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H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 01:41 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtufuXLvOok

When I first saw it, I didn't believe it. Then after watching it again I started to realize how cool this is. What do you guys/gals think? Waste of time? Stupid? Awesome?

Skripka
June 8th, 2009, 01:48 AM
It is a great way of quieting a loud server.


Or.


Of keeping dust from accumulating inside your box.

damis648
June 8th, 2009, 01:52 AM
Very cool. Reminds me of the Hardcore Reactor. I like it. I would do it, but I don't have the heart to put any sort of computer component worth more than $100 in a tank of oil. :popcorn:

eolson
June 8th, 2009, 01:54 AM
Mineral oil is a good insulator and cooling mechanism. It's been used for years as a coolant in high power "dummy loads" for tuning and testing transmitters. Should work with not problem.

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

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 02:05 AM
The only thing that keeps me from doing it is that it will cost at least $150 - $200. And that is a bit for a novelty.

BuffaloX
June 8th, 2009, 02:21 AM
Reality check...

The system has poor cooling for sustained performance.
The cooling area is limited to the surface of the box.
To get good sustained cooling a pump and radiator is needed.

Vostrocity
June 8th, 2009, 02:24 AM
God that's insane! I don't know how popular these are, but I've never seen anything like it (even though now I realize there's a lot of similar videos on YouTube). I'll have to do that as an experiment.

Skripka
June 8th, 2009, 02:26 AM
Reality check...

The system has poor cooling for sustained performance.
The cooling area is limited to the surface of the box.
To get good sustained cooling a pump and radiator is needed.

Just put the aquarium in the freezer ;>) Although that kinda destroys the point.

They also forget, that the bubbles will introduce pollutants into the coolant which will need filtered out.

Vostrocity
June 8th, 2009, 02:30 AM
They also forget, that the bubbles will introduce pollutants into the coolant which will need filtered out.

I don't think so. The pump draws air from the space between the oil and the lid, so any dust that would be drawn in would have landed on the surface anyway.

Skripka
June 8th, 2009, 02:36 AM
I don't think so. The pump draws air from the space between the oil and the lid, so any dust that would be drawn in would have landed on the surface anyway.

Would the humidity in the air pollute the coolant over time? That is more what I was wondering.

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 02:40 AM
Would the humidity in the air pollute the coolant over time? That is more what I was wondering.

I would imagine the humidity would pollute it over time, but with oil and water not mixing well it could be siphoned off periodically. One article said once a year is all that is needed.

And some use external radiators as well to cool the oil, some do not. My preference would be to cool it.

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 02:42 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtufuXLvOok

When I first saw it, I didn't believe it. Then after watching it again I started to realize how cool this is. What do you guys/gals think? Waste of time? Stupid? Awesome?

me and a friend built that exact setup, its awesome. it runs very hot, but because of how fluid dynamics/oil works you pretty much never have to worry about your parts over heating. hmm... i should build another one..:D

Vostrocity
June 8th, 2009, 02:42 AM
Would the humidity in the air pollute the coolant over time? That is more what I was wondering.

Oh.. that pollutant. Good point actually. Since water is heavier than oil, I guess it would layer at the bottom (if you left it running for a really long time). Or does microscopic droplets of water not follow that rule?

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 02:46 AM
Oh.. that pollutant. Good point actually. Since water is heavier than oil, I guess it would layer at the bottom (if you left it running for a really long time). Or does microscopic droplets of water not follow that rule?

no, the average temp is about 140-220 degrees depending on work load and hardware, even if there was a little water in there it would evaporate after it heats up.

just so long as you use mineral oil, all is right with the world:D. iv seen some idiots use vegetable oil (it goes bad.) .

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 02:47 AM
me and a friend built that exact setup, its awesome. it runs very hot, but because of how fluid dynamics/oil works you pretty much never have to worry about your parts over heating. hmm... i should build another one..:D

About what did it cost you?

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 02:52 AM
I would imagine the humidity would pollute it over time, but with oil and water not mixing well it could be siphoned off periodically. One article said once a year is all that is needed.

And some use external radiators as well to cool the oil, some do not. My preference would be to cool it.

unless you are piping the heat out of your house or into the attic, its pointless. the way oil works causes the heat to be pulled from the parts just so long as there exposed to the oil. the one i built i remove all heat sinks and fans, its been working great at my friends house for the last year or so, with no problems good performance.

the only reason to pipe the heat out is to keep the room you are in cool. personally we just bought a window air conditioner. keeps the room from feeling like an oven.;)

mamamia88
June 8th, 2009, 02:53 AM
i wonder how cool that would keep a pc. mineral oil is rather cheap and i would love to have a machine in an aquarium looks cool as hell

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 02:56 AM
About what did it cost you?

if i remember right it was about 200-250 for all the stuff (7 gallons of oil, fish tank, mother board tray, and a power supply cause his crapped out in the middle of building it.). you can get the oil at a farming supply store. make sure it is mineral oil, vegetable oil will go bad. and can cause fires if heated too much.

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 03:02 AM
if i remember right it was about 200-250 for all the stuff (7 gallons of oil, fish tank, mother board tray, and a power supply cause his crapped out in the middle of building it.). you can get the oil at a farming supply store. make sure it is mineral oil, vegetable oil will go bad. and can cause fires if heated too much.

Ok, thanks :) This is on my list of things to do. Did you do any special lighting inside?

Vostrocity
June 8th, 2009, 03:07 AM
I imagine it would be a big mess if you bring it around to all your LAN parties.

Skripka
June 8th, 2009, 03:08 AM
Ok, thanks :) This is on my list of things to do. Did you do any special lighting inside?

I'd wager you'd want to use cold cathodes-as just about anything else bright enough will cause more heat issues. You can get 'em on NewEgg for only $6-10 a tube.

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 03:22 AM
Ok, thanks :) This is on my list of things to do. Did you do any special lighting inside?

oh yeah:D, we added a neon blue light, one of those long bar lights(kind of like this http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/directron_2055_119150782 except not as weird). we hung it on the under side of the lid using those plastic pull ties, the glue pads wouldn't stick because we got oil on them. that and we figured the heat would kill the glue anyway. makes things a little safer;). also, that is another reason to use mineral oil, mineral oil is clear, vegetable oil has a yellow tent(looks disgusting.)

we also put fish tank rocks and a little castle in there. MAKE SURE you know what your putting in there is made of something that wont break down in heat, and is non-conductive. glass is good, if you can, use that. and if the parts you are using are old, take a can of air to them or you will end up with dust floating in the top of the tank.

i also suggest using the tank it the video, or one made of Similar material. glass can break and cheap stuff can melt, and you don't want 6-7 gallons of oil soaked in to your stuff.

Vostrocity
June 8th, 2009, 03:28 AM
I wasn't really familiar with mineral oil before this, but after some research I've decided that mineral oil rocks! :D Just look at all of its uses.
-Baby oil
-Laxative
-Suffocates parasites on animals
-Mechanical lubricant
-Shoe polish
-Wood finish
-Making Swedish Fish
-Remove adhesives
-Firebreathing fuel
-Lava lamps
This is seriously the coolest kind of oil ever!

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 03:30 AM
oh yeah:D, we added a neon blue light, one of those long bar lights(kind of like this http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/directron_2055_119150782 except not as weird). we hung it on the under side of the lid using those plastic pull ties, the glue pads wouldn't stick because we got oil on them. that and we figured the heat would kill the glue anyway. makes things a little safer;). also, that is another reason to use mineral oil, mineral oil is clear, vegetable oil has a yellow tent(looks disgusting.)

we also put fish tank rocks and a little castle in there. MAKE SURE you know what your putting in there is made of something that wont break down in heat, and is non-conductive. glass is good, if you can, use that. and if the parts you are using are old, take a can of air to them or you will end up with dust floating in the top of the tank.

i also suggest using the tank it the video, or one made of Similar material. glass can break and cheap stuff can melt, and you don't want 6-7 gallons of oil soaked in to your stuff.

Very nice :) 6 gal of oil all over my floor would be a disaster :(

mamamia88
June 8th, 2009, 03:35 AM
do you put the harddrive and dvd drive in the mineral oil too?

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 03:36 AM
do you put the harddrive and dvd drive in the mineral oil too?

No, those need to be dry. wont work in oil. Except Solid State HDD. Also on the wish list :)

mamamia88
June 8th, 2009, 03:38 AM
No, those need to be dry. wont work in oil. Except Solid State HDD. Also on the wish list :)

cool thanks looks like it would be pretty awesome to try to build one of these maybe when i get some spare cash i will

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 03:41 AM
Very nice :) 6 gal of oil all over my floor would be a disaster :(

imagine how long that would take to clean up:D.

rookcifer
June 8th, 2009, 03:44 AM
Mineral oil is a good insulator and cooling mechanism. It's been used for years as a coolant in high power "dummy loads" for tuning and testing transmitters. Should work with not problem.

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

Some of the old Cray supercomputers also had certain circuit boards submerged in Fluorinert. So the idea isn't new, just sort of a novelty with PC's at the moment.

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 03:45 AM
cool thanks looks like it would be pretty awesome to try to build one of these maybe when i get some spare cash i will

its a lot of fun to build, the best part is when you finally turn it on and it works:D.

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 03:48 AM
imagine how long that would take to clean up:D.

I don't know about you, but I would just move. lol

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 03:53 AM
Some of the old Cray supercomputers also had certain circuit boards submerged in Fluorinert. So the idea isn't new, just sort of a novelty with PC's at the moment.

its no different than case modding/liquid cooling, this is just both at the same time. it works great with over-clocking, the NSA also does the same with there code cracker comps, they use liquid nitrogen if i remember right. imagine how hot those part would have to run to need that kind of cooling.

Rainstride
June 8th, 2009, 03:55 AM
I don't know about you, but I would just move. lol

lol, that sounds like a better plan. especially if you are renting:).

H2SO_four
June 8th, 2009, 03:57 AM
I wasn't really familiar with mineral oil before this, but after some research I've decided that mineral oil rocks! :D Just look at all of its uses.
-Baby oil
-Laxative
-Suffocates parasites on animals
-Mechanical lubricant
-Shoe polish
-Wood finish
-Making Swedish Fish
-Remove adhesives
-Firebreathing fuel
-Lava lamps
This is seriously the coolest kind of oil ever!

Swedish fish? Laxative? that explains the "bathroom time" afterwards...

Vostrocity
June 9th, 2009, 02:21 AM
Swedish fish? Laxative? that explains the "bathroom time" afterwards...

My friends and I always eat Swedish Fish while swimming. I don't know why, kind of a tradition I guess. But we never had bathroom problems, fortunately. :D

Therion
June 9th, 2009, 02:29 AM
Done with vegetable oil as well... I actually think mineral oil is a bit of refinement.

Vegetable Oil vs. Mineral Oil vs. Air: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xToqhruoqqQ&feature=related

NCLI
June 9th, 2009, 02:48 AM
Damn, that's my next case!

mamamia88
June 9th, 2009, 03:00 AM
how do you add a usb hub? looks like it would be pretty cheap to build but if you wanted usb wouldn't you have to cut the glass wouldn't there be a chance it would leak?

CJ Master
June 9th, 2009, 03:06 AM
Whoa whoa whoa! In my experiance Liquids + Hardware = DISASTER. How the heck does that thing run?!

HappyFeet
June 9th, 2009, 03:10 AM
Whoa whoa whoa! In my experiance Liquids + Hardware = DISASTER. How the heck does that thing run?!

Mineral oil doesn't conduct electricity.

rookcifer
June 9th, 2009, 03:13 AM
Whoa whoa whoa! In my experiance Liquids + Hardware = DISASTER. How the heck does that thing run?!

Because these oils are electrically inert. Here (http://www.electronics-cooling.com/articles/1996/may/may96_04.php) is a good technical explanation.

H2SO_four
June 9th, 2009, 03:21 AM
Veg oil is WAY cheaper, but looks like a fish tank 2 years overdue on the cleaning. Mineral oil is so much nicer!

Vostrocity
June 9th, 2009, 05:32 AM
how do you add a usb hub? looks like it would be pretty cheap to build but if you wanted usb wouldn't you have to cut the glass wouldn't there be a chance it would leak?

It would have to be external. Even if you cut the Plexiglass and sealed it perfectly it would still leak because USB ports are not completely sealed on the inside.

CJ Master
June 9th, 2009, 06:15 AM
What about when the oil gets into the slots?

H2SO_four
June 9th, 2009, 06:19 AM
What about when the oil gets into the slots?

As long as the contacts make, well contact, it will transfer data from usb stick to hub.

Dawei87
June 9th, 2009, 06:34 AM
thats one of the prettiest setups ive seen. id like to do it, but i honestly dont think my crappy desk could handle the weight, and it wouldnt be quite as nice on the floor...

init1
June 9th, 2009, 09:35 PM
Veg oil is WAY cheaper, but looks like a fish tank 2 years overdue on the cleaning. Mineral oil is so much nicer!
And it spoils. I would not recommend it.