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This is probably a stupid question, but one that has been nagging at my mind for a while.

I have seen a number of references online to using an oil-bath as effective server cooling. In general, the idea is to submerge the motherboard and associated hardware in a bath of light oil (sunflower, olive, etc) and the oil will effectively absorb heat from the equipment and dissipate it quickly. The sites typically include video/images of this process in action but the skeptic in me questions the validity of these claims.

I know that light cooking oils are supposed to have an extremely low electrical conductivity, but it still seems to me that, with component pins and etched pathways running fractions of millimeters apart on the board, any fluid still runs a high chance of creating short circuits.

So my question is: Is this actually a viable cooling option in computing, or is this an elaborate e-ploy to dupe the unsuspecting into frying (no pun intended) their equipment in a warranty-voiding manner?

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    This isn't sysadmin related. No serious sysadmin is going to "bathe a server in oil". In terms of product development, liquid cooling of computers is nothing new. Old Cray "Supercomputers" used liquid cooling, as have IBM mainframe computers. You're not going to plunge a modern-day rackmount server into a bath of oil and have positive outcomes with respect to warranty and maintainability. Nov 9, 2009 at 16:57
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    If you bread it first, it might be tasty.
    – chris
    Nov 9, 2009 at 17:07
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    dude, at some state fairs they'll deep fry anything Nov 9, 2009 at 17:31
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    Thanks for all the great responses. Much more than the 'yes or no' I was expecting so thanks for the really good details!
    – Mike Clark
    Nov 9, 2009 at 18:18
  • Check out episode 93 of SYSTM here
    – straussie
    Nov 9, 2009 at 21:01

5 Answers 5

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Points speaking against oil cooling in a professional setting:

You may have to review the fire safety regulations. Having a few dozen liters of oil in your server room will add significantly to the fire load. All server hardware is certified for fire protection, in the sense it will not put other stuff on fire. An 800 Watt power supply will make a nice fryer if something goes bad.

Almost all cooking oils get smelly with age. Then you have to recycle the oil. That´s work, which means cost. Nevermind cleaning up after you each time you touch the damn thing. Let alone plugging in a new mouse.

Speed of repair if something goes wrong. Granted, almost always the moving parts break. But then you are adding a whole lot of new variables into the equation. Degradation of oil -> oxidation -> contacts. Effect on parts? Will the plastics change? The Elkos? The layers of the PCBs?

Good oils creep. Into the cables. And along them. Capillarity is your enemy! And god forbid one of the cables makes a bend and hangs down... drip drip.

How do you go about the parts that break most of the time, disks? They´re outside. So you need a rack for them. And cooling. And power. Soooo... if you are going to have a rack and cooling anyway, why go through the hassle with the tank?

No Aquarium. I would see the point if you could do it with water and have a goldfish or two in there. A server with fish would be seriously cool.

It certainly is fun to make at home. But to make a solid system at work? I´m not so sure.

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It works, and at least one company sells PCs pre-built to run fully submerged in oil for cooling. However, in all cases it is more complicated and adds additional risks compared to air cooling. To start with, you have to factor in the significant additional weight, not only in whatever structure is going to hold or support the equipment but also when moving things around. The oil has to be circulated and filtered and replenished, requiring more equipment, which must itself be maintained. There is the possibility of residue formation. If you're using vegetable oils, there might be bacterial growth. It's a lot of work to consider.

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The board is usually coated in sealant anyway, except at the pins. Oil really does have a low conductivity, and metal ions don't readily end up in solution in it (which is what makes water conductive - pure water is unconductive but doesn't stay pure for long easily).

It does work, but don't submerge hard drives as they usually have an air breathing hole.

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In Theory Oil Cooling is entirely feasible. The low number of Free Ions in oil make electrical conductivity highly unlikley. However as a practicle application it leaves alot to be desired.

  • Devices with moving parts, such as hard disk would need to be sealed or they will allow in oil, which will prevent the moving parts from working.
  • It increases the weight of the server significantly, which may prevent it being held in a rack.
  • Any servicing requires the server to be drained of oil and refilled when completed.
  • Any leak will be messy, and if unnoticed, lead to quick overheating of the server.

I'm not sure what your referring to as an elaborate ploy to void your warranty. No server manufacturer is secretly trying to get you to fill your server with water, and it should be obvious to anyone that doing so will void your warranty.

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  • I reference the "void your warranty" because I hadn't seen manufacturers that offered them before. The only ones I had seen previously were the '7eet 4@xors' trying to over clock their HP from Best Buy who tend to be fishy in their claims.
    – Mike Clark
    Nov 9, 2009 at 18:17
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Here are the Pros and Cons I have found.

Edit: I've been suggested to add a citation that is not from a manufacturer.

Here are my reliable citations. https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/cool-your-pc-by-submerging-it-in-oil-1495403/

Claims that it is totally safe but does not elaborate on potential hazards.

From https://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

Also claims that it is totally safe but does elaborate on potential hazards. They are manufactures

Won't the mineral oil eat away at the rubber, making capacitors blow or components fall apart?

Answer: We've seen many variations on this question. Some people say the motherboard will fall apart, others that the acrylic tank will dissolve away to nothing! In reality, we have seen absolutely zero effect. All components are perfectly intact, and the system remains rock solid.

The only impact we have seen is on rubber-based wire insulation.

So as long as you make sure your wire insulation is not rubber-based you should not have any problems. If you are not sure about the insulation material, we suggest dunking part of the wire in mineral oil for a few days to see if the insulation degrades

The only other problem is with adhesives -- the label stickers on the memory came off, and the adhesive backing on the weather stripping became useless. However, it seems somewhat selective.

The label stickers on the video card and motherboard are just fine. But to answer the cries of doom and gloom -- we've seen no indications yet. All the rubber seals are intact, and the capacitors are completely unaffected. It seems as if we'll be able to run this system for quite some time, if not indefinitely.

And I'm going to add that you can't use spinning disk Hard Drives. You can only use SSD in oil.

I've also heard about wires getting stiff or maybe the tubes getting stiff over the years. But it's really cool! Make sure you put it in a leak free container. Like a reliable aquarium that is totally sealed as one unit. By that I mean the sides are not glued together and has 0 points of failure.

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  • "Here is my reliable citation." Why do you think it is reliable when it is from a manufacturers website that is selling their own product?. A reliable citation should come from a third-party independent site.
    – DavidPostill
    Oct 24, 2017 at 20:26
  • I'd say its extremely reliable when the manufacture tells you a potential problem with their product. Are you going to say that intel is not a reliable source of information when they tell you what can cause failures with their products? Oct 24, 2017 at 20:36
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    Just a warning - this answer has been flagged as spam. That's why I trying to get you to provide a better answer.
    – DavidPostill
    Oct 24, 2017 at 20:37
  • You can't prove that it is not a reliable source of information just because the manufacture provided it. It's their responsibility to their customers to explain potential hazards to their products. It's not a bias opinion. Oct 24, 2017 at 20:40
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    Agreed. And by the same argument you can't prove that this answer isn't spam for their product. Be warned.
    – DavidPostill
    Oct 24, 2017 at 20:41

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