Laser me an air-con unit

[Stan_Lite]

I run F@H on 5 PCs at home (3 in the sitting room and 2 in the bedroom).
I work offshore/abroad for anything up to 6 weeks at a time but I like to leave the machines running whilst i'm away.

I live in a company flat and people come and go whilst I'm away and use the machines but sometimes they switch them off when they have finished and affect my Folding output.
I want to put them all in my bedroom when I go away so this can happen (I will probably leave the slowest one in the kitchen as some of the guys are good and I don't mind them using the internet).

If I am going to have 4 or 5 PCs in my bedroom (possibly more ) then I am definately going to need air-con as the temperature will be silly otherwise.

Can anyone suggest a good, standalone unit which will cool my bedroom to about 16c.

My bedroom measures about 5 metres by 4 metres by about 2.5 metres high.

I have had a look around but can't find much info on how to calculate the capacity of cooler required for my room.

Many thanks in advance.

Stan

 

[phykell]

Just something to consider but if you're going to be out for long periods, get one you can plumb the waste pipe from otherwise while you're away, you may find the water collection container fills up which will switch off the unit.

Most modern A/Cs now have a waste pipe you can take a line from.

 

[Matblack]

I'd say that you don't want a stand alone unit Stan, I have one and its great for rolling into place at night and putting the pipe out the window to vent but that means you have to have the window open all the time.

Air con works by heat exchanging so you HAVE to vent the air somehow you can get 'humidifiers' which have cold water in but that will raise the humidity not lower the temp. The one I have uses a pipe but I suspect the best solution for you would be a split unit with the fan inside and the heat exchanger outside that will need a hold drilled in the wall to take the connecting pipe.

Mine

Split unit

When I got mine SCM was very helpfull so you could drop him an email and see what he says.

You can get split units in B&Q now but you're looking at about 350 quid

Split unit will probably have a better temp control and will be a lot quieter, don't forget they cost a hell of a lot to run too.

MB

 

[Adam_151]

Before anyone buys an airforce system from B+Q, this might be worth a read: http://www.airconwarehouse.com/airforce_climate_control.htm it seems the airforce arn't particulaly efficent and you can do better for the money (though the link is to an aircon shop, so don't blindly believe everything it says, though it all seems to make sense to me)

 

[LeperousDust]

If you're not going to be in your room for long periods of time, you don't need to regulate the temperature, just keep it cool. Couldn't you fit 2 discreet extrator fans, and run them so they pull and push air outside in. It will probably freeze the room of a night, but you won't be worried because you wont be there! This is all depending on whether you have an outside wall or not though.

 

[Matblack]

If you're not going to be in your room for long periods of time, you don't need to regulate the temperature, just keep it cool. Couldn't you fit 2 discreet extrator fans, and run them so they pull and push air outside in. It will probably freeze the room of a night, but you won't be worried because you wont be there! This is all depending on whether you have an outside wall or not though.

I think you're on to a winner there, however if he hasn't got an outside wall then running an aircon unit won't be an option anyway

MB

 

[Stan_Lite]

Some good suggestions there.

I looked at the split units MB but the problem is that the flat is privately rented by my employers and driling holes in the walls is probably a bit of a no-no (this would also apply to the fans idea).

Hmmmmm.

Stan

 

[Mr Spew]

Would it be unbearable for them just leaving them as they are?

 

[BillytheImpaler]

Would it be unbearable for them just leaving them as they are?

Yes. They'd overheat if left in the summer heat in an insulated room for weeks on end.

Stan, the most immediate solution seems to be an AC unit that hangs out the window. If you have double-hung windows like most places it's the easiest and best solution. Rigging it up so that the windo wi locked and clamped into the AC unit makes security a breeze* as well.




*Apologies for the pun, sah.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Would it be unbearable for them just leaving them as they are?

If you mean leave them in the rooms they are in then I would rather not as they tend to get switched off by people passing through.

If you mean leave them in an uncooled room then they need to be cooled as they are all overclocked. Leaving 5 overclocked PCs in one room in the summer (even in Peterhead) would be suicidal as the heat generated would be colossal.

It just occurred to me that there is a wash hand basin in my room so I could rig it so that the water can run down the waste pipe from the basin

Now all I need is to find out which capacity would be sufficient (i.e. 9,000, 12,000 BTU etc).

Also, which makes are reliable?

BTI - that pun is inexcusable - please stand in the dunces corner for the rest of the day

Stan

PS: Which wag changed my thread title?

 

[DRZ]

As there isnt a water shortage up there, couldnt you run an almost total-loss watercooling system. You could have it as total loss when you arent there and recirculating when you are there. Water is cheaper than electricity and buying all the waterblocks etc wouldnt cost you as much as the air con unit.

You will probably get a few more cycles out of the cpus too

 

[BillytheImpaler]

snip

You’d need to take precautions so that if the drain were to cease functioning it wouldn't flood the room. It'd end up being something like the float ball found in toilet basins. Also, I'm pretty sure that the passages in the waterblocks are not too fond of all the minerals and other schmutz that comes along with tap water.

 

[rG-tom]

why not recase the pcs where they are now so that the power buttons are behind a locked door? like a server case?

Tom.