For all you watercooling nuts out there - hard data

OK Im new here but I read most of this i was lurkin 4 a while lol but the cryin about the methanol is crazy dont drink it youll be ok no baths wit it either also murcury is not safe its fumes linger and there are strick procedures in lab settings too clean it u couldent use it in a chilled sytem anyway

just my 2 bits

by the way excellent thread

Copper Sulphate

I'm in school right now and I could ask my chemistry teacher, im sure he has lots of info on it. Also its very readily available here so its time to do some experimenting

hello!

thats all good but has anyone thought of using oil instead of water? i think it would be a good solution but i haven't tried it yet. what do you think?

i have spent some considerable time reading this information on coolants and their thermal properties and viscosity. have any of you considered the use of amonia? for many years it has successfully been used in commercial freezers, usually room sized ones. the only reason it is not used in home applications is it's toxicity to humans should the system spring a leak. but in our application we are not looking to use pure amonia, as i am sure it would affect a change in viscosity one way or the other. however a good ratio of water to amonia should be considered here, you have many people who are well qualified enough to determine whether it's use is practical or not. i am not a chemist, but do have some experience in refrigeration, auto refrigeration to be exact. i am a disabled auto technitian. but in my years of studies of various substances and their properties, ammonia is a real contender you have not considered. it works better than freon did, and is not nearly as harmful to the ecosystem. why don't you guys kick this idea around for a bit.

thanks, and i hope this idea helps, or maybe becomes a winner, wisdom.

Re: hello!

apomak88 said:

thats all good but has anyone thought of using oil instead of water? i think it would be a good solution but i haven't tried it yet. what do you think?

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oil has been considered. viscosity is a problem. there is a member of another forum who has submerged his entire rig in mineral oil and circulates it into a 45 gallon drum buried in his yard which also serves as a heat exchanger. geothermal cooling. completely silent. he did not modify anything on his motherboard, heatsinks and fans are still in place and the fans rotate very slowly. put his hdd's in ziploc bags and submerged them too. not great temps but you have to respect the courage to be different.

You are right but you can put oil with low viscosity such as sunflower oil.What do you think?

same problem still, did you read the start of the thread? what is motivating you to consider oil?

oil tends to respond very very poorly to temp drops. it may not become solid, but it'll sludge and stay sludge till the cows come home. it's straight up viscosity-hell all the way. and although there are many different types of oils, i've never found any that would even come close to being competitive as far as thermal properties go. typically you only see oil used as a coolant in industrial applications. big rigs and the like.

ammonia. er, from a distance and at a quick first look that sounds okay but as you look into it it's actually really not. besides the fact that it eats thru almost everything, and is one of the more toxic elements on earth, in order to use it like you're suggesting requires a LOT of special expensive equipment. usually dealing with ammonia so A.) it works and B.) it doesn't sterilize the earth in a several block radius - requires an entirely new HVAC certification type which tends to be a couple of years long and several thousand dollars i'm told. pumping ammonia through our systems is kinda like trying to pump freon, ya know? it kinda sounds good, but it only works if used in a very special way with very special equipment. i'm afraid my poor little rio pump just wouldn't make the cut. you'd need equipment like a compressor and evacuator tubes and a regulator and so on. i hope that makes sense. sorry to shoot anyone down. nice to see this has got people thinking and stretching their minds a bit. asta.

Someone needs to try Orange Oil.
http://www.floridachemical.com

Its a cheaper alternative to the Dupont Floranate product.

Bump.

Thread resurrection time.

So, any new developments in this area? I want to built an HTPC that is powerful small and silent.
I realize this means squaring the circle but it should be possible with a very effective cooling system, no?

The results in the op are interesting and obviously thermal properties don't chance.
But after reading up on thermal diffusifity, I can't help but wonder if there are other liquids that are more efficient at cooling than good old H2O.

Dunno, mabye I'm grasping at straws??

12 year old thread... dayummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Water is still the go to product really. Take a look at the sticky threads and beginner's guides we have.

EarthDog said:

12 year old thread... dayummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Water is still the go to product really. Take a look at the sticky threads and beginner's guides we have.

Click to expand...

LOL, looks more like a well done spam to me.