Introducing my water cooled computer

liquidcooler · 07-13-2003, 03:22 AM

After finishing my water cooled computer I made a guide on how to build it. The computer is fully water cooled: the CPU, GPU and power source and it's very quiet. www.eng.losconectados.com

Al Kaseltzer · 07-13-2003, 04:18 PM

Very impressive job, nicely thought out design of the whole system.

However, the most impressive part has to be the water cooled PSU. That's the first time I've ever seen a water cooled PSU design that didn't involve desoldering parts from the PCB. The only problem with your design is it will only work in an all Al cooling system - which are pretty rare these days.

liquidcooler · 07-13-2003, 11:52 PM

To speak the truth I'm thinking on changing to Cu. Anyway I'm not sure my system is all All. They guy who sold me the radiator told me very convinced (and he was an expert) that it was made of Al, but he seems to be wrong because its pipes seem to be made of Cu, I'm not sure.

bigben2k · 07-14-2003, 08:10 AM

In order to avoid the Alu, I'm opting to remove those big Al sinks, and replacing them with a copper bar, on top of which I'll solder a copper tube. It's not optimal, but it's really simple.

Althornin · 07-14-2003, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigben2k
In order to avoid the Alu, I'm opting to remove those big Al sinks, and replacing them with a copper bar, on top of which I'll solder a copper tube. It's not optimal, but it's really simple.

why not just thermal epoxy a copper tube to the aluminum sinks?

bigben2k · 07-14-2003, 11:25 AM

Thermal epoxy would give a better thermal conductivity than the solder, but I can easily optimize the thermal conductivity of the heatsink, by replacing it with copper.

If anything, I'd try that silver solder mentionned here and there, if I can get it easily. The propane torch would work fabulously either way

Althornin · 07-14-2003, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigben2k
Thermal epoxy would give a better thermal conductivity than the solder, but I can easily optimize the thermal conductivity of the heatsink, by replacing it with copper.

If anything, I'd try that silver solder mentionned here and there, if I can get it easily. The propane torch would work fabulously either way

yeah but thats alot more work

replacing those sinks is a PITA.

bigben2k · 07-14-2003, 12:00 PM

Not really.

Removing the old heatsink is the most difficult part, because part of it is screwed, and part of it is clamped to a pin that's soldered to the PCB. The MOSFETs are simply screwed into the heatsink, back to back with a nut and bolt. The bolt can be hard to reach, but it's not too bad.

Then all I have to do is take some careful measurments, make a copper plate that's as short as possible, while accomodating 1/2" copper tubing. Drill a few holes for the MOSFET mounts, and thermal epoxy the diode back on.

Because there's two large sinks in my PSUs, the tubing will run in over the first, and out over the second. Then all I have to do is figure out how to cool that coil.

Either way, I'm adding a 40 mm fan in there, to run silent. If there's enough room, I might simply put an 80mm low profile fan, and undervolt it to run silent.

The main issue I have right now, is securing the PSUs to the drive trays. I'm headed towards removing the PSU case alltogether, and mount the PCB right onto the tray. Then I have to mount the connectors, and that means that I have to have a rock solid bracket.:shrug: Then I have to figure out if there's any way I can have self disconnecting, self sealing, water connections.

Pyrotechnic · 07-15-2003, 05:36 PM

I'm not sure about your particular PSU, but arent those heatsinks live because they bolt to the MOSFETS ? I found out the heatsinks were live the hard way, and after that i have seen several warning stickers on the heatsinks in various PSU's saying they were live.

If your watercooling the PSU, wouldn't you have electricity running through your whole w/c system with the live heatsinks and the conductive water ?

redleader · 07-15-2003, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Thermal epoxy would give a better thermal conductivity than the solder, but I can easily optimize the thermal conductivity of the heatsink, by replacing it with copper.

I suspect solder is many times more conductive then any epoxy since one is a polyimer and the other is a mix of silver, tin, lead or indium.

liquidcooler · 07-16-2003, 11:07 AM

The transistors heatsink is in the high voltage side (not the diodes one), so an electricity leak would be live.

They are bolted to the heatsink and there's an electric isolating and heat conductive sheet between the each transistor and the heatsink (probably made of mica) that makes the heatsink not ot be live. If this sheet fails you have shortcircuit in the PSU.

All I can tell is that this thing is working correctly at the moment.

nicozeg · 07-16-2003, 03:37 PM

You've made a great work in your system, I really liked the ingenuity you used in adapting current aircooled pars to water use.

But I want to warn you of a potential disaster that could happen to you: Araldite is not completely waterproof It degrades in long term contact with water, becoming brownish in color and loosing hardness. This problem is tipical of most quick set epoxies.

I'm speaking from experience: I made a waterblock from an old heatsink, by encasing it with parts bonded with epoxy. After about six months of use it developed a leak!

liquidcooler · 07-16-2003, 05:29 PM

Thank you Nicozeg. I think 'm in trouble...

MMZ_TimeLord · 07-17-2003, 09:50 AM

Naw, you aren't in trouble... just gives you an excuse to build better blocks.

liquidcooler · 07-17-2003, 04:24 PM

Yes! and try D2D watercooling, but before that I want to make the fan control. I'll show you when it's done.

07-13-2003, 03:22 AM	#1
liquidcooler Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: barcelona Posts: 18	Introducing my water cooled computer After finishing my water cooled computer I made a guide on how to build it. The computer is fully water cooled: the CPU, GPU and power source and it's very quiet. www.eng.losconectados.com

07-14-2003, 08:10 AM	#4
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	In order to avoid the Alu, I'm opting to remove those big Al sinks, and replacing them with a copper bar, on top of which I'll solder a copper tube. It's not optimal, but it's really simple. __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

07-14-2003, 11:25 AM	#6
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	Thermal epoxy would give a better thermal conductivity than the solder, but I can easily optimize the thermal conductivity of the heatsink, by replacing it with copper. If anything, I'd try that silver solder mentionned here and there, if I can get it easily. The propane torch would work fabulously either way __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

07-14-2003, 12:00 PM	#8
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	Not really. Removing the old heatsink is the most difficult part, because part of it is screwed, and part of it is clamped to a pin that's soldered to the PCB. The MOSFETs are simply screwed into the heatsink, back to back with a nut and bolt. The bolt can be hard to reach, but it's not too bad. Then all I have to do is take some careful measurments, make a copper plate that's as short as possible, while accomodating 1/2" copper tubing. Drill a few holes for the MOSFET mounts, and thermal epoxy the diode back on. Because there's two large sinks in my PSUs, the tubing will run in over the first, and out over the second. Then all I have to do is figure out how to cool that coil. Either way, I'm adding a 40 mm fan in there, to run silent. If there's enough room, I might simply put an 80mm low profile fan, and undervolt it to run silent. The main issue I have right now, is securing the PSUs to the drive trays. I'm headed towards removing the PSU case alltogether, and mount the PCB right onto the tray. Then I have to mount the connectors, and that means that I have to have a rock solid bracket.:shrug: Then I have to figure out if there's any way I can have self disconnecting, self sealing, water connections. __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

07-17-2003, 09:50 AM	#14
MMZ_TimeLord Cooling Savant Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: San Mateo, CA, USA, Earth Posts: 433	Naw, you aren't in trouble... just gives you an excuse to build better blocks. __________________ MMZ>TimeLord "Oooooooooh... that's gonna leave a mark!"

07-13-2003, 04:18 PM	#2
Al Kaseltzer Cooling Neophyte Join Date: May 2003 Location: Montreal, QC Posts: 14	Very impressive job, nicely thought out design of the whole system. However, the most impressive part has to be the water cooled PSU. That's the first time I've ever seen a water cooled PSU design that didn't involve desoldering parts from the PCB. The only problem with your design is it will only work in an all Al cooling system - which are pretty rare these days.

07-13-2003, 11:52 PM	#3
liquidcooler Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: barcelona Posts: 18	To speak the truth I'm thinking on changing to Cu. Anyway I'm not sure my system is all All. They guy who sold me the radiator told me very convinced (and he was an expert) that it was made of Al, but he seems to be wrong because its pipes seem to be made of Cu, I'm not sure.

07-15-2003, 05:36 PM	#9
Pyrotechnic Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 240	I'm not sure about your particular PSU, but arent those heatsinks live because they bolt to the MOSFETS ? I found out the heatsinks were live the hard way, and after that i have seen several warning stickers on the heatsinks in various PSU's saying they were live. If your watercooling the PSU, wouldn't you have electricity running through your whole w/c system with the live heatsinks and the conductive water ?

07-16-2003, 11:07 AM	#11
liquidcooler Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: barcelona Posts: 18	The transistors heatsink is in the high voltage side (not the diodes one), so an electricity leak would be live. They are bolted to the heatsink and there's an electric isolating and heat conductive sheet between the each transistor and the heatsink (probably made of mica) that makes the heatsink not ot be live. If this sheet fails you have shortcircuit in the PSU. All I can tell is that this thing is working correctly at the moment.

07-16-2003, 03:37 PM	#12
nicozeg Cooling Savant Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Santiago, Chile Posts: 403	You've made a great work in your system, I really liked the ingenuity you used in adapting current aircooled pars to water use. But I want to warn you of a potential disaster that could happen to you: Araldite is not completely waterproof It degrades in long term contact with water, becoming brownish in color and loosing hardness. This problem is tipical of most quick set epoxies. I'm speaking from experience: I made a waterblock from an old heatsink, by encasing it with parts bonded with epoxy. After about six months of use it developed a leak!

07-16-2003, 05:29 PM	#13
liquidcooler Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: barcelona Posts: 18	Thank you Nicozeg. I think 'm in trouble...

07-17-2003, 04:24 PM	#15
liquidcooler Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: barcelona Posts: 18	Yes! and try D2D watercooling, but before that I want to make the fan control. I'll show you when it's done.

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