Core from an a/c window unit?

Core and pump. Need advice.

I went to work for a small (3 employees) a/c company. I was talking to the owner who knows nothing about computers. I was looking at the cores we were breaking apart for scrap copper. I asked him if he thought it would cool water as well. He replied "A/c coil units are far better then regular units for cooling anything". The coil unit has 3/8 to 1/2 inch line to begin with. This may work out very well. They are double pass rads with alot of surface area for thier size and they are all copper tubed. Which is a plus. I think I'm going to give this a shot. See how it works out.
If it works out I'm going to talk to him about selling them. (depends on how much he gets as scrap compared to selling them)
He asked me something else. If it would be possible to a/c cool a proc? I dunno how hes thinking of doing it.. but hes slick at what he does..

After readin my post.. I need this deleted please. Probably to restrictive and is a dumb idea.

What you are talking about is phase change cooling. Look in to the threads in the extreme cooling section. It can be done with a window unit air conditioner.

If your talking about using an AC condenser for a water radiator it will work. However for our application a similar sized pc-developed radiator works better. The flattube design allows for a greater heat transfer then the round tube used in HVAC applications.

Oh, I misunderstood the question. A car heater core or a similar type radiator will be more practical than a condenser from an AC unit, as Mr. T said.

Mr. $T$ said:

If your talking about using an AC condenser for a water radiator it will work. However for our application a similar sized pc-developed radiator works better. The flattube design allows for a greater heat transfer then the round tube used in HVAC applications.

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I hope I didnt word my post wrong. I didnt mean to throw anyone off. I understand what you mean by that Mr. $T$. I just thought it would be a good alternative for me instead of spending the $ to buy one. I was going to try it as a means of radiant cooling.. or as its called here passive cooling. Thought it would be worth a try. Think its worth a shot? I mean it couldnt really hurt anything.

It all depends on how restrictive the thing is to water. Give it a try, at worst you waste a bit of time trying it ... but if it works you save $20+ on buyiing a rad core, and may have a bisiness opportunity in selling more. Or maybe even getting your AC pro boss (and you) linked up to the phase change cooling market for OC'ers.

pscout said:

It all depends on how restrictive the thing is to water. Give it a try, at worst you waste a bit of time trying it ... but if it works you save $20+ on buyiing a rad core, and may have a bisiness opportunity in selling more. Or maybe even getting your AC pro boss (and you) linked up to the phase change cooling market for OC'ers.

Click to expand...

I'm going to give it a shot. I'm ordering my pump today. I'm just not sure which one to get. The 655 or the new 18wMCP. High restriction cause I plan on running two gpu blocks. So I'm looking at the 655 more. Plus its a little stronger.
The up side to this is we work with sheet metal alot. Building chambers. So I have the tools to make a shroud to mount it pretty much any where I want to.
As far as maybe doing some phase changing setups.. I dunno about that. I'm still new to wcing. I dont want to jump into something like that without someone to guide me. But I'm very sure my boss would know how to do it. He's really good at what he does. 38 years in the business.

EDIT: Just as a side note.. I'm not going for a super quiet system. I dont want it real loud but I dont mind a little noise as well. There is more noise in the background of my house with 3 kids then there is from my comps as I type.

voigts
The d5 is a major improvement over the d4, and is a fairly quiet pump. If you really want silence, then go with the 10w MCP350/DDC, or the slightly louder 18w which has more flow than the 10w. The 18w DDC still is a lot quieter than the d5 but performs on par if not better than the d5 in restrictive loops.


Ok. I pasted that from another post. I need help now. I understand that the d655 is a good pump. But the 18w ddc out performs it? I remember reading that somewhere else on the forums.. but I cant find it. If that is the case I will use the 18w ddc. It does help cause of the limited space inside my case. Any imput would be helpful.

EDIT: After some reading. I'm going to take a chance. Try something new that some of you dont want to try. I ordered the ddc 18w.
http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=176

that looks like an interesting pump! i guess it will take the same mod as the 350 for reduction of inlet restriction and increase of flow at the slight expense of head. ... If you have the room for the veritcal intake.

I am sure the commercial 1U rack/blade setups are driving these nice advances and not us (low budget) enthusiasts! Hey the M$ model does inspire advances, even if not directly into Bill's pocket

Well I learned something today. I asked my boss if I could buy a core off of him. He said no in a very very loud tone. Of course I asked why. Come to find out that inside the household systems there is a chemical (oil based) that is ran through the core before shipping. It's part of the testing they do for sealing it. That oil when mixed with water and the residue of the refrigerant causes it to become toxic. Toxic enough for it to eat through hoses. So that is a no go.

Of course they have to flush it out somehow to recycle to copper, right? I'm sure the residue could fairly easily be removed.

Anyway I think the real question you should be asking him, and especially if he likes to tinker. Is if hes interested in working on a water chiller with you. He can work on the making the water cold part and you can work on the putting it into a computer part. Seems like a good opportunity to get free labor + possibly free / discounted phase parts. If you did this you wouldn't need a radiator either.