Waterbed to cool PC?

MisterDNA

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
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I must be high.

I have access to a coldplate (that's what I call it) that's basically a waterblock in big, flat form. The idea is to use one in place of a heater pad on a waterbed (with delrin bevels surrounding the block to kill sharp edges) and dissipate the heat from the coldplate into the 100+ gallons of a queen or kingsize water mattress.

Heard of it before?

I know it's do-able.

Living in Orange County as I do now, space at the new apartment (when my wife moves here in Oct) will be at a premium, as will energy, so the computers will be in the bedroom for heat in the winter and as heat for the bed and cooling for CPUs. It's a killer idea, methinks.
 
You could also look at using extended serpentine runs of tubing like they do for underfloor radiant heating if you wanted too. but it would take a big pump to push the water.
 
That's not a bad idea. Course, I love sleeping in a cold bed... So I'd forgo the heater all together :D

What are waterbed heaters rated at? Like 300w right? That's about right for a good WC loop... Hmmm. Now I want a waterbed.
 
just use the water bed as the rad... no need for anything else and just put a submersible pump in it :D
 
0mega said:
just use the water bed as the rad... no need for anything else and just put a submersible pump in it :D
You beat me to it! That's exactly what I was thinking the whole time. Might be a bitch to get it sealed back up, though. Somebody make a waterbed computer case mod!
 
Unless waterbed heaters are generally run 24/7 I think it would be a bad idea. Sure there is a ton of water in a waterbed, but there isn't necessarily a good way for that water to dissipate its heat. Plastics are generally poor conductors of heat energy. Without an effective means of dissipating the heat from the water, the waterbed will keep getting hotter. What temperature the water reaches before it stops heating up I have no idea, but it could be quite high.
 
Based on the data collected from mine when I had it in Utah, I lost heat when it was above room temp. Granted, that one was of the hardside persuasion, with a wooden frame around it (though the rails were upholstered with a 1" thick layer of polyfoam on the outside and fake leather covering that).

The bed I'm taking delivery of on Sunday night is of the softside variety with a wall of foam making up the sides. Great for energy efficiency in terms of the heater required, but I'll have to do new data gathering on this. Anything with a positive temperature difference relative to the surrounding area will lose heat. It's all a matter of how quickly it happens at a given temperature.

I think the heaters for the softside beds are a lot less powerful. I'm pretty sure I could cool at least one CPU and GPU, though.
 
hey kudos for the creativity.

I don't think any further heat dissipation would be necessary, theres no chance the puny amount of heat generated through your plate will increase the water beds temp by even 1 degree.

You won't even need circulation, the sheer quantity of water and bonds between the h20 will dissipate the heat just fine....maybe add a little antifreeze to the water bed!

great idea--I was thinking of somehow attaching my liquid system to my incoming water supply...haven't quite figured out the logisitics to that though..but no pump would be needed!

anyway, you could have such a massive accident with this sytem that I look foward to hearing the results!

E
 
go for it man. and like others have said you probably dont need anything to cool the water, theres so much water there it will dissipate itself


 
Arcygenical said:
That's not a bad idea. Course, I love sleeping in a cold bed... So I'd forgo the heater all together :D

What are waterbed heaters rated at? Like 300w right? That's about right for a good WC loop... Hmmm. Now I want a waterbed.
you would die of hypothermia in your sleep. ALL waterbeds have heaters for this reason.

I think a water bed is large enough to passively dissipate the heat of a PC. what I would do is put a sumercible pump inside the water bed. To do this, you can go to a tire shop (I work at a tire shop) that deals in tractor tires. Ask them if they would sell you an air/water (TR218) stem patch. its basicly a patch with a 1/2"ID threaded brass nossle in it...

I think this sounds like a great idea... It would solve 3 problems at once... it would cool your comp, help heat your bed, and keep the water inside from becoming stagnant and clumping.
 
I just took delivery of the bed about four hours ago. It's set up in sans-heater form. I'm running data-acq on a temp probe I installed. The water is 84F right now from what was in the heater plus cold water. I'll see what it does losing heat to the room.

The design is perfect for a set of hoses.
 
Haha, my parents had a water bed once...watch out for leaks is all I've got to say, they pop easy :eek:
 
Unknown-One said:
Haha, my parents had a water bed once...watch out for leaks is all I've got to say, they pop easy :eek:

I had one for five years before this one.

My mother had one back in the late 70s and it was horrid. It couldn't be trusted at all. The old-school ones would leak if you looked at them funny. New ones... not so much. And now it's the age of the softside, meaning "goodbye" to the obvious (and garish) waterbeds.
 
I can see it now:

"Baby, that is a water pump you're lying on, and I'm happy to see you."

Just make damn sure you get some reliable, tight fittings for your tubing. The setup you're planning will put some serious pressure on your loop, much more than in a traditional H20 rig.
 
stormshadow said:
damn sucka - what kinda water you been using ???

if you have a water bed for more than a few years, and you neglect to change the fluid inside.... then meet Mr. Clumpy....

Nugget has a good point too... maybe it would be better to put a heat transfer block under it, even though it wouldnt have near the efficiency...
 
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