I happen to have a mini-fridge laying around, and I was thinking, "Would it be possible to use this as a radiator instead of the customary fan system?" I think a set up like below would work. Anyone agree / disagree / suggest?
Using fridges in watercooling setups has come up many times before. And most of the time ends up in the conclusion that fridges simply cannot deal with the amount of heat put out by a computer. The cooling bit, compresor and stuff i think isn't made to be run constantly so when used constantly to try and cool hot water it will soon break.
Sound like a water chiller to me. Couple of observations - You don't need the spray nozzle - it may have an advantage though, so if you do it, try it with and without if you can. Simply recirculating the water is normally sufficient. Buy yourself a hydrometer - this way you should be able to gauge the correct amount of antifreeze to allow viscosity at your chosen temp without hurting the heat-transfer abilities of it. Use an inline pump (a good one, like Eheim), you will be less likely to get problems this way. Here's a pic of my old project doing this (rare "ghetto" mod from me ) - I need to build a better insulated res for it though (that's a baking tray... ). [Edit] Oops, I forgot - as olv pointed out (while I was typing), fridge compressors aren't designed for continous use - maybe you could cycle it with a thermostat. Mine is from a dehumidifier.
Dropping the coolant temperature below ambient (i.e. room) temps will cause condensation on the tubing and blocks inside your PC. Not good. Make sure you insulate the hell out of it.
