millers vapochill! (56k'ers beware)

[miller]

Welp I finally got what ive been researching for 3-4 months a vapochill like unit (with safe freon) that will give me -40*C temps without cpu and -22*C with the cpu (taken with a themistor off the copper block)! :hat: :rasta: :hat: :rasta:

Here's some pics...

[miller]

.

[miller]

and the last one...

[Orange Peel]

Maybe we should call you Mr. Freeze from now on.

How much, Where from??? We need to know..

[AmStoned]

Damn miller, whose fridge did you take apart to get something like that? Am I right? That looks like something straight out of a whirlpool full size fridge.

Nice...:D

[ImaginAsian]

Good Lord Miller!! How many cylinders on that block :D

What's your max overclocking now? Im sure Team PC will benefit from the MHz gain!

It looks like a crock pot to me actually...what u be cooking in dere?

[miller]

I bought it from guy named Tony Drake from the [H]ardForum for 150 bucks + 40 bucks shipping...I should've pointed this out when I said the temps, the temps arent from my computer their from other people who bought this cooler. I dont have my mobo insulated for the condensation yet but once I dont and get some parts for radioshack I will have this up and running! Hopefully Sunday of this weekend or so... :)

Im not sure where Tony got the parts for this thing but if you are interested in buying one or have any questions about it you can contact him on ICQ at 128351243...im not sure if he has anymore but he does make or get them somewhere and probely will have some more soon.

[BitBender]

Hey miller, I liked the screen shot in the background of that one pix. Is that this board ??

[Alakazam]

Now that's going to be very handy when you get it all hooked up miller, you'll be able to open the side of the case and get a cold one without getting up.:beer: LOL. That is one serious looking setup, it was worth the wait for the 56k dl, keep us posted on your progress please, what do you think you'll be able to oc to when finished?

[miller]

I'll probely able to reach 1.9GHz with a good chip and hardware setup...I also plan to pelt/watercooling my graphics card and northbirdge so this is going to be one mean setup when im done! :D

Bit...

You guess right its your very own forums in the pic! :hat: Also did you see my athlon keychain hanging off my cd rack?

[Rando]

Looks like a used or new 12v unit for RV and motorhome fridges, modded for the block. Can you relate the size of the unit compared with your case, and how you plan to install??

[BitBender]

Originally posted by miller
I'll probely able to reach 1.9GHz with a good chip and hardware setup...I also plan to pelt/watercooling my graphics card and northbirdge so this is going to be one mean setup when im done! :D

Bit...

You guess right its your very own forums in the pic! :hat: Also did you see my athlon keychain hanging off my cd rack?

I want a athlon KEYCHAIN!! :sorry:

[miller]

Rando....

Im planning on building myself a wooden case with a intake and exhaust duct from outside air so ill have nice cold air going over the radiators and a nice low ambient. :) I do plan on mounting it right above the motherboard so that the block will be able to reach and such. But to give you an idea of its size those are two 120mm fans on the radiator so its not really that big...

I got it up and running last night for a couple minutes...I think killed a few layers of skin on my finger due to extreme cold :eek:

Another cool thing about this unit is it makes the lights dim when I turn it on! :p

[muckshifter]

Another cool thing about this unit is it makes the lights dim when I turn it on!

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

I hope you left room in the box for your... BEER ... :D
now that would be cool. :p

[miller]

Mucks maybe ill make a storage area for my Pop :D

Here's a pic I took of the block while the thing was on...see that glob on the block? Thats my spit that froze to it within seconds! :spin:

Edit: Sorry for the crappy pic, couldnt get any better lighting...

[ImaginAsian]

Originally posted by miller

Here's a pic I took of the block while the thing was on...see that glob on the block? Thats my spit that froze to it within seconds! :spin:

Thanks for sharing that with us, our resident Extrme Cooler :O

BTW...pardon my ignorance, but how will you keep supplying the freon or whatever it is, LN2?

[AmStoned]

If this is in fact a modified fridge unit, than you don't need to replenish the freon as long as you leave it on. You know, just like your fridge.

[Rando]

Originally posted by miller
Rando....

Im planning on building myself a wooden case with a intake and exhaust duct from outside air so ill have nice cold air going over the radiators and a nice low ambient. :) I do plan on mounting it right above the motherboard so that the block will be able to reach and such. But to give you an idea of its size those are two 120mm fans on the radiator so its not really that big...

Mmmm, wood is gonna be nice, what are you going to use?? Oak or ash would look really nice and it's one of the cheaper hardwoods.

[Rando]

Originally posted by ImaginAsian


Thanks for sharing that with us, our resident Extrme Cooler :O

BTW...pardon my ignorance, but how will you keep supplying the freon or whatever it is, LN2?

IA Hope Miller doesn't mind me answering your question:D

The unit is sealed, so you don't have to add refrigerant, even when it's turned off, unless you spring a leak somewhere. Here's how it works, if you look at the side view pic Miller posted, the black cannister is the compressor, the compressor compresses the refrigerant gas, which raises the refirgerants pressure and temp, then exits the tube on the right of the compressor and goes up into the condensor (radiator) where it's cooled and condenses into liquid form.

It exits the condenser from the bottom into the expansion valve on the bottom right, that's the tubular thing that looks like a crazy bong (which is also where you add refrigerant should you need to). When it moves through the expansion valve, the liquid refrigerant moves from high pressure to low pressure, so it expands and evaporates, and in evaporating it absorbs heat, making it cold (much like when you put alcohol on your skin).

It then runs through the small tube that's coiled around the black hose, through the block and returns to the compressor via the black hose, and the cycle repeats:p

[miller]

Rando...

Im not sure what type of wood im going to use yet...probely use whatever feels and looks the best and isnt all the expensive. If you have a type of wood to recommend it would help me out...also im going to be staining the wood so it doesnt matter what the wood looks like.

[ImaginAsian]

Wow...thanks for the explanation there Randog!! Put it in words that even a hardware challenged person like moi can understand!

Now you gave me an idea...maybe I just pour Rubbing Alcohol over my chip to cool even more :eek2:

[Mad dog]

I am in awe:eek:

You gonna get yourself a UPS for that so you don't blow the fuse for your street?

[miller]

Here's a little update for you guys...

I got it pretty much all insulated up (the cooling unit not the motherboard) and I got -8*C temps off the condensor with a thermal prob, kinda dissapointing to me but hopefully I will be able to get it to around -40*C with some more insulation and a freon recharge. :)

[Rando]

Originally posted by miller
Rando...

Im not sure what type of wood im going to use yet...probely use whatever feels and looks the best and isnt all the expensive. If you have a type of wood to recommend it would help me out...also im going to be staining the wood so it doesnt matter what the wood looks like.

Miller, there are so many to choose from, but if I were going to build one, I'd use a sheet of 3/4' white or red oak plywood, either one looks great with about any stain. It can be had from home depot for between $50-60, just be sure to bring a blanket or something to wrap it in or lay it on before you go down the road with it, as any nicks or dents will show when you stain it, you'll be sanding it before and after assembly I know, but you can't remove deep dents without taking off too much wood and it'll look like crap.

Take it to a cabinet or woodworking shop when you have your dimensions to have it profesionally cut, they have the machines and the experience to give you a good cut the first time, with whatever type joint you want, 45 degree, dovetail, or whatever you like, and they can help you out with any questions you may have from what type screws to use, to general assembly.

Also, before you think about topping off the refrigerant on your chiller, I suggest going over to your auto parts house or wally world and pick up a refrig tap and hose, it's packaged together and even includes a guage, you should get away with it for around ten bucks, do not get the one that's packaged with a can of refrig-oil mix, I'm not sure what type oil the compressor on your unit uses, but it may not be compatible with that used by automotive a/c's. Above all, you don't want to overcharge your system, it'll wear it out rather quickly:D

[miller]

I'll be going to a local a/c shop to get it recharged no way am I going to mess around with this freon probely end up making a bomb some how... :eek:

Also im going to be getting a table saw, drill press, and other wood working tools soon so I probely wont go to a shop to get it done...ive been getting into wood working for awhile and ive finally talked my parents into letting me have a few wood working tools. :)

[miller]

Well I got everything insulated up and just tried to boot the machine but no luck...the motherboard does not POST only the fans spin and the LED's light up. I did not mount the motherboard in the case for the test so im hoping it doesnt boot because of grounding issuses...

I also may have also put a scratch in the boad to cause it not to boot up...but my thinking is that it wouldnt be able to get the fans to start spinning if the board was damaged.

Another thing I may have done was burnt the chip... :( but I think it would still post if the chip was the problem. right?

Sorry for this kind of confusing post but im just telling you guys what happened with my cooling project and some of my thinking as to what is going wrong...

If you guys have any suggestions or possible reasons to the problems im having please suggest them, I could really use the help.

Thanks, Miller.

[ImaginAsian]

If the fans spin and only the LED's light up, that is a sure sign of a dead mobo :( Do you have a speaker hooked up to it and did you hear any beeps? If you have a speaker and no beeps, it is a dead mobo. I hope that isn't the case!

[miller]

Dead mobo is the case then, I do have a speaker hooked up and it did not beep when I booted up...ohwell back to the KT7 for me. :(

Any mobo recommendations for me?

[ImaginAsian]

Sorry to hear that bro :(

I wonder how your mobo went dead?? If you plug in any 3-pin fan's into the mobo headers, do they spin?

I think for your setup, you might just get the IWILL KkK266+ since you already have an IWILL. Its a great board.

[miller]

Heres a question...if the mobo was dead would the hard drive, floppy drive, and cdrom boot up? Because when I turn the system on my hard drive starts to make some noise and the LED's on my floppy drive and cd-rom flash...

[Rando]

Those items are still drawing juice from your working PSU. Have you tried the chip in another board, or in a friends box?

[ImaginAsian]

Originally posted by miller
Heres a question...if the mobo was dead would the hard drive, floppy drive, and cdrom boot up? Because when I turn the system on my hard drive starts to make some noise and the LED's on my floppy drive and cd-rom flash...

Exactly what Rando said bro...none of those devices are plugged or being powerd by the mobo. Notice your PSU connects directly to their 4-pin molex connectors. The reason I ask about the 3-pin header because that would give us more insight into the mobo powering anything at all.

And I forgot about the chip too...like Rando suggested! Thanks bra!

[Rando]

Also, have you tried resetting cmos?, reset cmos, and if that gets you into the bios, setup fsb and multiplier again and see what that gets ya:D

[miller]

Thanks for the tips guys, guess I still have some work to be done...tomarrow I will set the test bed up again and report back to you guys with your answers...

I havent tested the chip in another system yet but ill do that tomarrow as well on my KT7, man its a pain in the ass to take these things apart again and agin. :(

[M.i.S. Nemesis]

You know, I thought 026tb4u was a cooler freak, but you take the cake and the puntang pie on this one.

We shall call you Mr. Freeze.....:jaw drop:

[miller]

Here's some info for you guys...my northbridge fan is plugged into the 3pin header close to it and it spins when I power on...

[ImaginAsian]

K miller....try resetting your CMOS like Rando suggests and tell us what you find out.

[miller]

Resetting the CMOS did not do anything but I hooked one of my 120mm fans to a 3pin header and it did spin...

[muckshifter]

Sorry miller but you only need three things attached to a motherboard for it to "work" ...

Power
CPU + HSF (if AMD)
Speaker

If mobo, speaker & CPU are ok then you WILL hear the beeps.

No beeps usually means dead mobo. :mad:
But it could be the CPU (small chance)

:mad:

[miller]

Thanks muck...thats was pretty much my thinking, I will test the cpu later today and see if it is in fact working...:(

I hope my mobo's the culprit though since I can get a replacement for 75 bucks...

[Dramen]

Sorry to hear that miller. Isn't that board ami bios? This is official for ami bios.


If no beeps are heard and no display is on the screen, its most likely the power supply. Check for Keyboard lights or for hard drive/floppy drive lights. If lights come on then power supply is good.

Next, inspect the motherboard for loose components. A loose or missing CPU, BIOS chip, Crystal Oscillator, or Chipset chip will cause the motherboard not to function. If you get lights then it could be one of the I/O cards. Try removing each card one at a time and restarting the computer.

[miller]

Welp,

Looks like its the mobo, im running everything (hd, ram, video card, cpu.) on my KT7 right now perfectly fine...guess that idea of using a drill to widen the mobo's mounting holes wasnt such and good idea... :hhead:

And sadly no im not kidding about that... :(

[Rando]

Sorry to hear it Miller, that's a hard lesson learned:( Why did you need to widen the mobo holes?

[miller]

I had some mounting screws that were only a few mm bigger than the hole...guess that makes me more of a cheap ass than IA huh? Killing a mobo in the attempts to save a few bucks on buying more hadware... :eek:

[ImaginAsian]

IA Approved :spin:

So what mobo you gonna buy now?

[miller]

Not really sure right now...I was thinking about just getting a replacement Iwill for 75 bucks but then I thought why not spend more and get a KG7 then I realized KT266a boards will be out rather soon so I think I may wait awhile for those...heh I need some help making up my mind... :(

[ImaginAsian]

If you are in no rush, I say wait for the KT266A and the nForce which should drive prices down for both boards since they are currently on-par performance wise. Buying a KG7 now would be a mistkae in my eyes since we know the other two chipsets are superior.

But if this rig is down and not contributing to Team PC, I say buy the Iwill :D