Heat pipes anyone?

[thetazzbot]

Well this is my first post... hooray.

Anyway, last year i had the distinct displeasure of installing a couple of commercial refers in my wife's store. So I learned a lot about refrigeration, bought some interesting tools, and hooked it all up. Fast forward to yesterday...im sitting here at my computer thinking damn this thing is loud and putting out some heat. So I start looking around at water coolers etc. So I started thinking about refrigeration and how the heat is transferred by the action of the refrigerant changing state from gas to liquid etc.

So i thought...hmmm, why cant you just charge some vacuumed / sealed tubing with some r134a or something similar and let gravity/heat/capilary action do the rest? I thought naahh, im dreaming. After all, im not that smart on refrigeration.

Low and behold, i was not far off base.

http://www.cheresources.com/htpipes.shtml

Seems possible after all.

Benefits: No moving parts. No compressors. High heat capacity/transfer rate.

Now, the only question left is, is it plausible for PC cooling?

I was thinking about this project I saw where a guy sealed a case and poured veggie oil in it. Then i thought, hmmm i could build a plexi case with room for a condensing coil under the mother board [on the other side of the plexiglass bottom]. So I started sketching and decided to pop in here and tell ya'll about the heat pipes. Maybe stir up some like minded interests...

edit:

seems there is a write up on this:

http://www.benchtest.com/heat_pipe1.html

Regards,
Mark

 

[ghettocomp]

Congrats on your first post, and to the forums!!
now to read your article...

 

[XeonStrikeForce]

They aren't that expensive now days, much easier just to buy em.

 

[WarriorII]

I believe JoeC is working on something similar.

hmm....

 

[jinu117]

Thermal siphon. don't think R134 is best candidate thanks to PT of it, maybe something like R123 might be better suited for this operation.

 

[schnikies79]

Propane makes an excellent refrigrant (one of the best). Hope you don't smoke!

I personally think you would be better off with something that is a liquid at STP (standard temp and pressure).

 

[XeonStrikeForce]

Ya I was thinking R123 too, aperantly cheap but they only sell it in 45drums, so hope you're making LOTs! lol

 

[thetazzbot]

Miniature compressor

Perhaps a compressor wouldhelp move things around.

The complete system I was envisioning was a mini-refrigeration unit. Ive seen the phase change setups on the forum and personally think they are over kill. The unforutunate truth about it all is, energy [in this scenario] is never lost or consumed it is merely transferred. So we are transferring heat from the cpu to the outside, using whatever best available technique there is.

The idea here is to not build something that is bigger or generates more heat then the pc alone.

http://www.hargravesfluidics.com/air_pumps.php#btc

miniature compressor. pair that with tubing to make a condensing coil, a TXV of some sort and some kind of evap unit [a heat sink at the cpu]. maybe a drier on the suction side to protect the compressor from bad soldering.

crude drawing attached.

I would also put in an electronic shut off timer so the system continues running momentarily after the computer is shut down, as well as a thermal safety shutdown to kill the computer if temps got too high or compressor quit.

 

[Pf.Farnsworth]

Now, the only question left is, is it plausible for PC cooling?

yes but preformance would be ***.

Perhaps a compressor wouldhelp move things around.

it will with alot of things but you said in your first post:

Benefits: No compressors.

So you just threw out your original idea out the door.

And yes this has been not only invented done and done to death but pretty much perfected by now.

Behold the internet gathering hole for PC refrigeration inovation and perfection:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10

 

[greenmaji]

XR and TP might argue with that

 

[XeonStrikeForce]

Hole seems to be aptly fitting with the lack of well laid out methodical posts at the current stage of things.

 

[Pf.Farnsworth]

XR and TP might argue with that

lol, I bet. But its obvious who is leading. I was going to say you dont see OCZ ordering XR or TP to design their unit.

TP from what I remember sprung up after XS and from what I can tell not to many people there who actually do this for a living and work in the industry. XR started things but I rearly see anything impressive there. And alot of what is nice is posted by the XS members.

Dont mean to advertise XS or anything but I think as far as knowledge, information, expertise and expirience XS is the best place to learn and watch other people do some impressive things. Just my $0.02.

 

[greenmaji]

aaahh most of TP is leet XS stuff.. ROFL.. (mostly the same people just they do there thinking/idea churning over at TP out of the XS spotlight ) And I really dig reading that stuff

but yea.. check out some posts with some single stage direct die systems (if the compressor is going to be involved) or read some of the killer new ideas cryo-tek is jabbing about over at XS WOOT (just to get an idea how extream one compressor can be LOL)

JUST heat pipes.. do some googling if you want to know how the current ones are designed and made.. they put alot of R&D into this already and LOADS of products, massproduced and cheap to buy now.. as posted before, hope this doesn't burst your bubble..