A real challenge

[Yankee [inactive]]

I need some help/advice.

I manage a private swim club that is seasonal. The pool wants to set up WiFi and will need to get a computer for it. The issue I saw was that the clubhouse is open to the elements and has no air conditioning. Generally the computer should be fine but there are a few weeks where the temperature runs to the mid-high 90s with high humidity and I am concerned about the damage that might cause. The room the computer will be in is poorly ventilated and is honestly the hottest place in the clubhouse but it is the only viable spot. I've considered placing a fan or something but all that will do is blow hot air around and not actually cool. Any ideas for a way to keep the computer cool enough to run through the summer?

Thanks,
Yankee

 

[warshy]

really sweet heatsink?

 

[yellowbadger52]

uhh getting a full size atx case and a water cooling kit would probably be your best option here. try to find parts that dont give off alot of heat. other than that idk.

 

[PuddinPop]

Well, dependong on how hot it actually gets in that room, it may be ok with a slimlined PC that doesn't generate much heat. I would be more worried about the moisture in the air that might condense. Computer parts can take some heat especially if they aren't being pushed into load all the time. For instance, most video cards can sit just below 100C no problem (just about boiling temp for all the Americans. Yay engineers who use metric until they leave college and are forced back into American systems bleh).

 

[Stickyfinger]

Might want to take a look at this site...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/strip-fans,1203.html

 

[Snipeye]

I wish I could see the layout of the clubhouse to see how open it is. The biggest problem isn't cooling the PC, I think, but rather, moisture becoming condensed onto the computer. And that could actually then create bigger problems.

Going the water-cooling route may be a good idea, but the condensation is a concern again there. Now, using oil to cool the PC may work.

There's no chance of having a cool, outside fan being able to ventilate the room, or installing a portable AC into the room?

 

[SMiles]

Basically, unless you go phase change, which is way too expensive in this situation, most other forms of cooling are out the window. Even water cooling is out of the question considering that the radiator can only cool the liquid to the ambient air temp.

However I think you are treating this too much like a gaming rig, i don't think heat will be a huge issue because the processing load on this computer is going to be little to none considering it is just a wifi box. You wont even need a gpu, just get a mobo with integrated graphics.

Buy a decent heat sink and a case with good air flow and I honestly believe you will have no problem.

 

[Yankee [inactive]]

Thanks guys, this definitely helps. You are probably right about moisture being the issue and heat not being too big of a deal. I will check into cases and such.

Yankee

 

[The IRS]

It's not really a great idea doing this IMO.

This would be like me gaming in my bathroom with the shower running, all the steam would kill it. D:

 

[ScrappyDoo]

You're also thinking retail or consumer grade PC's. There are several industrial and commercial grade PC's able to withstand high moisture and corrosive (don't forget the chlorine!) environments.

 

[Ryken]

Kenmore to the rescue!

Turn it on, shut the door, kablam!

 

[Yankee [inactive]]

I figure if I cool off the area in any way significantly it would be the equivalent to throwing the computer into the pool with the amount of condensation it would get. It looks like I might be better off putting a fan in there to circulate the air a little but not so much that a cooler temperature would cause condensation. A dehumidifier won't work since the room can't be completely closed off.

 

[SMiles]

you should just build a mini-ATX system, or get one of those intel atom boards and put it in a mini fridge LoL.

It is a little ridiculous but it would solve all your problems. Just got to come up with a way to get the cables in, maybe a hole with a really tight grommet.

Maybe this will give someone else some ideas...

 

[/dev/null]

Go mineral oil. I've done this with a system that controlled a greenhouse vent system. Used a mini-itx mainboard with embedded everything, used an IDE to CF card, and put it into an ammo box. You can get a 110V to ATX power supply (think laptop brick) like this without having to pull out a solder gun these days. Don't submerge a HDD that spins. (grin) Think lava lamp - in my case, there was enough passive circulation that pumps and fans were not needed.

Another example http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

 

[DragonD]

Your just wanting to have wi-fi yes?

Why do you need a server/computer running for it?

Get a switch with a wireless broadcast and toss it in there.

 

[Havegooda {A|R}]

High-90s....C or F? If it's *F, you'll be fine. Just find a processor/GPU with a low TDP (I think that's the acronym) and get as many fans on there as you can.

~Gooda~

 

[Goretex]

High-90s....C or F? If it's *F, you'll be fine. Just find a processor/GPU with a low TDP (I think that's the acronym) and get as many fans on there as you can.

~Gooda~

I think you would die if it was 90 C.

I would suggest what dev said about submerging in mineral oil

 

[USMC SatComm TeK Stubster]

Your just wanting to have wi-fi yes?

Why do you need a server/computer running for it?

Get a switch with a wireless broadcast and toss it in there.

That is what I was thinking if your just doing wifi what is the computer for? A wireless router or bridge/repeater would do just fine, if their is a LAN drop then all you would need is a wireless access point.