Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Homebrew Rackmount Watercooling

Posted by Hemos on from the if-you-build-it-they-will-cool dept.

Airspirit writes "For those of you who believe that bigger is always better and have multiple computers in your house, this system may be a way to keep them all cool and organized. As an added bonus, it will heat a medium sized apartment all by itself! This article at Pro/Cooling gives a step by step walkthrough describing the evolution of this five gallon monstrosity. Not only does this cover the construction of the cooling system, but the drawbacks such as algae prevention and maintenance as well."

1 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Better medium for cooling? by gotr00t · · Score: 0, Troll
    Though water has a significantly higher specific heat than air, it has its disadvantages as a coolant as well. I have heard many accounts where the water cooling systems leaked and damaged computers, and others where the warm water has algae and other lifeforms growing in it, clogging up the system, causing pumps to fail and computers to overheat.

    What is needed is probably something more effective, an inert substance that has a extremely high specific heat. Liquid sodium in a high pressure system may be a good choice to convey the heat, as it has an extremely high specific heat, allowing for much more heat to be conveyed with less substance, though the results may be disasterous if the system loses containment. I have also heard about a really expensive inert liquid from 3M that electronics could be submerged in without any negative effects, though I'm not sure of its specific heat values.