Water Cooling Computers With A Swimming Pool

guzugi writes "This is a project I have been working for several months and been hypothesizing for much longer. The basic idea is to shortcut the need for an air conditioner when cooling multiple computers. Swimming pool water is pumped into the house and through several waterblocks to effectively cool these hot machines. This greatly reduces noise cooling requirements."

Comments

heated pool

[miowpurr]

It would also be a cheaper way to heat your pool in the winter and make your neighbors jealous!

Re:heated pool

[Glonoinha]

Actually TFA's idea has merit, but if I was going to go through all that expense and work, I would have taken it one step farther and researched / built a heat exchanger like they use in nuclear reactors - the clorinated pool water stayes in a closed loop that runs through the heat exchanger and then back out to the pool, and in the other loop is a freshwater (or radiator fluid with anti-corrosive properties, or whatever best suits for liquid cooling computers) that cycles through the heat exchanger and then back to the computers.

The only additional expense / work would have been an additional pump for the closed loop on the computer side, and figuring out the heat exchanger. A small car radiator (for the pool loop) in a 55 gallon plastic trash can with in/out tubes for the computer loop (this makes it easy to add coolant to the computer loop) would have been a very good start. If the system ever needs a little help, just throw a ziploc bag full of ice-cubes into the trash can (a good way to keep the system up if the pool loop ever goes down, too.)

Then again everybody can be an armchair quarterback, I give the guy props for actually getting something done.

Re:heated pool

[ThePowerGorilla]

They actually sell 'Swimming Pool' Heat Exchangers. These are used so you can heat a pool with your boiler, but not let the corrosive pool water destroy your home heating system.

They have the added benefit of making it impossible to drain your whole pool into your house when a line breaks.

Re:"Yer In" Trouble!

[terrahertz]

Dude, do not underestimate the power of a child's full bladder.

Re:Pool water?

[Batou]

... not to mention peeing in the pool ...

Re:noise cooling requirements?

[Otto-Marrakech]

Two words, Miles Davis.

Re:Pool water?

[mbone]

I had a job cleaning pools when I was a kid. I would worry about algae and other slime. It grows everywhere and needs to be cleaned out regularly.

Re:Turn it off.

[Smidge204]

Chlorine is highly corrosive. Ever wonder why everything in a pool system is made of or coated in plastic?

The chlorine attacks iron even in ally form, rotting stainless steel at an alarming rate. It will also react with copper (slowly, but the higher temeratures in the water block are going to help it along) to dissolve the copper into a Copper (II) Chloride solution. That corrodes the copper waterblock and puts the copper into his pool - not good. Aluminum will cause a reaction to make aluminum chloride, and reacting with the water to ultimately form aluminum oxide (which will fall out of solution and likely clog and small passages over time) and hydochloric acid.

You need a heat exchanger to keep the chlorine away from metals. That means a non-metallic heat exchanger or one that's been coated with a chlorine resistent material.

A better solution would be to get an aftermarket automotive radiator and an electric fan, and use clean water (distilled or at least low mineral) with a coolant solution specifically designed to prevent corrosion.
=Smidge=