HD block cooler idea-Pics

Well, I would like to get the Danger Den Aquadrive, but right now I can't afford it. I have two Micron-interlink hard drive coolers right now which are anodized aluminum. They are the only al left in my loop, and I want to replace them with something copper. And no, hard drive coolers are not a waste to me at all as they have knocked out about 7c vs just having an intake fan on them. So, here is an idea that I have modeled that I would like to get feedback on. I can make this for about $30 total getting the 1/8" side copper from onlinemetals. How do you folks think this will work?

why not take the U cap off ... then you would have a IN/OUT per side. I would say try it the way you have it setup first then try with what i suggested. Unless you think it would be ineffective? I would say for my thought to use a Y and have it 1/2OD or 3/8OD. just a thought but i like the idea you have going... this would mean you cant fit it in a 3.5 bay but a 5.25 bay right?

hmmm why not try smaller pipes on the side for more contact with the sides? might be more restrictive but it would give you more heat absorbing area..

Seems to me like there isn't enough surface area between the tubes and the plates on the side of the drives to really be effective. Not to mention that most of the heat is going to be coming from the central area of the drive and not the sides. I think it looks cool, but you just have a surface area issue. I think if you maybe flipped the bottom drive over so the flat side was facing out on both the top and bottom and then figured out a way to have water flowing over the tops of both drives, you'd have a good set-up. I'm curious to see it progress along. Keep us updated.

MasterG said:

Seems to me like there isn't enough surface area between the tubes and the plates on the side of the drives to really be effective. Not to mention that most of the heat is going to be coming from the central area of the drive and not the sides. I think it looks cool, but you just have a surface area issue. I think if you maybe flipped the bottom drive over so the flat side was facing out on both the top and bottom and then figured out a way to have water flowing over the tops of both drives, you'd have a good set-up. I'm curious to see it progress along. Keep us updated.

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hmm good thought... a piece of copper and have it in the middle of the 2 drives and the top drive upside down...

MasterG said:

Seems to me like there isn't enough surface area between the tubes and the plates on the side of the drives to really be effective. Not to mention that most of the heat is going to be coming from the central area of the drive and not the sides. I think it looks cool, but you just have a surface area issue. I think if you maybe flipped the bottom drive over so the flat side was facing out on both the top and bottom and then figured out a way to have water flowing over the tops of both drives, you'd have a good set-up. I'm curious to see it progress along. Keep us updated.

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Thats exactly what i was thinking

MasterG said:

Seems to me like there isn't enough surface area between the tubes and the plates on the side of the drives to really be effective. Not to mention that most of the heat is going to be coming from the central area of the drive and not the sides. I think it looks cool, but you just have a surface area issue. I think if you maybe flipped the bottom drive over so the flat side was facing out on both the top and bottom and then figured out a way to have water flowing over the tops of both drives, you'd have a good set-up. I'm curious to see it progress along. Keep us updated.

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Hard drives were design to dissipate heat from the sides.

thegreek said:

Hard drives were design to dissipate heat from the sides.

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they were also designed not to be affected by temperature...

Interesting thoughts and ideas.

When it comes to dissipating heat, you would think that most of the heat goes out of the top of the drive, but that is not the case. I looked before to my surprise at an article on Viperlair where they tested the Asetek 3.5" bay hard drive water coolers that mounted on the bottom under the circuit board, and the 5.25" bay ones that mount on the sides. They both perform about the same on tests, which tells you that the heat goes out of the sides and the circuit board area.

I wanted to make something that would do both the sides and top, but opted for the moment to just do the sides. I however didn't think of simply turning over the bottom hd so that the circuit boards are facing the center and putting a plate between. Hmmm, makes me think!

I have it laid out with 1/2"id copper. Surface area is also something that I am trying to figure out. I thought about using smaller dia copper, but it becomes difficult to plumb the thing the more tubing you have. I thought that using silver solder to attach the side tubes on to the side plates might help with the heat transfer. I might go back and see how it would work if I used 1/4" copper with y adapters to split the flow and thereby not kill it. Maybe splitting each 1/2"id that I currently have into two 1/4"id with y adapters would work better.

voigts what proggy are you using for that 3d render, is it free by anychance?
also about the smaller pipes try smaller then that then soldered/welded to the bigger 1/2' that should give you more area to take the heat... as i mean wouldnt several smaller channels of water around the hd take the heat in quicker then one larger one?

I think several smaller tubes along the sides would provide for better contact and therefore might transfer the heat better. I think though that it is best to use the same dia tubing for everything so that I don't run into the problem of uneven flow. Water is going to take the path of least resistance, so I am trying to keep that in mind.

I'll PM you about the 3D program.

also in your 3rd pic up top you have dead space that could be used for more surface area contact...
i dont think uneven flow would be a problem with the smaller pipes ... but when i can i want to draw it up... might use paint for the dia. of the way im thinking...

The reason that I have a space between the two side tubes on each side is to allow a gap so that you can have access to the holes (black) to screw on the hard drives. Somehow there has to be a way to attach/remove them, and so far this is the only thing I can think of. I'm curious to see your idea.

may i just ask why you feel that its necessary to water cool a pair of 160gb seagates?

now it would be a different story if it was a pair of 147gb seagate cheetah's... but yeah, you get my drift...

Probably not necessary, but of everything on the PC, the hard drives and their data are worth more than anything else. So if I can produce a significant drop in temp, then I am all for it. I have worked on too many air-cooled hard drives that fail prematurely due to overheating. My experience has been that hard drives last longer when kept cooler. Not to mention that by using watercooling for the hard drives I eliminated fans which for me, the less fans, the better. I like it as quiet as I can get it.

Sneaky said:

may i just ask why you feel that its necessary to water cool a pair of 160gb seagates?

now it would be a different story if it was a pair of 147gb seagate cheetah's... but yeah, you get my drift...

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well the cooler your cpu is the longer the life why not the HD's even if they are 7200rpm? The motors will get hot under long use... if he is video editing/encoding/gaming if they stay cooler that is more of a chance they stay alive longer, no? i know hd's run hot by nature and well i dont see specs in the pdfs i have seen but i havent looked latly so i dont know the operating temp of the harddrives.. my thinking of harddrives is like ram, they store data and run warm/hot...

voigts said:

The reason that I have a space between the two side tubes on each side is to allow a gap so that you can have access to the holes (black) to screw on the hard drives. Somehow there has to be a way to attach/remove them, and so far this is the only thing I can think of. I'm curious to see your idea.

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think you miss understood take the side plates you have and do a complete wrap around. That the front and sides are drawing the heat out. the pipes would then be attached like the side ones, Thats what i meant by dead space.

didnt mean to double post...

That the front and sides are drawing the heat out

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I don't follow what you mean by the front drawing the heat out also. I just did some running around this morning and got a 1/4" elbow and a 3/8" elbow so that I can model them and see if they would work better.

well i used paint , i was able to get that proggy but i only get 8hrs then i have to buy it. To much to learn about it, so i just ms painted it...

this is a view looking down, the front and sides would be covered. the one thing missing here is the thin copper plate in the middle of the 2 drives...


next is the multiple smaller pipes, the key here is to use more then one pipe but the have enough smaller pipes to equal the larger pipe water is entering and exiting out from..


btw u got pm

I see what you are saying about the pipes. The other issue is that I also have to differentiate between what looks good on paper and what can actually be soldered. If I get the pipes too close together, it is going to make soldering them on impossible as you have to solder everything on one side at the same time which involves a lot of heating. The more you heat, the more you risk burning out the flux and not having the solder stick. I've replumbed two houses with copper so I have a very good feel for soldering.

As for enclosing the front, hard drives don't shed their heat from the ends, just mainly the sides and circuit board. Also, this is for a custom case design that I am intending to make, and I plan on having a 120mm intake fan blowing directly on the front of the entire cooler and hard drives, so blocking the front would take away from this.

I replied to your PM.

why not Thermal Adhesive? Should be as good if not better for thermal transfer but then i dont know the numbers for the 2.