Hydro-TEC Xenon Cooling

[Neubit]

What's up guys? It's been a while since my last visit...

Some of you might remember the Xbox i water cooled about 6 years ago. (Link 2) Back then it was pretty cool. I haven't touched it for a couple years and the other day i stumbled upon what used to be my 360. Having been moved around and unused for so long the time hasn't been nice to it. The paint job is all scratched up, window is gone, the led strips fell out and the coolant turned brown, but it still turns on

I'm giving it a makeover.

I already got half of the new components I need for this mod, still waiting for a couple more packages to arrive. Everything i have so far fits almost too good. The old system is history.

[Neubit]

All right, i know everyone likes pics so here three major players in my setup

Update 1:

12v DDC-2 Pump (18w)

Note: This pump is available in two versions, think-n-chunky funky monkey and the slim jim. Unfortunately the one i wanted wasn't available so instead I got a small conversion kit which is just thinner housing. The swap was a breeze, and the pump lived up to my expectations in size. This one seemed like the best choice, since it has been proven successful in similar setups before.(I don't have the neoprene sponge)

120mm Radiator
120mm Fan

Note: This radiator was hard to find, although less popular then the 80mm rads I've seen others use, this particular radiator and the Fan (Scythe Kaze-Jyuni Slim Slip Stream, only 12mm thick) are a match made in heaven. The total height of 38mm is just right for a flush fit. Although there are two capacitors that get in the way of the 90 degree hose fittings that i have, moving them isn't exactly a feat so that's  not a concern.  Also i have just enough room for dual back lit temperature sensor displays. :^)

[GhoSt]

Wow sweet mod, that rad fits perfectly, keep us updated.
Also welcome back, haven't seen you round here since the mod off a couple of years ago, when you were going to make me that control panel. 

[Neubit]

Wow sweet mod, that rad fits perfectly, keep us updated.
Also welcome back, haven't seen you round here since the mod off a couple of years ago, when you were going to make me that control panel. 

Thanks GhoSt, and sorry about the control panel man :^(

Still Waiting for the TEC pads (peltiers) and the cooling block. It's still quite experimental at this stage, I hope there wouldn't be any clearance issues under the DVD Drive, from my calculations it should just fit.

[snowcolt17]

might pick one up soon. looks sweet..

[Neubit]

This just in, for now a little more test fitting.

Update 2:

I have two options for cooling the TECs ("C1206" The first two numbers is voltage (12 volts), second two is the current (6 amps) that's 72 Watts)

One, is to use the big cooling block that would cool both peltiers.
Second, is to have two separate smaller blocks cooling each pad.

I haven't decided which option is better so maybe you guys could give some feedback based on research and experience. All three blocks are same thickness and width. The two smaller ones are square.

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Some less smaller but still significant bits and pieces:

Next step is to cut out some 40x40 heat transfer plates that will be between the chips and the peltiers, the ones that came with the kit were too thick and don't clear the dvd drive. For this I got a thinner, 1mm aluminum sheet.

Still brainstorming a good fixture solution that i can DIY to attach the coolers to the motherboard.

A 40mm Plexiglas tube for the custom reservoir that I am going to make is still on the way.

Cant wait to layout the water circuit and test this out, I've seen these exact peltiers get down to -30 with air cooling and no opposing heat. Having the hot/cold side temperature difference rated at 75 degrees Celsius, theoretically if i can keep the hot side below boiling temperature the cold side should stay below 25 degrees. This makes sense logically but there are many other factors to take into consideration. If i can get my xbox to run below 30 at full load, i would already be very impressed.

Stay tuned for more updates...

[Neubit]

Update 3:

The Custom Reservoir is finished. It fits behind the dvd drive. The Reservoir is 85cm tall with a fill port at the top and in/out ports on the bottom. The out port will be connected almost directly to the pump and the return is connected the the radiator. I have also installed a separator between the bottom ports to create better circulation making the setup more efficient at removing air bubbles.

No Fitting Pictures yet, While testing out the water circuit I accidentally fried the pump due to water damage. This was because when changing the pump housing a hole gets exposed that's otherwise sealed by an O ring and i was suppose to seal it but forgot, so within second of filling the reservoir and running the pump it burned out. So... I ordered a new pump, the bill for this mod is getting bigger.

I have also decided to get new peltiers, more powerful ones. If I'm going to do this, might as well go all the way. They are still 12v, but now are pulling 12 amps, making them suck 144 Watts. This one can transfer 115watts of heat from the cold side to the hot. This one is the most powerful 12 volt one i could get, next step are 24volt ones that are too thick.

[crazy-modder]

Amazing design bro i cant wait to see it finished. Where did you get the blocks for the peltiers? Did you make the mounts for them? Im all about making one of these. I got a few peltier coolers sitting on my desk from last year when i was experimenting with them. Also what are you going to do about condensation building up? Those things get cold enough to freeze water. Would some sort of potentiometer work to adjust the voltage on how cold they will get?

[Neubit]

Amazing design bro i cant wait to see it finished. Where did you get the blocks for the peltiers? Did you make the mounts for them? Im all about making one of these. I got a few peltier coolers sitting on my desk from last year when i was experimenting with them. Also what are you going to do about condensation building up? Those things get cold enough to freeze water. Would some sort of potentiometer work to adjust the voltage on how cold they will get?

Thanks man!

I got my water blocks from the local ebay. Search for "40 40 cooling block" they should have copper ones that are only 10mm thick. It's even mentioned in the description that it can be used for a xbox.

The mounts in the pictures were part of a peltier kit, but cold plate and water blocks are aluminum and not copper which I'm quite disappointed at. Also those mounts don't fit under the dvd drive. I am thinking of using silicon based sealer glue to attach the blocks and peltiers to 50 x 50 x 1 mm copper cold plates and then making some simple clamps to hold the cold plates to the motherboard using existing screw holes.

For Condensation I will definitely use a coat of clear nail polish all inside the area around the cpu/gpu that is inside the two marked square areas (both sides of the motherboard) I also got a couple of those soft art erasers and neoprene sheets to play around with.

I'm quite sure that peltiers can be controlled by a potentiometer. If the fan is wired paralleled to the peltier both could be controlled by one knob.

[crazy-modder]

Thanks man!

I got my water blocks from the local ebay. Search for "40 40 cooling block" they should have copper ones that are only 10mm thick. It's even mentioned in the description that it can be used for a xbox.

The mounts in the pictures were part of a peltier kit, but cold plate and water blocks are aluminum and not copper which I'm quite disappointed at. Also those mounts don't fit under the dvd drive. I am thinking of using silicon based sealer glue to attach the blocks and peltiers to 50 x 50 x 1 mm copper cold plates and then making some simple clamps to hold the cold plates to the motherboard using existing screw holes.

For Condensation I will definitely use a coat of clear nail polish all inside the area around the cpu/gpu that is inside the two marked square areas (both sides of the motherboard) I also got a couple of those soft art erasers and neoprene sheets to play around with.

I'm quite sure that peltiers can be controlled by a potentiometer. If the fan is wired paralleled to the peltier both could be controlled by one knob.

ok cool man im def gonna be watching this topic cause im really excited to see how it turns out. Getting a thermocoupler and monitoring certain temps at certain voltages using the potentiometer would be a great idea. IE "6v=40°c "just an example, make a chart so you know what voltages work best. Im gonna pull my peltiers out tomorrow and mess around with them. It would be cool to perfect this idea since watercooling alone is getting pretty old .

[Neubit]

Update 4:

Today i made a lot of progress as far as the internal water circuit goes. The big radiator and reservoir make the job twice as hard. Those pesky resistors get in the way of the pipes. The anti kink springs inside all of the tubes is a must though, saved me in almost every pipe bend. I managed to lay it all out and fit the DVD drive perfectly, without moving any resistors, just the two that were wired from before but it still would have been possible otherwise.

The hardest hose was the one connecting the pump directly to the radiator because it was going right passed the right corner of the dvd drive and it kept on kinking up, took a while to find the right angle.

Pics of the install:

At the end I took everything out and filled up the system for leak checks. Having it run unattended for the next 8 hours.

It would be cool to perfect this idea since watercooling alone is getting pretty old .

You read my mind Let me know if you discover anything interesting.

Zzz....

[robin1989]

wow neubit this is looking great - nice to see some modding going on. can you get like a thermoreactive coolant or dye for coolant that you could put in so that it changes colour based on temp

[GhoSt]

Sweet, this mod is getting really cool, love the big updates.
Whats the thinking behind having the fan in a push configuration under the rad?

[Neubit]

Can you get like a thermoreactive coolant or dye for coolant that you could put in so that it changes colour based on temp

They have something called "Thermochromic paint" And it's basically what you said, paint that changes color based on temperature. (Think mood rings and those coffee cups that change color when there is hot drink in them" It would be a quite awesome addition to any water cooling mod. As long as the pigment is water soluble there is no reason why this wouldn't work. Im going to see if i can get some to experiment with.

Whats the thinking behind having the fan in a push configuration under the rad?

For the most part it makes the pipe connections to the radiator possible. Also it's suppose to be easier for the fan to push air through the fins then to pull.

[Neubit]

Update 5:

I finally fired up the cooling system with the peltiers attached, the result was very unsatisfying.

With both peltiers attached to the water block, The radiator was not sufficient enough to cool the hot side.

With one peltier and one small block I could get the peltier temperature to -18.5 C.

This time each one was just -6 C and the radiator was getting almost too hot to touch.

I'm going with the mod as planned minus the TEC, This would still be possible with a more powerful external cooling rig.

[crazy-modder]

Hey man dont give up on it. I was kinda iffy bout that radiator also. Get a nice dual 120mm radiator with 2 120mm fans on it, i bet it would run alot cooler.

[Neubit]

Hey man dont give up on it. I was kinda iffy bout that radiator also. Get a nice dual 120mm radiator with 2 120mm fans on it, i bet it would run alot cooler.

Yeah, the peltiers will work with an external radiator but that's not what i want to do, my goal is to do a all internal setup....