So, can it be done? CAn I build 2 gainclones into TINY sealed Aluminium box with the chips mounted on the case, put an inlet on one side on the box, an outlet on the other and pump water straight through it...??? I would paint the components on the inside with latex... any problems so far? I have one.. lol the sockets.. but apart from that? I wanna make a TINY Class A/B amplifier cabable of atleast 40watts Per channel... lol
is it...
A) Good idea?
B) Bad idea?
C) waste of time?
D) All of the above
lol
and don't forget your life lines..
is it...
A) Good idea?
B) Bad idea?
C) waste of time?
D) All of the above
lol
and don't forget your life lines..
A custom waterblock will be the best. I wouldn't like immersing all the components in water but a small 1" square waterblock should do a GC perfectly. Anybody who makes custom WBs should be able to do it for you - you'll find some nutty OC'ers who OC their video cards and use watercooling - some of their stuff looks uber cool. Not temperature wise, but I bet they do that pretty well too.
Clamping on a chip to a WB is a lot easier than trying to fit one into a socket. One clamp and it's done. May not be advisable to drill into the WB...
So it can be a tiny box, a couple of inches on all sides - enough to hold all the parts for a monoblock GC - and a small waterblock mounted onto the chip. two pipes should be enough - some WBs have dual outlet, single inlet, or single inlet, four outlets - but that's only for CPUs disspating tons of heat - 60 watts plus, and to be kept at temps around 45-50 celsius for best operation. I doubt you'll need much horsepower in the pumps or a very large radiator/reservoir...
Remember that passive cooling is the quietest possible way to cool a chip. Any active cooling will be noisy. The reason WC is regarded as 'silent' is because in comparison to normal CPU coolers, they are fairly quiet. But compared to a normal heatsink, there will be pump whine and some amount of turbulence noise as the water goes through the pipes.
Sockets are the least of issues. I would wire out to inline gold-plated RCAs and a banana for the speaker. XLR for the Power. The RCA will fit on the case. Speaker terminals are tough, inline or bare wire would be best. Power is even tougher, maybe Cat5 would work but I dunno bout the current capacity.
Clamping on a chip to a WB is a lot easier than trying to fit one into a socket. One clamp and it's done. May not be advisable to drill into the WB...
So it can be a tiny box, a couple of inches on all sides - enough to hold all the parts for a monoblock GC - and a small waterblock mounted onto the chip. two pipes should be enough - some WBs have dual outlet, single inlet, or single inlet, four outlets - but that's only for CPUs disspating tons of heat - 60 watts plus, and to be kept at temps around 45-50 celsius for best operation. I doubt you'll need much horsepower in the pumps or a very large radiator/reservoir...
Remember that passive cooling is the quietest possible way to cool a chip. Any active cooling will be noisy. The reason WC is regarded as 'silent' is because in comparison to normal CPU coolers, they are fairly quiet. But compared to a normal heatsink, there will be pump whine and some amount of turbulence noise as the water goes through the pipes.
Sockets are the least of issues. I would wire out to inline gold-plated RCAs and a banana for the speaker. XLR for the Power. The RCA will fit on the case. Speaker terminals are tough, inline or bare wire would be best. Power is even tougher, maybe Cat5 would work but I dunno bout the current capacity.
Hi,
Don't lol, but I would say you don't need any more heatsinking than the case. I ran two gainclones (LM3875s) with 18V secondaries (about 23VDC). I had Mica silicon pads between the case and the chip. It never cuts out or gets too hot to touch. In fact - It hardly gets warm. Here is a suggestion...These chips are built like brick s**t houses and are more protected than you could believe possible. The chances are that heat / over powering them etc will just trigger their protection circuitry. Why not build one without the water cooling and cost (and noise - you still need a pump - most fish tank pumps are noisy) and see if it works. If not, you've lost nothing by water cooling it.
As for sockets, you could always use silicon sealer to seal them up if you wanted to do it that way. Your problem is getting all the wire connections covered and sealed...If even the tiniest bit of water is allowed to make contact then
Gaz
Don't lol, but I would say you don't need any more heatsinking than the case. I ran two gainclones (LM3875s) with 18V secondaries (about 23VDC). I had Mica silicon pads between the case and the chip. It never cuts out or gets too hot to touch. In fact - It hardly gets warm. Here is a suggestion...These chips are built like brick s**t houses and are more protected than you could believe possible. The chances are that heat / over powering them etc will just trigger their protection circuitry. Why not build one without the water cooling and cost (and noise - you still need a pump - most fish tank pumps are noisy) and see if it works. If not, you've lost nothing by water cooling it.
As for sockets, you could always use silicon sealer to seal them up if you wanted to do it that way. Your problem is getting all the wire connections covered and sealed...If even the tiniest bit of water is allowed to make contact then
Gaz
Yeah, well, I am talking small.. lol like a box that is 8cm long... 5cm wide and 3sm high... and, I would like plastic... why? becasue I already have it... lol I like all the ideas.... but I want something small and cheap... Perhaps I could just mount the chips on a small heatsink in the plastic case and seal it.. like with the metal, but plastic... and pump water through that.. lol
lol I like all the ideas.... but I want something small and cheap... Perhaps I could just mount the chips on a small heatsink in the plastic case and seal it.. like with the metal, but plastic... and pump water through that.. lol
why not make the gainclone in a small metal box, fit cables, and fill it with epoxy, make sure its full, and watertight. then put it in a slightly bigger box (plastic or metal) and pump water through the gap between the boxes. just an idea.
or make the gainclone in a metal box, and bot some square tube to the side, and run water through that.
thinks about trying this himself
or make the gainclone in a metal box, and bot some square tube to the side, and run water through that.
thinks about trying this himself
It'd be even smaller without water cooling...but to answer you question - yes it can be done. Have you thought about putting a "peltier" on the outside? I can't remember is that's what they're called but are usually used in conjunction with water cooling. They are hot on one side and extremely cold on the other. If I remember correctly, it is actually these that cool things down and the water cooling wicks away their heat. But with a small one, you'd get away without cooling. All the bonuses but without the cost / size.
Gaz
Gaz
how about make the amp tiny, seal it inside this plastic box (make sure there's a watertight seal) then immerse that into a pail of water
anyway .. try finding a really small heatsink, or even a small piece of aluminum maybe 1/8" thick .. that should work just fine
they don't get very hot, unless your rails are really high and you play it on the loudest all the time
anyway .. try finding a really small heatsink, or even a small piece of aluminum maybe 1/8" thick .. that should work just fine
they don't get very hot, unless your rails are really high and you play it on the loudest all the time
Bright idea
Use the TF version (the isolated chips).
Then mount all the components, wires and plugs, and a blue led.
After testing, if all is well, holding by one wire, drawn everything in a can of varnish.
Let it dry holded by the wire.
Next day do it again (it's never too much).
Then mount it on a small heatsink, and put everything on a transparent Tupperware full of water.
lol, this is nice!
The varnish trick I used many years ago on an electronic ignition I made for my car.
You could even throw water on it.
Use the TF version (the isolated chips).
Then mount all the components, wires and plugs, and a blue led.
After testing, if all is well, holding by one wire, drawn everything in a can of varnish.
Let it dry holded by the wire.
Next day do it again (it's never too much).
Then mount it on a small heatsink, and put everything on a transparent Tupperware full of water.
lol, this is nice!
The varnish trick I used many years ago on an electronic ignition I made for my car.
You could even throw water on it.
Music Machine said:
Yeah, well, there sorta isn't actually a competition...
None of my friends are smart enough.... lolI want an amplifier with a seperate powersupply cos it would be kewl to make a DC-DC powersupply to run it in a car, and mount an extra, smaller radiator somewhere for the water cooling.. lol I think a small clear (would blue be better?) "jiffy" box would be best... a raw aluminium heatsink and blue LED...
Silver connectors too.... any other ideas?
Music Machine said:
lol, bigger bread..
but I want water!!! lol I'll use the insulated LM3886 chips mounted on a raw aluminium heatsink in a clear box, sealed and watercooled... lol you do what you like.... lolAn externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I-Mac blue case??
Or clear? (sorry, no picture) lol
Or black... but who want black?
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