Bonging out...

Hey guys... I ran across THIS article on the main page. Look pretty cool and easy to setup... I was wondering if setting up a bong was really as simple as getting some PVC, a shower head, a fan, and some cement? I already have a decent pump- a MCP650.. I think it does ~320GPH or something like that I read somewhere.... I'm wondering if setting up a bong like the one in the article is still a viable solution because the article is dated from 6 years ago... And I know Dual Cores generate a lot more heat than single-core systems, so I'm not sure as to how relavent those temperatures in the article are to today's cpus. If it is that simple, i might just take the plunge and go for it.. Theres something about having a 3-4ft tall piece of plastic standing next to my computer that gets me all excited

If one were to make this and get slightly below ambient temps would you have to go through all the steps of sub ambient cooling? Like the die-electric grease and foam?

Thats a good questions there kbat2... I would be interested in that as well...

From what I understand, Most probably. As sub-ambient leads to condensation

as long as your temps stay above the dew point, there wont be any condensation. In other words, as long as you are just slightly below ambient temps, you shouldnt have any problems with condensation.

Why would condensation be a problem? The water would be outside the computer in the PVC pipe... are you referring to the water block itself? I plan on using distilled non-ionized water, so the water getting on the parts shouldn't be an issue, right? de-ionized water doesn't conduct electricity, right?

SuperDave1685 said:

Why would condensation be a problem? The water would be outside the computer in the PVC pipe... are you referring to the water block itself? I plan on using distilled non-ionized water, so the water getting on the parts shouldn't be an issue, right? de-ionized water doesn't conduct electricity, right?

Click to expand...

the condensation forms on the outside of the block/tubing from the air so yes it would be a problem if not protected against.

How do I protect against it?

try using some type of insulation wrap which will soak up the condensation

As long as you are close to ambient temps (within a few degrees C) you should still be ABOVE the DEW POINT and therefor have NO PROBLEMS with condensation. maybe the below link will help, showing you what temperatures dew AKA condensation will form around the socket.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dew_point

Condensation using a bong is not an issue.

Even if you ran your bong without the computer being on (ie not adding heat) your bong can only get Just Above the dew point and not TO it where condensation forms. The pump still adds heat, and will keep it just slightly above condensation temp.

Rest easy, been there done that.

Thanks diggrr. I found a dew point calculator online and according to it, the dew point for my room would be around 9-10C (my room is usually around 23C). Even if the bong was able to get 7C below ambient, it was still be above the dew point... This is a relief because I didn't feel like insulating my mother board. I don't get paid until next Monday, so I'll go and get my materials I need to build this thing then... In the meantime, I'll be researching showerheads... Diggrr- do you think my current pump is powerful enough to do the job? Obviously, its not a submersible pump - is that going to be a problem?

I loved my bong, those were the days. At any rate, I second Diggrs response. I got as much as 12 degrees below and still no condensation. Never had condensation in the year and a half I ran one. There of course was the day I put a ten pound bag of ice in the reservoir, big boo boo.

lmao... nice one silver... I guess that'll do it

*edit* Just how much more effective is a bong over a traditional radiator setup? I'm thinking regular tap water will work just fine with a bong setup, right? Because I know I don't want particles of antifreeze in the air... Once I get this thing finalized, I'm going to paint the PVC and make it into a piece of art

Instead of PVC pipe a nice big copper pipe that can help radiate some heat out of the water.

because Copper isn't exactly portable.. PVC is fairly lightweight, so I can just pick it up and move it. Copper weights a little more... The actual design of the bong will be enough to dissipate the heat load

The 650 pump should do just fine. I ran a notably weaker Danner mag-drive model 2 on my 5 footer, not submersed, but rather sitting on the floor next to the bong hooked right to the outlet tubing fitting at the bottom of the bong.
No worries...you can do the same.

I thought a long time about how cool a copper bong would be, but then I decided in my thought experiments that it would be trying to cool the room as well because the copper would be sinking room temp to the cooler water inside.
Not what you want to happen for the best temps.
PVC is just about perfect for the job, light, cheap, fairly insulative, and takes paint well (mine was satin black).

* to add: you want the pump outside the case, down next to the bottom of the bong. Otherwise your pump will lose it's prime each and every time you shut off the system and you'd have to lift the bong up above the pump to restart it....just so you know. The water level in your whole system will drop to the level of the bong rez's waterline each time you shut it off.
A bong on the desk is quicker to cooling than a bong on the floor, as it may takes seconds for the water to reach the waterblock in a system you've just turned on.

Diggrr said:

A bong on the desk is quicker to cooling than a bong on the floor, as it may takes seconds for the water to reach the waterblock in a system you've just turned on.

Click to expand...

Ive been wondering about that ya know you would think that would cause a bad problem with overheating.... but

if you have a strong enough pump what would you think about using a 7 or 8 foot tall bong for cooling an entire folding farm?

I leave my rig on 24/7 Diggrr, so I think the impact of leaving the bong on the floor would only have an impact on the initial startup of the system. I was looking at this shower head. Do you think thats really worth $90 Diggrr? Surely you can find some decent ones for a lot less, right? I won't be building my bong for a couple more weeks because some other things look like they're going to prevent me from doing it this coming payday. I want to make sure I do this right...

The bong draining on shutdown isn't that big of a deal. At startup there's still a big hunk of copper on the cpu, so there's no overheating.
I was just saying that ahead of time cause I've seen people panic when it happens.

For a folding farm, you don't really need that tall of a bong. I'd say a 4 footer of 6-8" PVC would be plenty.
If you're reaching below ambient with one computer, then you know there's alot more capability there...and Ive seen little 18" tall bongs do that. It's not the height, but the airflow/waterflow.
Height is nice though to keep water from being sprayed out of the top.
You would need alot of water on reserve though, because that much heat from your setup would evaporate water at a pretty fast clip. Probably something like a bong atop a 5 gallon bucket like we've seen here the past few months.


As for showerheads, well a $90 showerhead is like a gold spoon, still a spoon, just more expensive than it needs to be.
You can make a good one out of a piece of pvc and a .075" drill. I tried the same, and it worked just fine.
The cheap $5 one from Meijers (like a walmart) worked great too.
It's just gotta have a balance between pump flow and the number of holes so that the water doesn't dribble out, but rather sprays (but not under too much restriction).
It's one of those grey areas you have to work out for yourself/your pump/ your head height.

Just whatever you choose, make sure you get out the watersaver restriction that Californians imposed on us all, so that your showerhead is running with full flow.