Home Made Air-Condisoner

[Default]

what do you think of this idea??

I was thinking since i really don't want to deal with the condensation of a refrigerated-watercooled system anymore, that i would have a go at making my own air condisoner from the fridge, waterpump and rad that i have. The rad is the perfect size for a mid-tower case, fits exactly to the side dimentions. But i need to know a few things first.

1. will a barfridge with it's ice-box submersed in the watertank be enough to cool the rad down to sub zero?

2. For air condisoning should i use a low flow rate or a high flow rate( water pump)

3. Should i seal all of the holes and cracks in the case if the rad gets cold enough?

4. How high of an air flow should i use for through the rad?

5. will condensation ever be a problem with the rad on the side of the case.

Any and ALL input is greatly apreciated! Who knows, maybe this will be the way to go for the summer time.

[Default]

bump, need answers

[MiseryQ]

The fridge should get you very low temps... You don't want freezing temps since the radiator itself will freeze into a block of ice from condensation...

For a "air conditioning" system I would think a low flow pump in order to allow better air tranfer...

You can't seal all the holes on the case since the air will need somplace to go... You might even need an exhaust fan depending on the intake fan size...

In an automotive system the evaporator catches all the condensation so you might not have to worry to much about condensation... From my understanding you can only get condensation when the surface temp if lower than the air temp, So again you should'nt have to worry...

Hope that helps some...

[NuebieN]

What's an Air-Condisoner?

[AntmanMike]

Condensation occurs when a surfaces temperature drops below the dew point of the surrouning air, which is when the air becomes to cold to hold its water and drops it.

[Tiger]

You will need a fairly rapid air flow through the rad to avoid icing up. You will also need a drip tray and drain to catch the condensate from the rad and be able to drain it away.
If you want to seal the system then you can position the rad and fan so that the air is circulated around the case. Have a shroud on the fan to force the air flow through the rad.
I don't think that a fridge will handle an open heat load but it might handle recirculation.
From my own experience this is a long shot but worth a try. Good luck.

[Default]

well i tested it out on the small scale and it seams as though it will work for droping the case temp. What i used was a socketA waterblock and a rather small pentium heatsink. It didn't ice over but the block did get some condensation. The heatsink was fine no condensation and pumped out cold air. this was with low flow water and high flow fan. As of right now i'm testing with high flow water and high flow fan so we shall see how it fairs now. I'm hoping that with high flow water that i am able to get this thing down to an iceblock.:eek:

[Default]

Originally posted by Tiger

I don't think that a fridge will handle an open heat load.

do you maen sucking in air from the front? If you do would putting it in a colder romm help? Well i guess that kinda defeats the purpose:D

[AntmanMike]

Fridges are designed to cool things that dont heat back up. PUtting something in it that heats up is stressing it considerably.

[Default]

i'd have to agree, but it seams that this little fridge has some kick to it;) It cooled a 1.4 @ 1.6 @1.85 vcore and the water was still rather cold.

[starscream33]

I can tell you a little about this...I tried something similar. This is how mine was setup: Watertank in barfrige, radiator in icebox, water pump outside, waterblock on AMD 1.4 CPU.

At first I got a lot of condensation on the hoses and a little between the waterblock and the CPU...I didn't think I would get it on the CPU because the block was sitting on it with a shim, but that didn't stop water molecules from getting in there. Basically, if you don't cover any cold spots with insulating foam, your going to get condensation.

As long as you keep the pump running, your water shouldn't freeze...at least up to a point, but a barfridge shouldn't get that cold.

The higher the flow rate the better...the more the water move the less likely it will freeze and will move more heat from CPU.

I never hooked up a fan on the radiator, but I should have, it would have cooled better. Also put a fan on the condenser of the fridge...if you can...some are built into the walls of the fridge...If you can get one with a condenser on the outside of the fridge, you will do much better.

You should keep the barfridge sealed from outside air or you will get frost build up on the evaporator.

Also keep your hoses short as possible and insulate them with the foam or you will pick up some room temp and reduce the efficiency of the fridge.

Hope this helps.

[starscream33]

I can tell you a little about this...I tried something similar. This is how mine was setup: Watertank in barfrige, radiator in icebox, water pump outside, waterblock on AMD 1.4 CPU.

At first I got a lot of condensation on the hoses and a little between the waterblock and the CPU...I didn't think I would get it on the CPU because the block was sitting on it with a shim, but that didn't stop water molecules from getting in there. Basically, if you don't cover any cold spots with insulating foam, your going to get condensation.

As long as you keep the pump running, your water shouldn't freeze...at least up to a point, but a barfridge shouldn't get that cold.

The higher the flow rate the better...the more the water move the less likely it will freeze and will move more heat from CPU.

I never hooked up a fan on the radiator, but I should have, it would have cooled better. Also put a fan on the condenser of the fridge...if you can...some are built into the walls of the fridge...If you can get one with a condenser on the outside of the fridge, you will do much better.

You should keep the barfridge sealed from outside air or you will get frost build up on the evaporator.

Also keep your hoses short as possible and insulate them with the foam or you will pick up some room temp and reduce the efficiency of the fridge.

Hope this helps.