Cooling "CoolWorks IceProbe" Could this work?

Hey Guys,

I came upon this while surfing the net for watercooling stuff. This unit is designed as a cooling solution for small aquariums and insulated fish egg hatching, bait, and specimen tanks. I find it very interesting on their method of cooling the water by using a chilled probe directly in the water to cool it. I think with a little modification this thing could be pretty cool (pardon the pun) for cooling our hot CUPs.

CoolWorks IceProbe



Here is a little insert from their website:

Here is a illustration of how it works. For us imagine the tank as a reservoirs in the loop holding all that chilled water.


Well I guess I wanted to put this out their and see what you think. Comments very welcome.

Check here for more details;
http://www.coolworksinc.com/iceprobe_aquarium_chiller.htm

 

I'm guessing it's a TEC, and with the little fan it's got on the other end, probably not a powerful one. On the otherhand, it probably comes with it's own powersuply etc. Could be quite a cheap way of getting hold of a pelt.

 

It is a TEC. Although it can chill your reservoir water a bit, thus giving your cooling a slight edge, you have condensation to consider. Not worth the hassle, IMO.

 

Plus thanks to ineffeciency, you'll still have more heat to deal with. It'll just be in a different location. Chances are it won't chill the water to beyond the dew point (where condensation would become an issue), and likely won't make a significant difference anyways. Unlike a fishtank, a significant amount of heat is constantly being added to a watercooling loop.

 

The condensation to consider? This can bring aquarium water down 6-8F. Big whoop. That's room temp water with little to no heat addition. Now try flooding that water with about 400W of heat from your lurvely X2 and SLI'D VGA cards. Am i smelling a smoking Pelt yet?

 

Great feedback guys, concidering this unit is designed for cooling aquarium water and not cooling water in a watercooled computer system. I think the theory could work if redesigned. I guess just using the TEC would be more better. TY

 

Well, yes, I was speaking hypothetically, I must admit. In practice this Iceprobe would indeed not nearly be powerful enough,even though a fishtank contains considerably more water than a watercooling loop, because as you say a fair bit of heat is dumped in.

 

What about using this as a supplementry chiller on a conventional WC loop? What I had invisioned is an extra CPU block on the output of the radiator that was attached to a TEC and had a standard, though quiet, HSF assembly on the hot side. The TEC would be controlled by a temp probe and would kick on when the coolant temp climbed over a certain setpoint during heavy use. I wouldn't expect to drop the coolent temp more than a degree or two, but on the other hand a degree or two isn't bad in a WC system.

 

Swiftech made one. The MCW-CHILL 452™ Thermoelectric liquid chiller it isnt really suited for computers as you have to cool off the tec plates and that ADDS heat into your system because of the law of energy conservation, tecs are not 100% efficent. link
http://www.swiftnets.com/products/MCWCHILL-452.asp

 

that, and the in/out tubes for the cold water were 1/4"

 

I have purchased an iceprobe and it is currently cooling my aquarium computer, filled with mineral oil. It has lowered the temperature by 6+ degrees without any issues.

 

CoolIT do TECs designed specifically for watercooling loops, the dream PC's last year all contained them. As everyone has said they are hugely inefficient. A phase change water chiller is more effective...

 

Is phase change even safe from the thermal stress?

 

Apparently so.