cooling the tank

[nicolaus corelius]

i have an idea
since the CPU temperature is more or less dependend on the liquid temp in a water cooling setup can i put the water tank in a cooler?

[FLG]

Sure, some people even put it in buckets filled with distilled water with ice in it.

[nicolaus corelius]

i just wanted to make sure that there are no serious technical obstacles. similar to turbulation created by putting too many fans on your case.

i dont wana go crazy and freeze the liquid but just a nice 10-20 C

[FLG]

Make sure that the cooler is well cool, if it starts to heat up it might start to work against you and keep in the heat.

[nicolaus corelius]

i just needed the moral support.

[Fastfly]

just throw dry ice on your components.

[nicolaus corelius]

http://van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/section/States_of_Matter_and_Energy/Really_Really_Really_Cold/20030307192710.htm

[David M]

If the water temp drops below the dew point of the surrounding air, then condensation will form and possibly destroy something.

Dry ice will certainly drop the water temp below the dew point of the air. Personally, I would not do that.

To successfully run the coolant temperature below the dewpoint of the surrounding air you have to insulate the hoses which run to and from the coolant block from the surrounding air. This requires insulating foam or other types of insulation which can get quite messy and very technically difficult.

I would first try dropping the coolant temperature so that it remains above the dew point of the air. Once you get bolder, insulate the tubes running to and from the coolant block and use whatever means you have to cool the coolant below the dew point of the air.

The reason standard watercooling works so well is because you never have to worry about condensation. But when you start using ice, refrigeration, dry ice or any other sort of mechanical/electrical cooling, things change and condensation becomes a major factor.

I read the link about the idea of placing dry ice directly on the CPU. Placing dry ice on anything will drop the surrounding temperatures enough to cause condensation. Do you really want to risk water forming on your motherboard or dripping onto your motherboard?

[nicolaus corelius]

"I would first try dropping the coolant temperature so that it remains above the dew point of the air. Once you get bolder, insulate the tubes running to and from the coolant block and use whatever means you have to cool the coolant below the dew point of the air."

i think thats exactly what im gonna do. and even if i keep it above dew point the results would be dramatic.

check out this link.
http://www.water-cooling.com/articles/chiller/chiller.php

what do you think the dew point would be on a sumer day in New York

[Yuanji]

i don't think dew point is that low. probably somewhere around 50-60F

[nicolaus corelius]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dew_point

P.S. i failed my physics with a 45.

[David M]

The dew point fluctuates on a daily basis, even an hourly basis.

I think it would be cool (bad pun) to make a water cooling system that detects the dewpoint and then regulates the coolant temperature to a couple degrees above the dewpoint. That would be a really nice feature for someone to invent. (Hint hint nicolaus) :)

[nicolaus corelius]

i was thinking about that before
my dad's brother is a engineer and he said thats a no problemo. all i have to do is put humidity and temp sensors and input the dew point formula

the hard part i guess i how to actually regulate the temparature. hmm. or maybe i could decrease the dew point. or maybe heat up the water with an electric heater

[David M]

There are Y-valves you can hook up to a controller. Somewhat similar to what the thermostat does for a cars cooling system.

[nicolaus corelius]

david m maybe we should take this discussing into PM-ing. it seems that u know more than the rudemintaries in this topic. maybe u could teach me more.

[David M]

That would be fine nicolaus, but I am no computer expert. What I know is from doing other technical things in my life relating to boats/ships, oceanographic instruments, science and research..but I would be happy to help however I can. Please go ahead and PM me.