R134a cooling...revisited

[mizlplix]

Mainframes and servers are all in a nicely A/C controlled environment. Obviously it is necessary, so lets extend this idea to our PC. Instead of just cooling selected pieces, A/C the whole thing.

(OK, be nice because I have this thing 3/4 built)


Build a gaming rig inside a small chest type freezer and inert the interior atmosphere to prevent frosting up the components.....

Take a small, chest style freezer from Walmart ($143.00-draws 1.5 amps).
Build racks to hold all of the usual boards-drives-fans.

Install a high port and a low port in the chest, to introduce an inert gas to replace the air.

When done, seal the lid gasket with a silicone grease, shut and latch it , flood with R134a freon. (Also place a VPI desicant type unit in prior to closing.)


OK, Internally we have: MoBo/CPU, Graphics cards and H/d's.
Externally we have the power supply, DVD, CD and Floppy drives.
All cabling goes through the lid, near the hinge.

Assuming the freezer BTU gross capability exceeds the heat production capability of the internal units, we should have a means to set our internal temp to our desire.


As stated: I have it 3/4 built already. I'll keep you updated as I make progress or goof up. (Yes, I have greater than average ability and a machine shop)

I am attempting to do this with no exotic tools or materials. So far it has been all from Walmart and Home Depot.

Aluminum angle for the rack mounts along the walls (adhesived in with Polyurethane windshield compound, because it is unwise to drill the walls...hehe), Polycarbonate for the board-HD mounting surfaces.

Well, thats all for now. Going out to work on it a little. MPX

 

[mizlplix]

Well, my "computer" is layed out in two levels. The top level is 8" under the lid and contains only the MoBo. The rails are 3/4 X 3/4 aluminum angle front and back. The MoBo tray (Mounting board) is .200" Lexan. It has cooling slots at each end for a recirculating fan to keep air moving (Kinda like a convection oven only in reverse).

The second level is 7" below the first one. It contains the 4 Raptor 36G SATA drives for the RAID 5 array. The cables all reach, life is good.

The power unit is mounted on the lid. It is at the rear of the lid, slightly to the left of the mid-line. The cables exit down and through the lid to the interior.

The floppy cable will reach externally, but I will need a longer cable for the external DVD-ROM and CD-RW. Ditto for the 40 pin ATX power connector...too short.

More to come.....MPX

 

[mizlplix]

Hey, all:

OK, so today was a little slower. Mounting the 4 raptors was a little tiring.
(Remember no pre-made pieces) The Lexan tray was the slowest, requiring a lot of sawing, drilling and edge smoothing. The actual hole layout was simple.

1-SATA power cable from the PSU was long enough, but the other needs extending. (made extenders are too costly)

1-6 pin graphics plug would not reach the card, so it gets extended too.

I found 2 cables long enough to go from the MoBo to the external DVD and CD-RW drives for sound.

I mounted the external rack for the 2 optical drives also.

NOTE to self: Next time remember that great ideas usually mean lots of work.....

MPX

 

[mizlplix]

I just realized...noise will be nil....just the 90mm fan on the 600W Xenon Power unit, which is external and the cd/dvd/floppy drives. (I cant even hear the freezer run.)


Anyway As stated, I chave onfigured the boards and components into a 2 layer set-up and installed an 8" fan ( $8.00-Walmart) to circulate the internal atmosphere.

One of my other theories: The heat producing ability of computers generally is variable, according to the work load required. A freezer is basically a steady-state device, so It needs an ability to "store" thermal energy and give back in a short amount of time to cover the varying loads. (stay with me here)

The extreme bottom of the freezer chest is empty. so, I have purchased 8 of the "Blue ice" units that we put in a cooler to keep drinks cold. These should provide greater thermal mass to help regulate temp spikes without adding any moisture to the internal environment.

Later-MPX

 

[mizlplix]

Well, it went smoothly. I installed a thermometer probe, power button and green L.E.D. on the front edge of the lid. Pulling the wiring through the insulation was a pain....hehe

I extended some of the SATA cables....and the SLI power plugs.

I am only waiting for some last minute cables to arrive and it will be complete.

I guess I'll use the time to brush up on RAID Arrays.....

Later (a week or so) MPX