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Scratch Build – In Progress The Mineral Oil PC - 3/24/2011 - More leaks :(

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by legoman666, 29 Jan 2009.

  1. coolamasta

    coolamasta Folding@Home CC Captain 2010/11/12

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    Good stuff fella, glad to see you are getting it back up and running again :)
     
  2. Zero_Point

    Zero_Point What's a Dremel?

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    I'm far from a pioneer, my submersion machine is as basic as it gets: '77 Bonneville heater-core + 10 gallon aquarium + 320GPH fountain pump + misc. fish-tank decorations = cheapo's submersion machine. :V

    I almost became concerned when you stated that even the silicone you were using was swelling and leaking, as they use silicone to seal aquariums as well, but thankfully it would seem that they used a pretty good grade of it, as this thing has had some level of oil in it for over almost 2 years now and hasn't leaked yet (though my heater-core's leaked a time or two >:C).
     
  3. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    That's still pretty intense ;) I take it you have abandoned oil cooling? :(

    Thanks
     
  4. blunc

    blunc Minimodder

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    since most electronic components aren't designed for an "oil" environment I suggest something I happened across when dealing with old surplus military circuits; conformal coating.

    I also had to use conformal coating on a high frequency test board that was causing fails when frost/water vapor started shorting out closely spaced surface mount caps.

    I think conformal coating where the base of components and PCB meet may be a good solution to sealing areas that mineral oil can attack without causing component overheating which may be caused by covering the whole component and reducing the component capability to dissipate heat.
     
  5. Burnout21

    Burnout21 Mmmm biscuits

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    That's what i was thinking, where my dad use to work they had to dip coat all the electronics boards to seal them against anything like dust or moisture. The electronics was mounted with in a pod, slung under an aircraft's wing, well that is all i am permitted to disclose at least, don't think the MOD wants a lot of info floating out there....

    either way its nasty chemicals that are used so its not a home job at all IMO.
     
  6. Zero_Point

    Zero_Point What's a Dremel?

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    Of course not, the Think-Tank is here to stay. I just don't run it for very long these days because I don't have a proper radiator hookup ATM. I'm thinking it either leaked because of:
    Poorly soldered fittings (patched with JB Weld recently)
    Using compression fittings on vinyl tubing
    Not using thread-tape on the compression fittings (D'oh!)

    So until I can figure out what's causing the leak it's mostly turned on just to act as a space-heater when it gets too cold for my tarantula. :V
     
  7. oliverw92

    oliverw92 What's a Dremel?

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    :D Win thread
     
  8. llH4VOKll

    llH4VOKll What's a Dremel?

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    Have tried using thermal pads for the CPU instead of TIM just a thought might bring your temps down
     
  9. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    No, I haven't had a chance.

    Thanks for the replies. I looked up the price of conformal coating, it's like $45 for a spray can. Besides, I don't see how I'd be able to spray the bottom of the caps to insure that no oil gets inside em.

    Hahaha, that's good to hear. I found that my PVC tubing was shrinking and getting stiff. That might be the problem you're having; the tubing is shrinking inside the compression fittings and ruining the seal. Give it a look. As long as you don't have long runs of tubing, replacing it with Viton or teflon is a fairly quick fix.

    Thanks ;)
     
  10. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    I'm not dead! I've been trying to decide if I should attempt replacing the caps on my motherboard, or just get that MSI board with the hiC-caps. In the meantime, I've done a little work:

    [​IMG]
    I bought new T's and chopped off one of the barbs. I inserted the temperature sensor and sealed it with silicone.

    [​IMG]
    And here they are in place. Hopefully this new Dow Corning 735 holds up better than the high temperature RTV I was using before.

    [​IMG]
    And as you can see, I decided to go with the MSI motherboard. I found a deal on it that I couldn't resist:
    MSI Big Bang Fuzion Mobo: $359.99
    MSI GTS 250 1Gb $139.99
    Combo Discount: -$160
    Rebate on GTS250: -$10
    BCB: -$10
    Total was $319.98 with free shipping. So I basically got $40 off the price of the mobo and got the video card for free. Sounds sweet to me!

    And I got the CPU from Microcenter for $200. They're $280 at Newegg o_O
     
  11. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    I got a GTS250 for "Free" with my MSI Big Bang mobo. I think I'll use it for PhysX in conjunction with my 2 ATI 5850's.

    [​IMG]
    So it needs to be prepped :dremel:

    [​IMG]
    Don't want these cheapo underpowered fans in my oil. Besides, they make the card take 3 slots instead of 2.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    I sealed around the caps with a generous amount of Dow Corning 735 silicone. This will prevent oil from getting into the rubber thats on the bottom of the caps.

    [​IMG]
    Since I had the HSF off anyway, I replaced the TIM with some Arctic Alumina. Then I ran a bead of silicone around the top of the shim to prevent oil from getting to the GPU.

    [​IMG]
    You can make out the squished bead of silicone on the shim here.

    [​IMG]
    The card reassembled.

    [​IMG]
    Both of my 5850s will get the same treatment. Here's the bare card.

    [​IMG]
    There weren't as many caps to seal around; only 4. I replaced the TIM here too.

    [​IMG]
    And here it is without the shroud and fan. This is how it'll sit in the oil. The natural convection currents will take care of the cooling.

    [​IMG]
    Letting the silicone set. Once I'm ready to get my case running again, I'll do the same thing to my 2nd 5850.
     
  12. Matticus

    Matticus ...

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    You have some serious nads doing something like this. I really just wouldn't have the guts to try it, probably because I am cheap hehe.

    I am really enjoying the new project and glad you got stuck back into it, keep up the good work.
     
  13. Zero_Point

    Zero_Point What's a Dremel?

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    That must be some mean mineral oil for you to have to seal the caps like that. I've yet to encounter any problems with the caps on my motherboard/GPU, but I'm wondering if it's because I'm using a different grade of oil than you. (veterinary grade, $9 a gallon at your local vet supply store)
     
  14. RxScram

    RxScram RxScram Technologies Ltd0

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    So what is the estimated total cost thus far for the case materials?
     
  15. vils

    vils What's a Dremel?

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    That's some serious amounts of TIM you've used. I suppose you'll remove quite a bit before mounting the cooler?
     
  16. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    Haha, thanks. I'm still apprehensive about dunking my shiny new bits into oil even though I've done it before. :worried:

    Only the caps on the motherboard swelled, the caps on the video cards did not, the caps on the sound card did not and the caps in the power supply did not.

    No it isn't, I think the sunlight hitting it makes it look like that.
     
  17. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    I'm nervous about how you sealed the temp sensors. I've had trouble with silicone not sticking to ethylene-based materials before. -There's a reason they use that material for the packaging, after all. You need a way to hold the plug in so the tank pressure doesn't make them pop out.
     
  18. legoman666

    legoman666 Beat to fit, paint to match.

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    I'll see if I can't come up with something to hold the silicone plug in. Excuse the low quality pics, took them with my cell phone.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    My motherboard is going to crowded.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Leak testing the tank! If all goes well, I'll move my pc into the oil on Tuesday.
     
    Last edited: 5 Apr 2010
  19. Bad_cancer

    Bad_cancer Mauritius? 2nd speck east of africa

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    ...had to say this but prepping those shiny new 5850s and dunking them in oil...

    [​IMG]

    :jawdrop:

    Its looking good right now, nice to see it up and running again!
     
  20. Cheapskate

    Cheapskate Insane? or just stupid?

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    :lol:+1 on the balls of steel. They shouldn't rust with all that oil.:D
     

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