Copper Res = extra heatsink?

funkyaneurysm · 11th July 2004, 12:10 AM

Hola amigos!
The concept; A res. Made from 2mm sheet copper. Heaps of surface area, yet very narrow. Think 300x300x20mm. It is mounted externally.

The setup; WC rig with a Camry heatercore and a single 5v 120mm fan (v. low airflow). GPU, NB, HDD, CPU all watercooled.

Will this copper res aid temps in any way? The principle employed here is; WC on v.low airflow (almost passive) needs all the help it can get. Will the res remove any heat?

Thanks!
Aneurysm

P.S. I've searched a heap for similar setups, but have found nothing.

Kun9FU-L33t · 11th July 2004, 12:34 AM

Depends on ambient, it might add to the temp if too hot and not enough air flow.

It would definatly need some kind of sinks on the outside.

But what your basically doing is making a tiny, super uneffecient radiator! Why not get a Black ice micro, Less effort prob would do better.

Rake · 11th July 2004, 3:31 AM

Perhaps if this reservior (or at least part of it) was very very thin, so essentially its a big, flat, spread-out res as opposed to a more "box" shape, would prove more effective? (Because of increased surface area, would require more copper though)

Edit: Theres an idea.. maybe you could make an alternate side-panel which would have a cavity, and use that as a res

However I haven't got the expertise to say if it would or wouldn't aid with temps. Sounds ok in theory though - remember there was a post a while ago about someone ran a length of copper tube outside under the ground instead of a radiator which worked very well

Long Haired Git · 11th July 2004, 10:14 AM

Naturally it will help with temps. It is not adding heat, and being outside the case, the ambient air temp will be less than the water temp.
So it will leak heat, which is what you want.

HOWEVER

You must appreciate its effeciency. A BA heater core has a surface area massively more than this reservoir. All those fins really add up. You reservoir has the one 300 x 300 face, as the other side is attached to the case.

Next, the coolant flow through the res doesn't make use of turbulence or impingement. Hence, you'd get very little molecules of water interacting with the big face. Heater cores have many parallel tubes, and then the end tank where it turns around does a nice job of mixing it all up again. So you get good turbulence and mixing.

A similar idea has been posted in the "Tips and Tricks" area of OC.com. Check that out.

Don't know of any being made, so why not whip it up and tell us how it goes. Run it alone, Run the BA alone, and run both together, and see what happens.....

The Bad Egg · 14th July 2004, 11:30 PM

I've been thinking about this since I saw the zalman reservator. It seems like a good idea to me, I'm just looking for a large copper box (28x18x15cm aprox, can go smaller or very slightly larger). I'm going top bolt it to my huge 30x20x15 heatsink, and place that in front of my rad. fan intake. While the res. mightn't have much surface area, this heatsink does.

I'd think that even without the res. having heatsinks, temps. might still be better, just not a huge amount. A bit of airflow, and some heatsinkage might actually have a major impact on temps..

If anyone knows where to get a large copper box PM me or post PLEASE. I'm thinking copper water header tank, or something like that.

If I can find one, I will post before and after temps. so people know what effect, if any, there is. I think that 'temps with normal res., then temps with the new res.' might be good, for those people who don't want a passive system.

Long Hiared Git brings up a nice point about turbulence and contact with the res. inner surface. I've had a little think about that too, and I guess that some copper tubes inside the res. would give better contact. Only easy if you make the thing yourself.

javascripterror · 15th July 2004, 1:03 AM

Probably be better off building a condenser coil and putting a fan over it..... whoops! that's just another radiator isn't it.

phextwin · 15th July 2004, 1:20 AM

Solder some fins onto it.

But then you may as well just get a resorator

The Bad Egg · 15th July 2004, 2:34 AM

I wouldn't get a reservator. Have a look at the thread where the guy has modded one to use on his water cooling rig. I don't know about you, but the 'blue tint' in the water screams 'alloy is leaching into the water' to me. I wouldn't like that, it just raises the mineral content in the water. Look at Bosk' post, 6th down-
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...hreadid=291413

Of course, the alloy in the water shouldn't lead to any real corrosion problems providied that you are using corrosion inhibiter, but I still don't like it.

Those reservator setups are O.K. for silent computing or a kit, but arn't they a little expensive? If you had no other water cooling equipment, maybe the reservator would be a good investment.
But I'd just build or buy a copper res., barb it if its DIY, chuck some heatsinks on the outside, and she's done. But I really like DIY, nothing gives you confidence like building it yourself.

Edit- just found this site, they have 8.125'' copper tube. Make a nice DIY reservator, I'm thinking-
http://www.cranecopper.com.au/sizes/astmb306.asp

Nobes · 15th July 2004, 10:02 PM

I so wanted to vote So long as you add 9 CCFLs and a bunch of ELcable. And mag wheels but i just couldnt LOL

View Poll Results: Will the large surface area copper res help?
Sounds promising. Theoretically sound. Should help.	8	30.77%
Would need significant airflow. Perhaps add sinks.	3	11.54%
Marginal help, if anythhing.	8	30.77%
A waste of time and effort.	3	11.54%
Are you mad? What about the flowrate?	0	0%
So long as you add 9 CCFLs and a bunch of ELcable. And mag wheels.	4	15.38%
Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll

11th July 2004, 12:10 AM	#1
funkyaneurysm Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 56	Copper Res = extra heatsink? Hola amigos! The concept; A res. Made from 2mm sheet copper. Heaps of surface area, yet very narrow. Think 300x300x20mm. It is mounted externally. The setup; WC rig with a Camry heatercore and a single 5v 120mm fan (v. low airflow). GPU, NB, HDD, CPU all watercooled. Will this copper res aid temps in any way? The principle employed here is; WC on v.low airflow (almost passive) needs all the help it can get. Will the res remove any heat? Thanks! Aneurysm P.S. I've searched a heap for similar setups, but have found nothing. __________________ --Is it plugged in? Athlon XP 2400+ 512mb 3200 Radeon 9800Pro Barracuda IV 120G Other stuff. Yeah, stuff... Last edited by funkyaneurysm; 11th July 2004 at 12:15 AM.

11th July 2004, 12:34 AM	#2
Kun9FU-L33t Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Brisbane, QLD Posts: 101	Depends on ambient, it might add to the temp if too hot and not enough air flow. It would definatly need some kind of sinks on the outside. But what your basically doing is making a tiny, super uneffecient radiator! Why not get a Black ice micro, Less effort prob would do better. __________________ //Kung Dont click this link

11th July 2004, 3:31 AM	#3
Rake Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Syd Posts: 2,410	Perhaps if this reservior (or at least part of it) was very very thin, so essentially its a big, flat, spread-out res as opposed to a more "box" shape, would prove more effective? (Because of increased surface area, would require more copper though) Edit: Theres an idea.. maybe you could make an alternate side-panel which would have a cavity, and use that as a res However I haven't got the expertise to say if it would or wouldn't aid with temps. Sounds ok in theory though - remember there was a post a while ago about someone ran a length of copper tube outside under the ground instead of a radiator which worked very well __________________ "...And there will come a time where the sins of man become too great to be ignored." -- Revelations 99:13 Last edited by Rake; 11th July 2004 at 3:34 AM.

11th July 2004, 10:14 AM	#4
Long Haired Git Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Hornsby, Sydney Posts: 2,661	Naturally it will help with temps. It is not adding heat, and being outside the case, the ambient air temp will be less than the water temp. So it will leak heat, which is what you want. HOWEVER You must appreciate its effeciency. A BA heater core has a surface area massively more than this reservoir. All those fins really add up. You reservoir has the one 300 x 300 face, as the other side is attached to the case. Next, the coolant flow through the res doesn't make use of turbulence or impingement. Hence, you'd get very little molecules of water interacting with the big face. Heater cores have many parallel tubes, and then the end tank where it turns around does a nice job of mixing it all up again. So you get good turbulence and mixing. A similar idea has been posted in the "Tips and Tricks" area of OC.com. Check that out. Don't know of any being made, so why not whip it up and tell us how it goes. Run it alone, Run the BA alone, and run both together, and see what happens..... __________________ Long Haired Git <=click for my bad beat blog Extreme Cooling Club H2O Member

14th July 2004, 11:30 PM	#5
The Bad Egg Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Smashgrove, brisneyland Posts: 1,038	I've been thinking about this since I saw the zalman reservator. It seems like a good idea to me, I'm just looking for a large copper box (28x18x15cm aprox, can go smaller or very slightly larger). I'm going top bolt it to my huge 30x20x15 heatsink, and place that in front of my rad. fan intake. While the res. mightn't have much surface area, this heatsink does. I'd think that even without the res. having heatsinks, temps. might still be better, just not a huge amount. A bit of airflow, and some heatsinkage might actually have a major impact on temps.. If anyone knows where to get a large copper box PM me or post PLEASE. I'm thinking copper water header tank, or something like that. If I can find one, I will post before and after temps. so people know what effect, if any, there is. I think that 'temps with normal res., then temps with the new res.' might be good, for those people who don't want a passive system. Long Hiared Git brings up a nice point about turbulence and contact with the res. inner surface. I've had a little think about that too, and I guess that some copper tubes inside the res. would give better contact. Only easy if you make the thing yourself.

15th July 2004, 1:03 AM	#6
javascripterror Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NSW Posts: 3,172	Probably be better off building a condenser coil and putting a fan over it..... whoops! that's just another radiator isn't it. __________________ Cogito Ergo Bummer. Folding@home 90,000 Club Member. Folding@Home 2,655,000 Points Milestone. Home of the Radiical X-Block www.radiical.com.au

15th July 2004, 1:20 AM	#7
phextwin Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Geelong Velocity:Unknown Posts: 4,222	Solder some fins onto it. But then you may as well just get a resorator

15th July 2004, 2:34 AM	#8
The Bad Egg Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Smashgrove, brisneyland Posts: 1,038	I wouldn't get a reservator. Have a look at the thread where the guy has modded one to use on his water cooling rig. I don't know about you, but the 'blue tint' in the water screams 'alloy is leaching into the water' to me. I wouldn't like that, it just raises the mineral content in the water. Look at Bosk' post, 6th down- http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...hreadid=291413 Of course, the alloy in the water shouldn't lead to any real corrosion problems providied that you are using corrosion inhibiter, but I still don't like it. Those reservator setups are O.K. for silent computing or a kit, but arn't they a little expensive? If you had no other water cooling equipment, maybe the reservator would be a good investment. But I'd just build or buy a copper res., barb it if its DIY, chuck some heatsinks on the outside, and she's done. But I really like DIY, nothing gives you confidence like building it yourself. Edit- just found this site, they have 8.125'' copper tube. Make a nice DIY reservator, I'm thinking- http://www.cranecopper.com.au/sizes/astmb306.asp Last edited by The Bad Egg; 15th July 2004 at 5:51 AM.

15th July 2004, 10:02 PM	#9
Nobes Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Hobart Posts: 1,296	I so wanted to vote So long as you add 9 CCFLs and a bunch of ELcable. And mag wheels but i just couldnt LOL __________________ My drinking club has a rugby problem.