View Full Version : Minnesota Winter Cooling
flounder43
10-09-01, 06:54 PM
This may seem a bit obvious, but has anyone ever ran a duct outside during the COLD winter and connected it to your case with a fan that sucked that COLD air in?
It seems like a good idea since winter air is very COLD and dry, and condensation would not be a problem. Furthermore, the air would be flowing onto warm parts in the computer, so condensation would not form even with high humidity.
The only problem that I can see is where to find a hole in the wall to get the COLD air from. Something like a dryer vent would be perfect, as long as the dryer was not running...
Any experiences, ideas?
Christoph
10-09-01, 07:01 PM
Sounds nice, except that during the warm months and days, you'd have to find some sort of other cooling system, and it'd be quite a pain if it were hard to switch between systems.
flounder43
10-09-01, 07:06 PM
Yes, but it IS winter here 8 months a year... :) The other 4 months, you could run a duct from the A/C! That's the way it is here in MN, too hot or too cold.
I just thought it would be a good idea to experiment with.
Christoph
10-09-01, 07:10 PM
Sounds OK, if you don't mind the A/C drain.
Now how about rain cooling in Oregon...
71skylark
10-09-01, 11:11 PM
I'm working to make use of this idea here in western Massachusetts by having my watercooling rig draw water from a 40 gallon drum outside instead of a radiator. The only problem is now I have to get some anti-freezing agent in the water so it doesn't turn solid, but most anti-freezes have bad heat transfew qualties, so now I am looking at pure methanol/water mix.
Christoph
10-10-01, 12:37 AM
What about a water-antifreeze-water wetter mixture. I've seen something like that around here I think.
!-=sky=-!
10-10-01, 05:40 AM
it's something like 5:4:1 if i remember correctly
5 water 4 antifreeze and 1 water wetter..bleh
Intraveinous
10-10-01, 08:47 AM
Actually, contrary to popular belief, winter air is not really all that dry. Air inside the house is a lot drier because it is heated, but outside air is not. Its the moisture in the air that creates the crap you have to scrape off your windshield every morning. There is a dew point in the winter just like in the summer, except it makes frost instead of dew. I would think that you would have problems with condensation. But hell, if it works, let me know, I'm down in Iowa and would be up for some cold ass winter air-cooling.
Peace
John
Did you read that article on that guy that is using an air tank under ground? I read the story and it looks like a good setup. The link is on the Overclockers site.
typhoonmike
10-10-01, 04:58 PM
www.virtualhideout.com
I think that's the link. Look at the case gallery and you'll see someone using some ducting with a pepsi bottle to go outside his window or something. No explanation just a picture.
Christoph
10-10-01, 06:02 PM
Nope, that's not the link.
An underground tank? Seems like it'd work, but that's waaaaaaay too much trouble to go through. There are things in life beside computers.
Gravity Man
10-10-01, 08:58 PM
put 2 "dryer ducts" in your wall, 1 intake, 1 exhaust, put a small radiator and 120mm fan in between. just make sure you guard against condensation just as you would with a peltier setup. Now if only I could convince my parents that two holes in an exterior wall was a good thing...
I used mother nature to my advantage the pass couple on nights it got down in the low 50 an I set a water cooled compter up in the Utility building I have behind the house. Put a 1.33 axia (K) that I have had for a few months in it with a KG7 I voltage moded. The chip would run 1758@2.15v, temp got upto 44c, this is just something to toy with an when the weather gets down to the low 40's at night hope to hit 1800 out of it. So if it hits 1800 I might have to invest in a peltier setup once I learn some about them.
flounder43
10-17-01, 03:36 PM
I have an update for y'all...
I went to the hardware store and bought some clothes dryer vent tubing, the expandable plastic kind. I attached one end to the side of my computer 120mm fan suck hole. The other end I ran out the patio door to suck the air in from outside. The air blows into the case and onto the top of the HSF, more or less.
Right now, it is about 50-55 F degrees outside. I am getting full load CPU temps at 35 degrees Celsius. Idle is 33. The case actually feels a little chilly, which is cool.
I can't wait until this evening when the temps get into the 30's F so I can see the results.
The bonus is that it actually quiets down my 120mm case fan quite a bit.
Also remember that outside air in the winter can't hold NEARLY as much moisture because it can't hold as much cause its not as dense. Kinda like me! j/k :)
flounder43
10-17-01, 04:45 PM
Right on! See you are from Minnesota as well.
That is definately true, cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air. That is why it can be too cold to snow!!!
Dress warm, we have clear skies, that means super cold tonight. Good for my computer, though...
SteenkyBastage
10-17-01, 08:01 PM
i think i'll adapt your idea...but instead just have the radiator to my watercooling rig getting the cold air and the case still getting inside air (i think i'd freeze to death if all the air i push thru my radiator kept coming into my house).
my pump is a 700GPH mag pump, so i hope it can keep the water moving fast enough to not freeze. heh...i'm gonna have a nice DD cube hangning outta my window here next time it gets cold.
flounder43
10-17-01, 08:06 PM
Nice rig. If I went to water, that is what I was thinking...
let me know the results...
the site is www.virtual-hideout.net
it go there for case info/and their big gallery
demon-eater
10-18-01, 12:55 PM
i was thinking of doing something like that this winter or just putting my computer in my room againts the west wall which the wind is always blowing on and cold airs comes through.. lol
Christoph
10-18-01, 04:51 PM
Sounds like one advantage of poor insulation. <gets idea>
Hey, maybe I ought to take out my insulation...
mrilock
10-18-01, 05:55 PM
I put my computer up on my desk a few nights ago to take care of my fan problems, and saw my temps dramatically go down (like 15 degrees in a few minutes). It was pretty sweet when I got cold air blowing out of the exhaust :-) Is there a set temperature at which I need to worry about condensation?
As for ducts... I'm definitely considering going that way.
I already own one for this weird a/c we own, it has a duct that sets up with a window. You don't even have to take out the window, the way it works is you crank the window partway open (on mine), then stick this plastic sheet thing between the window and the frame. It has a hole cut out which takes the duct. I could probably even modify it, then get another duct, so that I have intake/exhaust using one window.
Sorry if this isn't very coherent, I'm feeling really sick today and my head hurts.
oh yeah - arctic silver II = a type of thermal paste that has 99% pure micronized silver in it. In other words, it is thermal paste, on crack. That's a good thing. It goes between your heatsink/fan setup and the cpu core.
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