Why not use a mini fridge instead of radiator?
- Thread starter Day03
- Start date
Soldato
Soldato
Yeah you try that, let us know how you get on.
since a thread about refrigerators has come up, quick question about the big ones, with the compressor etc,
I understand you can;t use them to cool a constant heat load as the compressor cycles on and off, and it burns the motor out, but is there a way to have the compressor on all the time, and so prevent it burning out from starting up again and again?
I understand you can;t use them to cool a constant heat load as the compressor cycles on and off, and it burns the motor out, but is there a way to have the compressor on all the time, and so prevent it burning out from starting up again and again?
Soldato
heheh....they can barley cool the air inside the fridge, nevermind a processor
Barley cool?
I should imagine it would be quite straight forward once youve identifed the parts inside, you could just bypass or short whatever it is that switches power to the compressor.
Dunno how safe that would be though, as the compressor is probs not designed to run 24/7.....?
Soldato
the motor will still die due to the brushes wearing out.
I don't mean sticking the pelt onto the cpu but have like a copper reservoir and stick quite a few of these pelts onto the side of it. Mount it outside the case so that it doesn't pump any heat into the case. If the fridge pelts are not powerful enough then a competitor sells 226W pelts which are not very expensive.
I don't want this to make temps go even lower than and be able to OC more but just to to replace the rad and the fans to make the PC quiter.
I don't want this to make temps go even lower than and be able to OC more but just to to replace the rad and the fans to make the PC quiter.
Hmm ths is actually a really good question, I don't think anyones actually ever thought of using a mini-fridge before before, odd as it's such a common and easily-accessible item! I suggest asking the question on Xtremesystems forums, they may be able to help you better http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Good luck!
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Soldato
A fridge is no way powerful enough to cool a CPU!
Soldato
The peltier / water chilling has been done a lot, I believe you need quite a beefy setup and a lot of the time they use water chillers and radiators in combination.
I don't think a small fridge peltier (T.E.C?) will suffice, you'll need a dedicated large chiller unit.
As Richdog says, jump over to xtremesystems
they have loads of crazy guys on there experimenting with chillig, T.E.Cs, etc.
I don't think a small fridge peltier (T.E.C?) will suffice, you'll need a dedicated large chiller unit.
As Richdog says, jump over to xtremesystems
they have loads of crazy guys on there experimenting with chillig, T.E.Cs, etc.
Soldato
Just for the hell of it and because I can be bothered to do it today, let me answer the original question as if it had never been asked before. 
A fridge or freezer is designed to cool something which is either warm or already frozen. Either way, the item concerned has no power source so once cooled will stay in that state. Only limited amounts of cooling power are required to maintain those cold items in that state due to good thermal insulation and the complete absence of heat generation.
Now take a processor. It is emitting the same heat as a 100W lightbulb. Sometimes more. It does that constantly. The fridge/freezer unit now needs to remove said heat. Take a look at the back of a fridge. That's where its radiator is. Puny isn't it?
As for TECs, it is crucial to understand how they work. One side gets cold, one side gets hot. The cooler you can make the hot side, the colder becomes the cold side. Without active cooling on the hot side, the cold side doesn't get very cold at all. So now we have an actively cooled TEC but we've put it on the outside of the cooling solution trying to cool the water. Illogical, Captain. The place to put your coldest component is against your hottest one, i.e. the cpu. This is why TEC cooling is generally done with the TEC against the chip and a water-block against the TEC.
A fridge or freezer is designed to cool something which is either warm or already frozen. Either way, the item concerned has no power source so once cooled will stay in that state. Only limited amounts of cooling power are required to maintain those cold items in that state due to good thermal insulation and the complete absence of heat generation.
Now take a processor. It is emitting the same heat as a 100W lightbulb. Sometimes more. It does that constantly. The fridge/freezer unit now needs to remove said heat. Take a look at the back of a fridge. That's where its radiator is. Puny isn't it?
As for TECs, it is crucial to understand how they work. One side gets cold, one side gets hot. The cooler you can make the hot side, the colder becomes the cold side. Without active cooling on the hot side, the cold side doesn't get very cold at all. So now we have an actively cooled TEC but we've put it on the outside of the cooling solution trying to cool the water. Illogical, Captain. The place to put your coldest component is against your hottest one, i.e. the cpu. This is why TEC cooling is generally done with the TEC against the chip and a water-block against the TEC.
Hmm ths is actually a really good question, I don't think anyones actually ever thought of using a mini-fridge before before, odd as it's such a common and easily-accessible item! I suggest asking the question on Xtremesystems forums, they may be able to help you better http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Good luck!
lmao
Associate
Can't imagine one of those doing any good at all
Buy a £99 lift top freezer from iceland, rest of stuff required i would say brings total outlay to around 200-220 mark
Rip comp out of it (use propane not butane), Read up on certain sites and make a proper phase-change rig
Made 3 of these in the past lol
Not really into phasing now but maybe i make another for next intel chips
Or spend a small fortune and get a vapochill etc
Sub zero for the diy man he he
Ciao
Def
Buy a £99 lift top freezer from iceland, rest of stuff required i would say brings total outlay to around 200-220 mark
Rip comp out of it (use propane not butane), Read up on certain sites and make a proper phase-change rig
Made 3 of these in the past lol
Not really into phasing now but maybe i make another for next intel chips
Or spend a small fortune and get a vapochill etc
Sub zero for the diy man he he
Ciao
Def
Step away from the DIY phase - seriously!
Chillers are very effective at achieving what you are talking about, (see sig) - but they tend to be adapted from the chillers that keep beer cold in pubs. The fridge, as above, simply doesn't have the oompfff.
Phase is great - and relatively inexpensive now, look for an upgrades Mach 1 or Mach 2 ideally with the Chilly1 head (can't remember the name of its successor now that Chilly has, ironically, fled to warmer climes!) But DIY phase is not for the faint hearted - dealing with the gasses involved requires a great deal of skill, more than just a 'quick read' anyway.
Pelts are great, but not much good on the radiator - remember that you will also have to cool the hot side with a decent water rig, so it starts to get very expensive very quickly.
If you want ghetto, grab yourself a cheap chiller (R12 or better) capable of losing around 400W of heat, and get yourself a 226W pelt. The 2 together will give you some frosty temps - but be prepared to lag EVERYTHING!
Really, with C2Ds and beyond, the gains are seldom worth the investment, but it can be good fun, especially if you do go fully ghetto and end up with the standard frankenstein machine - but remember you will also need a dedicated power source for the TEC (pelt) - meanwell are excellent, but a cheap chinese version is available for about half the price.
Make sure you read around the subject though - get your sums wrong and you get this:
Chillers are very effective at achieving what you are talking about, (see sig) - but they tend to be adapted from the chillers that keep beer cold in pubs. The fridge, as above, simply doesn't have the oompfff.
Phase is great - and relatively inexpensive now, look for an upgrades Mach 1 or Mach 2 ideally with the Chilly1 head (can't remember the name of its successor now that Chilly has, ironically, fled to warmer climes!) But DIY phase is not for the faint hearted - dealing with the gasses involved requires a great deal of skill, more than just a 'quick read' anyway.
Pelts are great, but not much good on the radiator - remember that you will also have to cool the hot side with a decent water rig, so it starts to get very expensive very quickly.
If you want ghetto, grab yourself a cheap chiller (R12 or better) capable of losing around 400W of heat, and get yourself a 226W pelt. The 2 together will give you some frosty temps - but be prepared to lag EVERYTHING!
Really, with C2Ds and beyond, the gains are seldom worth the investment, but it can be good fun, especially if you do go fully ghetto and end up with the standard frankenstein machine - but remember you will also need a dedicated power source for the TEC (pelt) - meanwell are excellent, but a cheap chinese version is available for about half the price.
Make sure you read around the subject though - get your sums wrong and you get this:
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Hmm ths is actually a really good question, I don't think anyones actually ever thought of using a mini-fridge before before, odd as it's such a common and easily-accessible item! I suggest asking the question on Xtremesystems forums, they may be able to help you better http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Good luck!
That's just irresponsible - you're going to get him killed.