mineral oil cooling

[winter]

I know this might be a bad idea influanced by alcohol or insanity with the slightest possibility of both influances being involved, but i got in to a coverstation about water cooling PC and im wondering where may i purcase mineral oil from in the UK (googled..only found US suppliers). Yep im going to dunk a old 600 in to mineral oil and see how far i can OC it. On the bright side i think the flash point of mineral oil is about 135C so the pc will die long before i see the flames. Also can anyone recomend a oil that has a high flash point.

[Krendoshazin]

Someone already beat you to it.
http://www.markusleonhardt.de/en/oelrechner.html

[jlgreer1]

Silicone oil does not have a flash point. Probably your best bet. It has been used in Xerox machine to lubricate fuser rollers. You should be able to purchase some.

PCB was once used in transformers as a coolant/insulator but it is very toxic and illegal.

Oils in general are not very good coolants. They have relatively low heat capacities and conduction coefficients. That's is why they cool engines with water and not oil. A notable exception was early Suzuki GSX-R's, they cooled with oil but eventually switched to water to remain competitive.

Water is the best practical coolant for most purposes. Freon & ammonia are also coolants that are cryogenic giving them a very high heat capacity.

You could always try liquid nitrogen.

Jeff, a retired marine chemist

[George Harrison]

I saw the vegtable oil pc quite some time ago on hackaday

I'd like a water cooled machine but I don't have the time and funds for it.

[TheFourthBeast]

I know I'm probably stupid about these things (and I don't have the excuse of being drunk), but doesn't a liquid have to be conductive to cool efficiently? and if it was, wouldn't that mess up a submerged computer in the process (I only realized the pun after I had already typed it)?

[Krendoshazin]

I know I'm probably stupid about these things (and I don't have the excuse of being drunk), but doesn't a liquid have to be conductive to cool efficiently? and if it was, wouldn't that mess up a submerged computer in the process (I only realized the pun after I had already typed it)?

The idea of liquid cooling is to take the heat away from the components more effectively, it would only mess up the computer if the liquid was conductive, water is an excellent conductor which is why it doesn't mix well with electronics, it short circuits them.
Submerging your computer in oil is not a good idea, and the guy probably had a spare one laying around and thought he'd just try it out, this is not recommended for anyone who cares about their computer, water cooling is extreme enough, just make sure you don't have any leaks.

[George Harrison]

I know I'm probably stupid about these things (and I don't have the excuse of being drunk), but doesn't a liquid have to be conductive to cool efficiently? and if it was, wouldn't that mess up a submerged computer in the process (I only realized the pun after I had already typed it)?

The idea of liquid cooling is to take the heat away from the components more effectively, it would only mess up the computer if the liquid was conductive, water is an excellent conductor which is why it doesn't mix well with electronics, it short circuits them.
Submerging your computer in oil is not a good idea, and the guy probably had a spare one laying around and thought he'd just try it out, this is not recommended for anyone who cares about their computer, water cooling is extreme enough, just make sure you don't have any leaks.

Actually on hackaday they said the guy had his box running like that for a year and a half+ I believe. They said he needed to replace a fan once but that was it.

[drakebasher]

but doesn't a liquid have to be conductive to cool efficiently?

To cool efficiently requires good conduction of heat but not necessarily of electricity. The best conductors of electricity tend to be good conductors of heat: silver, gold, copper, iron, aluminum. Liquids have the advantage of convection, either forced or natural, to improve heat transfer. So while oil may not be the best conductor of heat, its electrical non-conductance makes it a suitable compromise for immersion cooling.

[Krendoshazin]

Actually on hackaday they said the guy had his box running like that for a year and a half+ I believe. They said he needed to replace a fan once but that was it.

I wasn't questioning whether or not it would be a good idea in the sense that it would work or not, I'm sure it worked very well, what I'm saying is that oil doesn't just come off, it likes to stick to things, and you'd have to find a way to wash it off safely. No doubt this would invalidate your warrenty, the shops wouldn't want to take back a piece of hardware that been sitting in oil for weeks and then washed off and stuck back in the box.
There's just no need to go to these kinds of extremes, I care too much about my computer to even consider doing that to it.

[winter]

Why do you think im going to use a old 600. Personaly id love to try cooling with purifyed water, pure h20 with no disolved salts or metals which means it cant conduct electricity. Also its how a few supercomputers are cooled.

Any way i'd like to try oil cooling my plan is to dunk the main parts in a tank and set a pump system to take heated oil and run it through a radiator thats cooled by fans or refrigeration. The only problem is a viscocity of an oil, on grpounds that if its too vicous it'll gunk the pump up.

Ive just seen the olive oil project how ever the only problem with that is that olive oil tends to gunk up and oxydise when heated suficantly.

Still id like to try oil cooling for the hell of it, and I am sober now.