The fridge computer

[ookabooka]

A friend of mine saw a contest in PC Gamer where people made mods, and the one that won was a case that had a coffee machine built into it. I kinda want to try this out. . . so after brainstorming a bit I decided to try to make a refridgerator/freezer computer. Basically make the case airtight, and have a refridgeration system keep teh inside of the case cool. Imagine opening up your window on your antec case to get a coke stored under the HD In order to do this, everything will be air cooled, including processor, so obviously I will need a strong system to keep it running at refridgerator temperatures. . . What do u guys think?

 

[Captain Slug]

I think it's haphazard. The condensation would be hard to control, you'd have to wait for it to completely defrost when you wanted to upgrade anything, and getting the cables routed to the outside would be a real challenge/PitA

 

[bdf24]

I've seen this done several time's. I used to have some pic's of a PC done up like this. But I don't have them anymore. I gotta admit even though it would be a hassle when your upgrading hardware. It would be fun to try. I don't think controlling the condensation would be all that hard. You could alway's waterproof the board's with Polyeurathane or something else. Put dielectric greese in all the CPU slot's, and ram slot's as well as your PCI slot's to prevent moisture from building up there.

It can be done but it would take time. But yes it would be cool!

 

[ookabooka]

Well, I thought that the condensation would form in two places. The evaporator, and the outside of the case from the cold metal exposed to the warm air. If I recycled the air in the case the evaporator should condense all the water vapor in the case right? So I should only ahve to worry about the evaporator. . .

 

[Skiing Squirrel]

It would be cool to do! (pun not intended)

 

[cullam3n]

If you want to see more of the coffee machine system:

http://www.pimprig.com/modules.php?...file=index&do=showpic&pid=411&orderby=ratingD

How he made it:

http://www.pimprig.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=72

A different one:

http://www.angelfire.com/clone/dan3/

-PC

 

[Lugie]

There are also things called dehumidifiers. They are commonly kept in basements.

They collect water from the air and condese it in a bucket which you can empty every so often. So maybe if you mount a small one in your case, then have a way to take in and out that bucket of water from the outside of the case, it would work out nicely.

Maybe you could just use a minifridge itself?

 

[Kinerry]

or pull out the stuff and use it somehow..

 

[Pablissimo]

Could you not either mod a minifridge just into the front of a case (I admit, it would be a big case to do it =) ), or 'make your own fridge' by taking the components and building that into the case, but isolate it completely from the components and have some kind of ducting run into the back of the 'fridge' to chill the air inside the ducting then back into the main case to, say, cool the CPU or keep the general case temp down?

Mighn't be too efficient mind =)

 

[q149]

Maybe you could have a mini freezer built into your desk with blowholes coming out the top of the desk and through vents into your computer.

 

[mbentley]

i believe that you would only have to worry about condensation if you shut the refrigerator off. when it is kept cold, the condensation will be at a minimum. condensation is formed only when the computer would come in contact with warm air. the heating of the components which would be kept at the low temperature would begin to create condensation. how many times have you pulled a can of pop out of the refigerator covered in condensation? maybe if the frig had been open for a while before hand. the problem with running cables would be solved by cutting a hole and filling the gap with one of those foaming insulation things. i have seen it done before. either that or some caulking (depending on the hole size) just my little tid bit of info

now that i think about it, you might have to worry about a little bit of condensation due to the heat your computer will generate... hmm... might take some experimenting with an old computer...

 

[Captain Slug]

i believe that you would only have to worry about condensation if you shut the refrigerator off.

This is what I was referring to. You'd have to defrost your PC and dry it out any time you want to change components.

So you'd better build it with reliable bits otherwise you'll waste alot of time with a hair dryer. ANd you still have the issues of routing cords.

 

[thef0x82]

What if you just took one of those mini dorm refrigerators, hacked it up to put some ducting inside so you could blow the cold air inside your case? Basically instead of air cooling with ambient temperature air, you'd be circulating the air from inside the refrigerator.

 

[mbentley]

What if you just took one of those mini dorm refrigerators, hacked it up to put some ducting inside so you could blow the cold air inside your case? Basically instead of air cooling with ambient temperature air, you'd be circulating the air from inside the refrigerator.

that seems like a pretty good idea, but i am not sure if the refrigerator would be able to keep the air cold enough to have a constant flow of air from the refrigerator... plus the refrigerator compressor would be running 24/7. as long as you aren't paying the electricity, that's cool