sand and rock transfer heat from the copper tube..

As for the heating radiating down, I hope it won't. On top of the gravel seen here, there will be a 5cm insulation layer, a plastic water vapour barrier and another 5cm insulation before the heating cables.

..and yes, I did test for leaks before covering it with about a ton of crushed rock..

rogerdugans · Sep 19, 2004

I am extremely interested in your results, Veland:
I have been considering doing a ground loop for quite a while but as yet have done nothing.

My difficulties lie in the facts that I have 5 or 6 machines to add to my loop and no plans to dig for any other reason. And I am not good at math or equations so figuring the amount of loop I would need is guesswork.

Please keep info coming as you test things out!
Besides just knowing how well you loops work, also of interest to me would be approximate wattage of cooled components, pumps used and temp data (ambient, case, cpu.)

Veland · Sep 19, 2004

Well, results are a long way off... After finishing the floor, I have to get water and a bathroom fixed. Then insulate the whole house, change all the windows, upgrade the entire electrical system and change every single interios wall, redo a lot of the roof and then start getting stuff together..

Plans so far are to move in next summer, and that's the earliest I start getting computers in there. So be patient, very patient...

Oh, for the pump, I've got another Aquabee 2000/1 waiting to be used. 2000l/h with a head of 3m. Should be enough. And the loop here, for my server, will cool a mid range system (cpu, nb, gpu) as well as at least 4 HD's. Going for gigabit network with central RAID10 storage.. Maybe WC the PSU as well, we'll see...

Wattage is impossible to predict at the current time, it's impossible to know what stuff will be up and running next year...

I'll get some pictures of the other loop as well when it's finished, just has to get some more copper pipes first..

rogerdugans · Sep 19, 2004

No worries: I have a tendency to float projects in the back of my mind for a LONG time before moving on them.

I doubt if I will be digging up my yard to plant a crop of copper this year anyway.
Maybe next year.

Icebl@ster · Sep 19, 2004

LOL Copper trees :beer:

Hmm i wondering if i could attach my computer wc with my pool.nah then the tubes would freeze in the winter

Veland · Oct 11, 2004

Update!

2/3 complete with my second loop, the combined cool my pc/heat my crawlspace loop..

So, to get right too it:

This is my production line. I try to do most of the soldering outside due to a very small crawlspace and the risk of fire..

Next, two pictures of the pipes attached under my floor (in the crawlspace)

Oh, and this REALLY is a crawlspace! You really have to crawl around in very limited space. Ok, I'm not a size XS exactly, but still!

Ok, the boring and dry(if my soldering is up to speed) facts:
Tubes attached so far: 15meters of 22mm copper pipes
Tubes to left to attach: 7 meters
Total length of loop including tubes under my kitchen and up into the first floor: 37meters!
Spiders spotted in crawlspace: 54
Days neck have been painfull after a day under my floor: 2
Burns after soldering: 4
Times project have been regretted while under floor: 16

SavageBasher · Oct 11, 2004

Heating up the house with computer: Priceless

Senater_Cache · Oct 11, 2004

why not build an octagon structure with, say 8 45 degree elbows, rather than the 90s.??
just a thought about flow thats all.

Cant wait to see temps

SenC

ghettocomp · Oct 12, 2004

Awesom!

Sean Lindstrom · Oct 12, 2004

Veland, you're 50 years ahead of time. Smart. Very smart.

Just one thing about the concrete floor. Did you put reinforcing wire in it? By the looks of that rubble below, there will be some settling over the next few years. This means the concrete can develop faults by its own weight, with nothing but the copper pipes holding the fault lines together. A crack that moves just 2mm will rip the pipe open.

But I don't know the geology of your location, or how well you compacted the earth.

Veland · Oct 12, 2004

Yes, I thought about using 45 degrees, but they were hard to get, so went with 90. But with 22mm tube, flow should not really be that restricted. Will probably run a pump designed for central heating, so it's able to push a lot of water around.

Also, the loop is designed to fit into available space. There is a beam holding the floor, and this complicates things somewhat. So I've also added two air bleed valves on the (guesstimated) highest points under the floor.

As for the first cooling loop, with the gravel, it's all on solid rock. And the concrete is still not on it, so we walk all over it when working on the bathroom, so it gets compacted a bit more. When time comes to pour the concrete, it will be reinforced as well.

Veland · Oct 12, 2004

Attached a picture to clarify what loops are where.

The red on is the one embedded in gravel and the blue is the one suspended under my insulated wooden floor, in the crawlspace.

Sean Lindstrom · Oct 12, 2004

So, cool earth in summer, freezing air in winter?

***

Another possibility (like you need three loops) would be to use soft copper pipe, and twist it around your underground water main. That could work very well with a metal main, so you could shorten the run.

You can find the temperature underground - at watermain depth - from a running faucet. Where I live it reaches only 7 degrees in summer, and drops a few degrees in winter.

Veland · Oct 12, 2004

Here in Norway the average summer temp is about +20c and winter is around +2c. I would guesstimate that the ground around here is about +15c in summer and +5 in the winter. So I guess that max CPU block temp at about +20c in summertime?

NOTE! All guesstimations! Won't get a rig hooked up before summertime.. A LOT to do before the house is liveable..

Sean Lindstrom · Oct 12, 2004

Earth temps will be cooler than air average, because of precipitation, evaporation, and especially water-table connected to cold local water bodies. Got any North Seas around there? From 1.5m on, there will be no seasonal variation over a few degrees.

My ground cooling loop!

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