Cooling Help attaching a Water cooling kit a laptop

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by despat, 23 Mar 2006.

  1. despat

    despat What's a Dremel?

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    Hi,

    I'm trying to run a Water Pump from a laptop. The pump required 12 Volt and 8-10 Watts to run. Where can I get this power? I want to attach it via USB to that the pump starts with the laptop. Any ideas?

    Would drawing power from two USB ports solve the problem. I have a funny looking USB A to B connecter except that it has 2 USB A heads on one side. Will that be sufficient to run the Pump?

    Btw. I know water cooling a laptop not the ideal thing to do but its just a fun project.

    Thanks
     
    despat, 23 Mar 2006
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  2. Sherk

    Sherk What's a Dremel?

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    You won't be able to pull that much wattage off a USB port, it only supports 500mA. That's on 5V, too. (2.5watts per port). I'm not sure but you might be able to get that wattage internally, but you may have power issues then. Not really sure... the best bet (since the pump is external anyways) if you want it to turn on with the laptop, is a relay attached to the USB port and an external power brick.
     
    Sherk, 23 Mar 2006
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  3. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    The pump will require its own power supply. You could use the 5V line of the USB port to activate a relay that will turn on the pump. There is no way however to feed a pump from USB ports (not even two).

    In any case that would be the least of your problems. You'll be hard-pressed to integrate watercooling into a laptop. You'd have to engineer your own components to very high precision and unless you are a CNC-god that will be extremely difficult.
     
    Nexxo, 23 Mar 2006
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  4. Freedom

    Freedom Minimodder

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    Well i can tell you with some simply maths that you require in best case 1.2amps. P=VI so I=P/V I=10w/12V I=1.2a
     
    Freedom, 23 Mar 2006
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  5. Stuey

    Stuey You will be defenestrated!

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    I don't think it would be as hard as imagined. An add-on base could be constructed somewhat simply, and then this HDD block can be fixed at the top so that the laptop can be set ontop of it. While I don't think it will provide fantastic cooling, this method could be more effecient than using one of those ready made cooling pads.

    I recently considered such a configuration myself because my 5 yr old laptop has overheating problems but is otherwise a usable machine.

    By no means would this be a portable solution, but it could make for a useful/efficient docking station.
     
    Stuey, 24 Mar 2006
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