Geothermal cooling with a 30 gallon steel drum buried in my crawl space

Solar Powered even if you run panels to the light or just 12Vdc Power for fans, battery/UPS backup for some 12Vdc Fans, 12Vdc Water pump, a Transmission Cooler, some hoses and you could mount the thing under house with Regular antifreeze and water for a closed water cooling system that would keep the system cool enough...
 
Sorry I haven't updated my project log in a while. I own and operate a one man computer repair business and I had a streak of customers. I've just about finished up with with my last two repair jobs so I should have a good block of time to concentrate on my project. I'd like to thank you Erasmus354 for your calculations you gave. I did not realize just how much thermal capacity 30 gallons of water would have. If anyone has suggestions for a nice high flow rate A/C water pump, I'm all ears.
 
Delexicus said:
Sorry I haven't updated my project log in a while. I own and operate a one man computer repair business and I had a streak of customers. I've just about finished up with with my last two repair jobs so I should have a good block of time to concentrate on my project. I'd like to thank you Erasmus354 for your calculations you gave. I did not realize just how much thermal capacity 30 gallons of water would have. If anyone has suggestions for a nice high flow rate A/C water pump, I'm all ears.
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Aw yeah, now we're cooking with gas. :D
 
I have to say those pumps look very impressive. With those performance numbers I could probably extend my system to my neighbors! Price on the American made models is quite reasonable too. I'm tempted to go with Iwaki WMD40RLXT but that may be some extreme overkill. I'll have to do more research on water-block flow rate diminishing return values. Thanks for the link Ozymandias.
 
Delexicus said:
I have to say those pumps look very impressive. With those performance numbers I could probably extend my system to my neighbors! Price on the American made models is quite reasonable too. I'm tempted to go with Iwaki WMD40RLXT but that may be some extreme overkill. I'll have to do more research on water-block flow rate diminishing return values. Thanks for the link Ozymandias.
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I second Iwaki if you are looking for a good pump, they are pretty much the best you can get.
 
You might want to use something like HDPE instead of steel if you're burying it in the ground. Steel will corrode over time and you'll eventually have a contamination problem from rust, dirt, microbes, and chunks of steel in you loop.

also, burying right under the surface level will subject the tank to atmospheric temperature variations. Bury the top of the tank a couple feet under the surface where the temperature remains more stable year round (IIRC in my area at 24" below the surface it stays 55-60º year-round ).
 
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Why not simply put a bunch of radiators down there and be done with it?
 
So I have been practicing my aluminum brazing a fair amount and I just can't avoid the warping of the aluminum flashing. Needless to say, having a big air gap between the drum and aluminum fins would not be ideal. I've decided to scrap the fins idea entirely and just have the drum buried instead. My next step is to find the proper reducer pieces to make the drum's 3/4 inch and 2 inch connectors work on 1 inch tubing. I bought a hodge-podge of parts from Home depot but it is a very inelegant solution involving way too many adapters. I'm looking online for parts to see if I can simplify the setup.

Also, if anyone has a bead on some cheap 1 inch diameter flexible tubing it would help me out greatly. I can't find any under $100 and I only need 50 feet of it anyway.
 
Nice job of overkill - I approve!

You probably will get galvanic corrosion (or just plain corrosion) from moisture in the soil. Add a zinc sacrificial anode to be safe - just braze on a threaded connector (or even a bolt) to screw a piece of zinc on. For flexible tubing, why don't you use 3/4" garden hose? It's plenty cheap, there are lots of fittings for it, and flow rate should be very good. Amazon also sells a 50', 1" hose for about $100.
 
I wouldnt even worry about all the work with welding/brazing fins on. I would bury the barrel and see what that does for you first. I seriously doubt you will need any more help than 30 gallons of water.
 
You know, at first I was tempted, like others, to criticize the OP for overkill. But if the goal of it all is for silent cooling, I suppose it's not such a bad idea. This could allow for more than one computer to be completely silent, and getting better temps than any retail silent heatsink.

Good job OP. I like your novel approach. Copper coil would have been even better.
 
Wow, I am really sorry. I had a browser lag issue on my mobile phone, and when I thought my comment hadn't loaded I hit reply again. It usually doesn't do that. Oops.
 
Delexicus said:
I have to say those pumps look very impressive. With those performance numbers I could probably extend my system to my neighbors! Price on the American made models is quite reasonable too. I'm tempted to go with Iwaki WMD40RLXT but that may be some extreme overkill. I'll have to do more research on water-block flow rate diminishing return values. Thanks for the link Ozymandias.
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If you're running a thick supply line (1", etc.) and a good pump, you might want to experiment with branching out each waterblock separately (parallel instead of serial) and then bringing them back together. Might help with flow rates. May have already thought of that though.

It's how mother nature does it (large supplies, branched to small and then back into large supplies for pumping).
 
Spidey329 said:
If you're running a thick supply line (1", etc.) and a good pump, you might want to experiment with branching out each waterblock separately (parallel instead of serial) and then bringing them back together. Might help with flow rates. May have already thought of that though.

It's how mother nature does it (large supplies, branched to small and then back into large supplies for pumping).
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I was actually planning on doing just that. I'll have the 1 inch supply tube attach to a thick pipe inside my case with many 1/2 inch tubes attached to the side of the pipe. I'd have the same setup for the return as well, just in reverse.
 
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