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Submerging a 1000W PSU in the reservoir

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Celoth

Registered
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
I am about to embark on a (for me) pretty exiting project, and that is building a new system from the ground up with liquid cooling in mind. It is to be an overclocked gaming rig, but one criteria is that I want to be quiet even by SPCR standards, and that means <30dBa. I also want everything placed inside one casing. I am currently looking at a Lian Li V2100B Plus II, because there's lots of room for liquid cooling in the separate bottom half.

Enough introduction. :)

One of the hardest parts to keep cool and silent is probably the PSU, at least in a higher-end gaming rig. So, inspired by this article: "How To H2Ocool Your Power Supply", I decided to look into a way to submerge the PSU in a liquid that I could also use for cooling the rest of the system.

Basically it will involve a similar setup, with a custom built plexiglass container. Unlike the one in the article, I want to mod in all the holes for the AC inlet and on/off switch and all the modular cable connectors in the front. I'll make my own for the main ATX power if need be. That's going to be a lot of work for sure, but that's not my main concern, because that only takes time and planning.

Unlike Charles Gilliatt's system, I want to use the plexiglass box as a reservoir too, meaning I won't be having water running through the pipes, but some other liquid. I hope I can cool the PSU + CPU + GPU + maybe the NorthBridge off with a Thermochill PA120.3 radiator and 3 silent fans, but if that's not enough, I can probably fit in another radiator. The V2100B is pretty roomy. Again, that's not my main concern.

My main concern is getting the right liquid and components for the job. Since it's in direct contact with the live parts of the PSU, there's little room for error. I looked at the 3M™ Fluorinert™ Electronic Liquid FC-77 that I believe is used for Cray computers and such, but it also looks kinda pricey. I am willing to spend *some* money on the project, but if there is a cheaper alternative that can provide safe and efficient liquid cooling of live parts, I am all ears. :)

Any suggestions?
 
also very messy stuff, its not worth it to submerge for cooling with so many great alternatives. if you ever have to work on it or change something its a big mess.
submerging is good for benching but i would suggest a larger custom made heatsink for the psu or even some waterblocks. most psus have tiny heatsinks in them unless they are high eff or fanless. a heatpipe system would work really well on one.
 
It has been tried before, and its not a good idea to submerge a power supply in a watercooling loop. A better idea would be to open up the case,make water blocks for all the FETs, and design the system so there is plenty of airflow through the power supply.


PS: I've done nothing to my power supply(listed in sig) and my HDD is the loudest component in my system.(and its not even hard mounted, its permanently suspeneded in midair by bungie cords.)

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Do NOT forget to safely discharge the capasitors inside the power supply if you decide to open it up... They CAN kill you... To discharge the capasitor either find a proper resistor to do the job(recomended) or just short the leads out(with some insulated pliers or something, not so recommended but fun to watch)
 
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also very messy stuff, its not worth it to submerge for cooling with so many great alternatives. if you ever have to work on it or change something its a big mess.
submerging is good for benching but i would suggest a larger custom made heatsink for the psu or even some waterblocks. most psus have tiny heatsinks in them unless they are high eff or fanless. a heatpipe system would work really well on one.

Is it more messy than other liquids? Or do you just mean liquids are messy in general? But yeah, once the PSU is in the box and the system is running, it's not something I'd wanna mess around with, so to speak.

It's also my understanding that it's more than just the heatsinks in the PSU that get really hot. Adding waterblocks or heatpipes to all the components strikes me as a lot of work too, and not as cool as submersion when the system is under load. It'll also take up more space probably. I don't mind putting in a lot of hours on the project, since I think it's a lot of fun, but I do want the best result too.

Finally there's the fun factor of making such a system. :D
 
It is very messy because those insulative liquids stick to everything, like goo.

You will mess up your components in the long run.

you have to read this. - maybe then you will understand why it is not viable.

Nice link :) thanks.

I should perhaps specify that I'd be using waterblocks for the CPU, GPU and Northbridge. It's only the PSU I was gonna submerge.
 
Still, its the same issues and then some because of the problem of sealing the thing. Oil will slowly leak down the wire insulation...
 
I really appreciate all the replies guys. :)

Ok so I am gonna scrap the idea of running it through the loops. However, I haven't given up on the submersion thing. So here's plan 2, which is pretty much the same as the one Charles Gilliatt did: "How To H2Ocool Your Power Supply"

Place the PSU in an aluminum box and do all the work with the wires and connectors and seal it all up tight. On the side (inside) add a radiator, like the Thermochill PA120.1, with the fittings going out of the box, of course. Then fill the entire thing with a dielectric oil like OptiCool or Luminol TR-I or similar and seal off the lid.

That way I can use a normal water cooling system, and remove the heat from the PSU via the built in radiator.

Does that sound better? :)
 
Why don't you just use a passive water cooling setup, like the Zalman reserator 2.

Then use a very quiet PSU, like the antec earthwatts.

You could mount the PSU inside the case, towards the middle, not at the back.

If you then cover every square inch on the inside of the case with sound dampening material and use mobile hard drives...

Your rig will be more quiet than a butterfly...
 
Why don't you just use a passive water cooling setup, like the Zalman reserator 2.

I am sure it's a very nice system, but I really want everything inside the casing if at all possible.
 
I really appreciate all the replies guys. :)

Ok so I am gonna scrap the idea of running it through the loops. However, I haven't given up on the submersion thing. So here's plan 2, which is pretty much the same as the one Charles Gilliatt did: "How To H2Ocool Your Power Supply"

Place the PSU in an aluminum box and do all the work with the wires and connectors and seal it all up tight. On the side (inside) add a radiator, like the Thermochill PA120.1, with the fittings going out of the box, of course. Then fill the entire thing with a dielectric oil like OptiCool or Luminol TR-I or similar and seal off the lid.

That way I can use a normal water cooling system, and remove the heat from the PSU via the built in radiator.

Does that sound better? :)

it will still be really messy, you may not be able to stop the oil or liquid from creeping up the wires. i had an issue of overloading my psu until it finally croaked on me. i decided to run dual psus which i felt was a pretty cool solution to the problem. i could have just gotten a monster 650 or 800 watt psu that could run all the stuff in my case but this way both my psus are running very low loads and hardly get warm. the loudest thing is my dual pumps.
pics here
http://www.cryo-laboratory.com/forums/127661-post1.html

if it's just coolness your looking for do something that hasnt been done before and be creative. you wont be overclocking the psu so its kinda like running phase change on a psu, its pointless because the outcome is the same.
i love seeing projects that are unique though, they always give me ideas and other ways to do things.
 
it will still be really messy, you may not be able to stop the oil or liquid from creeping up the wires.

There are ways to stop a capillary effect like that. One way is to cut the wire and add a connector to both ends. I might end up having to do that for the main ATX power unless I find a PSU where that is done already. I know Lian Li has 600W supply with detachable primary power cables. The rest of the cables are already modular in many current day PSUs, so my main concern there is proper sealant around the connectors. It's apparently also possible to simply strip a small length of the insulation off the wire and then solder it, or something, to stop the capillary effect. My cousin explained it to me, but I forgot the important little detail of what exactly to do after stripping the insulation. :p

I am not doing this for show, I am doing it to get a silent (fanless), high-power (850W+) PSU that doesn't overheat even under load. It wont be a sexy bling-bling PSU, it'll likely be a box of grey aluminum sitting inside a closed case, never to be seen.
 
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There are ways to stop a capillary effect like that. One way is to cut the wire and add a connector to both ends. I might end up having to do that for the main ATX power unless I find a PSU where that is done already. I know Lian Li has 600W supply with detachable primary power cables. The rest of the cables are already modular in current day PSUs, so my main concern there is proper sealant around the connectors. It's apparently also possible to simply strip a small length of the insulation off the wire and then solder it, or something, to stop the capillary effect. My cousin explained it to me, but I forgot the important little detail of what exactly to do after stripping the insulation. :p

I am not doing this for show, I am doing it to get a silent (fanless), high-power (850W+) PSU that doesn't overheat even under load.

have you considered dual psus? my one antec 550 high eff. is running all my fans, pumps and lights and is barely even warm.
 
have you considered dual psus? my one antec 550 high eff. is running all my fans, pumps and lights and is barely even warm.

Yep I have :) And that is plan B if submersing it in dielectric oil won't work. But thanks for suggesting it!

I just found a PSU that might work for me though: iCute 850W. There is a 1000W version as well. As you can see from the picture, every single cable is modular, so all I'd have to worry about is sealing the connectors properly from the inside and build the oil-proof aluminum casing around the PSU.

Not having to mess around with the wires is a huge plus for this kind of setup, so unless I see a terrible review of this PSU in terms of efficiency and power output, this is my current favorite.
 
If you are going to go through with this, at least practise on a oem cheapo PSU first

Yep, thanks, sounds like the best thing to do. Don't wanna ruin an expensive PSU because of something unforeseen. :eek: It'll be some weeks still before I get anything up and running probably, because I am still in the planning stage of every component going into the PC, but I'll take pics and notes of the entire process of building the system, so I can post it if anyone is interested.
 
Yep, thanks, sounds like the best thing to do. Don't wanna ruin an expensive PSU because of something unforeseen. :eek: It'll be some weeks still before I get anything up and running probably, because I am still in the planning stage of every component going into the PC, but I'll take pics and notes of the entire process of building the system, so I can post it if anyone is interested.

Oh I am sure everyone here would be interested!
 
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