My A/C Chiller Mod

[POGE]

Here's what I have so far. I got this a few days ago, and have been working on it like crazy. Bending these copper pipes scares the heck out of me, one false move and its a dead A/C. So far I've done so good, and I think I'm done bending. I've tested it and it can chill water to -30C. Anyways, here are some pics, without the cooler of water. Now all I need is a pump, a block, and a good, cheap method to prevent condensation. I got this A/C for 30 bucks off of some college kid who was moving out of his apartment. So far I've spent $31.80 on my watercooling. BTW, this thing is loud as hell. As loud if not louder than a vacuum.

 

 

 

 

 

[POGE]

Bump?

[225Slant6]

So what are you doing? Sorry can't tell the pics are not the best. Maybe you could draw a diagram. Lol I see a dusty condenser.

[Thraxz]

Gimme some benchmarking numbers man!

[POGE]

Yeah, my camera isnt that great... here:

 

[225Slant6]

Looks like fun. Looking forward to the results.

[ixtapalapaquetl]

Here's what I have so far. I got this a few days ago, and have been working on it like crazy. Bending these copper pipes scares the heck out of me, one false move and its a dead A/C. So far I've done so good, and I think I'm done bending. I've tested it and it can chill water to -30C.

Nice work mate. But are you sure you are using water? It would take some serious pressure to get ice down to -30C! Kidding aside, I would recommend a 70% denatured alcohol (ethanol), 30% water mixture. You can pick up the DA in the paint thinner aisle at most hardware stores.

Anyways, here are some pics, without the cooler of water.

Apparently, not all pictures are worth a thousand words! I kid, I kid.

Now all I need is a pump, a block, and a good, cheap method to prevent condensation.

I strongly recommend the Swiftech 6000 block (more because of ease of insulation than anything else). It's a little tough to find, though.

 

Regarding the pump... well, this one might cost you. Some have gotten by with an Eheim 1250 (spelling?), but you would hate for the plastic to crack under the low temps and all your coolant to go into bad places, let alone overheating your CPU. I got an Iwaki to be safe. If you are diligent, you might find one for cheap on ebay. In general, you want a mag-lev driven pump, and Iwaki's are the best around.

 

For insulation, you are going to need a few things. First, get some liquid electrical tape from Home Depot. This will be the first layer on the motherboard. Next, pick up some seal string (I got mine from CrazyPC ). This will go on top of the liquid electrical tape once it cures. You will also need some Armaflex insulation tape and some insulation for your tubing (available from Ron (runmc) here). The seal string is a gummy mess, so cover it with Armaflex and you are good to go. You will need to put a few layers of Armaflex over your block. Here are some pics of my rig:

 

Back of mobo (note I used a sheet of neoprene from CrazyPC instead of Armaflex):

 

Front of mobo (ignore crud - that's Lubrex (Dielectric grease, which you must also get for the pins)):

 

Water block:

 

Whole rig:

 

Good luck. I'll check here every once and again - let me know if you need help.

[the_PC_Chef]

Buy yourself a tube bender. You can get them at any automotive shop. They use them for bending brake lines and such. It'll keep your bends smooth so you don't end up with any kinks and you run less of a chance of snapping the lines. Seems like an interesting cooling setup you got there.