A PC AC... (Puter Air Conditioner...)

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:07 am

My bro in law owns a big AC/Refrigeration company, among other things, and we have been talking...

He is going to design an air conditioner, about 8" cube, to mount on a case... This will require the case to be a closed system, hint, no more dust...

What do you guys think of the idea and how much do you think we could sell them for? We would have them mass produced down in Honduras (cheap labor) with all American parts...

When he is finished spec'ing & designing, we will make a few prototypes and see how they work...He has a metal shop also that makes the refrigerated cases for supermarkets, etc...

What do you guys think...

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:10 am

Sounds pretty cool, I'd be interested in seeing how well it works out. Keep us posted!

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:23 am

Our goal is for the enclosed system to recool the hot air it removes. It would probably take it 1/2 to 1 hour to start, but we are hoping to keep an even ~5-8 degrees Celsius blowning across the PSU...

They have some unreal refrigerants available now a days, he knows all about that stuff...
It would require a drip can to be emptied every week or so, but with the whole system closed there shouldn't be much moisture inside the case, so in theory it would make it even better, especially in humid areas...

We are going to give it a shot...

How does "PACing ICE" sound for a name? (Puter Air Conditioner...

) Any suggestions.....

Jesse23 · Post by **Jesse23** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:30 am

Sounds good

If possible id like to test one, haha since I do got like tons of fans and I OC alot

Id buy one if they had warranty, guarentee and such

Just check for condensation and such

gieslel · Post by **gieslel** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:33 am

I would have 2 concerns:

1) The heat the the compressor would emit
2) Condensation from the coils, where would the water go?,maybe your could have like a drip pan under your fridge?

Is it going to be like a water block design? Nevertheless you would have to have the coils exposed inside ur box so the fan could blow across em.
Sounds like good project.
Ive messed around with some automotive a/c. You would have to use r134 refrigerant, The air in my car blows about 35 degrees F. That would definately cool ur box.
Would like to see some pics when they come avail.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:40 am

Originally posted by gieslel
I would have 2 concerns:

1) The heat the the compressor would emit
2) Condensation from the coils, where would the water go?,maybe your could have like a drip pan under your fridge?

Is it going to be like a water block design? Nevertheless you would have to have the coils exposed inside ur box so the fan could blow across em.
Sounds like good project.
Ive messed around with some automotive a/c. You would have to use r134 refrigerant, The air in my car blows about 35 degrees F. That would definately cool ur box.
Would like to see some pics when they come avail.

We will have some proto types to get reviewed before they hit the market. The coils will be at the edge of AC so they would basically touch the PSU fan grill... The intake or return of hot air will probably be directly over that..
Yes, a drip can or pan will be necessary, however it shouldn't fill up too fast as the system will be closed so the hot air will have heat removed (Be cooled, so to speak...)

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:46 am

PS, we are talking about trying an 1/8 hp compressor...It should exhaust somewhere in the equivalent of what your exhaust fan blows out now...

gieslel · Post by **gieslel** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 12:50 am

Cool, keep us posted.

Faust · Post by **Faust** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 1:45 am

you do know they exist already, right? in a commercial sense? i have some pics of a coil machine i program that has an extrenal unit (actually attached to the body of the machine itself) but i have no actual pics of the cooler unit itself. it's an APC unit about 4" x 12" x 24".

this is for industrial CNC machines, so i am sure they are outragiously priced.

as long as it can supply cold, dry air and be competitively priced (with high-end HSFs or peltiers or watercooling), you will be onto something golden, i think.

Jstyr · Post by **Jstyr** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 2:15 am

First of all I'd love to rest one of those babies out

I do have one concern though...even though it's a closed system which should prevent condensation what would happen when you turned it off? Surely moisture would leak in the case and might condense on the hardware....and how much power would it take to operate it?

twwabw · Post by **twwabw** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 5:29 am

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Liebert has been making these things for a long time.

Here's some of them:

http://www.liebert.com/dynamic/displayp ... ycles=60hz

http://www.liebert.com/dynamic/displayp ... ycles=60hz

http://www.liebert.com/dynamic/displayp ... ycles=60hz

twwabw · Post by **twwabw** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 10:25 am

You know.... I just re-read your post, and I see now what you mean (I think). You're talking about a small, PC mounted device for invidual CPU's, huh?

My mistake...... obviously, what I showed was nothing like that

.

"Cool" idea!

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Mon Mar 25, 2002 5:22 pm

power consumption would be a concern too.

and u would definately need alot of insulation.

poptom · Post by **poptom** » Tue Mar 26, 2002 1:06 am

I love it, Ken. That's pretty much what I would do for serious cooling but I would use outside air to cool the condenser, otherwise it would just be a dehumidifier.

I'm sure there are some nice little sealed compressors available that could be put to good use here.

Be sure to keep us posted on what develops.

twwabw · Post by **twwabw** » Tue Mar 26, 2002 5:52 am

How about a Piezzo electromagnetic shuttle type compressor?? VERY low power draw; no moving parts; no lubrication; no motors; self contained heat transfer plate. In fact, why couldn't you use one of those right on a processor?? No condensation!

Cable_Dood · Post by **Cable_Dood** » Wed Mar 27, 2002 2:42 pm

How about you just buy one of those dorm fridges and build your computer in it? $50 used. Mount your drives and PS on the outside of it. If you're lucky, there will still be enough room for a six pack....which is justified cause a cold 6er will act as a buffer to help compensate for temp fluctuations.....of course you would need to keep it stocked up.

There are plenty of industrial-stength dessicants available to keep it nice and dry inside.

Ghetto-mod on....

Mike_W · Post by **Mike_W** » Wed Mar 27, 2002 6:30 pm