Home made heat pipe experiment

reading the other thread, linked here, i decided to make some heatsinks with various fluids inside them. i made 4x 12"x3/8" copper tubing used in refrigeration with 4x 4"x1/4" filler tubes put 1" into the 3/8" copper tubes. for the wick i used some 4gauge welding wire that they thoughtfully made with 7 smaller bundles of copper wire to make a 4ga one.

once the tubes where cut to length and the wick run through them i crimped the ends to hold the wick in place. i brazed one end of the heat pipe while i ran nitrogen through the tubes and also brazed the filler tube to the heat pipe. once they cooled and sucked in moisture i filled each tube with the 3 liquids i decided to use. the tube with the 99% isopropyl alcohol i filled and shook empty 4 times to hopefully remove as much air as possible. i then filled the tube and flattened the end to prevent alot of the contents from getting out. i started heating the tube to get rid of some of the liquid out and hopefully replace most of the air with IA vapour and sealed it.

i did the same step for distilled water and r22 however the i don't have alot of hope for the r22 as it's kinda hard to get it inside the tube while keeping it a liquid.

some pictures,
tubes, wick and filler tubes. i was going to make a 6" one but didn't feel like it.


putting the wick in the tube.


labelled, polished and ready to go.



now i just need to figure out a good test to see how effective or not they are. i kept my procedures the same as much as i could but this is just for fun. i doubt they will perform as good as a factory heat pipe.

thoughts on how to test them?

You are my hero for the day!

Now I don't have to learn how to braze or spend money on copper!

i'd say get an old socket 371 and just attach the pipes to the cpu. Then measure temps on the bottom of the pipe and at the top wichever is closest at top to bottom is the best.

Wouldn't they all, at some point, be the same temp though?

I would say that + a time lapse type of result would be a decent way though. Like for example after 1M, 3M, 5M, 10M... etc...

Can I make a request to test the pipes "upside-down" as well? With the heat source at the top of the pipe and cooling end to the bottom, to see how your wick is working.

If it touches both ends, would it really matter (or do I not understand the wick?)?

EarthDog said:

Wouldn't they all, at some point, be the same temp though?

I would say that + a time lapse type of result would be a decent way though. Like for example after 1M, 3M, 5M, 10M... etc...

Click to expand...

I would think you are correct on this one, but I would think the experiment would be to test how fast it transfers heat and dissipates it. My thought would be that since it is a closed loop they will all all perform the same, with the possibility of the pipes containing liquid would perform slightly better than the pipe containing just air.

I would also think an IR gun would be helpful to test the temp of the pipes too...marking a specific measuring point on each of the pipes that is the same length.

Sub'd.

I wanna see how this goes.

i think i will use boiling water as heat source and see how long it takes for the end to heat up. i have ktype probes i can use and an infrared gun to check on temps.

i will fill up a 4 cup measuring glass once for 5 minutes, dump it then start the test for each one. the one that transfer the heat the quickest is the best for that temperature range.

then try it again with 60c water if i can maintain that temp for a decent amount of time.

*Subbed

this is hardcore

The other test I might try is to have constant boiling water and put one end into it and the other end into room temp water and see how long it takes to raise 1f.

Spawn-Inc said:

The other test I might try is to have constant boiling water and put one end into it and the other end into room temp water and see how long it takes to raise 1f.

Click to expand...

I would say ~10°F, just to take out minute errors in measurement.

Cool project though, interested to see the results

You're gonna have some strange numbers here.

They will all be about the same, the copper has such low specific heat, that the fluid contents inside it really wont make much of a difference.

What you should find, water should get the hottest and hold heat the longest. Followed by alcohol, followed by r22, followed by air.


A good way to test this, use an electrical heat source with a relatively constant temperature, i.e. a heat gun or soldering iron, verifying its temperature with an IR gun. Measure ambient, then also measure the start temperature of each pipe. Heat up one end of the pipe, using the heat gun to measure temperature at a specific point.


Since they are in pressurized containers, there will be no phase changing, at least not enough to matter. If you could figure a way to make the tube long enough to undergo a proper phase change, then you would dissipate more heat, but for now, I just dont see any of these chemicals making any difference.


edit: For consistencies sake, did you weigh them before filling with fluids?

Did you give up on this? Or get 3rd degree burns from some horrible accident?

Spawn-Inc said:

i think i will use boiling water as heat source and see how long it takes for the end to heat up. i have ktype probes i can use and an infrared gun to check on temps.

i will fill up a 4 cup measuring glass once for 5 minutes, dump it then start the test for each one. the one that transfer the heat the quickest is the best for that temperature range.

then try it again with 60c water if i can maintain that temp for a decent amount of time.

Click to expand...

Those who know me around here.......

Would say I have a little experience with homemade heat pipe experiments.....

I think you're idea of Temperature/time reading with boiling water and an IR gun is the best idea.
Wish I had an IR gun. I'd be checking the temperatures of everything....

whiterabbit391 said:

Those who know me around here.......

Would say I have a little experience with homemade heat pipe experiments...

Click to expand...

Please, do tell.

whiterabbit391 said:

Those who know me around here.......

Would say I have a little experience with homemade heat pipe experiments.....

I think you're idea of Temperature/time reading with boiling water and an IR gun is the best idea.
Wish I had an IR gun. I'd be checking the temperatures of everything....

Click to expand...

You just joined the site this month. We have no idea who you are... so, as above... do tell!

I was being funny about saying those who know me around here.
Because I am so new. But I did get in trouble with a few key members/administrators, so they no me. Notorious .

Let me find those links .....

theres the vague one..

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=749322

and this one.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=749614&highlight=vaseline

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=749614&highlight=vaseline