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Universal reliable watercooling for pennies!

post #1 of 14
5/22/07 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Having an engineer's mindset and knowing water is one of the most efficient thermodynamic coolants out there, I figured I'd make an incredibly simple external water cooler.

In other words, I filled a (double layered) ziplock bag half way with water, compressed all of the air out of it, and viola!

I've noticed conciderable drops in temperatures on the bottom of the notebook. Surprising drops; with the use of ice, as cold as ambient! I havent looked at CPU temp or battery temp, but strategic placement underneath the notebook cools it down quite a bit.
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post #2 of 14
5/22/07 at 3:48pm
what happens when the water reaches the same temperature as the underside of your computer "wants" to get to? doesn't it not transfer all that much heat anymore to the water and thus the underside warms back up?
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post #3 of 14
5/22/07 at 7:32pm
I'd be worried about the plastic bag melting and causing a burst.
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post #4 of 14
5/23/07 at 12:09am
Hey Im an engineer (student) too! Although your solution probably works...I'm guessing the results dont last long as you will have to constantly take out your water bag, let it cool down, and put it under the laptop again. The small volume of water in half a ziploc bag simply wont store that much energy.

Your laptop cooling solution reminds me of the Thermaltake iXoft, which is a fanless laptop cooling pad. The pad works by having the chemical inside the pad store the excess heat in the form of chemical bonds. Although it probably works, I still think its a stupid idea because it wont last all day without user intervention.
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post #5 of 14
5/23/07 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 
It doesnt get hot enough to melt the plastic, nor enough to expand the air in it much. I've used one for a few hours and it eventually just got warm, though never enough to become an interheater. Regardless, I usually have a little bit poking out on the side (the ziplock side, so worse case scenerio if it leaks, it'll be from there, and it wont get water near the laptop..told you I had an engineer sight) from which it can let some air cool it down.

Otherwise you can always just dump out the hot water and fill the bag up again lol.
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post #6 of 14
5/23/07 at 4:01pm
very obtrusive and a few hours of testing doesn't do justice. Leave it on playing a movie or something overnight and come back to it in the morning. LOL
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post #7 of 14
5/23/07 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
Well thats where common sense comes into play.

In which case, get a bigger stronger bag with more water and poking out the side a bit more to get that water back to ambient quicker
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post #8 of 14
5/24/07 at 1:27am
Why dont you get a "pool floaty" and fill it up with water and set the laptop on that.

Seriously, I am also an engineer (student). If the water you use is colder than the dewpoint of the surrounding air then the bag with form condensation and then you got problems. Keep your water above about 55 deg.
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post #9 of 14
5/24/07 at 1:55am
Thread Starter 
So whats wrong with condensation anyways? Other than it not working too well for cooling
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post #10 of 14
5/25/07 at 12:13am
It will get your sh*t wet.
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post #11 of 14
5/25/07 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 
Not as long as it stays in a sealed environment in the plastic bag
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post #12 of 14
5/25/07 at 6:44am
no, that's what condensation will do. it will get things wet, but i was thinking, why does condensation really harm a system. i mean, isn't it essentially like distilled water, as it is coming purely from moisture in the air, which is only water, "no" ions dissolved (other than those H+ and OH- ions), and isn't that stuff not all that harmful to electronics, since that's what you're supposed to rinse with (while the power is off) if you need to clean something?
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post #13 of 14
5/25/07 at 11:43am
Although condensation at first is pure H2O, that wont affect electronics initially, because it does not conduct. However, the distilled water in contact with your circuit board may start to conduct as it mixes with the impurities on the circuit board, such as traces of lead solder, salt, or with impurities in the air. Particulates WILL eventually become mixed in with the water and short things out.
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post #14 of 14
5/25/07 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah I was going to say that...not so much the vapor form of it not being conductive, but that it probably spikes the amperage up too much and kills it that way.
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