Oil cooling

Yeah - I saw this on slashdot - dump the mobo in mineral oil - just leave the HDD sticking out!
http://www.markusleonhardt.de.nyud.net:8090/oelbilder.html

 

hmmm..i don't think i'd try that

 

crazy, looks awefully fun to try; not sure how you would haul it around though http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

 

the real problem would come when you wanted to change a part not? While yes, It seems to work, I can also imagine it going horribly wrong horribly fast.

 

with the pc in oil would you keep the cpu fan on it? lol it sure does look like fun maybe i will try that with one of my old pc's i have sitting here

 

It's not that new, just most people don't tend to do it with desktop PCs
You don't keep the fan on the CPU, you'd be better off with a pump of some sort going over the heatsink to ensure the convection is more even and you don't get patches of hot oil.

Submersion cooling has been around since the early 80's, usually though they used totally closed systems to prevent contaminents getting into the oil and reducing the heat capacity.

You know I might actually try this with that P2 board that I've got sitting around

 

Gotta agree with that. Rather, I would be worried when you take out a part from that. Why? Oil + dust = sticky dirt I dont know many things that can take it off... Besides high power water, which isnt quite good for your PC.

 

u could use some brake cleaner...or alcahol to clear ur parts

 

Alcohol, anyways, doesnt alcohol act as a catalyst in oxidation?

 

not sure >_< lol

 

If can, depending on whether whatever you're reacting is soluble in alcohol. As far as I know, most things in a computer are not soluble, but I don't know.

A degreacing compound might do it, providing it can be removed without trace once the parts are re-submerged.

 

could you use gatorade instead of water for a coolant,

 

In theory, yes.

But your pump would get sticky, and as it heats up the sugar would caramelise inside the waterblock.

Needless to say, it wouldn't last very long.

 

when guys use phase change cooling,the parts they want to keep dry and safe from condensation,they spray them with this red liquid plastic stuff in a can,it sets like a plastic coating on the mobo,but can be peeled off in one peice,if you just left the heatsinks uncovered it wouldnt take that long to clean and all your ports will be kept dry.

 

Yes, thats alcohol soluble plastic... as the alcohol evapourates the solid plastic comes out of solution and sticks to the component,in much the same way solid salt is formed when you leave brine in a warm place. However, since the bonding energy and van der Waals forces are less in alcohol (or whatever the solvent is), less energy is required for evapouration to occour, therefore more evapourates therefore the plastic "sets" faster.

Using that is certainly an idea but I wouldn't bet that the coating would be resistant to oil. A lot of plastics deteriorate when left in oil ...

 

When I was working on Radar equipment we had very high voltages that would normally be insulated by air, except at high altitudes there is very little air so the boxes were filled with silicon oil. Of course when it came to servicing we had to drain it all out. We used trichloroethane to clean the parts that needed fiddling with.
Apart from the fact that silicon oil is umm, indigestable - and trich would wack you out of your skull - it all worked fine.

 

Thats cool. Yeah, friend of mine told me about the mineral oil being used in high-voltage stuff, and that it conducts heat really well, aka used for cooling.
Well, the thing about the oil is that you would have nice and shiny prongs for the rest of the time.
BUT, what about fiberglass stuff? Surely there is some inside every computer. And as you all know, fiberglass + oil = bad

 

i still rekon gatorade would look kewl

 

Right then check this article out,

http://www.phase-change.com/index.php?action=Articles_page&cat=Guides&id=25&page=2

Theres the liquid tape"but we dont need any",spread die electric grease all over the mobo,you can even stick it in the sockets,then fit your all gizmos,fit your heatsinks with heatpaste obviously and throw it in the oil bath,the die electric grease will protect it from the oil and can be easily removed with a can of electrical cleaner and the mobo can still be RMA'd also in the same article

I'v heard the die electric grease can be slightly capacitive I havn'tfound any thing conclusive,any ideas goldfish you probably invented it.LOL