The ideal pump/rad for mineral oil PC is one that suits the specific requirements of the system.
The ideal pump/rad for mineral oil PC is one that suits the specific requirements of the system.
Sorry for the confusion, but I’m not really focused on overclocking the hardware, although it would be a nice addition. (It’s just the most relevant subject here.)
Would anyone recommend a suitable pump for circulating mineral oil? Would an 800L/h flow rate be sufficient, or would that be excessive or insufficient?
Regarding the radiator, the case dimensions are 25cm x 25cm x 25cm – not too large. I’m uncertain whether a dual radiator (240mm) is enough or if a quad will be necessary.
The total oil volume is about 12 liters, roughly 2 and a half gallons in the U.S.
System specifications for cooling:
- Phenom quad-core processor
- 8GB DDR3 RAM
- Radeon HD 7750 (low profile)
- 128GB SSD
Please don’t send me links about the downsides of oil cooling or its limitations compared to water cooling – I’m aware of that.
The system is already functional and performs well for around 3 hours, though the CPU and GPU reach 55°C and I shut it down then. I really need guidance on the best pump or radiator to keep the system cool enough for extended gaming sessions.
Of course, anyone who has experience with this situation would greatly appreciate your advice – thanks.
Here’s a photo of the setup (currently in use) showing temperatures around 23°C for both CPU and GPU, just hoping I can maintain those levels.
- http://
Iwaki or Ehiem is the best choice I can suggest.
I've seen it done before—submerged, rad cooled, tec cool setups are impressive, though adjusting pots for the techs was tricky. From your description it seems this is likely a submerged system. A 2x240 or 480 quad will give you the same thermal density, so size doesn't really matter. Just pick what fits your space. But... if you want a fanless passive setup, you'll need significantly more than that. The volume of liquid being cooled doesn't change which radiator you choose; it only affects how long before the liquid reaches full thermal capacity and equilibrium. For a fanless design, you should probably plan for 3-4 large rads, like a MO-ra3. Push/pull configurations can manage with a few quads.
I performed an oil PC once without connecting it to any radiator. I just kept the oil circulating in the tank, trusting that the heat would spread out. It functioned adequately most of the time. Temperatures never exceeded 56°C. If there were better ways I could have acted, I would have a) separated the power supply from the oil and b) used a shallower tank to boost the oil's surface area for faster heat release. I suggest adding a fan or two to keep the oil moving. This will ensure the fans operate quietly.
The power supply generates more heat than any other component, so even though it can be placed in the oil, it becomes excessively hot and undermines its purpose. Additionally, the power supply eventually failed, likely due to capacitors failing under oil exposure. This leads me to another point: ensure your motherboard and graphics cards use only high-quality solid-state capacitors. I experienced a graphics card failure because the capacitors expanded and detached from the board. Hard drives should never be submerged as they rely on air lubrication; doing so will damage them. SSDs may tolerate submersion, but I’m uncertain about the risks.
These adjustments might reduce the need for a pump, but if you must use one, opt for a model with a robust radiator design—like a tower cooler. You may also need to purchase additional mineral oil to compensate for the increased cooling load from the tower. Remember, mineral oil cooling can be problematic. Always aim for perfection so future upgrades, repairs, or changes won’t become difficult. If you plan to overclock, choose a board with a reset CMOS button on the back, as resetting it submerged in oil will be challenging.
For example, you could consider this product:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6835118111
It is discontinued on Newegg, but you should be able to locate it or a similar item elsewhere.
Thanks for the update, jlan86. I haven't fully read the entire post, but I've already set up and used the PC with an SSD, everything works fine (pic included). Your article was still quite interesting. If I repeat this process, I might decide to keep the PSU out of the oil as you recommended—just to help dissipate the heat better. After three hours, the CPU, GPU, and the oil itself (which is the main concern) all reached around 55°C within a short range. This suggests the system really needs significant cooling since it's only supported by 2mm Perspex. Despite this, I’ll have to consider adding a pump and some 1/2" tubing leading outside the case if I need to cool down 12 liters of hot oil. At the moment, I’m still figuring out what’s required to achieve effective cooling.
Iwaki or Ehiem is the best choice I can suggest.
I've seen similar setups before—submerged, rad cooled, tec cool, etc. The tec/rad cooled version was really impressive, though it was tricky to adjust the pots for the tecs. From what you described, it seems like a submerged system would be expected. A 2x240 or 480 quad should give you the same thermal density, so size isn't a big concern. However... if you're aiming for a fanless passive design, you'll need significantly more than that. The volume of liquid being cooled doesn't change which radiator is best; it mainly affects how long before the liquid reaches full thermal capacity and equilibrium. For a fanless setup, you might be better off with 3-4 large rads, like a MO-ra3. Push/pull configurations can manage with a few quads as well.
Here’s the revised version maintaining the original meaning and tone while adjusting the phrasing:
I wanted to thank you once more for the details. After reviewing the pumps, I realized your response about the rads didn’t match what I expected, lol. A big surprise!!!, wow that thing would easily outpace the system I’ve designed, right? - "otherwise 2 quads in a push/pull setup". - 16 fans!!!"
I’ve always been aiming for the 'Phobya xtreme quad 480' and planned to use four low-speed fans, just to keep the oil temperature manageable without overclocking anything. But since you’ve already tackled this before, I’m going to have to seriously reassess my strategy before spending any money—or better yet, I’ll just go with what I originally thought.
Could I ask one final thing? You said the amount of liquid to cool doesn’t affect the rad size, and someone else echoed that idea. So, if a model using a MO-ra3 with 9 fans can cool 20 gallons, will it still need a MO-ra3 and 9 fans for 5 gallons, assuming everything stays the same?
It’s just a bit puzzling if you know what I mean, but since I’m not very good at physics, I’m relying on your advice here.
The main point is, I built this system small—25cm in size—to avoid needing a huge tank and keep things affordable. It won’t be life or death, but being able to run it within budget is what matters most.
Note: I know the PSU cable shouldn’t be submerged in oil due to wicking issues, but I haven’t attached it yet. I’m still tidying up the cables and making a few adjustments, but it’s fine for now. Until then, I’ll keep going.
Thanks again for all your help.
The rads manage to release heat effectively. The amount of fluid changes in proportion to the time it takes for the fluid to reach its maximum thermal capacity. Essentially, a single match requires more time to boil the ocean compared to just a teaspoon of water.
Rads function by cooling the fluid that flows through their pipes. It's not possible to pump 20 gallons at once, so the amount of volume being cooled is limited. This means it will take longer before the entire thermal mass is reached.
This explains why systems using water can use 250ml reservoirs. The size of the volume doesn't matter much; what matters most is the rad surface area and its ability to dissipate heat. My recommendation is to opt for larger rads because oil is less efficient at transferring heat. You can begin with a few and add more as needed. My advice is based on the thermal performance of rads when combined with oil's lower efficiency, which I discovered while experimenting with oil cooling. Using very high-grade mineral oil would also be beneficial. Its viscosity, around ISO50, is similar to water at room temperature, making it a good consideration.
The limitation comes from the fact that a single rad struggles because of the opposite effect: the liquid acts as an insulator, maintaining a higher temperature. In smaller systems like normal H2O cooling, heat transfers directly to the rad. However, in your setup, heat is stored until it reaches the rad. Larger rads allow for greater volume and more effective dissipation, enabling better heat exchange when the fluid returns.
Ok here's an update for anyone googling this as there's literally no solid info on cooling a mineral oil pc.
First off the pump i used was a 'Phobya DC12-400' this is just a rebranded version of the EK DCP 4.0, it flows through a triple rad and 2 metres of 1/2" ID tubing. It was easy to prime and the oil has to climb 45cm vertical from the outlet to the rad, which is far more than a regular water loop. Infact as mineral oil heats the viscocity drops and when the oil hit 50'c the flow was so strong it shot the end of the tubing off the outlet (i used barbs but no clamp figuring it wouldn't hurt if it came off) no problem, but it did make me jump so i've forked out 2 quid for a clamp
As for the rad, i went for the 'Aquacomputer airplex revolution' triple rad, with three cheap 120mm fans. 2 fans are running at 600rpm and one at 1350rpm. This setup cools the pc so well, i discovered an unexpected bonus, the option to overclock.
So, from a dual core phenom ii x2, i unlocked the 2 hidden cores and oc'd from 3.2 to 3.6, increased voltage to 1.45v This might seem like a modest oc, but remember its gone from a 3.2 dual core to a 3.6 quad, the extra heat is significant. I ran prime 95 using small fft's for 12 hours and the cpu temp was 46c, the oil which was always my big concern was 36c.
The GPU is a HD7750, oc from core clock 800mhz to 920mhz and 1125mhz to 1250mhz, thats a 15% oc on the core alone, i ran furmark for 4 hours and gpu temp was 56c and the oil 33c.
Under full load from regular usage even after several hours i've never seen the oil go over 30c.
The setup works like this -
regular custom loop
pump - rad - reservoir - cpu & gpu waterblocks
mineral oil loop
pump - rad - the pc itself IS the reservoir - the mineral oil is the waterblocks on cpu, gpu, mobo, ram, hard drive.
All things being equal this cost at least 30% less than a traditional loop.
So, final thoughts, am i saying that a liquid submerged pc is better than a custom water loop?
Well, no.
Am i saying that its a viable alternative? Absolutely.
Remember i still have the option to add 3 more larger 140mm fans, the oc possibilities are huge. and all this from one triple rad with three cheap fans 2 of which are inaudible to the human ear. The whole system is completely silent apart from the one 1350rpm fan which clearly i don't need. and when i say silent, i don't mean very, very quiet, i mean totally SILENT