Water cooling system

[Mithosphere]

While not technically for a computer rig, what would be a good water cooling setup for a backpack system?

I've looked at a dozen different cooling parts, but need some better recommendations as to the actual cooling performance of individual parts and the rigidity/long-term wear-and-tear. The water cooling setup will need to include a radiator or two and a pump, with or without a reservoir.

Why do I want such a system?

I'm currently in the design stage of an elaborate costume and need to adequately cool my upper body. In conjunction with an active cooling vest (tubing stitched into fabric), the water cooling system should perform better than a cooler filled with ice water... not to mention the possibility of better ergonomics and weight distribution.

I've posed this question to my brother-in-law (he has made a few custom computer rigs and other bits made from acrylic) and we've yet to come up with specific parts for the system.

The cooling system will be housed inside of a custom-made backpack, but the radiator(s) can only be placed in certain areas (due to the design).

Here's what I'd like some information on:
120mm-240mm radiator size efficiency
Pump power consumption
The necessity of a reservoir

 

[W.Feather]

Uhh ... watercooling does not put cold to the CPU, it pulls the heat away...it dissipates the heat....it wont work for your purposes....

 

[Mithosphere]

My body is creating heat... so it should work, in theory.

 

[Skripka]

So exactly how long do you need this contraption to work for?

You planning on dragging a Radio-Flyer with a car battery or two behind you?

 

[Mithosphere]

6-8 hours, ideally.

 

[Skripka]

6-8 hours, ideally.

Are you planning on dragging a radio-flyer with a lead acid car battery behind you? Otherwise you're going to need to custom rig up a circuit, and also figure out how in the hell to duct air through the costume to the radiator and out of it....A gigantic pain in the ass...which is why ice or cold water vests are common. And why the only people who use pump based cooling suits are zero-G astronauts and SR-71 pilots who don't have to walk much.

 

[Mithosphere]

Hmmm... maybe it was a bad idea to ask a simple question here...

 

[Skripka]

Hmmm... maybe it was a bad idea to ask a simple question here...

Fine.

A pretty average pump like an 35X or D5 pulls 20W. Figure each fan needs 4-5W depending on what you use. All require 12V. And a reservoir makes life far simpler.

Less to go wrong to just make your costume breathable and/or not wear it when it is 40C out.

 

[deaedius]

You can google body cooling vests/suits, they range from simple to complex.

 

[W.Feather]

My body is creating heat... so it should work, in theory.

Sure in theory ... in theory we are all not really here .... watercooling works on a PC because of a copper plate being placed on a hot surface. It removes the heat. So your going to carry a bunch of copper to transfer the heat away? Your looking to do this with tubing, sure if you have copper tubing it may work, but the water itself is not being actively cooled, so it wont add a cooling benefit to your body. It will just be weight that makes you work harder for little/no gain. Running water through tubes then a radiator wont magically pull the heat away, there is no way for conduction to efficiently occur between your body and the fluid(Water)....

Even companies such as Disney dont have active cooling measures in their costumes, because it is simply not practical, they have ventilation and sometimes a fan, with a cooling towel on the cast member. Why? Because carrying around 20 pounds worth of gear for no cooling gain is pointless....