Rich's Liquid PC Project... July, 2005
Liquid Linux Site
So, I read about all these liquid-cooled, oil-bath PC projects online, and I'm thinkin' "I could use sumpthin like that " - so I went and built me one...
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| Step 1: Ebay! |
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1ghz micro HP desktop for about $100. This one has the noted advantage of a separate external power brick. How very Apple like!
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| Step 2: Find a container. |
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Office Depot had these for about 15 bucks. Ordinary people use these to hang literature outdoors. Who knows why.
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Happily, it also appears to be just about the right size.
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| Step 3: Check the Fit: |
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Everything fit nicely in the case, and it looked like the Hard Drive would hang conveniently on the back.
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Shiny new HDD cable. $19.99
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| Step 4: Check for Leaks: |
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I had doubts...
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... so I used clear plastic wall corner protectors and plastic cement (similar to model cement) to lay a thick bead inside and out, and to attach the corners to minimize the opportunity to drip fluids all over my desk. Materials cost about $7.00.
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| Step 5: Test drive |
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I plugged all the pieces together to make sure it still booted outside the case. Two items became obvious: The case fan was too thick, and there was a fan-safe circuit to make sure you had a fan attached. |
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I snipped the fan wires to the original fan, leaving the crossover circuit to prevent a fan-safe-shutdown. Then I bought a slim centrifugal fan and attached it with cable-ties.
Another $9.99 |
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I had to configure a start button from another PC project. The cable on the new pc's switch was way too short to reach the "dry" end of the board. |
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Viola! Powers up nicely! |
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| Step 6: Hang the HDD |
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There's a removable plate on the back which allows you to hang the box on any object you've attached the plate to.
I determined to attach the Hard Drive to the plate, and hang that on the back of the case. |
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Fits nicely. |
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And it runs nicely that way, too. Note the handy usb wifi adapter, so I can load and install security updates and antivirus definitions right away. |
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Now I've seen photos of other things immersed in liquid, and it occurred to me that when liquid just sits there, it doesn't look very impressive. And after going to all of this trouble so far, who could live with himself if this particular case mod didn't look very impressive?
Since this didn't start out as an aquarium, I immediately ruled out putting live fish inside to showcase the liquid-filled contents. (The fact that I would be using mineral oil instead of water did not dissuade those in my office who continued to insist that live fish would nonetheless be "Really Impressive").
I resisted their suggestion, and commented further that because the oil would likely not boil in this container, strips of potato would merely become soggy and decompose, rather than becoming tasty french-fries. |
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...more
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| Step 7: Find an impressive visual effect generator. |
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Oooh! Aquarium pump and airstone!
This should be cool!
I surmise that it might also serve to mitigate excessive oil heating by introducing relatively cooler air into the tank. Air pump and air stone cost about fifteen dollars. |
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| Step 8: Add liquid while running! (It's more exciting that way!) |
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I chose inexpensive mineral oil.
Cost: $6.79 |
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...and kept a watchful eye
for leaks: |
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Aren't the bubbles pretty? |
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Click here and here for larger views of the finished project.
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Click the play button to start and to see the bubbles in action. (You'll need Quicktime) Every once in a while you can see bubbles being sucked into the fan before being blown past the cpu cooling fins. The airstone didn't distribute bubbles as evenly as I had hoped, but it's pretty cool to watch anyway. Here, I boot the computer and launch iTunes, so I can see the pretty Apple logo.
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Other notes: I discarded the CD-Rom from the original case, and added an external usb DVD-CD writer instead. I trimmed the lid to fit around the cables, and I cut down the original rear cover to fit over the connection interface which is now at the top of the board, where you connect all of the cables. I'll be adding some led case lights as soon as I find some locally. They'll plug into the additional power plug in the HDD cable. Total cost of this oil-cooled project was about $150. It was fun and looks cool, but you still should save your money and buy a new Mac.
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Updates:
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August 6, '05 - Set up webcam and added link
August 7, '05 - Webcam is inop already - I wonder if it needs its own oil-bath?
August 7, '05 - Added a link to my .Mac site, while I ponder the webcam issue.
August 8, '05 - Moving the PC to a different spot on the desk so it will show up
..........................better on the webcam. I'll have it back up soon. I also corrected the dates
..........................posted above.
August 11, '05 - I noticed a hairline crack in the front center of the case. Fearing something
............................like this might occur from the start, I've had the box resting inside a shallow
............................container to catch any spills. I've been collecting materials for an updated
............................box, and I guess we'll be seeing that sooner that I'd planned. You can see how
............................much the oil level has dropped today on the webcam. This morning the level was
............................at the center of the heatsink. Better get to it early tomorrow, I guess.
August 15, '05 - Rubbermaid to the rescue! I spent some time Saturday doing design review and
............................sealing a backup case...except that the backup REALLY leaked. Since I did a bit
............................of light-stringing that I wanted to see, I substituted a rubbermaid storage container
............................for a temporary fix. I have also removed the fan, calculating that circulating the oil
............................with a bubbler may do just as well. A cooking thermometer should keep things in
...........................check.
August 19, '05 - Hard-drive immersion! Being really intrigued by the thought of an immersed HDD, I
........................... opened an old 1.2gb HDD, connected it and immersed the whole thing. Amazingly,
........................... it spins up on boot. Sadly, that's all it does. I guess I should have tried to get the PC
........................... to recognize it while out of the tank. I'll try another one, and try to write data to it so I
........................... can watch it attempt to operate while immersed.
August 22, '05 - Lights and new teeny webcam came in. I tried immersing the webcam, but as
........................... I anticipated, focus changes significantly under the goo. Here's what the setup
........................... look like in real life:
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Updated container shot:
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...and the current desk configuration
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October 14th Update:
Temp holding steady at 94 deg/f. Here's what it looks like with the new neon light.
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