Concrete Slab water cooler loop - Hooked up!!!

normally the pipe would be wrapped with some dense foam which will defeat the purpose for your needs, however, i'd still wrap it with duct tape to provide some abrasion resistance.

Also, why not get the pipe into the wall - much less likely to be damaged that way and you can then finish it properly with some chrome flanges / cistern cocks and it provides 2 easily isolated points to the loop.

 

Damn i just built a place a few months back and this didnt even occur to me

Oh well, got to run all of my Cat6 though before the fibro was put up.

 

it do is this was, because if you ever decided to sell the house it would be easy to push the pipes back into the wall and plaster the hole's up.
Andrew

 

This is a really brilliant idea. Please let us know how it goes!!!!!!

 

Gigs, you're an amazing person.

 

Yep thats a great idea, I can come straight up through the bottom plate and out the plaster. I was worried about kicking by accident under the desk. Good idea also about wrapping the pipe in duct tape. I might do this on the entry and exit points. cheers

will do, going to be quite a few months before the house is finished though.

lol zoidberg

 

i would not use gaffa tape for the entry/exit points of teh copper into the concrete IF it does move due to expansion it will wear quite fast

something a bit thicker might help


also is the copper in the slab a/b/ or c grade?

i would suggest A grade as it is thicker walled

 

I'm worried about the pipes expanding. Generally the water temperature shouldn't rise too high, however if it did for some reason rise enough to cause the pipes to expand, they basically have nowhere to move to and will buckle.

That pipe length looks at least 1.5m, and 5 degrees higher or lower can cause a length of pipe to contract or expand a few mm or even a cm at higher temps i estimate. This is gonna cause major problems if its encased in concrete.

Run some test water through. Some winter days you'll have cool 10-15 degrees, then on the summer days when the heat penetrates, you'll get 20? maybe?

 

You *really* need to get council approval for this...they are going to want the surface of the slab water proofed, and insulation on the copper tube...copper.org < local dickhead council members

 

yeah, run it up and put standard fittings in the wall like the small ones for washing mashine connections or something.

i'd tend to go with smoke tho. getting approval prior is easier than undoing it - besides, if they do get narky, plumb it out through the wall and bury a massive copper network underground!

 

At the very worst i'd expect the council to want you to bury it under the slab and tape the risers that are actually encased in the concrete using some closed cell foam like melflex.

 

As for all the council stuff, we are paying for private firm to do the inspections. [rant] I do not want council tards on my property so I have paid a bit extra to have someone work for me not against me like the council likes to do. What is it with local government? A little power turns them into nazi bastards. [/rant]


so anyway if the water temp coming out of the slab is ~15 deg I think the cpu block will raise it by about 5-10deg. Im no expert but I dont think this will be enough expansion to cause too many isses. At worst the copper (its A grade disco frank) will get chaffed after a few years (probably more like 5-10 years) and this may expose the coolant to the concrete. I will have at least 2" gap between the cooper and the steel reo so I dont think there is going to be any reaction there even if the copper is chaffed enough to leak. Probably by then there will be all kinds of new solutions for keeping your PC cool and it will be not used anyways...

 

Actualy thinking about it.... I might just set the copper at the very bottom of the slab against the black plastic so 90% of the copper is covered in concrete and the bottom of it is against the black plastic. This will allow for expansion and if worst comes to worst and a leak happens it will drain into the soil. What do you guys think?

 

I'd be inclined to lag the pipe using something like aeroflex or denso tape. just depends how much this will effect heat transfer.

 

Maybe a little late now, but you could always put the loop under the plastic, maybe buried a few centimeters and filled with fine sand, no "expansion" problems, and maybe an even more complete contact with the outside of the pipe too ?, lagging would have to have some impact on cooling...

 

Dig a hole below the concrete, pipe up an empty gas cylinder and stick that down there!

I believe ~2 meters underground is roughly 8~10 Degs all year round?

Huge res and theres no chance it will heat up.

 

Wow, very impressive. Will be watching this one for sure Gigs

 

Expansion will not be a problem. Copper pipes have been put in-slab for many decades and not caused a problem. Even if they are not lagged. Copper is ductile so can absorb quite a bit of movement without cracking or breaking. More so if its annealed. Besides, the concrete will shrink as it dries, and also move as it heats and cools. Expansion will not be an issue. Ask a plumber if you are unsure.
I guess if you are worried about leaks, you could do that. It wont have much effect on its performance. But really, its going to stop you using it if it leaks, as you will be forever topping up your reservoir.

 

Buy the pipe pre lagged

just buy the pipe pre lagged

 

Can't wait to see results mate.

Just thinking out loud here.. I wonder if going straight down in the ground and using the pipe up as an earth-rod would be beneficial. Would you end up with more noise due to the pathway or less noise due to the local earth? At least the STB would be happy on that circuit. If lightning hit nearby your PC would deffo fry.