Well, the title says it all , yup i'm into phase cooling and hope to drag along a few of you guys with me .

I've done watercooling and watercooling + pelt but still i've got that craving for more extreme temps to toy with, it's either DI/LN or refrigeration/phase change.. since i'm into a more long term usage instead of benchies, then the choice is clear.. phase change here i come.

First and foremost thanks a lot to my sifu Bulkhy ( for a start i'm using his xillix till i diy my own multi phase) and our mod PCcrazy whose been nothing but help and guide me to come out with this thread. There are already some forumers who'd done phase cooling please share your experience here. TQ. Let's make this thread at par with those overseas thread (expecially those singaporean VR-Zone one.. even though we're far from it but we're workin on it).

O.K enough of this muchy and goey ghey crap lets get down to business.

PHASE CHANGE / REFRIGERATION
The Main Components and how duh it works (sorry I won't go into details till the "history of refrigeration")

Please refer to the "hand made" diagram below whilst i'll explain.


1. Capillary Tube/Line

(And you guys thought i'm gonna start with the compressor hehehehe.. ) The main purpose of the line is causing a pressure difference. A supply of liquid refrigerant enters the cap line ; this liquid is then forced to travel through a very thin piece of tubing (capillary tube/metering device). The liquid exits the line and boils off into a vapour as it does so it absorbs heat!
*Note: The phase of the refrigerant has changed, from liquid to gas, thus the name 'phase change'.

2. Evaporator

Car Evaporator

Chilly1 Evaporator (cause Xillix's evap using the same design)
The caps line now sprays tiny droplets of refrigerant into the evaporator. The evaporator is the component that removes the heat from the evap's head (that touches the proc).The Evaporator is the equivelent to the block on a H2O system. This is also where the Phase-Change occurs. Liquid refrigerant makes it's way to a larger volume of space and changes it's phase from a liquid to a vapor, or boils off.

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 1 2005, 03:01 PM

continues...

3. Compressor

Well as the names states it compresses. Compress what? It compresses the refrigerant from gaseous state to liquid state.. so gaseous state refrigerant from the evaporator is being compressed to vapour state (high pressure refrigerant) in this contraption. It does this by using a piston, slightly similar to the one in the car. The actual design and power of the compressor vary, just like you have different types of pumps in your normal water-cooling loop, as pic below:

Animated picture courtesy of refrigerationbasics.com
Thus, one can say that in time (when the compressor is ON) it will generate heat due to the friction of the piston against the cylinder.. (do take note cause this will help to get the idea of designing the casing of the phase cooling set).

4. Condensor

Yup it's bulkhy's condensor (looks almost the same as a car evaporator and w/cooling radiator but diffn in a way and design). This cools the refrigerant that is under pressure (vapour) allowing it to condense and turn into a liquid (as in my diagram in the first post). The condenser, looks similar to the evaporator, however in most cases is the larger of the two. The condensers main purpose is to dissipate the heat from the compressed vapour to the surrounding air or water. In another word this condenses the refrigerant gas to a liquid. The liquid heads off to the capillary tube (capline ), and then refrigeration process is carried out again. The Condensor can be either liquid cooled or air cooled (wif fans of course).

5. Filter/Drier

Drier used to hold moisture to keep it from reacting with the refrigerant. Which will produce harmful acids which will erode the line or damage the compressor. Also containing a filter/screen that keep small particles from blocking the capillary tubing or expansion valve.

continues..

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 1 2005, 03:59 PM

.. continues..

6. Refrigerant (gas... no not the one from your behind)
Here are the refrigerant table for refrences of names and boling points of each refrigerant.

The refrigerant is the working fluid in the system and provides the means by which heat is shuffled around in the system. There are many types of refrigerants, some run at lower temperatures, but require a lot of pressure and powerful compressors and vice versa. Refrigerants are basically different by the temperatures at which they boil at. And don't think you can just swap out one for another. Some you can and some you cant. Usually when DIY'ing a phase cooler, the refrigerant used determines the what/which compressor to choose.

Well that's basically explained how phase cooling works.. but i'm not done yet

Okay, now let's take a look at my sifu's xillix direct die (single phase) cooler..

This baybeh is handmade (except for the compressor) and below is the fully insullated evap head with the mounting bracket.


Next is prepareration of installation (for those whose seen the pelt insullation guide it is almost simillar except that this time i had to use loads of them dielectric grease).

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 1 2005, 04:01 PM

for my first attempt in phase cooling, the victim will be my ABIT NF7-S Rev 2 mobo.. (O.T. :at first i was thinking of selling it to hmspower... but naaah he'd got a mobo ledy summore he want to break the Mobile Xp record which i'm eyeing for oso watch out dinster) Okay ere's the pic of the mobo:


And I'll be using the Brush-On Electrical Tape.. again.. (thanks arj ),


Here's what my mobo looks like after being brush with the electrical tape twice (two layers).. noticed that i didn't fix any electrical tape around the socket and centre slug of the socket this time.. why? cause this time i'll be using the dielectric grease around it and in the centre.. cause bulkhy sent me plenty of those grease (thank you sifu).

And brush-on the back side... Okay i'll add more pics as progression goes.. now waiting for the liquid to dry.

EDIT: currently i'm stuck with some technical glitch hope can sort it out by today cause i wanna wrap this thing as soon as possible. Neway i'll finished the insullation part:

okay here is the backside pics fully covered with elect tape.


Since the cooler comes with a back plate, i highly recommend that we sort out the backside first before it started to give me a pain in the a$$ later on.

Get a 3/8" thick neoprene sheet and cut it to cover enough of the back side socket area and give about 1/2" more just to be safe. Here's how to poke a hole in neoprene.

Tadaaa..


continues...

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 2 2005, 04:39 PM

... continues...

okay, come let's do the center slut/slug area.. just squeeze the dielectric grease to cover the whole center slug.
The dielectric grease supplied by bulkhy.


till it looks like this

Next is the socket pin hole.. use finger to press in teh grease into the hole till you'd see a pool of grease inside every hole (several time of spreading and pushing)

Wokey.. next up as usual, an 1/8" neoprene sheet cut to size enough to cover the center socket slut./slug.

next is the neoprene around the socket..
]
tada.. socket done.


Well the mobo is done insullated.. fix back the nb fan, and remount on the mobo.. affix gfcard blah,blah blah, hd, fron panel switches etc.


...continues...

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 2 2005, 04:58 PM

... continues..

awright.. this is how my look like..

b4 mounting the evap head, i've decided to fire up the cooler.. this is where the technical glitch occurs.. i'll get back to post as soon as it's sorted.

EDIT: wokay.. glitch sorted, so this is the temp reading seconds after the cooler is switch ON,

.. suddenly another problem occurs, my temperature probe broke!! , the thermocouple sensor, I think was broken to sudden movement/bent on very-very cold temp.. so sorry no more probe temp reading.

And now, i'd to wait for at least an hour before mounting the evap head to the socket mobo.. so i'll update again later.

EDIT: ergh.. ... don't you just hate it when there is one of those days everything goes wrong?.. well it happens today, i've got my replacement temp probe... was all jolly excited, but then this happens:


it was the fan that suppose to keep my condensor cool!!!.. ergh. All'n'gap, hurry up get back to M'sia will ya.

as a consolation here a pic of the evap's head when fully operational at -27C (justttt before the blade broke)

ais kacang anyone?

EDIT: 07/07/2005; still got some minor glitch with the phase cooler.. am trying to sort it out with bulkhy. sorry.
EDIT: 14/07/2005 AM; found out that the filter/drier was "rosak=blocked" so had to change em..


This post has been edited by amok: Jul 14 2005, 11:28 PM

cool mod dude...cant wait to see the result...btw..u using a mobile barton isit???

Cool mod cooler from amok.

woot....u r the man...
but barton-m can boot up at -'c ??

nice thread

This post has been edited by babyelf: Oct 9 2005, 06:31 PM

Great info there amok. Just a question, why didn't you use a rotary based compressor since it's lower in maintenance and size?

u just need da elephant super glue to fix dat fan...

* if u doubt bout it, come & check all of my broken blade fans are saved by da glue... includin my table fan... & its cheap tho than buyin new fan... ( dun use the RM2 one coz da material is sux - use rm4 one wit brand somethin like elleyes - i hardly remember the exact brand but it spell like dat... just make sure its really dry...

*if u want la... u can borrow my DMM wit temp probe (-40C lowest)... but not now since my fren usin it for his project or maybe u can PM me & we can discus... just dun spoil it la...

phase change mean change the phase of the cooling? like liquid to solid ?

yes but in this case its from liquid to vapour...from what i researched this is what i understand..but i`ll start from the compressor hihi..somehow i prefer it that way...here goes..correct me if im wrong..

It starts with the compressor. As the name states this is what compresses the refrigerant. At this point it is a gas and that's what it is designed to pump.

From here it pumps to the condensor. The top side of the condensor to be exact. By cooling the gas and compressing it, it will turn into the liquid needed to create the Phase-change. Out of the bottom of the condensor and into a filter is where the flow goes next.

Out of the filter there is a small diameter copper line called the
capillary tube or capline.
This is where the tunning of the system is done. The lenght and diameter is critical for the temperature of the evaporator.

The Evaporator is the equivelent to the block on a H2O system. It is what is mounted to the CPU or GPU. There are many different designs and I just happen to be working on one myself. It is simular to H20, in the fact that as much surface area that can be exposed to the refrigerant the better.
This is also where the Phase-Change occurs. Liquid refrigerant makes it's way to a larger volume of space and changes it's phase from a liquid to a vapor, or boils off. Refrigerant boils at a very low temp and that is the main difference between the dozens of types.
During this change it sucks up the heat and releases it's cold.

The return line, or suction line as it is reffered to has negative pressure in it. It is caused by the compressor pressurizing the high side, creating a low side in the return line, because the system is sealed. The refrigerant is now back in a gas form and is cycled again through the system.

hope it will help in the understanding of phase change cooling to those who are new.

Well, i'll try to edit my last post but kenot.. exceed the max allowable pics per post thinggy.. neway here's an update.

UPDATE: 14/07/2005 PM: now i'm back in business.. here's what i've been doing with the cooler today.

1. replace the capilary tube..(ori was 1/16" tube, replaced with a 2mm tube)

2. replace the filter/drier (replaced with a torino/italian interdryers filter)

3. replace the low side + high side nipple valve...
finished product.

closed up of low side valve and cap tube

4. vacumed the cooler

and... 5. charged the cooler


and the result after those modifications

-32C within 50 seconds!!!

EDIT 15/07/2005: Today after reinsulating the suction line with another layer of 3/8" of neoprene i've got this.

But unfortunately, the evaps head insulation was sweating with condensation (at -37C!!).. now must find a way to reinsulate the evaps head.

EDIT 18/07/2005: After a quiet weekend wif family now back in action, the evaps insulated ledy (haven't tested it yet cause lack of time).. and just oni now ordered the 135cfm fan from Alln'gap

EDIT 25/07/2005: Finally this afternoon recieved those 135cfm fans from all'n'gap , i'm in a roll again.. watch this space for results from the cooler

EDIT 26/07/2005: heheh, so today i curi tulang and try to mount the evap's head to the mobo under my boss's nose ( please do not imitate/replicate what i did today, it's a bad example set by me and am not responsible for any legal nor diciplinary action taken to those of you who curi tulang like i did today). Wokay, first and formost is the thermal interface compound or TIC.. here i used Arctic Ceramic (hoping it doesn't crystalize like AS5 at -35C)... and dabbing a generous amount of dielectric grease around the core and inner walls of neoprene.

then, come the hectic part which is mounting the evap's head on the mobo, it took me three tries b4 finally get it right (must ensure that the head make a clean and thorough contact with the core)

and now time to fire it up.. oops forget to mention and take pics of a thermal probe that i've fixed near the core nvm you've got the idea..
Okay result time... naaah .. make y'all wait a lil bit cause kasi suspense sikit.

This post has been edited by amok: Jul 26 2005, 05:04 PM

-32'c
can borrow arr let me test my proc for 1 week
emm, wen u wanna install in ur proc n let us to know the result after using XTREME COOLING

hehe.....ppl now all get into phasechange de...good thing....make a gathering ...u guys buy all ur stuff....den do a gathering where me and amok can teach u guys how 2 braze...and how 2 build 1....so make malaysians more extreme....we r abit slow de....lol..so stop watercooling now!!...lol..jkjk

yeeehaaa...!!!!malaysia boleh!!! -37 man verry nice temp...whats ur oc target??

my rig lastime
now HSF

Attached thumbnail(s)

yeah...build phase change...i'm now in process..my sifu is bulkhy