Second evaperator loop

[Chris Beard]

I have an idea and I want to know what you think. I'm slowly setting up my first watercooling rig. I looked at the differnt options available to me and was seduced by the idea of an evaporative cooling tower (bong cooler) but didn't like the idea of exposing my coolent to the open air.

I was thinking that as an alternative I could run two loops. One could be a normal loop with RAD, pump and CPU block. The second loop could passively driven by the heat from the first loop (so no need for a pump) with a massive evaporative cooling tower and a rad that is sat in direct contact with the rad from the first loop.. I'd add a couple of fans and a shroud to get air moving from the hot to cold rad but as an idea what do you guys think?

Picture for clarity (read dots as spaces and dashes as piping):

Loop1 Loop2

Pump -----------RAD1 RAD2----------Cooling tower
-.......................-........-........................-
-.......................-........-........................-
CPU Block---------........ -------------------

(RAD1 and RAD2 exist in an enclosure in physical contact with one another - fans blow air from RAD1 over RAD2)

 

[PhillyDee]

Cooling tower as in one of these? Where would you put one?

Seriously though, i dont know if the liquid would get hot enough in the second loop to be able to shift the coolant fast enough. Unless it has been tried before, you would have to try it yourself.

 

[Chris Beard]

Cooling tower as in one of these? Where would you put one?

Garden.

Seriously though, i dont know if the liquid would get hot enough in the second loop to be able to shift the coolant fast enough. Unless it has been tried before, you would have to try it yourself.

Ok, will let you know how it goes.

 

[misterPK]

Hmm, interesting idea, even if it does sound more suited to a nuclear reactor!

I think you could do with some kind of better method of heat transfer between your two loops, with the radiator method I dont think you'll see much difference than if the second loop wasnt there.

Have you looked at the Zalman reserator for inspiration? its sort-of similar.

PK!

 

[Chris Beard]

Hmm, interesting idea, even if it does sound more suited to a nuclear reactor!

If it's good enough for a Nuclear Reactor it's good enough for my PC.

I think you could do with some kind of better method of heat transfer between your two loops, with the radiator method I dont think you'll see much difference than if the second loop wasnt there.

Have you looked at the Zalman reserator for inspiration? its sort-of similar.

PK!

Any ideas what could be used for better heat transphere without mixing the coolents - I don't want the oxodised water getting near my copper blocks!

Just realised I've been really dumb. The evaperative cooling tower will need a pump. Duh.

 

[Amonlym]

be aware your gonna have to change the water in the cooling tower loop crazy often, because you cant add aditives without breathing them in, and its essentialy a big un-covered pool of warm water :/

i gave up on mine. nice temps (1c below ambient) hard to get quiet and sludge. i had it in same loop as block also, that just led to a block full of fluff hair and gunge - i imagine the same will eventually degrade performance of the evaporator + radiator on tower side.

im now just using a house-rad...

FYI - GET PTFE FIRST! (im currently leaking onto a towel while i get round to buying some )

one idea i had: use the radiator on main loop (with cpu block) as a part of the evapotative surface eg, water flows out of shower, onto rad. rad + shower in an enclosure with fans above to pull air thru both. then the evaporation is concentrated on the other rad, and chills the water in it.

 

[Chris Beard]

be aware your gonna have to change the water in the cooling tower loop crazy often, because you cant add aditives without breathing them in, and its essentialy a big un-covered pool of warm water :/

i gave up on mine. nice temps (1c below ambient) hard to get quiet and sludge. i had it in same loop as block also, that just led to a block full of fluff hair and gunge - i imagine the same will eventually degrade performance of the evaporator + radiator on tower side.

im now just using a house-rad...

FYI - GET PTFE FIRST! (im currently leaking onto a towel while i get round to buying some )

one idea i had: use the radiator on main loop (with cpu block) as a part of the evapotative surface eg, water flows out of shower, onto rad. rad + shower in an enclosure with fans above to pull air thru both. then the evaporation is concentrated on the other rad, and chills the water in it.

Yes. This makes sense. My new idea was letting the water from the first loop go through the resivour of the second. I was going to use copper tubing but dumping the rad in there will have more effect in a lesser area. I was intending to use a dirty water pump and filter for the cooling tower.

 

[RJC]

You could try one of these :

Clicky

 

[Chris Beard]

You could try one of these :

Clicky

A big radiator you mean? Nah, not effective or cost effective enough.