Freezer for Computer case

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Scubie67

Active Member
Another post on this site got me thinking, has anyone ever tried this?Has anyone ever gotten an old throwaway freezer .Take a built computer ,use a hole saw to bore a hole on oneside to run all your cables through.After you run all your cables use that expandable insulating foam on space leftover in the hole so you dont loose a lot of cooling and place the computer case inside so it stays nice and frosty.It would have too cool well with sub freezing temps.Only thing I can think of that would cause a problem would be humidity and having to open freezer top to change Dvd or to powerup.And no, Before anyone says anything I am not on Drugs! :P
 
I haven't tried it. it would have to be a powerful freezer if you plan to run the cpu without a heatsink.
 
You still keep your heatsink.Only thing that would change would be ambient temperature.Instead of 72 degrees you would be cooling with 22 Dgrees ambient air.Freezer wouldn't have to be very strong I dont believe.If you put Your hand in the freezer you have at home most likely it throughs a good bit of cold air
 
Good point ... although the cold air is good for electrical it might be bad for mechanical parts on drive as moisture+oxygen equals rust
 
Yes, it is possible to do that. However, the compressor would need to be very powerful and of good quality. Typically a freezer compressor cycles on and off by the thermostat since the load is quite small due to the insulation. Putting a computer in there would impart a fairly large, constant load which would cause the compressor to be running constantly and burnout. If the load is higher than the freezer can handle it will heat up to above ambient temperature. So basically if you have a freezer you could give it a try, but I wouldn't expect much, and you should definitely watch your temps closely

Good point ... although the cold air is good for electrical it might be bad for mechanical parts on drive as moisture+oxygen equals rust
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I would be more worried about thermal contraction for mechanical parts and possibly increased viscosity for any fluid bearings. Most of the water should be captured by the evaporator as long as you're not constantly opening and closing the freezer. Rust is inhibited by low temperatures anyway.
 
im more worried about over freezing, and the defroster, it couldnt work, bc ice would build up, and then the defroster would kick in , getting all the computer parts wet. i once thought of this before, thought of doin it for my senior project, until i thought of the defroster part
 
im more worried about over freezing, and the defroster, it couldnt work, bc ice would build up, and then the defroster would kick in , getting all the computer parts wet. i once thought of this before, thought of doin it for my senior project, until i thought of the defroster part
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Most chest freezers don't have an automatic defrost, and if it does it shouldn't drain into the freezer compartment (I don't think that would be good for frozen goods or computers). Depending on the humidity defrosting could be an issue in that it might need to be defrosted every once in a while, but that is far from the most important problem.
 
It would condensate. And the freezer motor would not last long, with the computer generating heat, the motor would burn up. They're not built to withstand those conditions.
 
Good points everyone..I would also be scared to try it with a new comp build,would make me sick if it destroyed the Mb and all the other parts. :( I guess it would be best to have one of those cave homes where it stays 52 degrees year round.That would be better cooling I bet. LOL
 
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Why not just buy phase-change? It should cost about the same as a freezer and it will run subzero temperatures without problems. And Phase-Change cooling is basically a freezer... Only then really made for a computer instead of being made for cooling your overaged banana's...
 
ThatGuy16 said:
It would condensate.
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Where is water going to condense on the computer? The fan should blow across the evaporator and dehumify the air in the freezer. Unless you're introducing a lot of humid air into the system after the computer is cooled, it shouldn't really be a problem.

ThatGuy16 said:
And the freezer motor would not last long, with the computer generating heat, the motor would burn up. They're not built to withstand those conditions.
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That's not necessarily true, though I would imagine that a freezer that is going to be used for this kind of thing may not be of the highest quality and would most likely burn out at some point. However, there are plenty of good quality compressors that can handle 500W+ loads at sub-freezing temperatures and maintain a 90% cycle time.

timo said:
Why not just buy phase-change? It should cost about the same as a freezer and it will run subzero temperatures without problems. And Phase-Change cooling is basically a freezer... Only then really made for a computer instead of being made for cooling your overaged banana's...
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Yes, that would be the best way to go, but if you get a free freezer from a coworker or find one for $20 on craigslist, why not try it? It also has the advantage of not having to modify the computer aside from rearranging a few parts (not to mention you can cool your computer AND keep your overaged bananas cold with a single unit). If you really want a good project you build your own phase change (or cascade) system from a $20 freezer and cheap parts.
 
Yeti said:
Where is water going to condense on the computer? The fan should blow across the evaporator and dehumify the air in the freezer. Unless you're introducing a lot of humid air into the system after the computer is cooled, it shouldn't really be a problem.

That's not necessarily true, though I would imagine that a freezer that is going to be used for this kind of thing may not be of the highest quality and would most likely burn out at some point. However, there are plenty of good quality compressors that can handle 500W+ loads at sub-freezing temperatures and maintain a 90% cycle time.

Yes, that would be the best way to go, but if you get a free freezer from a coworker or find one for $20 on craigslist, why not try it? It also has the advantage of not having to modify the computer aside from rearranging a few parts (not to mention you can cool your computer AND keep your overaged bananas cold with a single unit). If you really want a good project you build your own phase change (or cascade) system from a $20 freezer and cheap parts.
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Take apart the freezer and build your own, if you can get one of the junkyard for 10 dollars (or for free even perhaps) you might as well try. Get some old computer with temperature probes etc and you can get at it.

Now you're just being silly; you go from phase-change cooling to air cooling... That's like squeezing an elephant through a 2mm funnel... It won't do much good; might as well use an airconditioning to blow at it (phew).
 
Actually, a friend and me cooled down a system with 60lb dry ice block before. It worked fairly well until the crap parts crapped out.
 
Timo said:
Take apart the freezer and build your own, if you can get one of the junkyard for 10 dollars (or for free even perhaps) you might as well try. Get some old computer with temperature probes etc and you can get at it.

Now you're just being silly; you go from phase-change cooling to air cooling... That's like squeezing an elephant through a 2mm funnel... It won't do much good; might as well use an airconditioning to blow at it (phew).
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I never said that a computer running in a refrigerator would be better (I'm assuming that's what the "Now you're just being silly" comment was directed at). Air conditioning is essentially the same thing except a freezer has the advantage of recirculating the cold air. Obviously a direct-die phase change system is going to produce better temperatures for the CPU. However, taking apart a freezer and building your own direct-die system is a lot more work and more expensive than you might think. For starters, at least in the US you need an EPA certification to legally handle or purchase refrigerant which you will need to do unless you have some new way of using the freezer condenser on a CPU (and yes, I know there are illegal methods of procurement). You will also need to either buy or machine a condenser which isn't necessarily cheap or easy. Also, this is a pressurized system which adds some danger, so you better be confidant in the setup and the braze joints. There is a lot more -- basically you have to know what you're doing. On the other hand if you have a working freezer all you have to do is put the computer inside and maybe cut a hole to route cables through - of course I'll repeat that this method won't necessarily work since it may be underpowered. I would suggest either method if you have the resources just as long as you wouldn't be too upset wrecking your computer and you take enough time learning about what you're doing.

Egon said:
Actually, a friend and me cooled down a system with 60lb dry ice block before. It worked fairly well until the crap parts crapped out.
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That's one way to do it, albeit unsustainable. What did he use? Did he make a copper container and use crushed dry ice/pellets? Any fluid?
 
We used a styrofoam cooler. Basically, we had the motherboard sandwiched in between layers of dry ice, no liquid was used I think.. I'll have to see if I can find pictures of it.
 
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You would def need a good compressor (maybe scroll) in order to keep a constant temp in there. You would be better off using a compressor from an ice-cream machine as those are good at maintaining a constant temperature and can run for a long period of time.
 
g25racer said:
You would def need a good compressor (maybe scroll) in order to keep a constant temp in there. You would be better off using a compressor from an ice-cream machine as those are good at maintaining a constant temperature and can run for a long period of time.
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Yeah, if you can find a scroll compressor that would be great. It's just that they're a bit more scarce, though maybe you could find one in a junked central AC, but then again I was mainly thinking of a situation where you wouldn't need to modify anything. A mid-end Danfoss hermetic compressor like you'd find in a chest freezer could still do the job.
 
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