In order to cool his computer more effectively, a user hangs the radiator of his water cooling system out of the window. Parts of the community fear that its system could be damaged by moisture penetration.
Powerful PC systems require effective cooling in order to be able to dissipate their high temperatures during operation. Some users use water cooling in their computers for this purpose. Correctly configured, depending on the situation, this can score points compared to standard air cooling with lower temperatures.
For one user, using water cooling wasn’t enough. For this reason, he has put some of his water cooling system out of the window and wants to benefit from the low outside temperatures. Parts of the community don’t think this is a good idea because of the threat of moisture in his system.
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Moisture in the PC can become a serious problem
What did the hobbyist do? The user Hux2448 shared a photo with the community on Reddit that caused a lot of discussion. In the picture you can see the radiator of a water cooling system, which, including the fan, was moved outside by hanging out of a window.
The user did not need additional protection for the radiator. The entire construction is only held in place by the power cables of the fans and the two hoses of the water circuit, which lead back inside the house to the computer. He does not provide any technical information about the actual PC.
Why would that be a bad idea? Some users on Reddit believe that moisture could get into the PC. Their main argument is the different temperatures inside the house and outside, where part of the water cooling is located.
They say this way condensation would form on the water cooling hoses inside the PC. If this water then drips onto the installed hardware, a short circuit could occur and thus damage the computer.
How realistic is this scenario? The conditions for water to condense in the computer are definitely present. A good example of this is a drink bottle that you take out of the fridge and then place on the table in a warm room.
After a short time, condensation forms on the surface because the bottle is initially much colder than the air in the room. The warm air in the room cools down on the surface of the bottle. This cooled air can hold less moisture and releases water molecules, which become visible as condensation.
If you don’t put the bottle back in the fridge but leave it in the room for a longer period of time, it will slowly get warmer. Your temperature approaches that of the room, the condensation decreases and eventually stops completely.
What does this mean for the PC? Cold air from outside promotes heat release through the radiator, which is exposed to the lower outside temperatures. The coolant in the radiator is cooled down more than usual and flows back into the building through the hose system to the internal part of the water cooling system in the computer.
The liquid in the hose, cooled by the outside air, also causes its temperature to drop. It is questionable whether the surface of the hose gets cold enough for water to condense at all. This is supported by the higher temperatures that a computer has and are generally above room temperature.
At an air temperature of 22 degrees and a humidity of 70%, the water molecules in the air condense when the air temperature is cooled to 16.3 degrees (via luftdicht.de). If the hose in the water cooling system reaches these values, moisture in the computer cannot be ruled out.
How do you protect yourself from this? If you cannot have a direct influence on the temperatures or if they have to remain so low, there are ways to collect or prevent the condensation.
One solution would be to wrap the affected hoses with felt tape, as plumbers do on a larger scale for pipes in buildings. The felt absorbs any condensation that forms and slowly releases it back into the air.
Another option would be insulating hoses that are placed over the actual water cooling hoses. However, this is more complicated than the felt method and if they are not installed airtight, condensation can still form and escape at the ends.
Water cooling can be a good addition to your gaming PC, provided there is no risk of moisture caused by condensation as in the case above. An engineer didn’t put the water cooling of his computer outside for lower temperatures, but designed it completely himself: Engineer builds his gaming PC in a desk, takes a whole year to do it – the community is enthusiastic